By Alani Janeke
Franchwa Batt and his wife, Chrismari van der Westhuizen-Batt, from the farm Uitspankolk in Boesmanland, launched a project in 2019 to feed orphaned lambs, assisting their fellow farmers during the drought. Today, they feed between 40 to 60 lambs from neighbouring farms twice daily.
“It began in 2019 when we took in Springbok lambs whose mothers were unable to care for them in the field due to the drought, and we nurtured them. After a few months, we released these lambs back onto the farm when they were strong enough. While feeding these lambs, we also started taking in sheep lambs from our fellow farmers when an ewe rejected her lamb or had died.”
The lambs were initially fed by hand, which created much work for the family and staff. Batt then began searching for solutions to ease the workload.
In 2022, he discovered an AD-Lib milk feeder from Wydale Plastics Limited at a farm in the Nieuwoudtville district. This feeder could accommodate 20 lambs simultaneously. Although he was interested in the milk feeder, he ultimately purchased two Wydale plastic milk troughs that could feed five lambs, owing to the cost.
The area received substantial and widespread rainfall during the 2021-22 season. After that, farmers managed to care for their orphaned lambs for a time, and only a few were taken to Batt’s farm. However, as 2023 drew to a close, more and more farmers began to utilise their “nursery school” again.
“One farmer lost over 100 ewes and sent about 40 orphaned lambs. Sometimes, we come to the camp where we keep the orphans at home and find another lamb there. Some farmers drop off lambs and inform us a few days later that it belongs to them.”
The news regarding the “lamb nursery school” spread rapidly among the farmers in the area, generating increasing interest. As a result, they are now caring for approximately 60 lambs each cycle.
How it works
Batt says they feed the lambs milk from their Saanen goats on the farm but must buy powdered milk when the goat’s milk isn’t enough. This is expensive. They previously had 38 milk goats but had to reduce the number to 20 due to drought pressure.
Most orphaned lambs stay on the farm for between two and three months. Some may stay up to six months if the lamb’s condition is poor. These lambs are fed milk longer before they start eating solid food.
“All we request from the farmers, depending on the number of lambs they bring, is a bag or two of A-grade lucerne or feed pellets for when their lambs begin to eat feed.”
According to Batt, an increasing number of farmers could not provide feed due to drought conditions. Consequently, they were compelled to cultivate a strip of green fodder—a blend of Sudan grass, sorghum, and sugar grass—on a small plot near the house. They meticulously managed the water consumption of this strip during the drought.
Sometimes, some lambs don’t transition easily from milk to feed. To make the transition easier, these lambs get ground mielies mixed with the green fodder mixture and Meester 20, a supplement that Molatek manufactures for pregnant ruminants.
Batt farms with Meatmaster sheep but welcomes orphaned lambs of any breed. “At the moment, we have everything from Dorpers to Angora lambs here.
Expansion
Batt, the chairman of the Loeriesfontein Farmers Union, dreams of expanding this project to include a shelter in the yard featuring an AD-Lib feeder equipped with teats that can hold 100 litres of milk at a time, which would allow large groups of lambs to suck when they become hungry during the day.
He says the milk feeder would make the process more natural, like how a lamb drinks from the ewe when thirsty.
Their current process sometimes leads to the lambs’ stomachs becoming upset or ill because they drink too quickly when fed twice daily. Nonetheless, given the financial pressures caused by the drought, this method remains the best option.
