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| RikkiSowtzy2 | Posted 08/25/11 11:10PM  Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | Hi all!
I have a lamb who is constantly scouring. I've been through THREE litre bottles of Vitrate.
I took him in to the large animal vet, and followed his instructions to the letter -
Just Vitrate (no milk) for first 24-36hrs, then vitrate with 1/4 milk for next 24/36hrs, then 1/2 mixture, then 3/4 mixture,
His poos start becoming a little more solid but by the time he gets to the full strength they're full blown yellow and watery.
I keep him very clean, clean out his poos as he does them, he is wee-ing a lot because of the extra water he's been getting with the electrolytes.
(I measure his milk powder out with scales, very exact)
I've spent over $100 on electrolytes so far ($35 a litre concentrate). This lamb has all up cost me around $500 just keeping him alive...
I've found a few homemade electrolyte solution recipes on the net, it's the same thing, and a lot of people h=give their sheep Gatorade, but that's still $10 a tub.
Recipe:
1/2 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey (or should I use corn syrup?)
5 cups water
The vet perscribed vitrate has Citric Acid in it as one of the active ingredients, so I bought some of that as well, how much should I use?...
Also, is it OK to dilute his milk with a lot of water? He seems to want much more than the reccommended amount of milk.
He's around 7-9kgs, so should be on 1700ml, 2-3 feeds a day, but he cries and cries and wants more than this amount. Is it alright to dilute his milk a bit more if he's still getting his reccomemended daily intake?
(at the moment I'm still diluting his milk with vitrate, his poos are a bit darker brown rather than bright yellow, but still quite loose, bit less watery)....
He's got access to fresh hay, and a pellet mix,
I'm a total noob, all advice is appreciated :)
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| RikkiSowtzy2 | Posted 08/25/11 11:22PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | Also he's been on antibiotics (intermuscular injetcions) for a chest problem, which may have caused a bit of the scouring, although he's finished his course now and still scouring.
I've been putting a little Yakult (Probiotic drink) in his milk, is this ok?
It contains a very small amount of milk powder but is mainly glucose and live bacteria.
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| KassiesMom | Posted 08/25/11 11:39PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | A lot of milk powders can make lambs sick. I would check with the feed store to see if they sell probiotics for livestock. Also, since he has been on antibiotics......have you given him any b complex? B complex should be given with antibiotics. Look up rice water drench for an electrolyte. Have you tried to mix a little nutmeg in his milk for scours? The bottle baby we raised this year didn't have solid stools untill she started eating creep feed. Loose stools were normal for her as long as they weren't watery.
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| Kyhampbreeder | Posted 08/26/11 06:44AM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
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Administrator | Isn't this the lamb that was orphaned at birth with no colostrum ?
Loose and yellow never concerns me all that much. Milk replacers are high fat products which produces yellow stools where digestion is incomplete. Not uncommon for lambs nursing heavy milking ewes to have loose yellow stools while young.
I haven't been to Australia for forty years and have no idea if a human product called Morton Lite Salt is available or not. If it is the Lite Salt is a good emergency electrolyte source for livestock , much better than the internet formula you listed.
Colostrum deprived animals have a tough time surviving as long as you've kept this lamb going.
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| RikkiSowtzy | Posted 08/30/11 06:47AM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | Yep, that's the one, the eternal struggle to keep him alive :) He seems pretty strong and perky still, and although I don't think he's actually swallowing much, he's cropping and nibbling quite a bit of hay.
I'll try the nutmeg, thanks! The homemade electrolyte seems to be going ok, he still has very loose stools but they're brownish-black rather than the yellow.
I've been putting human probiotic drink in his milk, my local ag stores don't seem to have much.
He's on Profilac milk powder, it doesn't contain any probiotics unfortunately. I've also been grinding up a human multivitamin to dust and sprinkling a little in his milk, hasn't seemed to hurt, although I can't recommend this as is only home experimanting with no experience to back it.
