Do you have any nifty ways of handling lambs at lambing or have you designed other ingenious ways of managing stock? Perhaps you have an inventive way of getting water to pens or an interesting way of warming up lambs....

Share your thoughts and ideas here and who knows, you may get some inspiration for this year's lambing season.

alyb:

an interesting way of warming up lambs

Has any one used a pig heat pad to put cold lambs on?  I haven't got one but think it could work well along with a heat lamp, always thought that heat in below would be v effective and less of a fire risk. 

one idea our scanner told me this year was, when adopting a lamb onto a single ewe, the tub buckets you can get in garden centers etc, fairly big flexible, colorful things with 2 handles at the top? think they are called tubtrugs in mole valley, when the ewe is about to push the lamb out put it under the lamb so it ends up in the tub also collecting the fluid, then put the adopting lamb into the tub to cover it in the birth fluid, a hair drier to dry a wet cold lamb has worked well for me

Hair drier is what I use on cold lambs, heats them up quick. Wet fostering - I wet the lamb in warm water then rub it in the fluid from sheep, also tie the lambs legs otherwise a clever sheep will know if it gets to its feet too quick. Also a gimmer that wont lick her lamb- shove her afterbirth in the side of her mouth makes her start eating it then she usually starts licking it. Also if you try everything and a sheep wont take her lamb, tie a dog near then pen so she can see it, 90% she'll take it then!

I talk/sing to let them know it's just me and no need to get up.  Especially useful after dark.  

To keep a ewe prone while you nip back for a jab or the lambing strings, wrap her head in your coat and she stays put as long as the sheep around her are calm.

BrownCow:

I talk/sing to let them know it's just me and no need to get up.  Especially useful after dark. 

I always leave the radio and a light on, then when you go out to check the sheep they don't all jump up when they hear a noise, or when someone turns the main lights on.

Phil Goodyear:

alyb:

an interesting way of warming up lambs

Has any one used a pig heat pad to put cold lambs on?  I haven't got one but think it could work well along with a heat lamp, always thought that heat in below would be v effective and less of a fire risk. 

Haven't used a heat pad but have used hot water bottles when I didn't have a spare heat lamp. It's safe and cheap!