[Jacob-list] new to orphan lamb raising, questions

[Mary Hansson]

Kristin,
 
Welcome to the list, and sorry to hear about your ewe.  Hypocalcemia isn't a common problem in the Jacob ewes, although this is not to say we should not watch for it as IT DOES EXIST.  Based on your comments, I would suspect that the hypocalcemia was just caught way too late to produce solid results.  I am not a vet and think we have one somewhere that pops out occasionally on this list.
 
ANYTIME a sheep behaves differently, I watch that sheep closely.  I have had sheep for 11 years now, and that has paid off big time through the years.  I don't always catch stuff, and working away from home >40 hours a week allows for lots to be missed---and the sheep suffer as a result of my poor shepherding when gone.
 
That said, I have also learned to watch----don't always intervene as it causes more stress than good.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Case in point:  Had a ewe the other day that was behaving a bit differently than her usual "under your feet" girl.  I went out and watched her a bit and thought there was a problem with her eye----Turns out she had pinkeye probably from a horn hit in the eye.  She wasn't tearing terribly, and I have learned over the years that one can watch these infections and they WILL heal on their own without noted scarring and difficulty seeing.  In short, this ewe didn't have a significant health issue, but I didn't walk off and go to bed until I was certain of that.
 
As to feeding lambs:  Babies all eat quite different amounts.  Anybody who has nursed their own baby will tell you that babies go through growth spurts, they eat wildly different amounts one child to another, and one day to another and one feeding to another.  This is normal and fine.  Your ram is eating much more than I have ever seen any of my bottle babies eat in the first few days.  Are you seeing RED as in BLOOD in the stools?  If so, call the vet and discuss this right away.  Your vet should become your best resource if you have a vet.  They have the training, they have the ability to teach you what to look for and what to let go.
 
Early infant stools start with a yellow pasty meconium and then turn more to black tarry runny/pudding/pasty stools, and then on to stuck together lumps and then to tiny sheep pellets.  I would run the feeding issues by the vet as well.  Happy, healthy babies have perky eyes, warm mouths, are quick to get up and stretch when they realize somebody interesting is coming.  Sick or unwell babies don't tend to behave in the same manner, are more sluggish, tend to have colder ears (most Jacobs won't drop their ears until they are practically DEAD).
 
Mary Ellen


 

Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
ISeeSpots Farm
Jacob Sheep:  Lambs, adults, wool
www.iseespots.com
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