# SheepGirl's 2012 Lambing Thread



## SheepGirl

Well my ram escaped from his pasture to go join the ewe flock. Unfortunately for him, he was moved back. Fortunately for me, it was easy: just needed a bucket of grain to shake! 

But I hope he didn't breed any of them. He's related to four out of the six in some way or another. And four of the ewes are my neighbors (two of which he's related to). The sheep weren't exposed for a 2011 lambing nor were they supposed to be exposed for a 2012 lambing because my neighbor has his farm for sale. He downsized his flock to just his purebred Babydolls (I miss the Montadales ) and one 75% Babydoll ewe.

I did notice yesterday, though, that the ewe in my avatar (my ram's dam) was in heat yesterday--she was standing right next to him with just a fence in the way. So I guess Billy got tired of not breeding anyone for the past two years and he made his debut to the girls.

So if he did breed her, she'd be due Memorial Day weekend--the weekend, where, every year, we have a family reunion (all my aunts/uncles/cousins...all city people...come up for the weekend and that Saturday we go to my great aunt's house and then on Sunday we do tourist-y stuff, like go to D.C. or Gettysburg). So that's exciting, right?  If she wasn't bred, then she'd be coming in heat around January 20th. Sucks for her 'cause she won't be bred again 

I'm pretty confident that she was bred though. When we were breeding the sheep, she would always be the first ewe to be bred and to lamb, or be one day behind another ewe (even when she was a youngin'). But this is her fifth to seventh heat (depending on when she started cycling this past year) so I'm pretty sure her body is like "we've waited soo long. we must get pregnant!" So who knows lol.

But if I can catch her tomorrow in the field, I will take some pictures of her for you guys...back, top, side, the whole sha-bang, and then that way if she was bred, we can track her pregnancy through pictures...though I wouldn't expect any noticeable differences in her body until the third or fourth month.

And I will more than likely be selling these babies when they reach 90-110 lbs (around October/November). Hopefully the auction prices for lambs will still be $2 a pound 

So maybe she will help me mix it up for you guys...get you away from all those kidding threads...and maybe we will start a lambing thread!


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## SmallFarmGirl

Ohhhh... Lambing thread!!!


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## SheepGirl

To keep you held over until I get updated pics, here is the ewe:





Taken 7/7/11

Her lover/baby daddy/son:




Taken 5/16/11

One of the lambs that resulted from the last time this accidental cross happened (so will be full brother to possible future lambs):




Taken 5/16/11


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## Ms. Research

Looking forward to hear the news.

Lambs, goats, rabbits, chickens, alpacas, don't matter to me.  Love to see new life!

K


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## SheepGirl

I was able to get some updated pics earlier today. Sorry for them being so dirty--it's been real muddy and they love to lie out in the pasture in the mud rather than coming into a nice dry barn.  Silly sheep.

Unfortunately my ewe is getting a little wild so I was only able to get pics when she was out in the pasture, rather than me haltering her and holding her still. But my ram, though I don't trust him, is still veryyy friendly and always comes running up to the fence to say hi to me.

Billy:





Rear (one in the middle)





Side (larger white ewe on left)





Front


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## SheepGirl

I also added more pics on the POW thread, pg 35, post #350 .


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## bigshawn

Wow, love em...........


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## SheepGirl

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> Ohhhh... Lambing thread!!!


Maybe! 



			
				Ms. Research said:
			
		

> Looking forward to hear the news.
> 
> Lambs, goats, rabbits, chickens, alpacas, don't matter to me.  Love to see new life!
> 
> K


Me too. I love lambs. Their high pitched baas make me melt  Will find out in about ten days if she took.



			
				bigshawn said:
			
		

> Wow, love em...........


Thanks


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## Ms. Research

You do have a awesome flock.  

Hoping no one is pregnant by that escaping ram.  

But hoping to see babies soon!

K


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## SheepGirl

Sheep 201 said:
			
		

> In sheep, the length of the estrus cycle ranges from 13 to 19 days and averages 17 days.


Well thirteen days would've been January 16 and nineteen days would be January 22. So far she hasn't come into heat, but I still have four more days to see!



			
				Ms. Research said:
			
		

> You do have a awesome flock.
> 
> Hoping no one is pregnant by that escaping ram.
> 
> But hoping to see babies soon!
> 
> K


Thanks! I'm hoping no one was bred, but deep down inside I'm hoping SOMEONE was!  I really miss having babies around.


