# Wishful thinking?



## mystang89 (Apr 19, 2018)

I was bringing in the sheep today and I noticed that one of their utters seemed larger than I remember it. It's kinda hard to tell cause of how much will they have but I tried to take a picture for those residential experts here who might be able to take an educated guess as to whether they believe this sheep to be potentially likely maybe pregnant or I'm simply desperate and see pregnant sheep everywhere like a conspiracy theorist see...... Well, conspiracies. I"think"that last picture is of my other sheep but I can't really remember. It was an uncomfortable experience for myself and the sheep lol. We're both trying to put it out of our heads.


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## Baymule (Apr 19, 2018)

You're going to have little lambs pretty soon by the looks of that udder! Congrats! 

It was an uncomfortable experience for myself and the sheep lol. We're both trying to put it out of our heads.

That's funny. If you think that's uncomfortable, you should really try sheath cleaning! It is an experience in which you grasp firmly the male part of a horse and wash it, while the horse is trying vainly to withdraw his male part to the area somewhere behind his eyeballs.  Plus you get to dig out urinary crystals from the urethra, all of which makes the horse hate your guts. LOL LOL


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## Mike CHS (Apr 19, 2018)

Remind me that I never want a horse if I ever mention getting one.


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## mystang89 (Apr 19, 2018)

Baymule said:


> You're going to have little lambs pretty soon by the looks of that udder! Congrats!
> 
> It was an uncomfortable experience for myself and the sheep lol. We're both trying to put it out of our heads.
> 
> That's funny. If you think that's uncomfortable, you should really try sheath cleaning! It is an experience in which you grasp firmly the male part of a horse and wash it, while the horse is trying vainly to withdraw his male part to the area somewhere behind his eyeballs.  Plus you get to dig out urinary crystals from the urethra, all of which makes the horse hate your guts. LOL LOL



You know....I used to wants houses for my girls. Hope their ok with "My Little Pony" toys lol.

I felt the utter and I might have felt the stomach. One of the two felt hard. I figured the utter was supposed to feel squishy?  I really hate to get my hopes up though.


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## Baymule (Apr 19, 2018)

I had a ewe that walked around with a soccer ball sized udder for THREE WEEKS before she lambed. 

On the sheath cleaning....I soften up the crud with K-Y jelly. You should see the looks I get, standing in line with an arm load of that stuff. So to deflect any suppositions about my sex life, I assure the checker that it's for my horse! The weird looks escalate....... LOL


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## promiseacres (Apr 19, 2018)

Just don't get your whipped topping during the same trip... 

I had to clean Richie last summer when we were camping....waited until dark...  but his sweet attitude is worth it.

Fyi When I had sheep sideways nipple was a good sign.


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## mystang89 (Apr 19, 2018)

I didn't even notice the nipples were sideways. I think I'll ask my wife what's wrong with hers.


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## Latestarter (Apr 20, 2018)

Be prepared to get smacked...


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## secuono (Apr 20, 2018)

Baymule said:


> I had a ewe that walked around with a soccer ball sized udder for THREE WEEKS before she lambed.
> 
> On the sheath cleaning....I soften up the crud with K-Y jelly. You should see the looks I get, standing in line with an arm load of that stuff. So to deflect any suppositions about my sex life, I assure the checker that it's for my horse! The weird looks escalate....... LOL





And this is why I shop online!
Also nice that one of my two boys is always clean. 
Apparently, mares can get beans of sorts in their hoohas, too!


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## mystang89 (Apr 20, 2018)

Well, if she is pregnant should I build another pen in the barn just for her and her lamb so they can have their own hay or pellets out whatever I'm supposed to feed new mother's? They're in the pasture all day which has some wonderful tasting grass there. Should I leave her in with the other ewe whom she seems quite attached to? If so, how do I make sure she is getting the food and not the other ewe?


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## Latestarter (Apr 20, 2018)

Can you separate at feed time and otherwise just leave them together? Seems to me that ought to ease the problem of one getting more than the other.


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## mystang89 (Apr 20, 2018)

That may be an option.I just need to figure out the best way of organizing that. Thanks for the option!


