# Going crazy waiting for sbf lambs



## Hufflesheep (Mar 4, 2020)

Hi! Im brand new here and brand new to lambing! 🖐
Although i'll admit, ive been loitering in this site for a couple weeks now. 
I have Scottish Blackface sheep. 😁
A few things I've learnt the hard way
1) get a marking harness for the ram so I can get a general idea when I'm due. Or...
2) teaser ram
3) don't leave ram with ewes throughout the entire fall season.

According to the date I paired them up, the earliest i was looking at was Feb 15th ish. I had them sheared on 12th and the shearer was able to help me confirm the pregnancies of three ewes. 
The eldest of the three seemed the furthest along. Her vulva was softening, and she was starting to bag up, she was very big and i felt a little fetal lamby.  Around feb 24th it looked obvious she dropped. Her hips and tail look separated - tail cocked to the right. her bag was a bit fuller, and her vulva reddened. Since then I've seen very little if any changes! Except that she is humongous!
Her vulva is much different than pictures i see posted of other ewes 😆. She is an older ewe and her lady bits are, um well, floppy? 

I dont know, what do you guys think? Who wants to wager an over/under bet?


----------



## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 4, 2020)

Oh that poor girl. She certainly looks ready to pop!


----------



## mysunwolf (Mar 5, 2020)

Looks like she has at least a week left, her udder isn't quite filled out yet! Especially for an older girl. She certainly looks like she's carrying low and is huge in the belly! Vulva also doesn't look as loose as it will right before labor. Don't worry, it won't be that much longer


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 5, 2020)

Thanks!


----------



## Beekissed (Mar 5, 2020)

Welcome from WV!  Love that breed and how it looks.  Wonderful to have another sheeple here on BYH!


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 5, 2020)

Beekissed said:


> Welcome from WV!  Love that breed and how it looks.  Wonderful to have another sheeple here on BYH!



Thanks! I do love them! They're great for me here in the White Mts region of NH! Cheers!


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 10, 2020)

Update! She had her lamb on the 7th! But we lost the twin


----------



## B&B Happy goats (Mar 10, 2020)

So sorry you lost the lamb 
Mount Washington  is one of my favorite  places (I grew up in NH) ,......I just don't  do winters anymore, but it sure is beautiful  country in New England !
Welcome to BYH


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 10, 2020)

B&B Happy goats said:


> So sorry you lost the lamb
> Mount Washington  is one of my favorite  places (I grew up in NH) ,......I just don't  do winters anymore, but it sure is beautiful  country in New England !
> Welcome to BYH



Thank you! Yes, brutal winters! Fortunately i think we're out of the worst of it for the year!


----------



## Baymule (Mar 10, 2020)

Congrats on the lamb, sorry about losing the other one. Glad to have you here!


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Congrats on the lamb, sorry about losing the other one. Glad to have you here!



Thank you!


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 10, 2020)

Hi and welcome to BYH!  I too, am sorry about the lamp.  Tough to lose a baby. But good that momma and the other are doing well!!  You will love it here on BYH... great people, great advice....when you have time, I’d love to see more pictures!  Do you have more animals?


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 10, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> Hi and welcome to BYH!  I too, am sorry about the lamp.  Tough to lose a baby. But good that momma and the other are doing well!!  You will love it here on BYH... great people, great advice....when you have time, I’d love to see more pictures!  Do you have more animals?



Thank you! Im delighted to be here! Ill be sure to post more pics with a small biography


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 10, 2020)

Hufflesheep said:


> Thank you! Im delighted to be here! Ill be sure to post more pics with a small biography


Most of us have our own journal...then we usually write about our farms, etc, and the others get to read about it and give input.  It’s a great way for us all to get to know each other!!


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 10, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> Most of us have our own journal...then we usually write about our farms, etc, and the others get to read about it and give input.  It’s a great way for us all to get to know each other!!



Oh thanks for that! Will do!


----------



## Ridgetop (Mar 12, 2020)

Sorry you lost the twin.  the sad part of farming. 

How many bred ewes do you have?  Definitely get a marking harness.  No need to bother with a teaser ram since you would want to use a harness and crayon to know breeding dates for sure anyway.  (Why feed an extra mouth for nothing.) I have used marking harnesses for years and the best currently on the market is the Mating Mark harness. The webbing is wide so it doesn't loosen and slip.  It is easy to adjust and take on and off.  Also it takes most crayons, although I have found that the Mating Mark crayons are actually the cheapest.  They slide in and clip without a pin too.  They also come in hot, medium and cold weather.

