[Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Hi All One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems to have no milk I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species formula--thats all I could find right now. I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How long? This is our first crop of lambs Thanks Tom Quinn ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
If you can get the ewe to hang in a VERY small pen with the babies, I bet, within a few hours, she will start feeding them. http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Angie.html But watch to see if she's being violent, and kicking them. _Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: > Hi All > > One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems > to have no milk > > I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species > formula--thats all I could find right now. > > I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How > long? > > This is our first crop of lambs > > Thanks > > Tom Quinn > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Michael I put the 3 of them in a really small pen, but she was butting the lambs out of the way, and it was getting dark. I will keep them in the house tonight, and try again in the morning -Original Message- From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]on Behalf Of Michael Smith Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 8:47 PM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding If you can get the ewe to hang in a VERY small pen with the babies, I bet, within a few hours, she will start feeding them. http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Angie.html But watch to see if she's being violent, and kicking them. _Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: > Hi All > > One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems > to have no milk > > I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species > formula--thats all I could find right now. > > I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How > long? > > This is our first crop of lambs > > Thanks > > Tom Quinn > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
They need colostrum or they won't make it. Mana Pro makes a multi species one. But that may be what you fed if so that is great. I feed about 2 ounces if they will take it every 2 hours for the first 12 then more if they will take it and 4 every 4 hours for the next 12 if they will take that much. Some take more first then slack off. They will usually fall into a deep sleep after the first couple of feedings and you will think they are dead almost but when their bellies are really full they sleep sound. If the ewe is butting them now she will not take them from my experience. She will just end up hurting them. Good luck. I raised over 30 babies this spring not all from birth but alot of them we raise several kinds of sheep and I sell alot of bottle babies. Make sure you cuddle them and talk and stroke them this seems to stimulate them and make them excited to feed . also wipe their little bottoms with a damp cloth this imitates mom cleaning and helps them pass the black poo etc Nancy - Original Message - From: "Tom Quinn" To: Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 22:27 Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Michael I put the 3 of them in a really small pen, but she was butting the lambs out of the way, and it was getting dark. I will keep them in the house tonight, and try again in the morning -Original Message- From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]on Behalf Of Michael Smith Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 8:47 PM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding If you can get the ewe to hang in a VERY small pen with the babies, I bet, within a few hours, she will start feeding them. http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Angie.html But watch to see if she's being violent, and kicking them. _Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: Hi All One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems to have no milk I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species formula--thats all I could find right now. I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How long? This is our first crop of lambs Thanks Tom Quinn ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
first time mom? if you plan to feed them, I would do it 4 times a day to start. there's a ratio of their body weight to oz. of milk to give them. http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/artificialfeeding.html http://ars.sdstate.edu/lvstk_educate/Sheep_Management/BABY_LAMB_CARE_PROTOCOL23.htm (unless you milked the mother within the first several hours of birth, you likely do not have colostrum to give. Colostrum replacer formula/mixes are not the same thing, so save your money.) past this, it's up to the more experienced breeders to clue you in. I have had luck raising a group of bottle-babies last year, they did have mother's milk for 5 weeks, then us feeding them, but we were mixing goats' milk from the store-- with powdered formula mixed with water to it's proper ratio. They still got scours like, every 10 days or so, and it would take 5 days of treating them to get it to go away. I think it was just the formula to blame, and the big feedings, rather than the normal little natural gulps all day they would get from their mother. This year had 5 naturally-raised lambs and not one bit, not ONE little bit of scours. _MWS On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 8:27 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: > Michael > > I put the 3 of them in a really small pen, but she was butting the lambs out > of the way, and it was getting dark. > > I will keep them in the house tonight, and try again in the morning > > -Original Message- > From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info > [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]on Behalf Of > Michael Smith > Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 8:47 PM > To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info > Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding > > > If you can get the ewe to hang in a VERY small pen with the babies, I > bet, within a few hours, she will start feeding them. > > http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Angie.html > > But watch to see if she's being violent, and kicking them. > > > _Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. > > > > On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: >> Hi All >> >> One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems >> to have no milk >> >> I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species >> formula--thats all I could find right now. >> >> I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How >> long? >> >> This is our first crop of lambs >> >> Thanks >> >> Tom Quinn >> >> ___ >> This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list >> Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info >> > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were closed. I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? -Original Message- From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]on Behalf Of Nancy & Tom Richardson Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 9:47 PM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding They need colostrum or they won't make it. Mana Pro makes a multi species one. But that may be what you fed if so that is great. I feed about 2 ounces if they will take it every 2 hours for the first 12 then more if they will take it and 4 every 4 hours for the next 12 if they will take that much. Some take more first then slack off. They will usually fall into a deep sleep after the first couple of feedings and you will think they are dead almost but when their bellies are really full they sleep sound. If the ewe is butting them now she will not take them from my experience. She will just end up hurting them. Good luck. I raised over 30 babies this spring not all from birth but alot of them we raise several kinds of sheep and I sell alot of bottle babies. Make sure you cuddle them and talk and stroke them this seems to stimulate them and make them excited to feed . also wipe their little bottoms with a damp cloth this imitates mom cleaning and helps them pass the black poo etc Nancy - Original Message - From: "Tom Quinn" To: Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 22:27 Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding > Michael > > I put the 3 of them in a really small pen, but she was butting the lambs > out > of the way, and it was getting dark. > > I will keep them in the house tonight, and try again in the morning > > -Original Message- > From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info > [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]on Behalf Of > Michael Smith > Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 8:47 PM > To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info > Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding > > > If you can get the ewe to hang in a VERY small pen with the babies, I > bet, within a few hours, she will start feeding them. > > http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Angie.html > > But watch to see if she's being violent, and kicking them. > > > _Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. > > > > On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Tom Quinn wrote: >> Hi All >> >> One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems >> to have no milk >> >> I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species >> formula--thats all I could find right now. >> >> I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How >> long? >> >> This is our first crop of lambs >> >> Thanks >> >> Tom Quinn >> >> ___ >> This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list >> Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info >> > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from the ewe.) Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a place to start. Carol At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were closed. I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Tom, also those teets are small, and you may want to try this, for milking, if you have a larger syringe around. http://www.tvsp.org/sheep_milker.html don't forget to bump upwards on the bag a few times to get it to let down, before you try this. _MWS On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 9:10 PM, Carol Elkins wrote: > Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her > in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is > important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for > each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can > from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs > nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally > accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from > the ewe.) > > Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at > http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe > for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides > a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not > feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a > place to start. > > Carol > > At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: >> >> I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores >> were >> closed. >> I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? > > Carol Elkins > Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep > (no shear, no dock, no fuss) > Pueblo, Colorado > http://www.critterhaven.biz > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Tom, are you sure she does not have any milk? We had a ewe that bagged up, had her twins but would not let them nurse. IT turns out it must have hurt her when the lambs tried to nurse to the point she would walk away. What I did is hold her against the wall in the jug while helping the lambs to nurse every two hours around the clock. She finally started letting the lambs nurse willingly after two days. My suggestion would be don't give up on getting them to nurse untill you are sure she has no milk. If she bagged up my guess is she has milk. As far as quantities for bottle feeding there is a ton of info if you Google bottle feeding lambs. I am not a real experianced shepherd but all the research I did when we were going through our ordeal I formed the opinion that if a ewe did not "violently" reject a Lamb chances are she could let them nurse if she has the milk. Dave Tom Quinn wrote: >Hi All > >One of our young ewes just had twins. She is not accepting them and seems >to have no milk > >I just cleaned them up and bottle fed them once with Advance all species >formula--thats all I could find right now. > >I need suggestions bad! How often to feed? How much per feeding? How >long? > >This is our first crop of lambs > >Thanks > >Tom Quinn > >___ >This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list >Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