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## SheepGirl

Well it's day 17 and I did not see her stand near the ram pasture at all today. By Sunday I should know if she came into heat at all and then I can start her on her gestation ration.


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## SheepGirl

It snowed today. Day 18 and no interest in rams; wasn't seeking them out like a ewe in heat would. Got a bunch of pictures! Some I put in the POW.

Here are some:

Ewe Posing






Here get my better side





Sheep in a Line





Paulie





Paulie





Some of the flock





Possible bred ewe


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## SheepGirl

This is Valentine (aka "Ali"), my 75% Babydoll Southdown 25% Montadale mature ewe. She's a 2009 lamb out of Ciqala, the ewe I think is bred. She's also Billy's twin sister; Billy is the sire of the lambs that will probably be born Memorial Day weekend.





This is my ewe at another angle.


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## bonbean01

Paulie melted my heart...I would love to have her!!!  If they are bred, I read that its okay if it is just one generation, but not two...so, if they are bred, it may be okay?  Keep us updated!


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## SheepGirl

Paulie's my wether. He's such a sweetheart. He is actually out of this cross before (mother x son) born March 18, 2010 so I think the lambs should turn out okay. The only reason why I'm keeping him is for a companion for my ram (his father/brother) when they move to my house  But currently he's living with the ewes.

Here he is as a part-time bottle baby (I supplemented him with a bottle after his twin brother died of a suspected selenium deficiency - and I didn't want to lose him)





Here he is at 9 months old





At 14 months...


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## Royd Wood

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Paulie melted my heart...I would love to have her!!!  If they are bred, I read that its okay if it is just one generation, but not two...so, if they are bred, it may be okay?  Keep us updated!


Yep Paulie is a pretty one thats for sure - lol at the hay head. Great pics sheepgirl
5 weeks to go to lambing here


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## RustyDHart

What great looking sheep......cute faces.    I love your barn set up as well.   I hope the ewe is bred....can't wait to see baby pictures.   Please keep us posted!     Rusty


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## SheepGirl

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> bonbean01 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Paulie melted my heart...I would love to have her!!!  If they are bred, I read that its okay if it is just one generation, but not two...so, if they are bred, it may be okay?  Keep us updated!
> 
> 
> 
> Yep Paulie is a pretty one thats for sure - lol at the hay head. Great pics sheepgirl
> 5 weeks to go to lambing here
Click to expand...

Thanks  And you're lucky! I haven't seen a newborn lamb since 2010  My friend already has four sets of twins on the ground and 16 more ewes to lamb!



			
				RustyDHart said:
			
		

> What great looking sheep......cute faces.    I love your barn set up as well.   I hope the ewe is bred....can't wait to see baby pictures.   Please keep us posted!     Rusty


Thanks!

I love my neighbor's set up as well. There are about 21 acres and he has three barns (a masonry barn that is 2400 sq ft and two side barns [seen in "sheep in a line" photo] that are 1800 sq ft each) plus he also has a Quonset hut (it's over 9,000 sq ft--you can see it in some of my pasture photos) and three commercial greenhouses (he used to grow hydroponic tomatoes for Safeway). He has his property for sale (he wants to move to Texas or something) and he's selling it for dirt cheap compared to other places around here who don't have as much buildings and land. I wish I could buy it now! I would definitely love to own this property in the future if I ever have the opportunity to. I'm in love with it 

I hope the ewe is bred too. I need a baby lamb fix XD


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## 77Herford

Nice sheep, I'm sure they'll be fine.  Your favorite ewe is a beauty.


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## greenbean

They are sooo cute!


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## SheepGirl

77Herford said:
			
		

> Nice sheep, I'm sure they'll be fine.  Your favorite ewe is a beauty.


Thanks!



			
				greenbean said:
			
		

> They are sooo cute!


Thanks!

-----

Sometime within the next couple of weeks I will be trimming their hooves and I will be putting a "how to trim sheep/goat hooves" page up so everyone who doesn't know how will have the opportunity to learn. I can get trim them now, I'm just waiting for my mom or dad to come down and photograph me when they have time. But it should be up sooner than later 

BTW -- since I think my ewe is bred now, she is receiving her early gestation ration. Currently, in addition to the mediocre pasture, she is receiving about 1/2 lb of hay per day (with a handful of grain to coax her in the barn ).


