Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Once dry and fed, lambs can withstand quite low temperatures, but due to
a large ratio of skin area to body weight, wet or hungry lambs can chill quite
quickly. A hypothermic lamb will appear stiff and be unable to rise. Its tongue
and mouth will feel cold to the touch. You must warm it immediately with an
outside heat source, because it has lost its ability to control its temperature.
Wrapping it in a towel or blanket will not suffi ce.
There are several methods of warming lambs. Water warming is probably
the best choice for very cold lambs, with air warming a close runner-up. Some
people use infrared lamps, but these are probably the least desirable method
because they can seriously burn the lamb and can cause fi res if used in the
lambing shed. If you plan to lamb in winter, consider buying or building a
lamb-warming box. But if you'll normally lamb in the spring, then you can
probably get away with bringing the occasional cold lamb into the house.
Warm it in a big cardboard box — or do like we did, and pick up an old playpen
(yeah, you remember those prisons we were subjected to as toddlers) at a fl ea
market. Your box or playpen can be set near a woodstove or a heat vent or in
front of the oven (with the door open) to warm the air and the lamb. A blow
dryer also helps, but again, be careful not to burn the lamb.
lid
side vents
30"
15"
This warming box can be made fairly inexpensively and can mean the difference between
life and death for a chilled lamb. Side vents can be opened or closed to control the
temperature generated by a portable heater set up at the hole in the front. The lid has
one side that's hinged to open and a piece of plastic on the other side for easy viewing.
