# Ewe rejecting twin



## moonkitten (Mar 4, 2005)

Last year I had 2 lambs rejected (both twins, both different ewes). So this year, first time ever, I set up jugs and had the ewes all penned up inside the barn instead of lambing out on pasture. Same ewe had twins last night, did a great job cleaning them, talking at them, standing them up. I stuck around to be sure both had nursed then went to bed. This morning the ewe is headbutting the 2nd lamb whenever she approaches. The first lamb still gets groomed and feeds, but the 2nd lamb is clearly being refused. I can hold the ewe to let the 2nd lamb drink, but eventually they need to go back out to pasture.

Is there any chance that a few days in the pen will change her mind or is this ewe just a one-lamb-at-a-time girl? I did try vanilla on the nose but no luck. She is still identifying and refusing the 2nd lamb any chance at the milk bar unless held against her will


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## yankeedoodle (Feb 28, 2018)

Once a ewe rejects a lamb, it is hard to fool her into accepting it. All meth-
ods fall into two major categories: the mental, or “brainwashing,” techniques,
in which you attempt to change their hardheaded opinion, or the physical, or
“fool-the-sense-of-smell,” method.
Encourage grafting in any way you can. There are a number of things to
try, such as:

Use fetal fluids from the ewe onto which the lamb is to be grafted (either
its mother or another ewe) and smear over the lamb; this is a tried-and-
true method of grafting.

Rub the lamb with a little water with molasses in it to encourage the
ewe to lick the lamb.

Use an “adoption coat” or “fostering coat” 
which is a cotton stockinette tubing applied like a lamb coat. When
stretched over an accepted lamb for a few hours, it will absorb the smell
and can then be turned inside out and stretched over the lamb you wish
to graft. (Shepherd’s tip: If you have a heavy-milking ewe with a single
lamb, slip a coat on her lamb to have a fostering coat ready to use if
needed.)

Daub the ewe’s nose and the lamb’s rear end with a strong scent-masking
agent made for this purpose or with a dab of petroleum jelly. Since the
ewe identifies the lamb primarily by smelling its rear end, sometimes
menthol, vanilla, or even an unscented room deodorant on her nose and
the lamb’s rear will suffice.

If it’s a case of the “new-mother jitters” or the ewe is high-strung and not
very tame, a tranquilizer can sometimes work wonders to calm her.

An old-timer’s method is to tie a dog near the pen. Its presence is sup-
posed to foster the mothering instinct. But sometimes this makes the
ewe so fierce that she will butt the lamb if she can’t reach the dog.

Another method, which is not actually as cruel as it sounds, is to flick
the tips of the ewe’s ears with a switch until she becomes so rattled that
she urinates from the stress. She may then accept the lamb.

Immerse both the lamb to be grafted on the ewe and the lamb she has
accepted in a saturated salt solution to even out the scent.


If all else fails in your grafting attempts, then it is time to get tough. One solu-
tion is to pen or tie the ewe in such a way that she cannot hurt the lamb and
it can nurse regularly in safety. You may need to tie her hind legs together
temporarily so she can’t keep moving and preventing the lamb from nursing.
Without the mother’s guidance and encouragement, you may need to help the
lamb nurse by holding the ewe and pushing the lamb to the right place.
If the ewe is a hard-core case, a ewe stanchion, which is designed to limit
the ewe’s movement but still allows her to lie down, get up, and eat, could be
necessary. A less elaborate one can be improvised in the corner of the lambing
pen. Make sure the ewe has room to lie down and has plenty of hay and water
in front of her. Use molasses in the water, as you would for any ewe that has
just lambed. It may take from 1 to 5 days before the ewe is resigned to accept-
ing the lamb.

A small pen with a headgate
can be used for grafting an orphan lamb onto a ewe or for
chores like crotching. While in the headgate, the ewe is free to lie down or stand up, and
to eat or drink from feed or water


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## crittermomma (Sep 26, 2013)

I had 2 ewes last year who rejected a lamb - I tied both of them up. My motto is - if you give birth to it - you should feed it. I did have one bottle baby this year - not due to momma rejecting it - it was one of a set of triplets - and she was too tiny to get up and nurse. I did take her out later and momma ran right over to her - but the lamb was already attached to me and would not nurse.


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## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

This has worked for me every time I've done it (3 times now):

Put a halter on the mom and clip her in a corner. She needs enough length to reach for and water, and to lay down. A healthy lamb is able to take advantage of the situation and nurse even if she's trying to scotch her butt away. I think she can't tell which one is trying to feed. Unclip her every day and see if she's still pushing it away. If so, back she goes to the clip. My worst case took a full 7 days off this before I could turn them out, but in each case they've been perfectly acceptable mothers.

When I've got a weak lamb I always tube feed to not interfere with the sucking instinct.

Best luck! This is frustrating.


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## fibrefarmer (Apr 24, 2018)

I know it's been a few weeks, but I'm curious how did it go with the lamb.

I had my first rejected lamb this spring. Smallest of twins, about the size of my hand. Mum was skittles and rejected it right away trying to stomp it (not paw at it like they sometimes do) and but it out of the jug. Usually, if I hold the ewe and give the lamb a good feed, they get over it, but not this one. 

As cute as she is, I don't really enjoy the extra work of having a bottle baby. Her lungs are still quite bad and the weather is cold at night, so she can't sleep with the flock yet. Having the hardest time teaching her she's a sheep.


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## moonkitten (Mar 4, 2005)

fibrefarmer said:


> I know it's been a few weeks, but I'm curious how did it go with the lamb.


The ewe never did accept the lamb, but she took to the bottle quite well and is doing just fine. I don't remove the bottle babies, I stick woolovers on them and leave them with the flock. The bottle babies know the sight and sound of me approaching with bottles so they come right up to the fence, stick their heads through and inhale the bottle. It only takes a few minutes and I don't mind the excuse to get outside and take a look at how everyone is doing. I'm *way* more relaxed with the bottles this year!


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