Stomach tubing my lamb

[herdcentral]

Hi everyone, thanks for the help with my lamb. He is still alive and I am force feeding him a mix of mothers and milk and formula via a syringe and my finger which he does latch on to. He still seems unable to suckle from his mother or a bottle. It is a very slow process.

 

I have found some new clear plastic tubing which came with my vaccination kit. I havent used it - it is about 5 mm or just under a 1/4 " in diameter on the inside edge. Is this suitable. It is about 2 ft in length.

 

Is it easy to get it in to lambs stomach - I am afraid about his airways. How do I go about doing this and how much can I feed into his stomach?

 

I have read that you mark off the length from the mouth to the last rib and this should be how far you insert.

 

Thanks.

[juliepoudrier]

Here's a link to instructions on tubing a lamb. Your tube sounds rather large. I just checked my feeding tube, and the end that attaches to the feeding syringe is 1/4 inch in diameter, but the part that goes into the lamb is about 1/8 inch. Also the end is closed off and rounded (with openings on the side to let the milk out), and I'd think that the edges of a regular tube might abrade on the way in. I do usually smear a bit of vegetable oil on the tube for ease of gliding in.

 

I doubt you'll be able to get more than maybe 60 cc (~ 2 oz.) in at one go. I managed to overflow the little lamb I described earlier.

 

Here's what tubes look like: stomach tubes. They attach to a special feeding syringe that has a longer, wider tip than a regular syringe.

 

Maybe Kim has some insight. I would be hesitant to use a tube not made specifically for the purpose of tubing a lamb, but perhaps any tube is better than starvation. That's a tough call.

 

J.

[kajarrel]

Not seeing the tube, I think I'd stick with your current method. The diameter sounds a little big and you don't want to risk perforating anything with a tube that's too stiff or not correctly designed. I've tubed scads of lambs over the years and only one has "gone in the wrong place." It was in a highly debilitated lamb who I should have given intraperontoneal glucose. So it's a pretty safe (but not failsafe) procedure. I give up to 3 - 4 ounces slowly at a time. A vet should have feeding tubes in stock (to use with other animals, if not lambs). Could your's mail one to you?

 

Kim

[herdcentral]

Thanks, I am planning to go into town tomorrow and will call in to the vet and see what they have. The lamb seems stronger today and was at least having a go and sucking on mums teat, although not very strongly and only for a short amount of time. I defintely cant trust he is getting much and will try and tube hime untill I am satisfied he is sucking strongly.

[kajarrel]

Sounds good. One thing I forgot to mention is that cold, undernourished lambs have a characteristic "hunched back" posture.

 

Assuming the ewe has adequate milk, it sounds like he's eventually transition away from the supplements.

 

During the transition, you'll need to bottle feed. I actually like this type of nipple better than any others I've tried for babies with a weak suck: http://reviews.tractorsupply.com/0519/226237399/controlled-flow-lamb-nipple-reviews/reviews.htm Not sure if it's available in Australia. . .

 

Kim

[herdcentral]

I went out this morning to milk the ewe and the lamb started to try and suckle, he had the teat in his mouth and I could hear him sucking. I decided not to milk the ewe, but maybe I should keep supplemting him for a while? I will check out his body posture, that may give me a clue. I was a bit unsure how to proceed as I have been milking the ewe to make up half what I have been feeding him and wasnt sure if this would put his sucking attempts in jeopardy.

 

I will look and see if that teat is available. Good to have all this on hand for next time and I still have one maiden ewe still to lamb.

[kajarrel]

This is the "art" of shepherding. You want him to get enough food so that he can suck but you don't want him to be fully satiated so he doesn't nurse. This is because the milk supply is somewhat related to demand - so the baby will need to suck to increase the ewe's milk supply. I like to error on the side of them being a little hungry (once they're warm and strong), assuming the ewe's milk supply isn't compromised. If you can't transition the lamb totally away from the bottle, you should consider culling the ewe. I've learned over time that doing this saves a lot of grief.

[gcv-border]

I have used the red rubber tubing and catheter syringe as indicated by the links in Julie's post. My vet refers to them as French tubes - just so you have another name to use if you need it.

 

Here are a couple of important points told to me by my vet --

 

When you are inserting the feeding tube, do NOT tip the head up. Keep the head in a normal position with relation to the neck. When you tip the head up, the trachea opens up which means that you are more likely to insert the tube into the lungs, rather than the stomach.

 

Two tips to know you are in the right place: Once the tube is in place, but before you attach the catheter syringe --- gently blow into the tube and you should feel air bubbles come out at the end of the tube AND - suck back on the tube; if you get air, you are in the lungs; if you feel a suction, you should be in the stomach.

 

Good Luck,

Jovi

[herdcentral]

Well I think I have a lot to learn with the art of shepherding. I gave him 250ml today and I observed him sucking on the udder although not with quite the same tail wiggling vigour of the other lambs. He does head butt the udder and I can hear him sucking but his tail doesnt move much.

 

I was thinking about culling the ewe. It is a shame that she has the nicest temperament of all my ewes so will see how she goes. I will keep and eye on the lamb looking hunched. I may do another milking tomorrow and give him another couple of hundered mls.

 

Interesting about the insertion of the stomach tube. I would most likely have kept the head up so good to know that the postion should be a more normal head position.

 

Thanks for all the help, it ha been most useful in helping me make decisions. I hope he pulls through and ends up as strong and sassy as my little 3 week old rejected ewe lamb has.