# Pregnant ewes driving me bonkers!



## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 11, 2020)

I recently got a small flock of 6 dorpers who I was told are all expecting. One surprised the heck out of us with a lamb the morning after arriving but it's been almost a month and no other lambs yet. 3 look like they are going to pop any day but not real signs of impending labor. 

I guess I will pass the time by reading all the posts here lol

Enjoy some random pictures of my flock over the last month.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Feb 11, 2020)

They are very pretty.  I don’t know much about sheep, we don’t have them...yet.. What kind are they?


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## Beekissed (Feb 11, 2020)

Welcome to the pasture!   Good to see more folks with hair sheep here.  I've got Katahdins and Kat/Dorper cross sheep right now but will be moving to all Katahdins as the year go by, if the Lord wills it.  

Love seeing pics of your sheep....keep them coming!


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## Mini Horses (Feb 12, 2020)

Lovely sheep!  Watch the bag fill....that's normally your first line of knowing the time is close.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 12, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> They are very pretty.  I don’t know much about sheep, we don’t have them...yet.. What kind are they?


They are commercial quality dorpers. Basically all that means is they are part dorper part who the heck knows lol. So far we got one baby that looks really close to breed standard. Hoping for more of the same.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 12, 2020)

Mini Horses said:


> Lovely sheep!  Watch the bag fill....that's normally your first line of knowing the time is close.


Ugh that's part of what's driving me crazy! 2 of them have had bags for a few weeks and I thought for sure they would go any day but nope. But! My really big girls just started showing a bag the past 2 days and one is getting ornery so hopefully that's a good sign. Lol


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## Jesusfreak101 (Feb 12, 2020)

Must watch love babies i have babies fever lol


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## Baymule (Feb 12, 2020)

I have Dorper/Katahdin ewes and a registered Katahdin ram. I thought I wanted Dorpers, but changed my mind to Katahdins. I love, love, love my sheep! You are off on an adventure! They are so much fun! Your girls are very pretty. 

I have a ewe whose bag looks like a soccer ball with teats for WEEKS before she lambs. I even started my lambing thread once with pictures of Miranda's udder and guessing what day and how many lambs. LOL LOL 

You will soon find out that when all is said and done, you have Jamaica Sheep. As in Ja' Make-a-Me Crazy! LOL


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 12, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I have Dorper/Katahdin ewes and a registered Katahdin ram. I thought I wanted Dorpers, but changed my mind to Katahdins. I love, love, love my sheep! You are off on an adventure! They are so much fun! Your girls are very pretty.
> 
> I have a ewe whose bag looks like a soccer ball with teats for WEEKS before she lambs. I even started my lambing thread once with pictures of Miranda's udder and guessing what day and how many lambs. LOL LOL
> 
> You will soon find out that when all is said and done, you have Jamaica Sheep. As in Ja' Make-a-Me Crazy! LOL



Oh my! I hope these ladies don't do that to me! I keep forgetting to bring my phone with me when I feed the ladies. I will try to get some good utter shots tomorrow to see what yall think. 

Katahdins are so pretty, I considered them too. I just love the dorpers look. I was a bit surprised when they brought me mine because half of them don't look very "dorper".


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 12, 2020)

These are the best shots I have right now but these are from like a week ago. Is it possible they just have saggy utters and they haven't started to actually bag up yet? Is that a thing? Lol my sheep need a bra.


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## Baymule (Feb 13, 2020)

They will bag up weeks before delivery. If a ewe has a very tight full bag, it may be painful. For First Fresheners, it may cause them to walk away when the lambs try to nurse. One year I had to catch and tie 2 ewes to the fence to hold them so the lambs could nurse. I sat on the ground helping the lambs get started. Those ewes did not want their lambs, or me, messing with their boobies! So just watch and make sure the lambs are nursing. 

We bought 4 bred “Dorper” ewes. More like Dorper mutt ewes, but I loved them. You are going to enjoy your sheep so much! What are their names?


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 13, 2020)

Baymule said:


> They will bag up weeks before delivery. If a ewe has a very tight full bag, it may be painful. For First Fresheners, it may cause them to walk away when the lambs try to nurse. One year I had to catch and tie 2 ewes to the fence to hold them so the lambs could nurse. I sat on the ground helping the lambs get started. Those ewes did not want their lambs, or me, messing with their boobies! So just watch and make sure the lambs are nursing.
> 
> We bought 4 bred “Dorper” ewes. More like Dorper mutt ewes, but I loved them. You are going to enjoy your sheep so much! What are their names?




I haven't named them yet. I have nicknames for some of them but I'm horrible at naming things. We call the one with the long hair dreadlocks, the one with the lamb mama, the black belly is black belly ...

Yeah I should get on some real names here soon.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 14, 2020)

I think I'm leaning towards some names for these two. The black and white one seems like a Daisy to me because she looks like a cow and the white ones face reminds me of a rabbit so I started calling her bunny.

