Pet lambs

[BarbaraJ]

Hi all, I have just acquired two orphan lambs (a boy called Will and a girl called Grace). I have no experience with sheep at all and hope to do the right thing. They are white suffolks, I think?! Anyway they are just a week old and are fed on Lamlac 4 times a day. I will have them vaccinated when they are 3 weeks old and worm them once they have been on pasture. I have horses on the same paddock and the grazing is good. They are in the stable at the moment and let out as much as possible during the day. Once the fence has been sorted and they are old enough to fend for themselves they will be kept at grass 24/7. I took the rubber rings off their tails and the boys testies, was that a bad move? I just felt it was cruel! They stopped docking dogs that way, why would it be different for sheep? Cost? However, can anybody please give me advise just incase I've missed something.

Thanks Barbara

[Finoa]

You lucky thing! Have you discovered how sharp their feet are yet?? You're going to get strong arms - when they're a bit bigger they'll bat the bottles around like mad!

If you haven't already, the first thing to do is find a good old fashioned country vet. Who does your horses? If they're equine specialists, they should still know-a-man-who-can.

Tail docking is optional, but if you don't do it you'll need to spray round their tails regularly to keep the flies at bay, and they'll need dagging (shearing round their bums). It might be too late to put new bands back on again now. The older the lamb, the more uncomfortable it is. As for those testicals you mentioned... most farmers don't believe that the method hurts, and if it's done correctly it shouldn't be more than a bit sore - in other words, no worse than the surgical method. But the second option is likely to cost a lot more! I wouldn't advise leaving them entire - rams are far more trouble than they're worth! I'm sure you realise you need to get them done before they're old enough to get the ewes pregnant (it might be sooner than you think)!

Lambs (and grown-up sheep, when they're in the mood) love climbing and playing king-of-the-castle games, so you can add extra play value to any area by giving it some height. Just a few old pallettes and bales would do the trick, and would also give a little bit extra shelter on open grazing.

[Finoa]

Shearing is a begger of a job. Never does a sheep seem bigger than when you're kneeling on it. You'll need help - there's just no way you can learn this from a book, and getting it wrong can be dangerous for the sheep. Because of centuries of inbreeding for size, holding them upside down for too long can cause damage to their internal organs. Your vet might be able to put you in touch with someone who'll do it for you on-site, but most people will take their pet sheep along to a local farm to have them sheared and dipped with a larger herd. Farmers can be buttered up with alcohol and hard cash. Don't let them fleece you, if they're charging more than �8 a head then they're having a laugh. Talking of fleeces - don't expect to make any money from them!

There are plenty of sheepy websites around. If I were you, I'd re-post this message somewhere like this: http://www.acountrylife.com/forums.php?m=topic s&s=5 . Probably the best source of advice, though, will be your friendly local smallholders. They'll have shepherding experience but a warmer attitude to their sheep than farmers - so they should be more on your wavelength. A book or two will also be helpful: http://www.cat.org.uk/shopping/search.tmpl?sub dir=shopping&selected=Land%20%26%20Animals &SKU=562060&init=6&GC=AZ&gcode =AZ00&flyer=0&reinit=1 I haven't read Starting With Sheep, but the other books in the series are great.

May your fleecey friends have many years of blissful bleeting,



FIona.

[BarbaraJ]

Hi, thanks for the answers posted. My two are already in the game of king-of-the-castle and they certainly head-butt the bottle my leg or my husbands groin if he happens to crouch down at feeding time! I have almost house trained now and they take 'No!' for an answer. They train easier than my 2 labs! They are just 10 days old now and I think I will keep Will entire as long as he is no trouble! Have to bite the bullet later and fork out for the castration. Just thought it would be more humane than that nasty elastic band! Had the vet out already on sunday (!), Grace was limping and couldn't put weight on her leg at all. They must have been playing and she pulled a muscle. She had an anti-inflametry and pain killer injection and was fine the next day. Vet declared me officially insane pampering these beasts beyond belief. He said they taste fine with mint sauce! Typical country vet! Never mind, they are my babies and they are fun to watch. Anyway, shearing is a long way a way yet and I cross that bridge then. If anymore advise, please reply. Grately appreciated!

Baa-rbara.