I just wanted to pass this on to everyone who uses heat lamps in the barn.Our vet told us this trick after having a client lose their barn to a fire,they lost all their livestock. Get a smoke detector and a baby monitor. Hang the detector and put the baby monitor under it,if the detector goes off you will beable to hear it in you house. We keep the receiving end in our bedroom at night.The baby monitors can be bought real cheap at second hand stores,even new they are not to expensive. Just thought I would pass this along. Be safe

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), December 17, 2000

Answers

We don't even use heat lamps after one of our ewes got scorched one year. This is what we do for our lambs: I put wool lamb sweaters on the newborns. They are just cut off sleeves from discarded wool sweaters that I get from friends and at rummage sales. Must be wool as they are warm even if wet. In between lambs I toss them in the washer and dryer, and if they felt up or shrink they are even better. Its kind of neat having a barn full of red, blue, green ,etc. lambs running around. We use a baby monitor too to cut down on the night trips to the barn and I know right away when one is on the way. Another thing I have tried is to give the ewes their grain and most of the hay late morning...just a little hay at night. Now most of the lambs are born between 6 AM and Noon. ....when the rumen is the emptiest.I have read several articles on this and think it really does work to cut down on middle of the night births. But this is a whole 'nother subject. What animals do you use your heat lamps for? Kate in N.Y.

-- kate henderson (Kate@sheepyvalley.com), December 17, 2000.

We use heat lamps for goat kidds and pigs. we wont have a litter this year but on really cold nights our potbelly likes the heat lamp,wonder if she would wear a sweater? sounds like a good idea!

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), December 17, 2000.

When I was a youngster growing up in New England we almost lost a barn from a heat lamp, I came home from school and saw smoke coming from the barn, we had some orphaned piglets in a large wood box and the heat lamp had dropped some and the wood shavings were smoldering. 6 piglets were already dead the remaing 2 I brougt outside and preformed CPR on them I was only able to save ! the other 1 died a few hours later. Mom and Dad said I was a hero for saving te barn and one piglet. I am not sure if the pig apprecated it though because a few months later we put him in the freezer.

-- Mark in NC Fla (deadgoatman@webtv.net), December 17, 2000.

Kate, I would like to know more about putting the sleeves on the lambs -- do you just slide the tube onto the main part of the body, or do you cut out leg holes? What about the cuff, do you cut it off or does it end up as the turtleneck? How do you keep them on the lambs -- do they fit tightly enough, or do you have to do something else. I know people who have used sweatshirts on newborn foals -- sometimes making alterations with duct tape.

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), December 18, 2000.

No I don't cut any holes for legs, just a tube shape. I usually cut the cuff off as well, only using the main sleeve part as the cuff can be too snug. They don't unravel. With childrens and adult sweaters I have a variety of widths and lengths. Our lambs can range in size from 4 to 16 pounds. I just turn a cuff for shorter ones ( and the little rams so they don't get them all wet from urine) They stay on fine without any tape, etc. Just be absolutely sure to wash inbetween lambs as the ewe will reject any lamb that has an odor of a different lamb. I have also sucessfully used the sweaters to help a stubborn ewe accept one of her twins. Put the sweaters on both lambs and than after a few hours, switch. She usually will accept both. Sometimes sheep can be so exasperating as new mothers! I can get these sweaters usually at rummage sales at the end for a $1.00 bag.

-- kate Henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), December 20, 2000.