Its a great idea to freeze up one lambs worth of colostrum just to be on the safe side, ewes only produce Colostrum of the best quality for around the first 24 hours, but it does take three full days to bring in proper milk..
The kind shown above is in fact my cow Colostrum after its been chilled in the fridge, it was thicker I found then my sheep but its a great photo to show what I wanted.. See example of sheep itself further down the write up.
itself is a very thick rich dark yellow milk, you would never look at it and think regular milk. It has not only a amazing amount of goodies that the lambs need but can only accept in the first 24 hours but it also gives the lambs a dose of antibodics..
And not just any old from my mom antibodics.. o no!
Tailor made for your farm, your barn and your flock Antibodics, they say that the mom needs to be in the area of birthing a min of 14 days before giving birth to give the best protection, so do not move them from field a and shelter Z one day before lambing or you will get just a bit less protection.
The highest Quality Colosturm is from a older full grown female, while a young female will produce she as good at hitting the best high end note..
A ewe in very good shape will produce enough to feed at a min twins or triplets, but if you have a female in good shape that is older that has a single, its a great idea to act as the other twin and milk her out for saving for possible use in the future.
This amazing liquid gold can be used in a number of ways..
For a newborn lamb that lost its mom
For a third born lamb that its mom does not have enough of her own and you can give a little extra to help
But it can also be used for other critters or ourselves as a powerhouse of health.. I gave a portion of this mornings milking to both Mimi and Priss, the youngest and the oldest purrpots in the house.. and they both went crazy for it..
Remember it is considered ideal that lambs get their first nursing or feeding within the first 30 min of birth but they must have it no later then 18 hours after to have any effect at all..
Frozen colostrum should be thawed very slowly in a warm water bath. Do not use direct heat or this will destroy the antibodies within it
Do not use a microwave, its just to easy to overheat by a second or two and ruin it.
It is best to freeze colostrum in small amounts because once frozen colostrum is thawed, you only get to use it once, you can not freeze again. and as you are only feeding it in small portions, keep the frozen portion ideally the right portion for a single feeding of a lamb.
Frozen colostrum can be stored for up to 12 months but I never do that, I try and freezer for the birthing season and then I use it up afterwards if not needed, either for our own use, the critter use or in soap making.
a example of first milkings from a sheep ewe and a ewe on her ninth day of milking.
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Always good to be prepared! Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop!
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What experiences have you had with regular whole cow colostrum?
Have you heard anyone regenerate connective tissue, like ligament, tendon and fascia?
Hi, I have worked with cow but only to make beestling pudding or custard from it, I have no knowledge in regards to how it works in regards to connective tissue but I can say that I personally feel like it just boost my overall health by having it.