We are in Australia. We have a ewe that is lambing for the second time. The first time she had twins, one of which died from not feeding - the other has grown up fit and healthy.

This year, the ewe has only one lamb but the lamb is not feeding. It tries to push against the udder but quickly loses interest such that we have had to feed it ourselves.

I doubt it has even had any colustrum as the teat is dry and we have been unable to milk it. Instead, we have been using cow colustrum - not ideal but the only thing in the circumstances.

The udder seems full, is warm but the teat is small with no hint of milk. The udder also seems to have a darker skin colour to it than I would think is normal although this ewe does have dark pigments.

We would appreciate your thoughts....

-- Brad Reynolds (bjnr@ozemail.com.au), April 15, 2002

Answers

Did she pass her after birth? Is she running a fever? The cow colostrum is as you say better than none! Sounds like she might have mastitis, OPP is doubtful on such a young ewe but could be. If she were mine I'd sit her on her rump and send some time trying to work out anything from her udder. A milk letdown dose of oxytocin might help. There can be a waxy plug blocking the milk tube or she could be scarred from a previous bout of mastitis. If she's running a fever I'd use some PenG too. There's a start, but redouble the hand milking even a few more times before you get too far into needling her, and filling her with antibiotics.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), April 15, 2002.

I have had OPP, the ewe was 4 years olds and had delivered sets of twins each year, on her fourth year no milk with triplets~~ Her bag was looked normal, the lambs were nursing all the time but no milk. I check when lambs are born for milk now. I lost 2 of the triplets because I assumed seeing them all nurse and knowing she had raised many before (she was a good mom). There is nothing you can do for OPP but cull, now for mastitis you can get help. Hope it is the later. I raised the last one on lamb milk replacer and it was too expensive. I really lost on that baby! but couldn't just let it die and I am not the killer personality.

-- debbie (tdwolcott@cwis.com), April 16, 2002.