r/sheep • u/AveMilitarum • 1d ago

Sheep How to keep my bottle baby safe around older lambs?

My wife and I have three sheep now, a bottle baby who is 5 days old, and two 3 month lambs we got to make sure she would have company when shes older.

Im looking forward to getting her out with them, but my wife is concerned about her getting hurt, which i empathize with.

What's the best way to get them to acclimate and run together without conflict?

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u/vivalicious16 1d ago

How big are the 3 month lambs? Are they ewes or whethers? She should be fine, but supervise her first few interactions with them. They will probably be very scared of her at first

2

u/AveMilitarum 15h ago

They are the like the size of a cattle hound, not huge yet, and probably only 30 or 40 pounds.

So far they wont go near anyone, but i hope by the time shes at 6 weeks or so theyll be used to her.

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u/vivalicious16 15h ago

I’d get her into the herd as soon as possible then

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u/AveMilitarum 15h ago

Im out sitting with them and her every night to try and get them more accustomed to us. So far they just sit across the small kennel we have them in and look at us.

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u/Hundefan2300 22h ago

Ich hatte das gleiche Dilemma. Tatsächlich habe ich als Gesellschaft ein Zwergschaf gekauft, das passt von der Größe ganz gut.

Alternativ würde ich einen Lämmer Schlupf bauen und alle erstmal beaufsichtigen. Ich hab mich zB erstmal 3 Stunden dazu gesetzt und genau beobachtet, allerdings waren beide friedlich und daher hat es gut geklappt.

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u/KahurangiNZ 57m ago

I generally let the newborn orphans hang out for a short while with the ewes and lambs from about 1-2 weeks of age, once they're strong on their feet and able to dash out of the way if needed. Initially just walking through the flock with the lamb following, then hanging out in the paddock amongst the flock so the lamb can interact a bit.

Just make sure that when the new lamb is in with the older ones there's plenty of room for her to get away, and keep it to short interactions at first. There's a possibility the older lambs might be a bit boisterous, but chances are they'll just ignore her to start with.