Lamb wont suck any teats

by Jan Mostyn
(Kurrajong, NSW, Australia)

I'm hand raising a Suffolk Ram lamb which is now one week old. I've been using a new lamb milk replacer, the problem is that because he was so weak initially, we had to syringe the milk down his throat and we are still doing this as he wont suck on any of the many different teats we have offered him. He sucks for about 30 seconds then gives up.

He still looks very thin, backbone and hips stick out but is growing taller with huge feet. He is not active, he spends the day with his Mum and the other mums and lambs but I take him in at night to give him a late night feed and an early morning feed. I'm feeding him 4 to 5 times a day

Its a struggle to get 400 mls per day into him and worries me that he should really be having more. Does anyone have any suggestions for me as I would hate to lose him now after all my hard work.

He is 5 days old in this pic

Kind regards
Jan

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Apr 10, 2013
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feeding lamb with syringe
by: Anonymous

I have a three week old suffolk ram lamb that I am having to feed with a syringe as well. He was a twin on a yearling ewe and the other lamb was taking all the milk. I tried supplimenting him but he wouldn't take the bottle so I brought him in the house a week ago but he will only suck for a brief time and I have to feed him with a syringe to make sure he gets enough. He is really stubborn but he looks great now and is growing. But frustrating that he won't eat from the bottle.

Oct 20, 2011
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Weight gain
by: Terry

Lambs who are reared on the bottle are much slower to gain weight than those reared by their mothers. They eventually catch up but it is a slow process

Oct 20, 2011
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Encouraging Lambs to feed
by: Terry

I use baby bottles and teats (not Nuck ones). If the lamb is one day old and not sucking I have put a slit in the teat so the milk runs out faster. This gets them tasting the milk and also gives them the feel of the teat as well. When they are sucking I change to a Fast Flow teat. If they keep sucking I then change to a Medium Flow so they won't get a bellyache.

Another way to encourage sucking is to give it a finger covered in milk. It should eventually suck the finger and from there a teat can be used.

Another way is to put teat in the lambs mouth and squeeze so milk drops into the lambs mouth. I found this too awkward thats why I slit the teat.

Oct 15, 2011
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triplet lamb...
by: sandra

get his poop checked for worms.

Sep 14, 2011
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mucus/blood in normal stool.
by: Lynzee Schatz

Hello, the neighbour farmer gave me a lamb that had been pushed out by his brothers. (he is a triplet)He wasnt getting enough food and would have died in the paddock.

I got him at 2 days old, not sure if he got any colostrum or not. He has been eating really really well, had diarrhea for 2 days and is now having solid poops except there is a bit of mucus and blood in his stool and some sticks to his tail.

I have been keeping him really clean. He is now 5 days old and hasn't really gained weight yet but im hoping that will come. He is getting stronger and better on his feet everyday and responds to me when I say his name.

Should I be worried about his slow weight gain and his sometimes mucus/bloody stool? (it's a very tiny amount)

any advice would be much appreciated!

Lynzee

Aug 28, 2011
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lamb won't suck...
by: sandra

hope everything turned out o.k. my weak lamb who was very very tiny died after 10 hours.... i have to ask you how do you make sure your lambs don't go for slaughter? i'm like that tried to sell a set of twins but became very suspisous when the buyer would not call me only text... need less to say they are still here.

Aug 07, 2011
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Lamb Who wont suck on teats
by: Anonymous

Well this little guy is 9 days old now and we are gradually increasing his intake, but it is about 200 - 300mls short of what he should be having per day. We have given up on bottles entirely and are using the syringe which he happily takes.

He is walking a lot better and tries the occasional jump. Best of all he and his mum are calling each other. I'll continue to keep him inside at night until he is stronger, but the good news is that we are getting there, until today I wasn't confident that we would.

If youre wondering why I'm spending so much time and energy on a ram lamb its because we have a small acreage farm and we breed quality Full blood Suffolk Rams for Sale as flock rams. No animal leaves my farm for slaughter, only breeding.

Have a great day, Jan

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