Lambs wearing plastic bags

Mr-H | 15:24 Wed 14th Apr 2010 | Animals & Nature

8 Answers

There is a field near here with many newborn lambs. They are (nearly) all wearing plastic bags, with a hole for the head and two for the front legs. I assume this is to keep them warm overnight, but why wear them all the time, for how long, and does it not damage the lambs skin/coat by making it seat a lot?

MICE!!!

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ImLostAgain

Yes its to keep them from the cold. I've heard they are going to start putting WOOLLEN ones on them as it makes it easier for the ewes to accept them, no really. Well that's what an agricultural student told me.
I haven't fallen for it again have I?

Mr Veritas

Mr H,
Lambs cannot be said to sweat (well not as much as humans do)they exude lanolin, and so the plastic bag is only a form of insulation and not harmful to them,Baby lambs are like human babies,not very good at controlling their metabolism and temperature,hence the bags.
Im Lost,
NO you HAVEN'T fallen again,what you heard was right,but let me simplify it a bit.
Mother Ewes recognise their lambs by smell,if a Mother ewe rejects her lamb(or dies),it is easier for the farmer to get a new ewe to accept a lamb by rubbing the "wooly jacket" on the new mother,she then accepts the lamb as hers.Of course they COULD do this without the wooly jacket,BUT it's easier to get the new mother's smell on it,and if the lamb is at all sickly ( as it may be if it has been rejected etc) them it would serve the same purpose as the plastic bag method.
Oh yes,there's more going on in field full of ewes and lambs than you might imagine! LOL

BBBE99

I bet that looks cute...

lankeela

Its so they can be recycled and used again.

wildwood

Rejected or orphan lambs are a lot easier to adopt out to a lactating ewe if the skin of the dead lamb is tied over the new lamb. Not an appetising thought but needs must.

237SJ

My dad used to sell those plastic coats - they were called Lambmacs. They`re actually to keep the lamb dry - it`s the wet that can kill them, not the cold

Androcles

I've heard of pre-packed lamb, but isn't this going a bit far?

Seriously, when you look at the precarious nature of particularly hill sheep farming, anything which protects the shepherd's crop of new lambs has to be a good thing - they suffer enough losses in other ways.