What is Daisy doing with her tail here? She has been walking around like this all morning.


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## Baymule (Feb 17, 2020)

Did Daisy have a lamb? Holding her tail out could be a sign of labor.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Did Daisy have a lamb? Holding her tail out could be a sign of labor.



Ugh NO! I'm telling you! These sheep just love making me crazy! 3 days she has been doing this but she hasn't slowed down on eating or anything. She did look uncomfortable for a short bit yesterday and I thought "oh! This is it!" And nope... still waiting.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

I did actually get a picture of her behind this morning but I feel a bit funny about sharing it lol if people saw the pictures on my phone they would think I have a weird sheep fetish or something.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Feb 17, 2020)

L


Fluffy_Flock said:


> I did actually get a picture of her behind this morning but I feel a bit funny about sharing it lol if people saw the pictures on my phone they would think I have a weird sheep fetish or something.


ol...I have goats.  Before they kidded I had all kinds of shots of their bags.  I was flipping through my phone at a party to show my older friend a picture, and she saw all these vulva shots...oh my gosh was I embarrassed!!  I erases them that night.  I was taking them for BYH!!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> L
> 
> ol...I have goats.  Before they kidded I had all kinds of shots of their bags.  I was flipping through my phone at a party to show my older friend a picture, and she saw all these vulva shots...oh my gosh was I embarrassed!!  I erases them that night.  I was taking them for BYH!!


Omg! I would die! At least I'm not the only crazy person with vulva pictures on my phone   




She has been acting all sorts of weird today.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

She has been following me around the field all day which she never does. Maybe she is just starting to like me lol


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## Ridgetop (Feb 17, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> I did actually get a picture of her behind this morning but I feel a bit funny about sharing it lol if people saw the pictures on my phone they would think I have a weird sheep fetish or something.


I am embarrassed to say that I have to scroll through tons of embarrassing udder and medical photos to find any of the grandchildren!  And then they are usually holding a lamb or with the dogs!  LOL

Lots of animals do not actually "bag up" - fill with milk - until the actual birth of the baby.  Some have full udders for weeks in advance.  some actually leak prior to giving birth necessitating placing tape over the teat to avoid losing colostrum or getting infections. Each one is different, and each one can be different from previous pregnancies too! 

Jamaica sheep indeed!


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Feb 17, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> She has been following me around the field all day which she never does. Maybe she is just starting to like me lol


They say with goats, ones that are not friendly, will become that way.  I have one, she’s a bit skittish.  Not that day!!  She was a cuddle bug!  In fact, she still is...but she was moody for a day before she went.


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## Ridgetop (Feb 17, 2020)

Our dairy does were raised with our LGDs and usually loved them.  Just before they went into labor they would charge at them in an attempt to drive them away from their kidding pen.  Hormones!!!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Our dairy does were raised with our LGDs and usually loved them.  Just before they went into labor they would charge at them in an attempt to drive them away from their kidding pen.  Hormones!!!


Daisy launched the 1 month old ram lamb because he got in the way of her food today. He didn't get hurt thankfully but man! Don't get between a prego ewe and her food lol


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 17, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> They say with goats, ones that are not friendly, will become that way.  I have one, she’s a bit skittish.  Not that day!!  She was a cuddle bug!  In fact, she still is...but she was moody for a day before she went.


I really hope they become friendly. They came from a commercial operation with something like 400 sheep so they were definitely skittish when they first came here. Daisy is the most outgoing with bunny a close second. Mama and dreadlocks want nothing to do with me.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Feb 18, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> I really hope they become friendly. They came from a commercial operation with something like 400 sheep so they were definitely skittish when they first came here. Daisy is the most outgoing with bunny a close second. Mama and dreadlocks want nothing to do with me.


My first two goats came from a bad farmer that gave them no human contact.  It was tough at first.  They were not tame at all.    Since yours are pregnant, it’s not an easy time to work with them.  But, I just worked with my girls, used a harness.  Maybe once they lamb, they will be more relaxed.  ??  Hopefully!  For sure..they now have a better home on your farm than at a big commercial place!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 22, 2020)

Still no lamb but...



Daisy says "leave me alone "


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 22, 2020)

bunny's belly looks like its going to drag on the floor here soon. Anyone want to venture to guess how long she has to go yet? Looks like she only has 1 utter too. If she has twins (which I doubt she will) should I let her try to feed both?


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## Derb (Feb 22, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> I recently got a small flock of 6 dorpers who I was told are all expecting. One surprised the heck out of us with a lamb the morning after arriving but it's been almost a month and no other lambs yet. 3 look like they are going to pop any day but not real signs of impending labor.
> 
> I guess I will pass the time by reading all the posts here lol
> 
> Enjoy some random pictures of my flock over the last month.


Hahaha! I am here because waiting to hatch first eggs is driving me nuts!!


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## Ridgetop (Feb 22, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> Looks like she only has 1 utter too. If she has twins (which I doubt she will) should I let her try to feed both?



