Key Technical Points for Lamb Care and Feeding Management
After a lamb is born, its body is weak, and it needs to be raised and carefully looked after. Feeding also requires close attention. If it is not cared for well, it is also very prone to disease. In severe cases, it may even die young. So next, the relevant methods for lamb care and feeding will be introduced. How can lambs be cared for properly, so that they grow up safely and well.
1. Birth Care
For a newborn lamb, use a clean towel to wipe the mucus off its body dry, cut the umbilical cord short, and then disinfect it with iodine tincture. After about half an hour, feed it mother's milk; if there is no mother's milk, feed it artificial milk powder, adding a small amount of salt, eggs and cod liver oil and feeding them together. Feed milk 5 times a day, each time about 2% of body weight. The indoor temperature should be kept at 20-plus degrees, keeping it warm, and it must not be allowed to get cold.
2. Feeding Management
After three weeks from birth, the ewe's milk production decreases, and feed can be given; at one week of age, the grass that the ewe has ruminated can be fed. Or feed some green hay; after two weeks, feed a formula feed, such as super soybeans, corn, wheat bran, salt and minerals. Feed five times a day and provide warm water. After one month, feed only three times a day, at fixed times and in fixed amounts. After three months, wean, and feed roughage every day, paired with other feed. In the week before weaning, feed 8 jin of green grass and 0.4 jin of concentrate feed as a transition feeding.
3. Increasing Immunity
Lambs are not strong in immunity and are prone to illness, so vaccines for various common diseases can be injected. Pay attention to the injection time, method of use, and the interval between multiple injections. Deworming must also be carried out; some sheep carry parasites directly from the mother's body. Then some vitamins and the like can be added to the feed to increase natural immunity a bit.
4. Later-stage Care
Keep the temperature at 20 to 24 degrees, and use an infrared lamp for heating. If a falsely dead lamb appears, that is, a suffocation situation, it is best to lift the lamb's legs, gently pat its chest, and after the fetal fluid flows out, there is no problem. After it becomes conscious, inject 0.5 ml of nikethamide to help with breathing. Not long after, it can return to normal; for some whose breathing has stopped, inject 2 ml of 10% calcium chloride.
The care and feeding work for lambs is rather meticulous and extensive, but it is also relatively important. So it is best to do these things carefully and prudently.