How to make yoghurtised milk
What is lamb bloat?
The act of yoghurtising milk has been around for a long time, as a proposed means to prevent bloat in lambs. Over the years recipes have changed, and our understanding of the condition has evolved. As such, we thought it a good idea to revise what we know, what it means, and how to effectively yoghurtise your milk.
First, we need to be on the same page about what we are trying to achieve. “Bloat” simply refers to a distended abdomen, and it’s important to understand that there are many potential causes of bloating. Ruminal atony (“indigestion”), milk rumenitis (“milk drinking”), obstructions and gut twists can all cause bloat, to name a few. But the cause people are generally referring to, when they think of an emergency bloat, is “abomasal bloat”.
Abomasal bloat is a condition where the abomasum (the baby’s stomach) fills with gas quickly, putting pressure on the heart and lungs, and killing the little one quickly (often within just a couple of hours of a big milk feed). This cause of bloat, and this one alone, is the condition that can be prevented by feeding yoghurtised milk. So what’s happening here, and what exactly IS yoghuritised milk?
What causes abomasal bloat?
Every time a lamb drinks milk, normal bacteria inside the stomach eat the lactose (the sugar source found in milk) and produce some gas with it. This is a normal process in every ruminant. The problem comes when the bacterial population gets out of control and digests too much lactose at once, producing a large amount of gas too quickly. Excessively large amounts of gas are produced when
excessively large milk feeds are given, relative to their body weight, and/or
a particularly nasty species of bacteria takes hold, damaging the stomach wall
Once the abomasum stretches from the gas, the muscle lining becomes floppy and struggles to contract back to its normal size again, resulting in an ironic chicken-and-egg-type spiral.
So what is yoghurtizing?
Yogurtizing milk is a process that removes all the lactose from the milk prior to feeding it to the lamb. Perhaps surprisingly, lambs seem to do absolutely fine on this somewhat ketogenic diet, and do not appear to have their growth or well being negatively affected in any way, compared to those fed a full lactose diet. By removing the lactose prior to feeding it to the lamb, we are effectively removing the food source for the bacteria.
How do you yoghurtise milk?
Start by making sure all your containers and utensils have been sterilised with boiling water. We don’t want to accidentally introduce any undesirable bacteria, which could spoil our batch of yoghurt.
Make up your milk as you normally would, to the correct ratios on the packet, according to your species. Note that calves and goat kids are at far less risk of
abomasal bloat than lambs, but are occasionally still fed yogurtized milk if owners are concerned. In this case, be sure to mix the milk to the concentration labelled for your specific species. Each brand is different, so follow your packets’ instructions for concentration.Add approximately 50g of unsweetened, acidophilus yoghurt per Litre of milk. Don’t be too concerned with the exact measurement of this, as it will differ slightly depending on how warm the environment is that you store it in, what brand of milk powder you use, and what brand of yoghurt you use.
Seal the container and set it aside in a warm environment at approximately 40°C. A hot water cupboard often works well. This warmth will allow the acidophilus bacteria to flourish, eating up all the lactose in the milk and producing all the gas they’d like, in the safety of the hot water cupboard. Beware, the gas produced will distend the container somewhat- be sure to monitor and crack the lid to release the gas.
Leave to yoghurtise from 12-48 hours. The time frame recommended differs depending on your lamb. If the lamb is fasting and only recieving electrolytes while waiting for the batch to brew, start feeding it at 12 hours to avoid starvation, but be sure to keep feeds very small in volume. If left for 48 hours there will be no lactose left, but the yoghurt will be very thick and sour. 24 hours is often found to be a happy medium.
Remove and take 50g of yoghourt off the top and set aside as starter for your next batch.
Mix well with a sterilised egg beater to mix all the clumps through. You may add a little more water if you need to to help thick yoghurt flow, but be sure to adjust the total amount fed to account for this (add another feed during the day to make sure the lamb receives its total daily allowance).
Feed the yoghurtised milk at the same volumes you normally would. This ensures he will get all he needs. Be sure to feed according to the individual, by calculating 10-15% of his bodyweight. Reweigh your lamb and adjust weekly for the first 6 weeks of life, then hold the volume steady until weaning.
FAQ
Why are the recipes different online?
Recipes may differ online because there are different leading brands in different areas and different countries. This is why it is never a good idea to follow an exact recipe of grams per L water, unless you’re sure you’re using the same brand as the recipe. Mix it according to the label concentration. To be fair, some recipes out there have been copied and repeated for so many decades, I’m not sure there’s any real grounding to them whatsoever, and they require updating!
Once my milk is yoghurtised, how do I feed and store it? Does it need to be cold?
Feeding milk cold is sometimes done by farmers, usually when feeding a number of lambs. The idea is that it slows them down and prevents them from “bingeing”, gulping air in the process and having milk accidentally overflow into the rumen (a different stomach chamber that has no business having milk in it). Another idea that floats around is that feeding cold stops the bacteria from thriving and producing gas inside the lamb. It is the authors opinion that it is best to store the yoghurt chilled, but warm to a baby bottle temperature prior to feeding. This is because 1. the lactose has been mostly, if not all removed, so producing gas should not be a problem any more; 2. the warmth of the milk is a key trigger in the proper functioning of the oesophageal groove (a mechanism in the lamb that diverts the milk where it needs to go); 3. The lambs body will warm the milk on the inside anyway, reasonably quickly, and 4. For many lambs we are already trying to encourage them onto a new diet (milk to yogurt) so let’s not make it harder than it needs to be.
Can I just use an esio-yoghurt maker?
Yes absolutely, please do! These yoghurt makers simply keep the batch at a steady warmth, so is perfect for what we need.
Surely removing the lactose means no sugar for the lamb, so aren’t we making it nutritionally deficient?
No, it doesn’t seem to. Yes, we remove the lactose, but remember it’s being eaten by bacteria and converted to other things. Energy is simply changing forms. Lambs do not seem to differ on the diet, compared with their sugar-fed counterparts.
My lamb was fed this but still got bloated!
Remember there are many different causes of “bloat”- which simply means a distended abdomen. Oftentimes the lamb is diagnosed as “bloat” without an ultrasound to detect the true issue. Yoguritising milk is just one tool in the tool box!
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