Raising Quadruplet Lambs

Our bundle of Gotland quads have reached day 24 and are growing strong! In raising quadruplet lambs, we have all learned a few quadruplet survival skills along the way:

1. Mum needs proper nutrition to feed quadruplets! We have been supplementing Kamila’s diet ever since the quads were born. She gets extra grain and fermented alfalfa to sustain her and the lambs. Kamila lets us know when she needs more to eat. She makes it pretty clear if she is not getting enough.
2. Giving mum free choice, good quality hay all night long has made a huge difference in her nutrition and disposition. At night, we put her in a stall with her quads all by herself where she has free choice food all night long. This also makes it easier in the morning to give her grain without the competition of all the other mums.
3. Nursing from behind is a great skill to teach the quad lambs! Magnus, on his own, learned that if he nurses from behind, he can nurse quite easily the entire time mum is eating her hay. The only downside to this is that his head stays pretty dirty from constantly being on her backside. He has also learned that he can sometimes steal milk from other mum’s from behind as well.
4. Though our instincts are to supplement the smallest lamb with a bottle, we have actually found that it is the largest lambs that need the extra milk and the smallest lamb that needs mum the most. Magnus, our smallest quad, has essentially quit taking the bottle, but his big sisters gladly drink from it. This tells me that Magnus is getting enough milk from mum. I have observed that he nurses far more than any of the other quads.
5. Magnus needed to conserve his energy when he was first born. He needed every ounce of his milk to go into nourishing himself. He did not begin to bounce and play with the other lambs until he had reached what was considered normal birth weight. Now he can expend that extra energy and run and play with the other lambs.
6. The quads really look after one another. Though we may be tempted to bring that smallest quad into our house, I found that Magnus really had all the warmth and love he needed right in the barn. He has a sister who, from day one, has looked after him. In those early days, when he was not as active and stayed under the heat lamp much of the time, his sister was always right there with him. The two would cuddle up together to stay warm and provide company for one another.

Magnus Update

Magnus has now passed the normal birth weight and has gained about 6 pounds since birth! That just amazes me! Though he is still the smallest in the barnyard, he has made tremendous gains! We are so proud of his mum, Kamila. As a first time mum, she has done a fantastic job of raising her little flock of lambs!

We already have a shepherd anxiously waiting for Magnus to come join her farm!