We are heading into our 24th year of lambing on the farm. Most of our ewes are lambing in April, but we have a few ewes that could lamb at any time. It is the perfect time to go through and check on our lambing supplies, and make sure we have what we need on hand.
Our must haves-some items are not needed for every circumstance, but they are included.
Umbilical Spray- We have upgraded from using a teat dipper, to dip the navels and went to a spray several years ago. Quick and not as messy.
Lamb Sling-This is used when the ewe has her lambs on pasture and we want to move the lamb and mother to another location. It cradles the lamb and you can carry the lamb at your side. The ewe will be able to keep track of her lamb and follow along. If there are two, we just carry the other one.
Towels- Towels come in handy when the weather is chilly and we want to help dry the lamb off so it doesn't lose too much body heat.
Nutri-Drench- A liquid supplement that can be used for weak newborns.
Selenium and Vitamin E Gel- A supplement.
Scale-Not necessary, but it is nice to be able to weigh the lambs at birth.
Syringe and Tube- You use this to tube feed a lamb that is weak and has no sucking reflex (which they do not have if they are too cold or weak) You place the tube, down the esophagus of the lamb, the tube is long enough to reach the lambs stomach. You attach the syringe and feed the lamb their mothers colostrum. This is a life saving skill and should be learned if you raise sheep or goats.
Elastrator and bands- These are used to dock lambs tails which is done at about a week old. It is also used to castrate Ram Lambs when they are a little older.
Syringes and Needles- We give a vaccine called CD/T when we dock the lambs tails. We use it to protect against Tetanus.
Nipples- We only need these when we have a bottle lamb and we usually only have one of those if the lamb is rejected by their mother. That doesn't happen too often,(thankfully) but we do, occasionally, have a bummer lamb, so we keep nipples on hand.
Disposable O.B Gloves and Gel- We use these when we have to assist in a birth.
We are all set for lambing 2021!
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