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## mystang89 (Apr 20, 2018)

Nother question. I have my goat always in the same pasture as my girls. IF she is pregnant, should he be removed at some time or is he ok in there?


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## Latestarter (Apr 20, 2018)

Is the goat causing some kind of problem or issue? Or are the ewes causing him some issue or concern? If not, then I'd say leave well enough alone.


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## Baymule (Apr 20, 2018)

I don't separate my ewes. I don't even jug them for a few days after they lamb. They have their lambs where they choose to. I have one ewe that will lamb in their shelter, the rest lamb in the pasture, in brush or at the round bale of hay.


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## mystang89 (Apr 21, 2018)

Wow,I don't even know how ram was autocorrected to goats but, um, yeah, it was definitely supposed to say should I separate my RAM from the potentially pregnant ewe. I didn't know if the ram would attack the lamb.


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## Baymule (Apr 21, 2018)

I ran my ram with the flock for two lambings and he did not attack the lambs. He protected them. I am keeping one of his sons for one or two breedings, then he will go to freezer camp too. My next ram after this one will be a registered Katahdin.


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## mystang89 (Apr 21, 2018)

Thanks, that makes things much more simple.


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## Baymule (Apr 21, 2018)

When I unshell the bucks for a registered ram, he sure won't ever have a one way ticket to freezer camp! LOL My goal is 10 ewes that consistently have twins and raise them unassisted. I have 2 ewes that do that and am keeping a daughter from each this year. I am excited to have them. It will give me 9 ewes.

It is better to be able to separate the ram, so that you can control breeding times.


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## mystang89 (Apr 21, 2018)

How many rams do you have? Do you do line breading?


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## Latestarter (Apr 21, 2018)

Well, according to her post, she's about to start line breeding,  with a son from her present ram.


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## Baymule (Apr 21, 2018)

One of my ewes had such a nice ram lamb, that I am keeping him for one or two breedings. His sire was a Dorper, his Dam is a Dorper/Katahdin cross. One thing about it, if I don't like his progeny, I can eat them. After that, it's on to a Katahdin ram. 

I have not been line breeding and I only keep one ram. So maybe I will be doing some line breeding, but I have 3 ewes that are not related to him.


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## mystang89 (Apr 21, 2018)

Ah, I couldn't tell if you had more than one ram or not.  The guy down the road from us has 7 I believe but he also has over 50 ewes, maybe more.  I did some line breeding with my rabbits with positive results but I wanted to stay away from it with my sheep which is why I wanted 2 rams - to keep the lines separate - but at this point I might end up doing line breeding.  I could get an icelandic since I believe they are supposed to be good milkers as well but I'd have to re-research about they constitution.  I remember there was one sheep that was a decent milker but not strong on the constitution side of things which is why I stayed away from them in the first place.  Still, there are other options I suppose.  

I thought I remember reading/hearing somewhere that Katahdin's were good with milk but maybe I mixed that up with "good for meat".


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## mystang89 (Apr 22, 2018)

Since I don't know when she was mated and don't know when she is due, can anyone tell me about how long in gestation before the utter starts to grow like in the picture?


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## Baymule (Apr 22, 2018)

Some ewes bag up a month before delivery, some a week, so it is hard to tell.


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## Sheepshape (Apr 25, 2018)

Look for other signs of impending lambing. Has she 'dropped'....i.e. is her belly looking sunken and hollows appearing either side of where the tail starts from the body. Are her 'ladies bits'.... OK.... is her vulva looking swollen...usually happens up to a week before birth. Any signs of a mucus plug?......hours to days before birth. Is she off her food and restless?.....imminent labour (though some sheep are off their food for a day or two and others, and I seem to have a lot of these, like a snack half way through their labour and eat very well before and after).

With regards to udder size....that can vary a lot. If a ewe has lambed before, then the udder can become like a pumpkin some weeks before, but some first timers only udder up at the time of delivery.

If she's pawing the ground and bleating to her rear....there'll be a lamb/lambs any minute.

Rams generally are no problem in the field with lambs or ewes giving birth.....but they'll be ready to mate with anyone who comes into season. Over here the rule of thumb is a 'mature' ram can impregnate up to 80 ewes (busy boy!) and a ram lamb or shearling up to 40. As I like my rams to come through 'tupping' still in fair condition, I think these numbers a bit too high.


