How old should you let a lamb out to pasture?

Question

How old should you let a lamb out to pasture?

Answer 1

It depends upon several factors.  With a good mother in a smaller pasture and a very small group of ewes and lambs, they can be not much more than newborn.  A large flock in a big pasture is asking for the little guy to get lost in the crowd or left behind.  The thing to keep in mind is that very young lambs need to first bond with momma, ewes with little guys need to be kept in smaller areas so they don't walk the little ones to death, as lambs get older you can keep combining groups to make larger mobs, distant pastures with ditches and streams are good places for little lambs to get lost in or drown.  Also consider predator potential.  A distant, rolling pasture with lots of tall grass and brush is great coyote cover.  A small, flat, more closely cropped pasture near the house is much safer.  Also set stock ewes with small lambs.  That means putting a certain number of animals in a pasture and leaving them there.  Rotation grazing is a great management tool but 100 ewes and lams rushing into a new paddock is a sure way to seperate ewes from lambs.  Also remember that it's easier for a ewe to find or keep track of one lamb than it is twins or triplets.

To more closely answer your question, with a smaller pasture, I'd look at putting ewes and lambs out when they're 1-2 weeks old depending upon the vigor of the lamb and weather.  Weak lambs may take another week.  Be sure to have shelter for the ewes because little lambs can become chilled very quickly in an all day, cold rain.

Answer 2

by holding it very gently and putting it down gently.

Answer 3

Open the gate