It has been several years since I have raised a "bottle baby" . Princess Buttercup ( a registered Teeswater ewe), the last of the ewes to deliver, decided 2 days after delivering twins, that she was only going to care for one of them, her ewe lamb, & nothing was going to change her mind, including wearing an Elizabethan collar--also known as the cone of shame.
I tried this tactic to see if the wearing the "cone" would prevent her from smelling / seeing who she was feeding--she figured out that it was him & would not allow him to eat. I was able to collect some colostrum from Princess Buttercup & feed it to her ram lamb initially & then switched him over to formula.
He is getting 4 bottles a day & doing well. He is integrating better than I had hoped with the flock , grazing well, not yet interested in grain. I am only interacting with him at feeding times. My concern is that he will become too friendly & sure of himself & could become aggressive as a mature ram. His father & grandfather are very mild mannered & have never shown any aggression. Given his breeding & appearance, I feel that he will be a very handsome Teeswater ram. Another option is to raise him as a wether for his fiber.
He will be available for sale in July. Email Nancy nlcharron254@gmail.com for more information.
Comments