East fresian ewe pregnant?

[halfacrehomesteader]

I was so excited for this lambing season because last year I bought an east fresian for the yummy milk. Well I ran her and my 2 katahdin ewes with a ram for 4 months and last week was the first possible week for lambs. Only one of the ewes though has signs of pregnancy. I'm trying not to get too bummed because I know it's too early to count the other 2 out yet but I can't help but wonder what the odds are for them to not be. It would be rare to run a ram with 3 ewes for 4 months and only have 1 lamb right? This will be the east fresians first time lambing if she is pregnant but the other one had a lamb last year so I know she is capable. She at least looks like she could possibly be pregnant by the size of her stomach on the right but she has no udder development. The east fresian though she's no signs at all . Is it common for them to show no signs the first go?I know it can happen I was just curious how often it's the case.

 

[Baymule]

Take a deep breath...... you have possibly 4 months to go. If she bred on the last month, then she is only one month bred. THAT will make you go crazy! Realistically, she could be several months bred and it is just too soon for her to show signs. Her belly should get bigger. Her udder may get bigger anywhere from 3 weeks from delivery to the day of delivery. If you see any signs of development, you can post pictures for us to see. Take a picture now so we have it to compare to.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Take a deep breath...... you have possibly 4 months to go. If she bred on the last month, then she is only one month bred. THAT will make you go crazy! Realistically, she could be several months bred and it is just too soon for her to show signs. Her belly should get bigger. Her udder may get bigger anywhere from 3 weeks from delivery to the day of delivery. If you see any signs of development, you can post pictures for us to see. Take a picture now so we have it to compare to.

Thanks. I will take a pic tomorrow if I remember. I'm embarrassed to take a picture of her after the bad buzz cut I gave her . I'm a hairdresser but I think I will stick to humans. I was so bummed out when I started to notice it was coming up on time for lambs and 2 of the 3 that were in with him don't show any of the sure tells.

 

[farmerjan]

Sheep carry 5 months . So you have until 5 months after you separated them from the ram.... you take from the first possible date they could lamb..... to the the LAST possible date they could be due to expect lambs.
As @Baymule said... they could be barely a month bred...
Sheep are generally what we call "photo estrous"... meaning that they usually do not breed until the days start getting shorter and cooler... it is nature's way of getting them to breed to have lambs in the springtime so they will have the best chance of survival... warmer temps and better grass/grazing for nutrition. There are breeds that will breed all year but even they will tend to be grouped more...
Can you put your general location in your avatar??? Go to your name top right, down to account details, down to location, and put in a state or area... it will show up in your avatar everytime you post... this helps as things like breeding seasons and types of grass/hay are more determined by area.... some times it will explain some things that happen in Texas, as opposed to say Maine or California.

 

[Mini Horses]

Above all true....so we're waiting with you for cute lamb pics whenever it happens. And, then a report on the milk -- which is why you bought the Fresian, right ? (Yeah, right -- sorta. A good reason to add more sheep )

What? As a hair dresser you expected sheep cuts easy??

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Above all true....so we're waiting with you for cute lamb pics whenever it happens. And, then a report on the milk -- which is why you bought the Fresian, right ? (Yeah, right -- sorta. A good reason to add more sheep )

What? As a hair dresser you expected sheep cuts easy??

I knew it wouldn't be easy but was hoping it wouldn't reflect on my ability to cut human hair . Definitely bought the fresian for milk. I milked my katahdins last year so I could get an idea if I would even be interested in it and I enjoyed milking them and the taste of the milk so I decided it would be a good investment.

Thanks. I will take a pic tomorrow if I remember. I'm embarrassed to take a picture of her after the bad buzz cut I gave her . I'm a hairdresser but I think I will stick to humans. I was so bummed out when I started to notice it was coming up on time for lambs and 2 of the 3 that were in with him don't show any of the sure tells.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

I knew it wouldn't be easy but was hoping it wouldn't reflect on my ability to cut human hair . Definitely bought the fresian for milk. I milked my katahdins last year so I could get an idea if I would even be interested in it and I enjoyed milking them and the taste of the milk so I decided it would be a good investment.

The tan one is definitely pregnant because she has bagged up. The white one seems like maybe but the tri colored one is my east fresian and she doesn't look to be at all.

 

[Mini Horses]

Time will tell...kid or not. I've never had sheep milk but supposedly richer than goat Cheese use for sure! And some of the kathadans I've seen have great looking udders. I'd sure milk one!

Here it's primarily Saanen goats for milk. Good stuff & heavy producers. Had some half nubs, also good milkers. I adore my milk girls. Have several Boer also and if I don't start using an occasional one to butcher, not sure how long I'll keep them going. Not a "huge" for meat market area here. But they do convert forage to meat without excess grains, unlike the strict dairy girls. I've milked a couple of them & the milk is very rich -- produced for heavy kid feeding, only a short lactation compared to dairy. 2026 might be a butcher year.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Take a deep breath...... you have possibly 4 months to go. If she bred on the last month, then she is only one month bred. THAT will make you go crazy! Realistically, she could be several months bred and it is just too soon for her to show signs. Her belly should get bigger. Her udder may get bigger anywhere from 3 weeks from delivery to the day of delivery. If you see any signs of development, you can post pictures for us to see. Take a picture now so we have it to compare to.

 

[Baymule]

Now there are reference pictures!