Sheep Chat Thread

[ladyrsanti]

Sorry, I've never bred a sheep so I can't help.

I hope to someday though so if anyone chimes in I will soak up the knowledge too.

 

[motherhen71185]

I would say with in the next couple days. but it is hard to tell. i have had some that looked like that for DAYS and i never thought they were going to lamb, i had others that bagged up last minute and had them quickly. sorry, i can be any more help. My one yearling ewe looked like that when we sheared her and lambed the next day. so i would keep an eye on her.

 

[RoyalT]

Rsleghornchicki- She doesn't look like she's carrying very deep at all. You're the one who's been around to see the changes. Has she bagged up in the last day? Have you palpated her abdomen to feel for lambs?

My three ewes are all bred, two Icelandic and one Shetland (so smaller). They're carrying a lot deeper than your ewe, and they should be due within the next month.

 

[TwinWillowAcres]

Just found this thread.

I have Montadale/Babydoll Southdown cross ewes and I bred them to a Texel last fall. I had a 200% lambing rate on my ewes (lambs were born in early March) and I have a ewe lamb due in about a month...a week before her first birthday, actually. I'm so excited to see what she has because I love the lamb her dam produced!

My Texel Ram


My 1/2 Texel x 1/4 Montadale x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown ewe lamb (triplet born to a 2006 ewe)


Her littermate, a ram lamb (the third one, a ewe, in the litter froze in the snow shortly after birth)


And my favorite one of all! 11.2 lbs at birth (single ewe), gained 5.8 lbs her first week, was 32.6 lbs at 30 days old. To top of her growth, she is veryyy muscular and has a WIDE, flat top and a beautiful long loin! She is 1/2 Texel x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale. My ewe lamb due to lamb in a month will produce this same cross.


And of course, I can't forget to post a photo of my ewes!
My 2006 ewe (1/2 Babydoll x 1/2 Montadale) with one of her newborn lambs (she had three)


My 2009 ewe (3/4 Babydoll x 1/4 Montadale) with her newborn lamb - yes she delivered that huge lamb all by herself!


And my two 2012 ewes (3/4 Babydoll x 1/4 Montadale) out of a twin sibling mating (dam is my 2009 ewe and their sire is their dam's twin, who I sold at auction back in August). Ewe on the far left is Lady Gaga, ewe in the center is Katy Perry (the bred ewe), and the lamb on the right is #13 at 27 days old!

 

[postalpoultry]

hello?

Hi,
Please don't feel you are being ignored! I have not been on this thread long but have figured out that sheep people don't get on here as much as chicken people do. I wish I could help you out but I haven't a clue. The last pregnant ewe I was that close to was probably 30 + yrs ago and I was maybe 8-10.
However, I have alot of other breeding stock and the swelling would say she is getting pretty close( keep in mind I didn't see her before)
Wish you the best and hope to see pics of your babies!

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

hello?

Hi there. I'm not going to claim to be an expert, but we do raise sheep for a living. From the picture of her backside I would guess that she could lamb any time between tomorrow and the next 3 weeks. Some first-timers will begin to show a long time before their due date, and sometimes it can seem like forever before they finally decide to lay down and lamb. We bought a set of hair ewes back in the beginning of March with a bred yearling in the bunch who looked ready to pop when she got off the truck, and yesterday she finally laid down and had a nice big Dorper cross lamb. As RoyalT said she doesn't look all that deep from the side so my guess is you have a nice size single lamb in there, but sheep are always full of surprises so twins aren't out of the question.

 

[rsleghornchicki]

thinks i just realized that chicken people do love their forums more than sheep people! lol i saw her baby kick out! it was only on the right side and her left side hasnt moved. the space infront of her hips has gotten shallow but her udder hasnt boomed yet. occasionly i will look and find a droplit of milk on the end of her udder. there is always creamy white stuff at the tip of her "lady parts" and she is always keeping her tail up. my little sister's ewe isnt due for another 2 weeks.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have sheep. I just found this thread.

 

[postalpoultry]

I have sheep. I just found this thread.

WOW looks like you also have a BEAUTIFUL Turkey!!

 

[ladyrsanti]

TwinWillowAcres, in my next life, I will have some Babydoll Southdowns, lol. How is the wool on the crosses? Similar? So many breeds, so little time.

Well, I sheared two of my sheep today, the ewes. I meant to do all three but the big guy (wether) was too strong for me by myself so I'll have to get a second set of hands to help wrangle him. I managed to trim his front hooves before he slipped away and I just didn't have the strength to catch him again.

Here's before and after shots. Please be kind, it's my first time shearing and with hand shears as well so they're kind of uneven. I thought they'd never come near me again afterwards but I just went out to give the chickens their afternoon treat and both came up looking for scratches, like nothing every happened. They're so cute and even funnier when they're standing up on their spindly little legs, I love it!