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## Southdown

I love pictures!  I have a hard time determining if my ewes "look" pregnant.  I sometimes can't really see it until the udders develop, then I know it's getting close.  My one ewe that should be due April 6th was a bit on the fat side to begin with, so I really can't tell if she "looks" pregnant right now.  It is so exciting and I just love lambing season!  After seeing the pictures online, I just wish it was April.  The little wether that was bottle fed is a cutie.


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## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> I love pictures!  I have a hard time determining if my ewes "look" pregnant.  I sometimes can't really see it until the udders develop, then I know it's getting close.  My one ewe that should be due April 6th was a bit on the fat side to begin with, so I really can't tell if she "looks" pregnant right now.  It is so exciting and I just love lambing season!  After seeing the pictures online, I just wish it was April.  The little wether that was bottle fed is a cutie.


Well I have plenty of pictures coming!  Haha. Well you're about two months out, so you shouldn't have really seen any noticeable signs yet. Now that she's in the last "trimester" of her pregnancy, you will definitely begin to notice her weight gain. Lambing season is very exciting and I'm jealous you'll have lambs almost two months before me  lol


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## SheepGirl

UPDATED PICTURES! I can safely assume that she is now one month bred because I haven't noticed her seeking out the rams...or she could _not_ be bred and she just stopped cycling because it was the end of breeding season for her. But I don't know. 

Well, today it was snowing...well it _is_ snowing. It's been snowing for like the past three hours or so already. It's a shame that I never remember to bring the camera when there's no snow on the ground. Oh well.  And the sheep were outside grazing. In the snow, while it was snowing. When there's beautiful green grass hay in the barn. If I were a sheep, I'd be eating the hay...not only because it's better than the pasture right now, but because I wouldn't want my lips to be cold from being in the snow! Lol...Enjoy the new pictures!

My little goofball of a wether, Paulie, eating some feed






And here he is again...





Some pictures of the flock
The white sheep in the back, from left to right are my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe and my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The white ewe in front is my ewe, Ciqala, the bred one. The three black sheep standing in a row are all purebred Babydoll Southdowns. The black guy in front is my wether Paulie. 





Three black sheep in the back are the purebred Babydolls. The black guy in front is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my 3/4 Babydoll. The white girl next to her is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe.





The ewe on the far left is my bred ewe. The white ewe on the far right is my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The black one behind her is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe. All the other black ewes are the purebred Babydolls.





Now of my ewe - her "official" one-month bred pictures.

Rear





Side - She looks like she's gotten bigger. But I think it's just because she's not as stretched out as she was in the initial pictures I took of her.





_Edited for spelling errors._


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## Southdown

This is Daisy, who is due April 6th.  This will be her first time.  She doesn't really look that pregnant to me, but we have two more months to go yet.  This is just a side view of her body from today.


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## Southdown

This is another ewe that is pregnant.  I'm not as certain on her due date, but it should be end of Feb./early March.  She actually does look pregnant in real life.  I'm thinking she may have twins because she looks wide on both sides.  Her babies will be 1/2 suffolk and 1/2 babydoll.  I will be gone for work, so my husband will be the one home when she births.  I'm hoping she holds out a little longer because I don't want to miss it.  Does anyone know if they would lamb earlier or later when having twins v.s. single?

Paulie is cute.


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## aggieterpkatie

Gestation is the same whether they have twins or a single. Sometimes though, they could go *slightly* early if they have multiples, but probably only by a few days or so.  


SheepGirl, I'm totally jealous of your snow.  We didn't get any here!


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## aggieterpkatie

Sorry, repeated post!


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## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Gestation is the same whether they have twins or a single. Sometimes though, they could go *slightly* early if they have multiples, but probably only by a few days or so.


Yep, I agree.



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> SheepGirl, I'm totally jealous of your snow.  We didn't get any here!




But it all melted by 1 pm on Sunday  So it didn't stay around too long. But it was nice while it lasted!

I'm sure you'll get _some_ snow soon!


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## secuono

SheepGirl, how on Earth can you tell them apart from a distance? 
I only have 3, black is a ram. But the two whites, if one wasn't missing the ear tag, I would never know them apart...


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## SheepGirl

secuono said:
			
		

> SheepGirl, how on Earth can you tell them apart from a distance?
> I only have 3, black is a ram. But the two whites, if one wasn't missing the ear tag, I would never know them apart...


