Ewe not wanting lambs to nurse

[mystang89]

Hello again! My ewe had twins on 5/10/18 and she's been feeding them great. They are in great shape. Yesterday my son came to me and told me she didn't really want them to feed off her. I kinda took that with a grain of salt and figured I'd wait to see for myself today.

I went out there today and my wife told me the same thing. That gave a bit more credence to it so I stayed out there with them in the field for a while. I never noticed them even wanting to try to eat off her but I figured that was mainly because they were too busy stuffy their face with grass. They are eating the pasture grasses all the time. Again, they were born just a month and a half ago.

I know that as the lambs age, the ewe will only let them eat for very short segments then move away. (At least that's what I've read.) They seem very young to be weaned though. I was going to wean them at around 3 month and that was only removing them at night but letting them at it during the day. Here are some pics of them and the full udder.

She is a dairy sheep, capable of producing a little less than a gal a day. I don't want her to start drying up since that is the reason I bought sheep. Should I milk her in the morning and night, (I already milk her at night) or would that take some from the lambs even though they aren't being allowed to really eat? Would they get enough during the day from her? Yesterday when I milked her she gave us double the amount she normally does which kind of proves she hasn't been letting her lambs feed.

 

[Mike CHS]

We wean at two months but we have weaned earlier depending on the size of the lambs. If you're worried about the lambs you can set up a creep feeder or secure the ewe so the lambs can nurse but they look healthy.

 

[Mini Horses]

I don't have sheep but, plenty of goats. When they get to this age and are big & healthy, my does will control their feeding -- both length & time of day. I suspect she is doing that. BUT if you want to milk her, start in! Otherwise, she will begin to slow production and then dry off...most will, anyway.

 

[mystang89]

Thanks everyone. Here I come milk!

 

[mystang89]

I just milked her and normally get 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup milk in the evening when I milk. From last night to just now I got over 3 cups of milk. My wife and I believe she's got a clogged duct. One side had always made more than the other but that sides teat was very hard and it pained Betsy for me to touch. Continues kicking. After I relieved the pressure she stopped kicking as much and the teat want near as hard. She even let the lambs nurse for a second afterwards. I will continue to milk until the clog let's up and then I'll play it by ear from there.

 

[Latestarter]

You might want to give that clogged teat a little extra loving care and attention for a few days... like 3-4 times (or more) a day to make sure it's not mastitis developing and that it stays clear and flowing. A sore teat will definitely make momma fend off those babies from nursing.

 

[mysunwolf]

This just happened with one of my dairy ewes, and I second what the other folks are saying.

 

[mystang89]

This just happened with one of my dairy ewes, and I second what the other folks are saying.

Do you milk 3-4 times a day and completely empty her or just till the pressure has been released?

 

[mysunwolf]

I don't do any of these things, though you probably should. I milked her out once good and gave her LA200 for the potential of mastitis and she is drying right up. But in her case, the milk was already salty and bitter, so I knew her clogged duct was getting bad.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

As suggested I would sure be milking both sides out all the way at least twice a day and more would be better. Most mastitis does remedy itself with frequent milkout. Problem is, impossible to determine which will and which won't until too late to do much good as fast treatment is key to recovery.

I have seen strep and e coli mastitis both kill in less than 24 hours. Staph forms encysted masses in udder and make relapses in future.

The antibiotic infusion will treat the bug causing mastitis. Banamine will help prevent scarring due to inflamatory process in udder.

Can you get a milk sample and get it cultured? That sounds too much like mastitis for my comfort. Always a good idea to get a sample for culture before you treat so you can use an effective treatment.

I would begin treatment with my best guess and have culture run. If it proved something that treatment I was using was not most effective, I could then switch to what was best. However if I did not get a sample before treatment, a grow out culture could not be done.