# Close to Lambing????



## KWhitted (Nov 10, 2019)

It has been a while since I posted about my three adopted pregnant Ewes.  The man that I purchased them from swore that they should give birth in September however here we are November and I still have no lambs.  The girls are definitely pregnant however I don’t think they were as far along as the man believed. 
 Poor Scarlet is (was) huge. I feel for her every time I see her slowly walking around the pen.  This is a picture I took of her Monday.
 And another I took yesterday. The lamb(s) have definitely dropped. So how long until she gives birth since they dropped?


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## Sheepshape (Nov 10, 2019)

Please take pics or her rear with her tail lifted to show her vulva and udder. Those are the best determiners.

Look out for changed behaviour....off food, restless, pawing the ground. These things may or may not happen, but she will try to find a quiet spot when she is due to give birth and will start pawing the ground.

Good luck!


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 10, 2019)

x2 on udder pics!


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## KWhitted (Nov 10, 2019)

Her udders began getting larger about 10 days ago.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 10, 2019)

Bless her, she looks close. Udder and vulva swollen, 'dropped' around her tail. How close is a bit difficult to say, but days only. If this is her first pregnancy she is imminent, if not, then a few more days perhaps.

Look out for behavioural changes and then look out for lambs!

Here's hoping everything goes off uneventfully.


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## KWhitted (Nov 10, 2019)

This will be her third pregnancy according to the man I got her from.


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## KWhitted (Nov 11, 2019)

MAJOR DIFFERENCE this morning! 😀


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## Sheepshape (Nov 11, 2019)

Oh boy.....get ready for some action!

Hope all goes well


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## Beekissed (Nov 11, 2019)

NICE udder and I agree....she looks CLOSE!   Take pics or a video!


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 11, 2019)

Close!  I'd be watching for goopy discharge and getting your birthing kit ready!


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## KWhitted (Nov 11, 2019)

Kit is ready!!! This is our first experience with sheep. We are all so excited!!!! My husband is out of town so good idea on the video!!!!


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## animalmom (Nov 11, 2019)

How exciting!  Looking forward to wee lambie pictures... please and thank you.


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 11, 2019)

Soooo excited for you and your first lambing experience  !!!   Waiting  on pictures


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## KWhitted (Nov 11, 2019)

So of course the temp here in central Texas dropped this afternoon and we are now expecting snow around 9pm! The girls are warm in their pen but it’s just so cold to me. Hoping those babies stay in just one more day and I don’t wake up to frozen babies! Plus I really would like to witness the birth.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 12, 2019)

KWhitted said:


> My husband is out of town so good idea on the video!!!!


  Like as not,you'll be too overwhelmed even to pick up your phone, let alone take a video. I find myself fretting, pacing, giving instructions to 'Push' and encouragement that "You're nearly there" etc etc. and I've seen many hundreds of births by now.


KWhitted said:


> So of course the temp here in central Texas dropped this afternoon and we are now expecting snow around 9pm!


 I'm assuming that the pen is not totally open to the elements and that there is shelter. Lambs cope very well with cold, but don't do well if there is cold and wet together. 
Watch a few YouTube videos of lamb birth to get the idea as to what to expect.  Usually ewe separates off from others, starts to paw the ground which gets increasingly 'urgent', then she starts to push (usual lies on her side with legs extended to do this). A bag of fluid appears which extend downward as she pushes and usually breaks. After a variable amount of time you will see hooves at the vulva (usually front) and then a nose. The head is often born on one push and then the body not long after. The cord breaks itself. Mum turns round and licks the lamb vigorously. 
Wipe away membranes from the lamb if they are plugging the mouth/nose. Pull out and clear the mouth/nose of any lamb which appears back legs first.

Good Luck.

.


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## KWhitted (Nov 12, 2019)

Cold weather does it I guess! Temps dropped to 27 here last night. I woke up to these beauties! Black faced boy and tan eared girl. Momma just left the boy and keeps knocking him around.  I’ve haltered her and I’m making her feed him.