No.  The ewe will  make as much milk as the lamb(s) take.  If 2 lambs are drinking from only one side, she will increase her milk production to feed them both.

Did you get her fully grown and had she lambed previously?  She looks like she had a case of mastitis resulting in the loss of one half her udder.  We were given an older Suffolk ewe one year that freshened only half her udder due to mastitis.   She raised twins on one half of her udder.  In spite of treatment for mastitis our ewe never regained any use of that side.  Since she looks like she has quite a ways to go before lambing, you could treat her now for mastitis with a _*dry cow formula*_.  You can either buy it at your local dairy store if you have one or order the infusions from any dairy catalog.

She won't like being treated at all, since even dairy animals that are used to being handled and milked daily hate it. The infusion tubes come in plastic tubes that look like mini horse worming tubes.  They have a plunger applicator and have a very thin plastic tip to put on the tube.  You have to insert the tip of the mastitis infusion tube into the teat end and squirt the contents into the teat and udder.  Then massage it around and leave it there until she freshens.  Probably not comfortable for her.  You will have to restrain her well to get it done.

If she freshens with a case of mastitis you will have to treat her with a *lactating cow *formula and will not be able to use her milk for the lambs for whatever the withdrawal period says. If she has already lost half her u dder to mastitis she will probably freshen without mastitis in the remaining side.

If you decide to let her freshen without any treatment - which is fine too - then just make sure that if she has twins that each of them get colostrum.  With 2 udder halves each twin gets their share easily, but with only one working teat they will have to take turns.  This will be ok later but right after lambing you might need to help the second twin get its share of colostrum.   If necessary you will have to put her in a small pen so you can catch her easily when she lambs.  then halter her and tie her to the pen while you switch off the twins to make sure they each get a share of the colostrum.  You will not need to supplement them, unless you notice that she is pushing one of the lambs away and refusing to let it nurse at all.  If you do have to  bottle feed one, make sure it has colostrum for the first couple of days I suggest you put the _ewe_ lamb on a bottle That way the keeper ewe will be tame which will make it easier to work with her in your flock.

Hope this helps.


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## Baymule (Feb 22, 2020)

From that picture, it looks like she has already lost half her udder. I have not had any of my ewes experience that, but due to pictures posted during a goat's mastitis episode, half the udder turned black and fell off. If that is the case, she should be ok. Proceed with lamb/lambs as instructed by @Ridgetop. 

Don't feel weird about back end pictures. I was posting on a thread about fertility of rams being directly tied to the size of their balls. We were all outside, taking pictures of our rams balls so we could post them.  Yup, we are a little strange!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Feb 23, 2020)

Baymule said:


> From that picture, it looks like she has already lost half her udder. I have not had any of my ewes experience that, but due to pictures posted during a goat's mastitis episode, half the udder turned black and fell off. If that is the case, she should be ok. Proceed with lamb/lambs as instructed by @Ridgetop.
> 
> Don't feel weird about back end pictures. I was posting on a thread about fertility of rams being directly tied to the size of their balls. We were all outside, taking pictures of our rams balls so we could post them.  Yup, we are a little strange!


Omg that's hilarious! So is bunny's saggy belly an issue? She seems to grow down instead of out like my others. 

I'm starting to see why the people I got these girls from got rid of them. I love them though. They all have something "special" about them.


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## Ridgetop (Feb 23, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> So is bunny's saggy belly an issue? She seems to grow down instead of out like my others.



She may just be an older ewe.  Like all us girls that have had a number of pregnancies those muscles weaken after a while.  If she is on pasture or dry hay she may just have a large hay belly.  A large rumen is a good thing in a sheep since it allows for more food to be digested which will sustain a pregnancy, growing fetuses, and a heavy  lactation.  Just watch her when it is time for her to lamb, and if she needs help, you can be aware and ready to help pull lambs.  She should be fine, even with only half an udder.

While these ewes may have been the previous owner's culls, they are experienced ewes and will give _you_ the experience _you_ need as a new sheep owner. With luck they will not need any help lambing and you can enjoy them. You may find that these ewes produce well for you and give you the lambs you want.   If so, there is no need to replace them.  Just because the large ranch disposed of them doesn't mean they will not be good producers for you.  It just means that the larger ranch was able to replace them with younger daughters and granddaughters in their breeding program.

If you want to improve your flock, instead of replacing your ewes I suggest you buy a good quality ram. Use him for several years, keeping daughters and granddaughters of the best ewes as your replacements.  Then you can replace him with another good ram to use on those daughters.  This is the cheapest and easiest way to improve your flock, plus you have the advantage of having a clean flock that has not been exposed to disease from another farm.  Just make sure that the ram you buy is from a tested flock, and that you keep him separated from the girls for at least 2 months after bringing him on your  property.  That way if he brings any infectious stuff, you will only have to treat him and not the entire flock.


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