Everything A Little Lamb Could Want For... Except A Mum... And Milk

26th May 2018
Bleating Hell
Last year we let the lambs wean naturally, which means just leaving them with their mums until they decide that grass is enough for them or until the ewe decides that enough is enough.
But with the lambing problems this year, far from unique to us, I decided to be on the safe side and take the lambs off the ewes on the early side rather than late so the ewe could build up their strength again.
Shetland lambs start nibbling at everything in sight within a day of being born, mimicking their mums. The four lambs who have been in with the sheep flock are already getting a large part of their nutrition from grass.

It is a different story for Flash and Rambutan though. Rambutan especially has never really enjoyed the taste of grass and has been very reliant on the bottle. Flash, though younger, has a more rounded diet.
But I am pretty sure that neither of them realised when they were fed this morning that it would be their last ever feed. From now on the lambs must be self-sufficient.

All penned up ready for worming and separation

While we were moving everything, we took the opportunity to worm all the sheep and to check them over. Then we carried the lambs up to the paddock by the farmhouse where they met Flash and Rambutan, who they have not seen in a long while.
We then moved the ten adult sheep (Rambo, four ewes and last years lambs) as far up the land as possible. The lambs can still hear the ewes calling and the ewes can still hear the lambs bleating, but the greater the distance apart the better.
Besides I don't like putting young lambs in the furthest paddock for this is where the sheep have previously been chased by dogs.

At the moment it seems that all is working out well. Flash and Rambutan are already eating creep feed and grazing, learning from their new friends. And the fact that these two are more settled down this end and not calling to their mums is helping the other four to settle in.

Settling in well and looking good

Cuddles still required for Flash and Rambutan

Flash tucking into his creep feed

edit This post got stuck in the unpublished pile for a while, so here's an update:
The lambs stopped bleating after a couple of days. Before that there was a constant bleating from the nearest paddock and a deep baaing from the sheep field. Even next door's sheep joined in.
Rambutan quickly learned to eat grass when he saw the others and realised that milk would no longer be on offer. All the lambs took to the creep feed too, a specially formulated pellet to help them make the transition from milk to grass.
The ewes' udders swelled to gargantuan and uncomfortable proportions - I was glad I changed my mind about moving them onto the lushest pasture. This is when mastitis can set in, but they have now subsided again so hopefully all is ok.

Flash and Rambutan have not been without their mishaps though. Little Flash picked up a nasty limp in his back leg. I was away for six days and when I left we were just hoping it would sort itself out - lameness usually does with sheep. And indeed upon my return Flash was walking about right as rain. But Rambutan had been in the wars.
He had got his horn caught up and then managed to rip it off. I wasn't there, but Sue said there was blood everywhere. Anyway, by the time I came back from my little trip everything had healed up nicely.