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## Beekissed (Nov 12, 2019)

Beautiful!!!  Congratulations on your good, healthy and beautiful lambs!    I think you are doing the right thing to make her feed him....it's better for him and she has plenty of milk!  Plus, the fuss and expense of feeding a bottle lamb.  No fun, especially in cold weather.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 12, 2019)

What beautiful lambs. Congratulations.
It's likely that there was a bit of time between the births and he wandered off, so she isn't seeing him as her own. Once her milk is coming through him, she's likely to be happy with him.
Make sure mum has plenty of food and water and can rest properly overnight.


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 12, 2019)

Congradulatios on your beautiful  lambs !


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## Beekissed (Nov 12, 2019)

Just LOOK at that UDDER!   Just wanna milk her and make some cheese.....


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## KWhitted (Nov 12, 2019)

Trying every two hours to get mama to accept the little boy. Mom just tosses him around.  This is her first set of twins so maybe she’s confused. I’m holding mom still so he can at least feed. I put a lamb coat on the girl and rubbed it all over her then put it on the boy. Mama wasn’t as aggressive the first time but I think she caught on. As long as I can get him to feed off of her I’m ok right? I can milk her if needed and I do have bottles just in case. 

Any advice or tricks to get mom to accept him?


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## Roving Jacobs (Nov 12, 2019)

I've had decent success with the "you can have both or neither" method. If she is fairly bonded with the ewe lamb, take both lambs and put them someplace warm together for an hour or so, I usually put them someplace the ewe can see and sniff but not get to like a dog crate in her pen. Then let them both out together to nurse while supervising. Repeat until she calms down about things. She gets both lambs or she gets no lambs until they both smell like her. It usually only takes a day or two.

A headgate might be more successful but I never got around to making one. It's definitely preferable if you can make one though because it doesn't require you to keep going out to supervise.


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## KWhitted (Nov 12, 2019)

I actually made a milking stand in August! It has a headgate. I can lower the stand a use that for sure. Thank you.

Little man is not a fan of the bottle so I’m going to continue every two hours or when he cries to get him to nurse. He is tiny. Maybe 5 pounds.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 12, 2019)

Let mum's udder get good and full. Restrain her, then ram lamb to feed first (or, ideally, one lamb on each teat).

Apply some of the camphorated stuff that we rub on our chests when we have a cold to the top of her nose and the same stuff over the root of the tails of the lambs (that is on the back where the tail starts from the body). Ewes accept their lambs by smell, and this action will confuse her sense of smell.

Lastly....do you have a dog? When I have one of these 'rejecting mums', I bring in my old faithful Border Collie and get him to sit and stare the ewe out. This action usually leads to the ewe huffing and stamping her front hooves and so interested in protecting her offspring that she would let anything feed from her. You may need to persist for a number of days to persuade the ewe that both lambs are hers.

I'm sorry that you're having to deal with this problem as it can be quite difficult to overcome. Do persist, though, as bottle-fed lambs are quite a commitment and lambs do much better when they are with mum.


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## Baymule (Nov 13, 2019)

Beautiful lambs! Congratulations! Naturally the ewe is being a butthead. LOL You have received good advice, indeed I learned a few tricks also. Keep us posted on your progress.


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## Beekissed (Nov 13, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Beautiful lambs! Congratulations! Naturally the ewe is being a butthead. LOL You have received good advice,* indeed I learned a few tricks also.* Keep us posted on your progress.



Me too!  I really like that~you'll take both of them or neither of them~approach to it.  I've grafted calves onto a milk cow and rabbit kits onto another mother with the use of Vick's, so I knew about that one...it actually works great with those two species, but wasn't sure if it would work with sheep.


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## Ridgetop (Nov 13, 2019)

Another thing to try is to rub him with the other lamb's poop so they both smell the same.  Definitely keep trying to get her to accept him.  I wouldn't mind bottle feeding a ewe lamb that I planned to keep so much (they get very tame) but a ram lamb that is going into the freezer is better feeding off mama - the rate of weight gain is better than a bottle.  The slightly lower rate of gain on a keeper ewe lamb for a replacement breeding ewe will be ok since she will still gain a healthy amount.  

Good luck.  Cute lambs.


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