Just wondering why you had your ewes sheared so early in NH, and right before lambing.  You could just crotch them - shear the wool around the rear and the bag to cut don on blood & mess on the wool.  On the other hand, if you have a barn where you can put up heat lamps it would be ok.  Some people think shearing makes the ewe take the lamb to shelter, since she gets cold.  I worry about pneumonia.  I also don't like the shearer twisting my ewes around and stressing them when they are that heavily pregnant.   I am always open to new information though so just wondering what your reason was to shear in February 3 days before your expected lambing date.  Actually since she didn't lamb until March 7 not a problem but just wondering.


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 12, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Sorry you lost the twin.  the sad part of farming.
> 
> How many bred ewes do you have?  Definitely get a marking harness.  No need to bother with a teaser ram since you would want to use a harness and crayon to know breeding dates for sure anyway.  (Why feed an extra mouth for nothing.) I have used marking harnesses for years and the best currently on the market is the Mating Mark harness. The webbing is wide so it doesn't loosen and slip.  It is easy to adjust and take on and off.  Also it takes most crayons, although I have found that the Mating Mark crayons are actually the cheapest.  They slide in and clip without a pin too.  They also come in hot, medium and cold weather.
> 
> Just wondering why you had your ewes sheared so early in NH, and right before lambing.  You could just crotch them - shear the wool around the rear and the bag to cut don on blood & mess on the wool.  On the other hand, if you have a barn where you can put up heat lamps it would be ok.  Some people think shearing makes the ewe take the lamb to shelter, since she gets cold.  I worry about pneumonia.  I also don't like the shearer twisting my ewes around and stressing them when they are that heavily pregnant.   I am always open to new information though so just wondering what your reason was to shear in February 3 days before your expected lambing date.  Actually since she didn't lamb until March 7 not a problem but just wondering.



Thanks for your response!
I have 4 bred this year. Two down, two to go. I have experience with other livestock, but this is my first rodeo breeding sheep. 🙂
The shearing decisions was made entirely by the shearer. Not knowing the term I asked her if she could "do around the backend and around the udder" she suggested in my barn they'd be fine for a  full shear. I do not use heat lamps. My barn is an old diary. The old milking parlor where they live is insulated by a hay loft. We also have my neighbors 30 angus cows that live in my ag tunnel part of my barn adjacent to where my sheep live. So it's not that bad. On extra cold days i feed them a little warm molasses water. That being said, i do not intend to breed that early in the season again.
Could you take peek at my latest thread I posted? Its titled "please help. Ewe is driving me crazy"


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 12, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Sorry you lost the twin.  the sad part of farming.
> 
> How many bred ewes do you have?  Definitely get a marking harness.  No need to bother with a teaser ram since you would want to use a harness and crayon to know breeding dates for sure anyway.  (Why feed an extra mouth for nothing.) I have used marking harnesses for years and the best currently on the market is the Mating Mark harness. The webbing is wide so it doesn't loosen and slip.  It is easy to adjust and take on and off.  Also it takes most crayons, although I have found that the Mating Mark crayons are actually the cheapest.  They slide in and clip without a pin too.  They also come in hot, medium and cold weather.
> 
> Just wondering why you had your ewes sheared so early in NH, and right before lambing.  You could just crotch them - shear the wool around the rear and the bag to cut don on blood & mess on the wool.  On the other hand, if you have a barn where you can put up heat lamps it would be ok.  Some people think shearing makes the ewe take the lamb to shelter, since she gets cold.  I worry about pneumonia.  I also don't like the shearer twisting my ewes around and stressing them when they are that heavily pregnant.   I am always open to new information though so just wondering what your reason was to shear in February 3 days before your expected lambing date.  Actually since she didn't lamb until March 7 not a problem but just wondering.



Shearing this thing of year/prior to lambing is actually fairly common practice. Even in New England. 

The idea being that if the ewe is chilly, she’s more likely to lamb somewhere warmer rather than plopping out her lambs in a mud puddle in the paddock (seen it happen). 

