# Single or Twins?



## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

I keep making all these new threads XD
MAYBE I should just make one big lambing thread so I can stop plaguing everyone with these small ones.
I hope they aren't annoying! I'm just so excited!

Anyway, I just wanted opinions on if Wendy looks big enough to have twins in there!
She's not very wide, but her belly hangs low.
My guess would be she's about 20 days away from lambing, give or take.
I managed to get some pictures of her laying down, which I'm never gotten before.
She grunted, sighed, stretched out, then plopped on the ground.
Poor missy.
Her udders and vulva are steadily getting puffier and more darker in color.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 26, 2013)

IMO it is best "not to count before they hatch". Ok so sheep don't hatch.  I have had goats that I'd swear had trips in her and then it ended up being a single. I had a 1st freshener have trips and I figured twins. Never can tell


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

XD
lol, I'm sticking with a single for now!
We'll see, we'll see


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## Livestock lover (Dec 26, 2013)

Parsnip said:


> XD
> lol, I'm sticking with a single for now!
> We'll see, we'll see


I agree.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 26, 2013)

then you can be pleasantly surprised if she twins!
A friend of mine had an ultrasound on her sheep... single.... so it was a real JOY when she popped out twins!


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 26, 2013)

Southern by choice said:


> IMO it is best "not to count before they hatch". Ok so sheep don't hatch.  I have had goats that I'd swear had trips in her and then it ended up being a single. I had a 1st freshener have trips and I figured twins. Never can tell


 x2
I don't know sheep, but I know goats.  You can't look at one and tell how many based on their size.  My thinnest goats are the ones most likely to have 3 or 4.

How many she had before if she has had babies before is the most a better indicator than size.


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

She's had one ewe lamb before.
Back about a year ago.
I guess she didn't get very big before she had her lamb last year.
I only purchased her this summer!
I am positive she was bred to a blackbelly ram this year, and blackbelly sheep are smaller, so I honestly have no idea if there will be twins or not!
I'm not going to get my hopes up, so like I said, I'm sticking with just one lamb!


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/katie-and-her-fisrt-ewe-lamb.24703/
http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/this-little-girl-is-chocolate.25111/

There are these two posts of Wendy's first birth
Wendy(once known as Katie) used to belong to alsea1 as well as the little lamb.
I purchased both from her.
SO photos are courtesy of alsea1!


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## bonbean01 (Dec 26, 2013)

Yup...hard to tell...two years ago our ewe Jess wasn't overly huge, but had good sized twins in there...last year she got bigger...had just one good sized lamb in there...right now she is looking pretty big too...but no clue...on a wait and see.


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## alsea1 (Dec 26, 2013)

OMG!!!The girl is huge!!!
Guess we will see whats in there soon.


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

HUGE?
Oh boy.

I felt so bad for her today XD
She was so fussy and uncomfortable when she tried to lay down. Poor girlie.
Was she about that big with MaryEllen?


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## alsea1 (Dec 26, 2013)

LOL, No. Not at all. 
Other than her developing udder you could hardly tell she was preg.


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

Haha, she's gonna be a good mama when the time comes again.
I honestly can't wait another month.
But baby still has to cook a bit longer I guess.
Can't rush these sort of things!
Her udder is still incredibly small though.
OH WELL.

I'll keep you posted on Wendy


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## bonbean01 (Dec 26, 2013)

My Jess is a Katahdin and is due within a week or two and don't be shocked if your gal gets bigger yet...Jess is bigger than your gal in the photo and is getting an udder well under way...maybe we both get twins???


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## bonbean01 (Dec 26, 2013)

Parsnip...long cold nights...sleep deprivation...checking often...and yet, lambing season is my fav season of all!!!  New babies arriving...any kind of babies...I love it!!!!


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## Parsnip (Dec 26, 2013)

YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE PICTURES

Yes yes yes very excited.
lol that is what coffee is for


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## Southern by choice (Dec 26, 2013)

2 words..... Barn cam 

First have a serious talk with your girl... let her know daytime births ...OK  
Nightime births... NO NO NO


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## purplequeenvt (Dec 27, 2013)

I can usually get an idea of number on our girls just by looking at them, but there are always surprises. The older girls that have lambed several times for you are often easier to guess then the first timers or recently aquired sheep. 

My sister and I like to look at all the ewes and estimate how many lambs we are going to get and then compare that to the actual numbers after lambing is over. 

If this is Wendy's 2nd lambing and since she's still a month away and she's a primitive type breed - I wouldn't surprise if she has twins.  

We are just over a month away as well. The ewes all get sheared on 1/4/14 and then it will be so much easier to keep an eye on "progress" back there.


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## Pioneer Chicken (Dec 27, 2013)

bonbean01 said:


> Parsnip...long cold nights...sleep deprivation...checking often...and yet, lambing season is my fav season of all!!!  New babies arriving...any kind of babies...I love it!!!!



Yep, I'm with you 100%! Although, it's _kidding _season for me.


