For a Safe Lambing Season, Make a ‘Lambulance’

By Emilie Ritter Saunders, NCAT Communications Director

During lambing, sometimes even healthy and productive ewes can create a challenge for shepherds determined to get everyone to safety. That’s why National Center for Appropriate Technology Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole recommends making your own lamb ambulance or ‘lambulance’ before lambing.

Carrying several slimy newborn lambs at once to a mothering pen while getting a skittish ewe to follow can be a logistical challenge. Poole says when a friend saw a video of moving baby lambs in a milk crate on wheels, she raided the scrap pile and assembled her own version.

As you can see, Poole’s lambulance is roomy enough for quadruplets yet narrow enough to fit through gates in a crowded lambing barn. Something about the contraption turns new mothers into lambulance chasers, sticking with their babies like glue while the lambs get a comfy ride to the barn.

After all, it’s all about getting a crop of healthy lambs on the ground with a minimum of stress to everyone involved, including the shepherd.

Read more about Poole’s lambing season hacks in her blog post, 5 Lambing Hacks for a Successful Season.

This blog and the accompanying video are produced by the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program, under a cooperative agreement with USDA Rural Development. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.