Here's how I do it:

There are two pastures: one for the rams and one for the ewes (and a wether). The ram pasture has a two-head flock and the ewe pasture has a seven-head flock.

Rams: Both rams are black. My 3/4 Babydoll 1/4 Montadale ram is bigger and darker than his smaller, lighter-colored purebred Babydoll ram pasture mate.

Ewes: There are three white ewes, three black ewes, and a black wether.

The largest white ewe is my 1/2 Babydoll 1/2 Montadale ewe (the one this thread is about). The other two white ewes are both 3/4 Babydoll 1/4 Montadale. Being they are the same "breed," it sometimes gets hard to tell them a part. But my ewe has a nice, dense fleece--it's also kind of gray/brown in color. The other ewe has a shaggier-looking fleece that is more yellow in color. The shaggier looking ewe from a distance looks bigger/fluffier than my ewe.

For the black ones, two of the purebreds are very light in color (pretty much a dark shade of gray). The older ewe (I guess she's at least six years old now) now has a gray fleece when shorn and her daughter is still pretty black underneath. To tell these two girls a part, the older ewe has a more refined looking head, while her daughter has a "blockier," more fluffy head. Both are wool-blind, though. :/ Remaining are the two darker ones, a purebred ewe and a 5/8 wether. Well to put it simply, the short black one is the ewe and the tall black one is my wether 

_Edited to change the wording of my answer._


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## 77Herford

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> UPDATED PICTURES! I can safely assume that she is now one month bred because I haven't noticed her seeking out the rams...or she could _not_ be bred and she just stopped cycling because it was the end of breeding season for her. But I don't know.
> 
> Well, today it was snowing...well it _is_ snowing. It's been snowing for like the past three hours or so already. It's a shame that I never remember to bring the camera when there's no snow on the ground. Oh well.  And the sheep were outside grazing. In the snow, while it was snowing. When there's beautiful green grass hay in the barn. If I were a sheep, I'd be eating the hay...not only because it's better than the pasture right now, but because I wouldn't want my lips to be cold from being in the snow! Lol...Enjoy the new pictures!
> 
> My little goofball of a wether, Paulie, eating some feed
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0228.jpg
> 
> And here he is again...
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0242.jpg
> 
> Some pictures of the flock
> The white sheep in the back, from left to right are my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe and my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The white ewe in front is my ewe, Ciqala, the bred one. The three black sheep standing in a row are all purebred Babydoll Southdowns. The black guy in front is my wether Paulie.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0244.jpg
> 
> Three black sheep in the back are the purebred Babydolls. The black guy in front is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my 3/4 Babydoll. The white girl next to her is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0250.jpg
> 
> The ewe on the far left is my bred ewe. The white ewe on the far right is my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The black one behind her is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe. All the other black ewes are the purebred Babydolls.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0254.jpg
> 
> Now of my ewe - her "official" one-month bred pictures.
> 
> Rear
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0234.jpg
> 
> Side - She looks like she's gotten bigger. But I think it's just because she's not as stretched out as she was in the initial pictures I took of her.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0238.jpg
> 
> _Edited for spelling errors._


I REALLY like your 3/4 Babydoll sheep.  They all look sweet but that 3/4 one just draws me in.  I think my wife would freak though if I brought home some Babydolls.


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## SheepGirl

77Herford said:
			
		

> I REALLY like your 3/4 Babydoll sheep.  They all look sweet but that 3/4 one just draws me in.  I think my wife would freak though if I brought home some Babydolls.


 Thanks 

Well you did bring home some Black Welsh Mountain....


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## SheepGirl

New pictures...got some when it wasn't snowing! 

(Sorry if I'm overloading you guys with pictures!)

The only thing I don't like about this one is her whole head isn't in it. But I LOVE how beautiful and clear the sky was today! Here is her "official" one-month bred front picture:






So, my ewe went from this (trying to run away):





To this:





And she absolutely did not want to get out of my face! lol

But here are some goofy pictures of my ewe I thought y'all would enjoy:





I'm not even sure what was going on here...


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## neener92

Cute sheep!


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## SheepGirl

neener92 said:
			
		

> Cute sheep!


Thanks!


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## SheepGirl

*SPRING'S ON ITS WAY! *











Here's another pic of my ewe.





