ORPHAN or surplus lambs are a fact of life during the lambing period. No matter how well you manage your flock during pregnancy, you will find the odd one or two ewes that suffer problems which frequently results in insufficient milk. There are also lambs from those ewes with multiple births.

In this article, I will discuss how these surplus lambs should be introduced to a well-organised rearing system, combining quality milk replacer and good husbandry. Such systems can save valuable time during one of your most intensive periods of the year. They also help to rear quality lambs that can be either returned to the flock as replacements or sold to leave a worthwhile margin.

Several rearing systems currently available, each of which requires a high level of hygiene for success. If you have enough space, a rotational housing system can be introduced. The method you choose will probably relate to the number of lambs you expect to rear artificially.

Bottle feeding: Allows for greater control over feeding but comes with a compromise of a higher labour requirement and restricted growth rates. Milk replacer consumer per lamb: 9kg to 10kg.

Cold ad-lib feeding: This system has a low set-up cost and requires less labour. Lambs will drink "little and often" resulting in fewer digestive upsets and faster growth rates. Milk replacer consumed per lamb: 11kg to 12kg.

Warm ad-lib feeding: Similar to the cold ad-lib feeding system and again lambs will benefit from drinking 'little and often'. However they will also benefit from the warm milk helping to minimise digestive upsets and also achieve the fastest growth rates. Milk replacer consumed per lamb: 12kg to 13kg.

Lambs should be weaned when they are:

  • At least two and a half times their birth weight
  • Minimum 35 days old
  • Eating 250g solid feed per day

    While your lambs are unlikely to reach all three of the above at the same time, it is important that the lambs are eating adequate solid feed to minimise post weaning checks that are often seen in artificially reared lambs.

We regard abrupt weaning as the best system. By adopting this weaning regime, you will reduce the risk of digestive upsets that occur during gradual weaning.

Case study - rearing surplus lambs
Alan and Jane Potter are finding much of the tedious, time consuming work has been removed from lambing since they swapped bottles and teats for the Volac Ewe 2 system supplying warm ad-lib Volac Lamlac ewe milk replacer. "We both have full time jobs away from our smallholding, however the feeder provides us with peace of mind that our surplus lambs can look after themselves while we are at work," Alan explains. "It is also helping us to save more than three hours a day bottle feeding over the two, six week block lambing periods, the busiest times of our year.

"In addition, shortly after weaning at six weeks we integrate the bucket reared lambs with those reared naturally on the ewe, and it is impossible to distinguish between the two sets of lambs, there is no difference in weight, their visual appearance or behaviour."

Alan, his wife, Jane, and their two sons farm pedigree flocks of Charollais and Texel at Oak Tree Farm, a 58-acre holding at Frodesley, near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire. Fourteen-year-old Christopher is also developing a flock of Zwartbles, while Edward, who is away studying at university, helps out during holidays. Alan works full time as a fieldsman for Shrewsbury Livestock Auctioneers, while Jane is the local school secretary.

"We always find that however well we manage our ewes, one or two don't have sufficient milk so we take a lamb away. Also with those ewes that have triplets, we take the third lamb away in order to offer it the best chance as well as to take the pressure off the ewe. However, it was these surplus lambs that were adding pressure to our lives," Alan says.

Three seasons ago, the Potters found the solution to surplus lamb rearing in the Ewe 2 ad lib feeder from Volac International. It comprises a milk container designed to sit outside the pen with the ability to rear up to 40 lambs on either warm or cold milk.

"We ensure every lamb receives sufficient colostrum in the first six hours, and they're introduced to the feeder after 24 hours," he explains. "The beauty about the system is it presents the lambs with the opportunity to drink as much or as little as they want to rather than a set volume of milk when we want to feed them. The lambs fall in to a little and often feeding routine which reduces the likelihood of bloating and other digestive upsets that occurred when bottle feeding."

The Potters spend about 15 minutes each day washing out the feeder and replenishing with Volac Lamlac, a milk replacer which they claim to be "superior" in terms of its mixing ability in either warm or cold water.

Alan adds: "We've found this system to be the nearest to rearing on the ewe, it leaves us both with more time to focus on other important tasks at lambing, and ultimately, rear the optimum number of good quality lambs".

  • Further detailed information on lamb management can be obtained from Volac International's Healthy Lambing Guide. Copies can be obtained, free of charge, by contacting Freephone 0800 919808 or visiting www.volac.com.