The other thing is, lambs are really hard on wool. The stress of lambing causes a break (weak spot) in the fleece that can be detrimental to wool quality and value. And then there’s the lambs that climb all over their mother’s which further ruins the fleece. 

We (in VT) sheared about a month before lambing ever year for almost 20 years. A few years ago we stopped because we had a year with bad hay/nutrition that was also brutally cold during lambing and the sheep really struggled. Since then, my youngest sister started shearing the sheep herself so she was able to shear them after they lambed, but before fleeces were wrecked.

There is no reason not to shear in Jan/Feb/Mar as long as your feed is good and the sheep have adequate shelter.


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Shearing this thing of year/prior to lambing is actually fairly common practice. Even in New England.
> 
> The idea being that if the ewe is chilly, she’s more likely to lamb somewhere warmer rather than plopping out her lambs in a mud puddle in the paddock (seen it happen).
> 
> ...



Thanks! I know at least a couple people who shear in feb for march lambing up here! What month do you lamb? Im finding out im not particularly fond of lambing in march 😆 I'm quite far north


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 12, 2020)

Hufflesheep said:


> Thanks! I know at least a couple people who shear in feb for march lambing up here! What month do you lamb? Im finding out im not particularly fond of lambing in march 😆 I'm quite far north



February/March. I like lambing early because it gives the lambs plenty of time to get strong before having to fight with internal parasites in the summer. 

My last ewe is due next week. I wasn’t going to breed her at all (not due to any health issues), but when I found her at the gate literally begging to visit the ram, I relented and let her in. 

I’m now living in KY (as of December 2019) and I can’t say that I have missed the New England winter. I’ve got green grass already.


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> February/March. I like lambing early because it gives the lambs plenty of time to get strong before having to fight with internal parasites in the summer.
> 
> My last ewe is due next week. I wasn’t going to breed her at all (not due to any health issues), but when I found her at the gate literally begging to visit the ram, I relented and let her in.
> 
> I’m now living in KY (as of December 2019) and I can’t say that I have missed the New England winter. I’ve got green grass already.



That's a good point! 
😩 it's that time of year im so over winter! Enjoy the bluegrass state!


----------



## Hufflesheep (Mar 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> February/March. I like lambing early because it gives the lambs plenty of time to get strong before having to fight with internal parasites in the summer.
> 
> My last ewe is due next week. I wasn’t going to breed her at all (not due to any health issues), but when I found her at the gate literally begging to visit the ram, I relented and let her in.
> 
> I’m now living in KY (as of December 2019) and I can’t say that I have missed the New England winter. I’ve got green grass already.




Could you go see my new post titled "help! Ewe is driving me crazy!" Im really at a loss


----------



## Ridgetop (Mar 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Shearing this thing of year/prior to lambing is actually fairly common practice. Even in New England.
> 
> The idea being that if the ewe is chilly, she’s more likely to lamb somewhere warmer rather than plopping out her lambs in a mud puddle in the paddock (seen it happen).
> 
> The other thing is, lambs are really hard on wool. The stress of lambing causes a break (weak spot) in the fleece that can be detrimental to wool quality and value. And then there’s the lambs that climb all over their mother’s which further ruins the fleece.



Thanks for posting this.  I knew the idea about shearing to make the ewe seek shelter in the cold.  I don't do fiber so didn't know about ruined fleeces, although one of my Dorper lambs' favorite standing places is on her mother's back.    In southern California I can shear anytime without a problem and I used to shear once before breeding and again before lambing.  With short wool breeds sometimes though I would just crutch them.  Dorpers don't have belly wool and have a fairly clean udder and vulva area so not shearing at all any more.  

When did you move to Kentucky?  Whereabouts?


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 12, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Thanks for posting this.  I knew the idea about shearing to make the ewe seek shelter in the cold.  I don't do fiber so didn't know about ruined fleeces, although one of my Dorper lambs' favorite standing places is on her mother's back.    In southern California I can shear anytime without a problem and I used to shear once before breeding and again before lambing.  With short wool breeds sometimes though I would just crutch them.  Dorpers don't have belly wool and have a fairly clean udder and vulva area so not shearing at all any more.
> 
> When did you move to Kentucky?  Whereabouts?



I'm near Fort Knox/Elizabethtown. Moved down right before Christmas.


----------

