We also have 3 lambs in sick bay, 2 lambs came to us very young, just hours old I think and were very weak, and despite having them for nearly 3 weeks now they are still not strong enough to fight their corner when it comes to drinking from the bottle. The other poorly lamb has pulled a ligament in one of its front legs and can only walk on 3 legs, very healthy & fit despite that but again cannot cope with the hustle & bustle of the rest of the lambs.
We have two sets of lambs, 5 are 2-3 weeks older than the others and this weekend they were taken down to the big field (albeit in a small-ish pen) where they will live until weaned when they will be let out to join the llamas. One of these 5 lambs is a bit smaller than the others and will stay with the younger lambs until it has put a bit of extra weight on.
The younger ones will stay in the old "goat" paddock and once weaned they will be able to join the bigger lambs.
I was amazed though at how much more civilised feeding time is now that they have been split up, and the older ones are no longer there to push the youngsters off their bottles because they can drink faster.
All in all a good move methinks.
If it stays civilised I may well let the 3 out of sickbay and join the others in the hope that it will aid their recovery but will keep a careful eye on jostling as the youngsters will need some protection to ensure that they get to have enough milk.
You can find out more about our smallholding at www.ashwoodllamas.co.uk
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