Are my ewes close to lambing?

[TheSwindler]

I bought three dorper / dorper cross ewes December 10. The previous owner said they had been in with rams for multiple cycles and separated them from the rams December 8. All have lambed before. All seem to be carrying low as opposed to wide the whole pregnancy, unless they will start getting wider now? Any guesses as to when they will lamb and with how many? I want those babies ASAP!

This is Lilith ~6 years old. She had a tiny udder when we got her that started growing about a month ago. She was sick back in December and I hope that didn't affect her pregnancy https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/sick-sheep.38837/

 

[TheSwindler]

Here's Imelda ~2-3 years old.

 

[promiseacres]

Watch for full tight udders and nipple that stand horizontal prior lambing. We no longer have sheep and not an expert but looks like they have a ways to go.

 

[TheSwindler]

This is Jemima. Her udder was flat when I got her and started growing about a month ago. I think she will go first.

 

[promiseacres]

She definitely looks closer.

 

[Sheepshape]

I'd guess at at least a couple of weeks, maybe more. Jemima looks closest.They don't look very wide or deep to my way of thinking.

Are you feeding them some supplements? The pasture looks rather poor and the period of maximum lamb growth is the last 6 weeks of their pregnancy. (Apologies if I'm 'teaching grandma to suck eggs).

Udders are SO variable. Some udder up a month before and others seem to only get much of an udder as they enter labour.

Keep us updated on their progress.

 

[TheSwindler]

Thanks for the estimates everyone. Guess I will be waiting longer!

The girls have access to the whole property and while they do roam they love being up here by the house. The rest of the land is not amazing pasture either but it is better than up here.

This is what they get per day. Please let me know if you think this is enough and the right stuff.

• Free grazing all day
• Loose minerals free choice
• About 2 cups of alfalfa/Timothy grass pellets split between the 3 of them
• One sheet of burmuda grass hay mixed with one sheet of alfalfa hay split between all 3 sheep
• The past few days I've been adding about 3 handfuls of 'cattle cubes' grain feed that the previous owner sent with them

Maybe I should start another thread.. but question about the alfalfa hay. Can it give the sheep bloat? Jemima has gotten too many of the alfalfa/Timothy pellets before and started throwing up green foam. Now I'm super scared to give them too many pellets at once or alfalfa hay by itself.

 

[TheSwindler]

Here's some photos of them laying down today. What do y'all think?

 

[Sheepshape]

Jemima is starting to 'fill out' and her body, and that of Imelda, looks in pretty decent condition. Lilith looks skinny (her spine can be seen as a ridge along her back).

I'm reluctant to advise on specific foods for feeding as we have different supplements and forage types over here and weather is cold, wet,and windy.....meaning calorie requirements are high. However, ewes in the 6 weeks before lambing need approximately twice her usual calorie intake.Food requirements remain high throughout lactation. As the expanding womb presses on the stomach she is less able to take large amounts of forage, so concentrates are needed to allow the lamb to grow whilst maintaining her body condition and prepare her for birth. Resistance to worms plummets as pregnancy advances as the ewe has to become tolerant of something which is genetically different from herself (the lamb) and not reject it like a graft. Most ewes need to be wormed at or just before lambing.

Just to indicate..... My girls are about a week from when their lambing is due to start. They have had Se/Co/B12 drench. Weather (as always!) cold, wet, windy. Ewes scanned, and those having singletons are separate from those having multiple lambs. All have access to pasture....pretty poor and not very nutritious at this time of year, but green(ish). They have ad-lib haylage or silage provided for them in large feeders. The haylage came from our own fields and is fairly nutritious. I start feeding concentrates to them 5-6 weeks before estimated birth date. The singletons get a half pound of ewe nuts (cereal/grain pellets with vitamins and minerals...18% protein) twice daily (1lb per day per ewe).They started off having a half pound daily for the first four weeks, then increased to twice daily. Those ewes carrying multiples get 1.5 pounds daily, again divided into two feeds....starting of with three quarters of a pound once a day for the first four weeks.

If (as we are expecting) there's a particularly cold snap, they may even need more food. If anyone gets ill (severe limp etc), I bring them into the sheep shed to monitor them and protect them from the worst of the weather and , hopefully,avoid twin lamb disease.

I hope this helps.

 

[TheSwindler]

I think Jemima and Imelda are getting swollen vulvas. Also have noticed Imelda's udder growing.