Premature lambs are very small and suffer badly from cold weather. If a lamb doesn’t respond to the ewe by lifting and shaking its head when she licks it dry, she may abandon it. Some premature births are caused by the same microbes which can cause abortions in sheep. It’s therefore wise to isolate the ewe and lamb in a sheltered place and destroy the placenta. Should the lamb die, the vet should be contacted to carry out a post-mortem. Premature lambs can be recognised by their undeveloped state of the fleece, and also by their lack of teeth which haven’t had time to erupt. The udder of the mother may not fully developed, then the lamb is almost certainly premature. This little boy is tiny he was born prematurely…in the early hours of Sunday morning, too weak to feed, by mid afternoon he became very sleepy and was undable to stand on his feet even when mum was trying to nudge him and encourage him to get up. Farmer John and young Harry age 3 to the rescue…a bottle was made and the little man managed to get his milk down. it was amazing to watch within minutes…he was able to stand and follow mum around…He was given another bottle in the evening and by morning mums milk came in and he was able to feed by himself…sometimes it is good when man intervenes to give nature a helping hand…
Soft focus applied around the edges in Picassa
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Aug. 2011 Southland Invercargill NZ
Featured 31st Aug. 2011

My Life Was In His Hands……

I Want My Mhaaaaaa!!! – Lamb