Hi. I'm new to this site. I have a couple questions about a sheep I've just acquired. I've never owned them before although I have owned and bred horses and dogs. I was told the ewe is about 8 years old has had lambs and maybe pregnant. She has a large udder, is this an indication she could be pregnant or is it cause she's old and had a few lambs? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Nicola
Sheep
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Southern by choice
Herd Master
Glad you found it! You should have some help tomorrow! 
Greetings from the front range in Colorado @Nicola 
and the thread! There are a bunch of sheople that are active, and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to greet you and help you; @norseofcourse @mysunwolf @purplequeenvt @SheepGirl @Baymule @frustratedearthmother just to mention a few. Congrats on your first "new" sheep! I hope everything works out well for you!
and the thread! There are a bunch of sheople that are active, and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to greet you and help you; @norseofcourse @mysunwolf @purplequeenvt @SheepGirl @Baymule @frustratedearthmother just to mention a few. Congrats on your first "new" sheep! I hope everything works out well for you!
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promiseacres
Herd Master
A large udder could be age or getting close to lambing. What breed is she? Is the udder full feeling or squishy? I watch my girls nipples, when they are horizontal then they are close to lambing.
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Apparently she is due for shearing in January. I read that if the fleece is too long near her udder the lamb may have issues getting onto the teat. Do they generally have two lambs? Should I be feeding her a special diet? Thank you for any help you can offer.
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Welcome to BHY, and congrats on your new sheep! @promiseacres is right about the udder, could be either. If she is pregnant the udder may keep getting larger, more filled out. Also her vulva will swell. Two lambs is typical, especially if she's had twins before.
The lamb should be able to find her udder even with wool back there. The main problem with long wool underneath, is if it's soiled with manure. The lamb, in trying to find the udder, might grab one of those manure 'tags' instead. I sometimes take scissors and (carefully) trim around the back end and udder of mine before lambing. If your sheep won't let you do that, don't worry about it too much. Has she had any shots? A CD-T vaccination about a month or so before lambing will give the lamb antibodies in the milk.
As far as feeding, that depends on her condition. Is there grazing in your part of the country now? I'm in Ohio, so mine get hay free choice, loose mineral free choice, water of course, and a tiny bit of grain/pellets (1 cup of it among 5 sheep, mainly to keep them coming into the barn). You can body condition score sheep ( http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex9622/$FILE/bcs-sheep.pdf ), to see if you need to feed them more or less. A score of 2 to 3 is good, many people increase the ewe's feed in the last month before lambing, although if she's already at a 3 you wouldn't need to do that. A fat ewe is more likely to have lambing problems than one in good shape. Make any feed changes/increases very very slowly, to give their rumen bacteria time to adjust.
Congrats again - we'd love to see some pictures!
The lamb should be able to find her udder even with wool back there. The main problem with long wool underneath, is if it's soiled with manure. The lamb, in trying to find the udder, might grab one of those manure 'tags' instead. I sometimes take scissors and (carefully) trim around the back end and udder of mine before lambing. If your sheep won't let you do that, don't worry about it too much. Has she had any shots? A CD-T vaccination about a month or so before lambing will give the lamb antibodies in the milk.
As far as feeding, that depends on her condition. Is there grazing in your part of the country now? I'm in Ohio, so mine get hay free choice, loose mineral free choice, water of course, and a tiny bit of grain/pellets (1 cup of it among 5 sheep, mainly to keep them coming into the barn). You can body condition score sheep ( http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex9622/$FILE/bcs-sheep.pdf ), to see if you need to feed them more or less. A score of 2 to 3 is good, many people increase the ewe's feed in the last month before lambing, although if she's already at a 3 you wouldn't need to do that. A fat ewe is more likely to have lambing problems than one in good shape. Make any feed changes/increases very very slowly, to give their rumen bacteria time to adjust.
Congrats again - we'd love to see some pictures!
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Forgot something - you don't say if this is your only sheep. Sheep are herd/flock animals, they do better if there's more than one. If she's pregnant, she'll solve that problem on her own If she isn't, you may want to get another ewe or a wether (neutered male) to keep her company.
If she isn't, you may want to get another ewe or a wether (neutered male) to keep her company.
goatgurl
Herd Master
Welcome to Back Yard Herds and congratulations on the sheep. I'm going to have to agree with the others, the large udder could be an age thing or it could be that she is getting ready to lamb. Keep an eye on it and see if it gets larger and or firmer and keep an eye on her girl parts for swelling or discharge. i don't give my ewes much grain but they have free choice hay and also have 60 acres to graze so they really don't need it. the mineral are really important. make sure you get sheep minerals and not goat minerals. goat minerals have to much copper for sheep and it can be toxic. if she will let you a good trim around the udder and back side is also a good thing but if she is skittish and not wanting you to handle her the stress could do more harm than good. and giving cdt vaccine is really important to both her health and the lambs. you can pick them up at most feed stores and give them yourself or have a more experienced person or a vet give it. good luck and be sure to keep us updated and remember we love pictures.
Baymule
Herd Master
Congrats on our first sheep! I have my first sheep too. Is her belly big or lean?