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## LndSchneid (Apr 25, 2018)

mystang89 said:


> I was bringing in the sheep today and I noticed that one of their utters seemed larger than I remember it. It's kinda hard to tell cause of how much will they have but I tried to take a picture for those residential experts here who might be able to take an educated guess as to whether they believe this sheep to be potentially likely maybe pregnant or I'm simply desperate and see pregnant sheep everywhere like a conspiracy theorist see...... Well, conspiracies. I"think"that last picture is of my other sheep but I can't really remember. It was an uncomfortable experience for myself and the sheep lol. We're both trying to put it out of our heads.
> View attachment 47150
> View attachment 47151
> View attachment 47154


Definitely pregnant


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## mystang89 (Apr 25, 2018)

Sheepshape said:


> Look for other signs of impending lambing. Has she 'dropped'....i.e. is her belly looking sunken and hollows appearing either side of where the tail starts from the body. Are her 'ladies bits'.... OK.... is her vulva looking swollen...usually happens up to a week before birth. Any signs of a mucus plug?......hours to days before birth. Is she off her food and restless?.....imminent labour (though some sheep are off their food for a day or two and others, and I seem to have a lot of these, like a snack half way through their labour and eat very well before and after).
> 
> With regards to udder size....that can vary a lot. If a ewe has lambed before, then the udder can become like a pumpkin some weeks before, but some first timers only udder up at the time of delivery.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the run down! I checked her parts the other day and they weren't swollen or that reddish purple color. She is so wooly that it's difficult for a person who's never seen a sunken belly or felt for the tail strings to know any different ATM.

I have been watching her a bit more closely lately but she hasn't gone of by herself, still eating just like everyone else as well. There no mucus plug either that I know of but that tto would be difficult to see with her but hairy tail in the way.

I'll definitely update everyone if anything changes though. The wife, children and I guessed dates we thought she'd have her lamb and whoever is closest gets the privilege of naming it!


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## Baymule (Apr 25, 2018)

I vote to name it Surprise!


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## mystang89 (May 1, 2018)

Quick question. I was reading a couple of parts by @farmerjan mentioning supplimenting a pregnant ewe with extra hay and/or grain. I haven't done that for mine so far mainly because she had seemed fine to my untrained eyes. However, should I be feeding her something extra and if so should I continue even after she has lambed?


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## Mike CHS (May 1, 2018)

I have a couple of sheep that look like they are doing well but when you put your hands on them they aren't quite so good.  It's easier to see how they really are now that they are losing their winter coats.  Here's a decent article about how to score your animals condition:

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/management-reproduction/condition-scoring-sheep


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## Sheepshape (May 1, 2018)

Domestic sheep often have been bred to have more and bigger lambs than the primitive types, so usually need supplementation in the last few weeks of pregnancy and during the times they are producing the greatest volumes of milk (3-4 weeks from lambing). 
Young ewes with a good body score, little problems with internal parasites, only having one lamb (assuming this to lamb to be of modest size) and on good grazing probably will be OK. 
This reminds me...at the time of lambing, she should be wormed with an amtihelmintic suggested by your vet (who will have local knowledge as to which worms are prevalent). The ewe has a dropping off of her immunity in the last weeks before lambing to allow the lamb not to be rejected by the mum in the time just before delivery when foetal cells start to enter the maternal circulation. Worm her before you turn her out.

Good Luck.


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## Baymule (May 1, 2018)

I have one ewe that always has twins. She loses a lot of weight after lambing, she gives everything to her milk. The ewes get a pellet Feed, then I give her extra by herself.


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## mystang89 (May 1, 2018)

Sheepshape said:


> Domestic sheep often have been bred to have more and bigger lambs than the primitive types, so usually need supplementation in the last few weeks of pregnancy and during the times they are producing the greatest volumes of milk (3-4 weeks from lambing).
> Young ewes with a good body score, little problems with internal parasites, only having one lamb (assuming this to lamb to be of modest size) and on good grazing probably will be OK.
> This reminds me...at the time of lambing, she should be wormed with an amtihelmintic suggested by your vet (who will have local knowledge as to which worms are prevalent). The ewe has a dropping off of her immunity in the last weeks before lambing to allow the lamb not to be rejected by the mum in the time just before delivery when foetal cells start to enter the maternal circulation. Worm her before you turn her out.
> Good Luck.



