Preparing for a Bottle-Fed Lamb

Rearing an orphan lamb is one of the most rewarding jobs on a smallholding, but it is also one where the details matter. Before the lamb arrives, sort out its accommodation. A straw-filled pen in a dry, draught-free shed, with a heat lamp for the first week or two, gives a newborn the best chance. Lambs cannot regulate their body temperature well in the early days, so aim for a warm, clean lying area and plenty of deep bedding. Keep the pen small enough that the lamb can find its heat source easily, but big enough that it can move away if it gets too warm.

Colostrum is the priority. A lamb needs roughly ten per cent of its body weight in colostrum within the first twenty-four hours, with the first feed ideally inside two hours of birth. Ewe colostrum is best, either from its own mother or frozen from another ewe. If neither is available, use a powdered colostrum replacer rather than a milk replacer, which does not carry the same antibodies. A 4kg lamb therefore wants around 400ml spread over several small feeds in that first day.

Getting the First Feeds Right

Use a proper lamb bottle and teat, and mix the feed exactly as the instructions say. Milk replacer for lambs is usually mixed at around 200g of powder per litre of water, but brands vary, so read the tub rather than guessing. Feed at approximately 39°C, which feels comfortably warm on your wrist, and never microwave a bottle to heat it, as hot spots will scald the lamb's mouth.

• Position: hold the bottle at roughly 45 degrees so the lamb stretches its neck slightly upwards, mimicking how it would suckle from a ewe.
• Pace: let the lamb set the rhythm. If milk bubbles from its nose or it pulls away repeatedly, the teat hole may be too large.
• Leftovers: discard any milk the lamb does not finish. Never keep it for the next feed.

Milk Volumes and a Workable Routine

Newborn lambs usually take four to six small feeds a day, roughly 150–200ml at a time in the first few days. Increase the volume gradually, adding about 50ml per feed each week, so that by three or four weeks old a lamb is comfortably taking 300–350ml four times a day. Steady routine matters more than exact millilitres; lambs thrive on consistency.

Feeding little and often reduces the risk of digestive upsets, and never overfeed to make up for a missed feed. If you work away from home, either arrange a midday feed or invest in a warm ad-lib milk feeder, which lets lambs drink little and often through the day once they have learned to use it.

Hygiene, Health and Common Problems

Scrupulous hygiene prevents most setbacks. Wash bottles and teats in hot soapy water, sterilise them after every feed, and rinse thoroughly. Dirty feeding equipment is one of the main causes of scour, which shows as loose, pale or watery muck. A lamb with scour needs electrolytes and veterinary advice quickly, particularly if it is dull, cold or off its milk.

Watch for the other common troubles:

• Navel infection: dip the navel in iodine at birth and check it stays clean and dry.
• Joint ill: swollen, hot joints in the first weeks need prompt antibiotics from your vet.
• Pneumonia: coughing or rapid breathing in a poorly ventilated shed is a warning sign.
• Coccidiosis: bloody or very loose muck in lambs of three to six weeks old requires a veterinary diagnosis.

Vaccination against clostridial diseases, usually from around three weeks old with a second dose three weeks later, is well worth discussing with your vet. Lambs kept alone also fret, so rear them in pairs if you possibly can.

Introducing Grass, Water and Concentrates

Milk alone will not carry a lamb for long. From about ten days old, offer a small handful of fresh lamb creep pellets in a shallow trough, replacing them daily so they always smell appetising. Put out good-quality hay from two to three weeks old, and make sure clean, fresh water is available at all times. Use a shallow container or a drinker designed for lambs, as deep buckets are a drowning risk for small stock.

Let lambs out onto clean pasture for short spells once the weather is kind, but bring them in if it turns wet and cold. Grass should be introduced gradually alongside milk so the rumen adapts without upset. A lamb nibbling grass and eating creep is well on the way to being independent.

Weaning and Settling Into Smallholding Life

Most bottle-fed lambs can be weaned at six to eight weeks, once they are eating around 250–300g of creep feed a day and are drinking water reliably. Reduce the milk feeds over one to two weeks rather than stopping abruptly, dropping one feed at a time and keeping an eye on condition.

After weaning, keep them on creep for a few weeks, then move gradually onto grass, hay and a suitable rumen-friendly ration. Companionship, shelter, clean water and a watchful eye will see them right. Rearing lambs by hand is fiddly, occasionally heartbreaking, and thoroughly worthwhile — and few things on a smallholding are as satisfying as watching a tame lamb grow into a sturdy, contented sheep.