How soon after giving birth can ewes be mated again?

[soarwitheagles]

Hi again everyone!

Noticed some of my rams slamming ewes daily 1-2 months after the ewes gave birth. These ewes are still milk feeding their 1-2 month old lambs...isn't this a bit early, or, is it normal for sheep?

How soon after giving birth can ewes be mated again?

Thanks,

Soar

 

[norseofcourse]

I think it varies by breed. Some like mine are seasonal breeders, and after having their lambs won't come back into season until about October (so they won't stand for the ram).

Some breeds will come into season year round, or nearly so. That's why some management systems will have 3 lamb crops in 2 years. But it's a lot of stress on the sheep's system, and takes close watching to make sure the ewes stay in good condition, with all the extra demands on their bodies. You may also need different facilities if you're going to be lambing when/where it's extra hot or extra cold ('you' being the universal 'you', not necessarily you in particular).

It may shorten a ewe's productive life. Since mine are seasonal breeders, I haven't done a lot of studying of accelerated lambing systems.

Edited to add: Just because they can, doesn't mean they should. You have to decide what works best for you and your sheep.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Thank you NOC for your pleasant reply. Most of our sheep are the American Blackbelly, and, they are one of the breeds that do give birth 3 times every two years [once every 8 months I believe]. Our Dorpers do the same as well.

I think the present flock we have was not fed very good before they came here. Therefore, most ewes did not give birth during the late summer after having their January/February lambs. We did have some twins during a major heatwave last August, and the twins nearly died. I found them on the ground, so dehydrated they could not get up. I grabbed both of em' and ran to the cooler, then kept them inside the cooler for the remainder of the day, dripping water into their mouths. I also gave them that lamb paste stuff. They made it and by the next day, were back to normal. So I think we will need different facilities just as you mentioned for birthing during heatwaves.

I have never seen the rams slamming the ewes so many times ever, and they appear to be doing this for the last month or so. So I think the ewes cycles are back, the rams smell it, and are taking total advantage of the situation. So this should lead to July/August lambs, then back to the January/February lambs again. In all reality, our flocks are giving birth all year round, but seem to have most births in fall and winter.

So, my question is still the same:

How soon after giving birth can ewes be mated again?

Is it simply as soon as 1-2 months and does removing the lamb from milk [early weaning] speed up the process?

We have never weaned a lamb...we always allow the mama to decide when to do it...

 

[Sheepshape]

It's said that some ewes can come into season within a week of giving birth......doesn't bear thinking about! Weaning will not affect the process and early weaning will mean that a lambs will not grow well and additional feed will need to be bought. Weaning before 6-8 weeks is not practiced by even the vast majority of people with bottle fed lambs.

Like norseofcourse, and like the vast majority of UK owners, choose seasonal breeders.

 

[Bossroo]

Good strict management is in order for out of season breeds. Build a secure facility for your rams only similar to a Federal High Security Prison with NO possibility of an escape. Let them out on furlough to visit the ewes for a set time of your choosing , then back to hard time in the pen.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Ok, thanks for the good info Norse, Sheepshape, and BossRoo!

Due to the somewhat mild weather conditions here [rarely goes below freezing], I suppose year round lambing is easier than other climates.

I tried setting up pens/paddocks according to breed, sex, age, etc. For us, it was too much work once we tried it [more watering systems, feeding systems, monitoring times, etc. Finally, we simply combined the flock again. The main challenge now is that when ewes repeatedly go into heat, the rams begin to fight somewhat for who gets who in the zoo.

Once the mating cycle cools down, everyone is best of friends again, then up springs the hormones and felt need to dominate all over again.

We are thankful no rams have killed or wounded each other.

We will continue to weigh the pros and cons of a seasonal breeding approach.

Thanks again!