Lamb warming box, what type of thermometer?

johngalway

Hi folks,

Will be lambing here in March, I'm going to make a lamb warming box just in case of hypothermia cases if we have a reoccurance of the cold weather.

Got everything pretty much sorted out, it's not a hard job. Come up against one question though. The box needs to be kept within a certain temp range, I'm thinking a thermometer that will read a high/low temp like one in a green house is the way to go?

Anyone got experience with these please? Prefer not to get guesses in this case, no offense, but I don't want to cook the poor bugger either.

ATB,

John

Username John

johngalway wrote: »

Hi folks,

Will be lambing here in March, I'm going to make a lamb warming box just in case of hypothermia cases if we have a reoccurance of the cold weather.

Got everything pretty much sorted out, it's not a hard job. Come up against one question though. The box needs to be kept within a certain temp range, I'm thinking a thermometer that will read a high/low temp like one in a green house is the way to go?

Anyone got experience with these please? Prefer not to get guesses in this case, no offense, but I don't want to cook the poor bugger either.

ATB,

John

Hello John,

At home, we just have an infra red bulb in one pen - and we move the sheep & lambs in there if a lamb is poorly. We just guess the temp by placing our hands where the lamb lies to make sure its comfortable, but not too warm. Not too scientific, so no help at all to you - in fact exactly what you didn't want to hear

But - reason I posted was, I would be interested in seeing what you have made - any chance you could stick up a few pics?

Thanks.

johngalway

Hi John,

I haven't made anything as yet. I'm still trying to figure the temperature regulation with some help on other forums. Until I get that worked out in my head there's not much point building anything.

I'm planning on getting an infra red bulb too, for after care coming out of the warming box.

Got the idea from a great DVD "Lamb Survival" by David C. Henderson. I got a few bits of good information from it. I know from lambs that died in the past that now I could save those same lambs, because I was doing things wrong.

If you do a Google image search for "Lamb warming box" there are plenty of photos. I'll post up my own when I get it finished too.

chickenfarmer

Hi John, We use MAX/MIN ones in the poulty house for rearing. They give a very good indication of the ranges been experienced. I have tried 2 types, digital and mercury. Tend to swing back to Mercury purely for the minimum managment required to keep them working and the fact that powerwashing doesn't destroy them. We would be lost during rearing without one.

snowman707

we never use any thing but a red lamp and half a plastic barrel , our lambing pens are in row we have a steel pipe about 7' over as a water supply , the lamp can be suspended from the pipe at any point, barrel in lamp on in a matter of seconds ewe can still see the lamb and no problem of mismothering

using the the lamp without the barrel only causes a flow of cold air at ground level exactly where the lamb is lying

westwicklow

snowman707 wrote: »

using the the lamp without the barrel only causes a flow of cold air at ground level exactly where the lamb is lying

Good thinking.... Thank you.

Red_Marauder

I grew up in a farm where we use an old Rayburn oven in the kitchen for the very hypothermic lambs... tried and tested and rarely lost a lamb that could have been saved!

Ah the smell of lamb in the oven!