[Ross]

Congrats Mouse! A sure fire way to tell if the lambs are getting enough milk is to put your finger in their mouth and feel if is warm. A good secondary indicator is a black tarry stool followed by a yellow feces. This means they have nursed colostrum. The heat lamp shouldn't be required (I hardly use them at all) if they are dry and eating. I prefer jackets for really cold weather to lamps. Anything below 20 degrees (trying to remember farenheight!) and even then its a rare use kind of thing. Cold lambs will stand hunchbacked head down and may even drool somewhat. You'll know instantly if you feel their mouths, or you can take a temperature. I cut the grain for the first 24 hrs to half what the ewe was getting to reduce the odds of her getting acidosis. I also give new borns injections of Vitamin AD and E selenium. (Our area is selenium deficiant, your lambs may not need this)

 

[Ross]

If you're worried about the cold plug in the light. A quick jacket is easily made from an old felt blanket or even a thick towel. Cut a peice that when folded comes down past their chest and is long enough to cover them from, past their back leg to past their front legs. Cut slits in the blanket big enough to thread the legs through and tie or sew the front closed leaving enough room for the neck. I've heard of using plastic bags but I think they'd capture moisture and chill the lambs. I know I froze in my old rubberized rain coat in fall!

I have 200 ewes so I like to keep my finished work seperate from my work to be done. Some ewes will steal lambs some will butt them, I'm sure they can be reintroduced with care but I don't generally do this.