Is the _ram_ on the right pregnant? Nope! Just fat!  (Just on grass...) He's my 3/4 Babydoll ram; the sire to the lambs I think are going to be born Memorial Day weekend. The ram on the left is the purebred Babydoll.


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## Southdown

LOL.  My ram looks "pregnant" too; in fact, he's fatter than all of the girls.


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## secuono

Do you guys notch the ears? In your latest pics of the ewe, it looks like it. My ram lost his tag about a week ago, based on how it's healing. They don't rip out though, they seem to pop off from both sides leaving a circular hole. So dumb, only have one sheep with it in, after that, I won't be able to tell the two girls apart, lol. 

SheepGirl, must be nice to tell them apart.


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## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> LOL.  My ram looks "pregnant" too; in fact, he's fatter than all of the girls.


Haha. That's how my ram is  Isn't it so funny how we let the rams get all fat but then we care more about a ewe's nutrition? 



			
				secuono said:
			
		

> Do you guys notch the ears? In your latest pics of the ewe, it looks like it. My ram lost his tag about a week ago, based on how it's healing. They don't rip out though, they seem to pop off from both sides leaving a circular hole. So dumb, only have one sheep with it in, after that, I won't be able to tell the two girls apart, lol.
> 
> SheepGirl, must be nice to tell them apart.


Nope. That's just where her Scrapie ear tags fell out. She had the first one in for less than a year. The next one she had in for a mere two months; it fell out at fair. I take her to the fair and also school petting zoos so Scrapie tags are required due to the mandatory scrapie eradication program. Otherwise I wouldn't have them in. (Sheep are only legally required to have scrapie tags when they leave their farm of origin.) I guess these tags were poorly made because her flock tag, the red Allflex tag (44), has been in for almost six years now. But then again, my neighbor got the Scrapie tags back in 2003, and they're just now being put in the sheep. So maybe that has something to do with it?

If you can't tell them a part now...wait till they lamb!  When our ewes lamb, I normally find very discriminate differences between the lambs...like, oh, this lamb has high-set ears, or that lamb has a black spot near its eye...or something like that. After about ten lambs, they start looking more and more like each other. Then it gets hard to tell them a part and I thank God for ear tags 

Part of the reason why I like having a crossbred flock is that they all look different, so it is easy to tell them a part!  But with the purebred ewes, I've known the old ewe since 2006, and she had the ewe that looks like her in 2008, and then the darker one in 2009, so I've known them long enough to be able to tell them a part  But if you want to tell them a part, I would invest in some ear tags. Usually feed stores sell a pack of 20 or 25 for about $20 and then you can also get the ear tag applicator for $20 as well. Also if you have registered stock, it's usually required to have them ear tagged (or tattooed) when you register them.


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## SheepGirl

For those of you who wish to look at all the "official" bred pictures in one place, here ya go: http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4485-bred-ewe-pics

She's approaching two months bred and I will be taking new pictures within the next couple of days.


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## SheepGirl

I took these pictures on February 22nd--sorry I'm just now putting them up! 

This is my bred ewe:






This is my 3/4 Babydoll ewe, Ali:





Here's the flock with my bred ewe in front:


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## SheepGirl

Took some pics today...enjoy 

My 3/4 Babydoll ewe, Ali





Here's my bred ewe:


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## ShadyAcres

Babydolls always have the coolest expressions on their face.  Such character!


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## SheepGirl

ShadyAcres said:
			
		

> Babydolls always have the coolest expressions on their face.  Such character!


Yah, they do


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## SheepGirl

Check out this thread I just made to see some more whacky facial expressions... http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=214372

ALSO--I updated my Bred Ewe Pics  so be sure to check it out!


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## ShadyAcres

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Check out this thread I just made to see some more whacky facial expressions... http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=214372


Was scrolling down, looking at your girls.  The 2nd photo (of sheep, not the grain) had the big toothy grin.  I said to myself, all you need now was the tongue hanging out, and lo and behold, that was the next shot!  Great  loved it!


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## SheepGirl

For those who were interested, here is what the "gate" looks like that my ram went through.
In the ram pasture (where the two black sheep are, in the background), you will see two posts really close together in the upper left hand corner. It is basically a piece of wood nailed to the fencing that creates the opening...and then it gets fastened together with the fence post at the top with a wire. Well, needless to say, Billy went through the bottom of it 





And...here's another pic of my ewe just because I like this one.


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## bluebirdsnfur

I am sooo jealous! I love your sheep! