Pregnant or not? Warning...vulva pic

[Akjm1724]

That was sort of my thought she may have been to over-conditioned and didnt take the breeding. To me she does not look late stage prego so I would say likely she didnt take. Same suggestion as Bay wait until April 9th and if there is no lamb breed again if possible. Babydolls are usually seasonal breeders only breeding in cooler months/shorter daylight. There are some that will breed year round though. Your new lamb is very cute.

Would you suggest breeding soon after April 9th or try to get some weight off and try again next fall?

 

[misfitmorgan]

You can try to breed her again, if you grain her normally cut back her ration. Sheep really only need grain when they have lambs on, or if you choose to flush them in the fall. She may simply not come into heat again until fall but you might get lucky if it stays cool.

If it was our sheep we would toss her in with the ram April 10th and see what happens. We do own our own ram, if you have to take her off farm to another ram it's likely not worth the bother honestly. You also dont want to leave your other ewe alone.

 

[Ridgetop]

She does not look bred to me either. You said she was with the ram until October 31, but you did not say (unless I missed it) when she was put in with him. Where are you located?

Weather, daylight hours, and temperatures play a large part in successful livestock breeding.

In the case of Babydoll Southdown sheep they have a seasonal breeding cycle. This means they will only breed once a year, and the rams only come into annual rut during certain months (seasons)of the year. This breeding season starts in the fall and lasts through the winter in the northern hemisphere. Also, rams can become temporarily infertile during extremely hot weather. If the weather was very hot when she was in with the ram, he may have lost fertility when she was in season to breed. Ewes cycle every 2-3 weeks. If you miss the date they are fertile, you need to keep them with the ram another 3 weeks to make sure to catch them on the next go round. It is not unusual for a maiden ewe to miss her first go round. Also if the rams have not been used before putting them with the ewes, they can also shoot "blanks" the first time or two.

Depending on where you live, putting her in with the ram now will be useless since this is not the normal breeding season for Southdowns. Breeding now is only useful for breeds of sheep than breed "out of season" or all year round. Dorpers are the most well known of those, although I believe Katahdins are also a year round breeder as well as some of the other hair breeds.

You will be better off to shear her now and check her condition. It is hard to tell what that is because she is carrying so much wool. She needs to be in a 3+ condition to breed and produce well. You can find condition scoring charts on line with instructions on judging condition. If she is over conditioned, cut all grain - (you did not tell us how much or what you are feeding) and try to get her into appropriate condition for September-November breeding. When you take the ewes to the ram you might also want to britch them - shear off the wool around their vulvas - so you can see clearly if they look like they are coming into season.

Hope this will help you in having a successful lambing season next spring.