Hand Raising Orphan lambs

I have hand raised orphan lambs for the past 6 years now.

I go with the theory of keeping feeding schedules as close to how they feed naturally from their mums in a normal situation, which is little and often.

Based on this I have successfully raised very healthy happy lambs with no issues.

My lambs are fed 150ml of powdered colostrum 6 times a day for the first 24 hours and then a colostrum/milk powder mix 6 times a day for a further 3 days and then milk powder on it's own 6 times a day until day 7

From there I feed 200ml of milk 5 times a day.

While I have been prepared to feed my lambs during the night none have woken crying. They sleep in a large crate in the house (nappies off) and dry bed for comfort and to keep their bed dry. The last feed at night is given at 11pm. Some seasons I feed again starting at 8am. But anytime from 7am.

From day 4 I offer them Lamb start mix. They usually start nibbling on it from about day 6 and spit out what they don't swallow. They have fresh water on offer from day 1.

Because of the unpredictable spring weather the orphan lambs have been raised inside wearing nappy pants with a tail hole cut during the day for the first 6 weeks. They go outside with me or into a pen on the lawn (nappies off), if it's nice and sunny during the day.

From 6 weeks they sleep in the implement shed at night, with a warm sheltered bed and straw. Still having some visits inside during the day (if the nappy pants still fit).

I usually feed 5 times a day from one week till seven weeks of age and then go to 250ml, 4 times a day (between 8am and 10pm) until approx 10-12 weeks old at which stage I go to 250ml 3 times a day. Weaning completely depends on the lambs weight and how it is doing, it's between 14 and 22 weeks of age. At this point they are in the paddock full time and are eating Lamb Performance Pallets as well as grass & hay. They are all very well grown.

I vaccinate with Ultravac 7 in 1 vaccine at 4 and 8 weeks of age. Because my lambs are Wiltshires they are not docked.

With the exception of one of our orphans the others have been a similar weight, hence feeding the amount stated (in the first 7 days). But the general rule of thumb is to feed 15% of their total body weight, lambs grow fast so it's important to weigh them every few days.

2020 we fed a whey based lamb milk replacer to avoid bloat.

While everyone does things slightly differently, I highly recommend feeding little and often if you can for the best result :-)