20 to 30 cc will be fine per feeding and I would only do this for about every 4 hours. As Carol said you can overfeed. Pay close attention as to how tight the belly is. If you will tie her head where she cannot butt the lambs and let them try to suck, it may work. It will take 3 days. Be sure you have the right ewe. I know this sounds funny but it happens. make sure she is butting both. If not you may have another ewe that has lambed. The stomach accepts colustrum for 24 hours. I have used old mentholatum on the ewe's nose and down the backs of the lambs and it confuses mama into thinking they smell like her. Cecil in OKla - Original Message - From: "Michael Smith" To: Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 11:19 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Tom, also those teets are small, and you may want to try this, for milking, if you have a larger syringe around. http://www.tvsp.org/sheep_milker.html don't forget to bump upwards on the bag a few times to get it to let down, before you try this. _MWS On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 9:10 PM, Carol Elkins wrote: Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from the ewe.) Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a place to start. Carol At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were closed. I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
I worked on the ewe for a couple of hours, and got nothing. She has no bag at all. It sounded like she was letting down milk, but nothing. That and the fact that she was butting the lambs away, led us to decide to get them warm and try to bottle feed tonight. These little guys dont weigh much more than one pound each. I will just have to see if we get them through the night, then brew up some colostrum replacer, and see if we can get anything from the ewe. - Original Message From: Carol Elkins To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Mon, August 2, 2010 10:10:31 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from the ewe.) Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a place to start. Carol At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: > I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were > closed. > I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
Tom Quinn wrote: I worked on the ewe for a couple of hours, and got nothing. She has no bag at all. It sounded like she was letting down milk, but nothing. That and the fact that she was butting the lambs away, led us to decide to get them warm and try to bottle feed tonight. These little guys dont weigh much more than one pound each. I will just have to see if we get them through the night, then brew up some colostrum replacer, and see if we can get anything from the ewe. - Original Message From: Carol Elkins To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Mon, August 2, 2010 10:10:31 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from the ewe.) Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a place to start. Carol At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were closed. I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info Sounds like they were premature. You can wrap them in a towel, get a baby diaper and cut a hole for the tail. Keep them next to you when you go to bed. They need to hear a heartbeat nearby, they have been next to one for 5 months... Find some colostrum replacer asap. Be sparing on the feeding, they will tell you when they are hungry. If they are peeing about every 1-2 hours they are getting enough. The first 24 ours is when they hydrate and expand. Remember they can aspirate easily so keep their heads up. and do not let them lay on their side. Cecil in OKla ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding
I agree with Cecil. I normally sleep with my new babies for the first night or 2. I didn't realize they were so small when I told you about the feeding amounts. On ones this small I feel lucky when I get a half ounce down them every 2 hours at first. I use a pet nurser bottle and the longest nipple but cut it back to about an inch long maybe shorter. It just depends on the baby. Please let us know how they are dong. Nancy - Original Message - From: "Cecil Bearden" To: Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 06:12 Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Tom Quinn wrote: I worked on the ewe for a couple of hours, and got nothing. She has no bag at all. It sounded like she was letting down milk, but nothing. That and the fact that she was butting the lambs away, led us to decide to get them warm and try to bottle feed tonight. These little guys dont weigh much more than one pound each. I will just have to see if we get them through the night, then brew up some colostrum replacer, and see if we can get anything from the ewe. - Original Message From: Carol Elkins To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Mon, August 2, 2010 10:10:31 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Help: Need info on bottle feeding Tom, do everything you possibly can to milk colostrum from the ewe. Put her in a stanchion to hold her still. You may not get a lot, but every bit is important. Measure what you do get and divide it into two parts, one for each lamb. Do this as often as you can to get as much colostrum as you can from her. If she has any milk in her bag, you might try letting the lambs nurse. I stanchioned a ewe three times a day for 3 weeks and she finally accepted the lamb. (I bottle fed him to supplement what he was getting from the ewe.) Read the article I wrote about Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle at http://critterhaven.biz/info/articles/bummer_lamb.htm It contains a recipe for a newborn milk formula to use if you have no colostrum. It also provides a schedule and a formula for feeding amounts. Cecil will caution you to not feed as much as the article recommends per feeding and I agree; but it is a place to start. Carol At 09:58 PM 8/2/2010, you wrote: I dont have any colostrum. All of this happened after the feed stores were closed. I can probably find some tomowrrow-- or is that too late? Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info Sounds like they were premature. You can wrap them in a towel, get a baby diaper and cut a hole for the tail. Keep them next to you when you go to bed. They need to hear a heartbeat nearby, they have been next to one for 5 months... Find some colostrum replacer asap. Be sparing on the feeding, they will tell you when they are hungry. If they are peeing about every 1-2 hours they are getting enough. The first 24 ours is when they hydrate and expand. Remember they can aspirate easily so keep their heads up. and do not let them lay on their side. Cecil in OKla ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info