# Do we breed a spring 2012 lamb?



## NachoFarm (Jul 19, 2012)

We have three Gotland crosses and they're cute and lovely and I want to hug them but they won't let me... 

Anyways, the lamb was born Easter Sunday of this year so that makes her...about four months old now.  Do we plan to breed her this fall or can we wait until next year?  I had read that some give lambs two years to "mature".


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## purplequeenvt (Jul 19, 2012)

You *can* breed her. I personally wait until a ewe is a year and half until breeding for the 1st time, but there are lots of people who breed as lambs. The idea of waiting is to give the ewe enough time to mature both mentally and physically before asking her to raise lambs of her own.


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## manybirds (Jul 19, 2012)

i've never actually had a lamb born here but i do have an ewe and i'm waiting till she's 1.5 years to breed so she lambs at 2 so she fully matures.


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## boykin2010 (Jul 19, 2012)

I don't know anything about Gotlands but for us Katahdin folks we usually breed a ewe lamb at 7-8 months.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 19, 2012)

Yep, as long as she's 2/3 of her mature weight you should have no issues with breeding her. I've bred ewe lambs (and my neighbor who's had sheep 70+ years has always bred them) and I'm planning on breeding my two late May ewe lambs this year if they make weight by December.


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## NachoFarm (Jul 19, 2012)

Well...ok then.  So I guess it's just a matter of opinion?  But then why such a difference?  Waiting until they're 7-8 months or 18 months is a big gap.  If I breed her young what are the drawbacks?  And on the flip side, if I don't breed her until next fall what are the consequences of that?  Sorry, I just don't want to breed her if I don't have to this year.  We're having a bit of trouble getting our hands on a %Gotland ram for the breeding season this year.


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## BrownSheep (Jul 19, 2012)

We breed ours at a year. So far if they weren't ready by 8 months, wich is about the time the rams go in, they haven't gotten bred. It's only happened twice. One was a dainty rambouillet and one was a 140lb Suffolk/hamp. Personally, if the are well conditioned for their age and size and at least 8 month old I don't worry too much.

As for the draw backs of not breeding. There aren't too many. You're out a lamb crop of course, but that doesn't sound an issue. You'll want to make sure they don't get super fat....In my opinion it's pretty hard to do that. I think I would have to feed strait grain for the entire year. It's ALL WAYS better to be a little overweight than underweight. Personally I think holding off a year is a great thing to do if you can/want. 

Our first year with sheep we had an immaculate conception breeding program...the next year we tried rams. Had one single and two sets of triplets. From the three ewes.


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## kfacres (Jul 19, 2012)

breeding ewe lambs is tricky-- the same thing happens when a teenager has a baby.. the body is still growing and developing-- and as a result they'll need extra feed and care.

We breed ours to lamb at 15 or 16 months of age-- gets that first lamb out sooner, but they are physically mature enough to handle having offspring.


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## BrownSheep (Jul 19, 2012)

If acres has a good point. A lot of our younger ewes didn't actually lamb till they were between 15-18 months.....more of a ram issue than a ewe issue though.


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## kfacres (Jul 20, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> If acres has a good point. A lot of our younger ewes didn't actually lamb till they were between 15-18 months.....more of a ram issue than a ewe issue though.


no ram issue here.. it's purposely.


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## NachoFarm (Jul 20, 2012)

Well that's good to know that I can leave her until next year without any ill consequence.  The vet I spoke to said we needed to breed them so "they didn't sit fat and empty"...  Since she's 56% Gotland we want to find the highest percentage ram that we can for her and finances aren't really allowing for that this year.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 20, 2012)

If you breed her:
- You get a lamb (or maybe more) from a ewe lamb by the time she is about a year old
- You can, for the most part, feed the ewes together
- If you are spending money on a ram, you might as well breed him to as many ewes as you can to get your money's worth
- She may have trouble lambing if you don't feed her right (for growth and gestation)

If you don't:
- You feed an open ewe for another year
- You will have to separate her when feeding so she doesn't get fat when the other ewes get their gestation rations
- She will be more physically mature by her second fall to breed

---

If you can't find a high percentage Gotland ram could you find a ram that is the breed that is the other 44% of her? Because if you could find a purebred ram, then the lambs will be 72% other breed 28% Gotland...which would still make you a high percentage lamb (even if it's not mostly Gotland).


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## Alice Acres (Jul 22, 2012)

We have bred our spring lambs, but it usually is by accident rather than on purpose. 

They just don't do as well, and also don't last as long in the flock breeding program.

We see weight loss (or lack of gain), ewes that don't reach their own growth potential (the lambs are basically parasitic and take what they need from mom), lambing difficulties and maternal losses higher than normal. 
We also get low birth weights and lambs that stay smaller than what the older ewes produce.

I'm not familiar with your breed and specifics for breeding, but we have had purebred and grade sheep - Suffolk, Hamp, Ramboullet, Cheviot and now predominantly Dorper - for over 40 years.

Yes, you are feeding them an extra year (or part of a year), but the payoff is worth it for us. 
We have a flock that lambs unassisted and zero mortality most lambing seasons. It's worth it.


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## Cornish Heritage (Jul 26, 2012)

> Well that's good to know that I can leave her until next year without any ill consequence.


There are two fields of thoughts on this so you have to decide what you want to do. Some folks say that if you wait longer to breed a ewe lamb you lessen her fertility, others say you don't. I don't see a problem with breeding them young as long as they are in good condition. It could also vary from breed to breed especially if you have a wool breed that only breeds once a year. The St.Croix breed all year round so that means you do not have to wait a whole year if the ewe is not ready in Fall. 

Liz


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## BrownSheep (Jul 26, 2012)

Some wool breeds also breed year round....Dorset for example.....our fella certainly would.


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