Thank you all so much for your help, I've recieved the BEST advice from this site, there's so much misleading info on the net, it's great to have a site where you can ask the experts. I don't think he would've suirvived this long without your help :)
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| bigox44 | Posted 08/30/11 03:15PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | when i was growing up, when a calf had scours my dad always gave him raw eggs until poop turn hard. eggs will stop the scouring, and yet provide protein. probably 2 raw egss in morning and 2 in evening feeding
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| bigox44 | Posted 08/30/11 03:15PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | when i was growing up, when a calf had scours my dad always gave him raw eggs until poop turn hard. eggs will stop the scouring, and yet provide protein. probably 2 raw egss in morning and 2 in evening feeding
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| Sleepy | Posted 04/18/12 03:33PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | two small lambs wondering how much nutmeg you would add to there milk? thanks Allie
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| Sheepherder007 | Posted 04/18/12 05:18PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | Half a teaspoon apiece
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| apayemlamb | Posted 04/25/12 11:21AM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | How to treat overeating in lambs?
My bottle fed lamb had lost his mommy so I think he didn't drink enough colostrum.
What should I do next?
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| TXsheepRaiser | Posted 04/25/12 12:28PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | The lamb just needs colustrum at least in the first 24 hours, then the lamb gets moved to milk replacer after words...
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| apayemlamb | Posted 04/25/12 09:10PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | My bottle baby lamb is a few months old already and is eating hay and sheep feed besides milk from the bottle. He was very sick the first few days of his birth. We made him suck colostrum from his mom. We took him to the vet, he got antibiotic shots and multivitamin shot. When he recovered and his poo became normal he became greedy. He is fighting others who are also getting a bottle and I think he overfed because he is fast and eats others portion. Now he seems bloated and doesn't want anything to eat.
What should be the treatment?
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| Cherryhood | Posted 06/08/12 11:57AM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | I can recommend egg yolk for young lambs. I use two big yolks to one litre of milk mix. I use human grade full cream powdered milk 200grams to one litre. Plus two big tablespoons of full cream plane yoghurt. I put it all in a blender for a few seconds. Probiotics and Lamb Boost are good for weak lambs.
I've raised over a dozen lambs. Little amounts every two hours at first but within two day about 100 milliliters every four hours. Then up to 200 mls. Lambs cry for loneliness. Try and have two together. Don't just feed them. A gentle dog can be company for a lamb. Otherwise you need to have them with you all the time. If scours occur give fold
llless often and replace a feed with electrolytes. Vets have scours treatment. Start offering hay, chaff and quality pellets by two weeks. teach lamb to eat by picking up the food as if your hand were it's mother eating.
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| rainman | Posted 06/08/12 03:06PM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
| | Spect am it is used for baby pigs but works well on sheep. It does have a 39 day withdrawal.
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| Tassie | Posted 08/22/12 03:04AM Changed 00/00/00 12:00AM |
|  | Some seasons I can have up to 30 orphan lambs, with all different problems. Here is a substitute I have used if no colostrum was available.
Artificial colostrum
600 ml warm cows milk
300 ml water
1 beaten egg
5 ml cod liver oil
15 grams glucose powder
60/90 ml 4 or 5 times a day depending on size of lamb.
I am lucky enough to have fresh cows colostrum and milk,
It is all I use, plus vitrate if the lamb is in very poor condition. In the past my lambs drank powdered milk replacer and the success rate was not good, it is important to find the right one. And be aware that you can get a bad batch, if your lambs start looking sickly on a new bag return it to place of purchase and demand a new bag from new batch!!
I let my lambs demand feed, generally wanting a drink every 4 hours in between I give them water. Never feel sorry for the little lamb that wants more! Over feeding is nearly always a death sentence..
A lamb that is a fast drinker needs to be given a teat or bottle that will slow its sucking down, I have had many healthy lambs die from bloat. I am still researching causes so far I have some ideas??
Drinking to fast.
Problem with milk going into wrong gut and fermenting.
Struggling to cope with solids and milk transformation.
Milk powder to warm, seen better results given slightly colder.
If anyone has answers to lamb bloat would love to here from you. It is devastating to get a lamb through the first tough stages to see it healthy then suddenly bloat on every feed. Mind you I have not seen it yet with fresh cows milk straight out of my cows.
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