Thanks, there was a post in a worming thread that you had done which mentioned working https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/worming.37120/#post-530522 
https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/pregnant-ewes-and-worming.37025/#post-528577
I feel a bit behind the curve right now which is not what I like.  Sounds like I need to be getting some grain + finding a wormer and taking a fecal sample to the vet.  @Southern by choice mentioned CD & T and the link she posted said something about Ivomec drench so I'll try to find that.  I read in one of those forums that another person had seen success with Ivomec.

@Mike CHS Thanks for the link.  It's been bookmarked.  Right now the ewe probably has around 14lbs of wool on her making it difficult to do any weighing or seeing her condition based on body weight.  I'm reluctant to do any sheering on her until after the lamb has been weened due to any unnecessary stress I'll be placing her under.  Do you think its ok to sheer her right now being so close to birthing?


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## Mike CHS (May 1, 2018)

Sorry but I'm no help on wool sheep and I find myself still learning about hair sheep.  

We try to avoid stress all of the time but especially when lambs will be there soon.


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## mystang89 (May 1, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> Sorry but I'm no help on wool sheep and I find myself still learning about hair sheep.
> 
> We try to avoid stress all of the time but especially when lambs will be there soon.


That's more help than you think because they are going to be sheered here soon and I'll be able to use that link to see what condition they are in.

I just took a fecal sample to the vet and they said there wasn't any trace of parasites to be found.  I did ask them to draw up a wormer though just in case.  Better to be safe than sorry.  I'll give her some for the next 3 days and then about 3 weeks after Lambing.  Thanks everyone!


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## Sheepshape (May 1, 2018)

Shearing should wait until after the lambs are pretty much weaned in wool sheep (which all of mine are).


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## mystang89 (May 10, 2018)

Not wishful thinking! They're here! I can't post pictures of them because my phone throws up error messages when trying to load and my computer crashed yesterday.


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## mystang89 (May 10, 2018)

More will follow. I'll probably start a journal when my computer gets fixed. I have auto correcting the auto correct on phones.


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## Sheepshape (May 10, 2018)

Well done....lovely lambs and kids!


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## mystang89 (May 10, 2018)

Lambs are more peaceful than kids. The one could learn a thing or two from the other lol.  I did end up separating the ram from the ewes and lambs. Find him butting them. Not hard like he does my children but enough that I didn't like it.


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## Latestarter (May 13, 2018)

Sorry, had to laugh... You removed the ram cause he was butting the other sheep (not even as hard as he butts your kids) and you didn't like that... I guess butting the kids is OK as you didn't mention that you don't like that either... Great looking animals and children!


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## mystang89 (May 14, 2018)

Lol, but....but, the lambs are cute. I Can't let them get beat up

Honestly though, if I didn't need this ram he'd be freezer. I was out there the other day fully suited up in my bee suit, trying to move bees to another hive when he head butt my 6 year old daughter who was holding my 2 month old daughter. Nothing like seeing a man in a be suit running up and down 7acres trying to catch a ram to make it apologize to leave a lasting impression on your children.


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## Latestarter (May 14, 2018)

Just the first comment, not the rest.


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## Wehner Homestead (May 14, 2018)

The visual picture of the running part is entertaining. 

My dad would have the kids carry a sorting stick and swing hard every time he comes near them. (A sorting stick would be hard for a 6 yr old to hurt a grown ram with as long as it’s only used when he enters range.)


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## Latestarter (May 14, 2018)

So not along the lines of a 36" Louisville slugger?  Or I guess now maybe one of those aluminum bats would be easier to come by... (and lighter to carry)
ETA, OK, so the running in a bee suit chasing a ram was a little humorous as well...


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## Baymule (May 14, 2018)

My ram ran from a flapping plastic grocery bag. Maybe give your kids plastic bags to shake at the ram? That ram is now in Freezer Camp, I have his son, who might be a little nicer.


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