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## bonbean01 (Jan 1, 2014)

You asked for a photo...well, Jess did not show signs that she was so close and felt safe going to bed last night after last check...woke up early and she had lambed!!!!  Will try to get a pic on here for you, but haven't tried to post pics since the forum changed....

Nope...need a URL and don't have that on my Kodak program...have to go back and find out how to do that on here???


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## bonbean01 (Jan 1, 2014)

Okay...attempt number 3....


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## woodsie (Jan 2, 2014)

Oh what a cutie! Girl or boy? Either way, looks to be a nice strong lamb you got there Bonbean!


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## alsea1 (Jan 2, 2014)

I love the color. Very flashy.


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## boykin2010 (Jan 2, 2014)

This was my surprise last year...Picture taken over 2 weeks until lambing.   I just knew she would have triplets. NOPE - she had twins.


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## Mike CHS (Jan 2, 2014)

I don't see how Sawyer did much of anything other than waiting for it to be over.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 2, 2014)

This is my ewe about 20 hours before she lambed. She had a 7.8 lb ram, a 6.8 lb ewe, and a 5.8 lb ewe.

She doesn't look as wide as she had just a day or two before, her teats got larger, and her vulva got pink and swollen.

I was hoping she would have triplets due to her size, but I was only expecting twins because she had last lambed with twins May 25, 2012. She surprised me with triplets March 7, 2013. She is due again for February 13, 2014 lambs.


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## bonbean01 (Jan 2, 2014)

Boykin...I would have been thinking quads!!!!  Sheepgirl, she hid those triplets big time!!!  Our flashy little one is a ram...had it been a ewe, would be keeping her just for that colouring.  He's nursing up a storm and jumping around for fun...way too cute!!!!!  First one with those colours for us here


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## Parsnip (Jan 2, 2014)

Bonbean OMG that is a cute lamb!
I'd love it if Wendy had a black lamb  I think they're just the cutest things!
Though unlikely, there is still hope!
(you might have to take more pictures)

I LOVE ALL THE PICTURES.
Compared to last week, Wendy has gotten wider.
This morning Wendy had an itch on her face and tried to scratch it with her back foot.
Unfortunately she was too wide and could not reach her face with said foot XD
Boy can she still run though :/ When there is grain to be had in the barn SHE IS THERE.







Her belly had dropped lower to the ground since Christmas.


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## bonbean01 (Jan 2, 2014)

She's getting there and soon you'll have a baby lamb to cuddle!  Will try to post another lambie pic...so far we only have one, but have another ewe up tonight as she is getting closer.


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## Parsnip (Jan 2, 2014)

YES
Lamb pics are the best.

What was the father of that little black lamb like?
Was he dark like the lamb?
Or is this just one of those random color lambies?

ANOTHER EWE?
Oh boy oh boy oh boy.


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## Sheepshape (Jan 3, 2014)

WHAT a cute lamb bonbean01.......such pretty markings.

I have cut out the guesswork and get mine scanned.....however,they were scanned a bit late last year and my girl with half an udder was scanned for triplets but had 5.....one died almost immediately,but the other 4 all lived and went on to make adult sheep.

Size seems to be a very poor guide as the lamb size and quantity of amniotic fluid vary such a lot.


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## alsea1 (Jan 3, 2014)

Mary Ellen has really grown. LOL Now I wish I had kept her. 
They look good.


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## Parsnip (Jan 3, 2014)

YES MaryEllen is a chunky girl now.
She's nearly as tall as mama Wendy now.

MaryEllen is still scheduled to lamb in mid February. 
I have no idea yet, she's so hairy it'd be hard to tell XD
BUT perhaps if she lambs, you'd be interested in the offspring? (if it's a ewe lamb)
Although she was bred to a white Dorper... so it'd be a BIG baby!


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## alsea1 (Jan 3, 2014)

I think I would be int.


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## Parsnip (Jan 3, 2014)

for sure!

I have high hopes for MaryEllen.
I compared her udder to Diana's udder today.
And by compare, I mean I basically groped them.
MaryEllen's actually has some mass to it. And her teats are triangle shaped.
Although just by looking, she has NO udder.
Whereas Diana's udder is basically a little flappy skin bag. And her teats are small.

If MaryEllen is right on time, she should be lambing between the 13th and 20th of Feb.
I saw her being serviced by Duke twice, SO I just have a range at the moment.
(almost hoping for Valentines Day babies)


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## bonbean01 (Jan 3, 2014)

Mother was purebred Katahdin in a reddish colour, and Father was a purebred Dorper...white with black head.  This is the first lamb from our new ram and can't wait to see how the others will come out colour wise.


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## Parsnip (Jan 3, 2014)

Sounds like the lamb is going to turn out really nice!

You'll have to keep us updated with the ewes!


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## bonbean01 (Jan 3, 2014)

But for sure


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## Parsnip (Jan 5, 2014)

How many more ewes do you have scheduled to lamb?


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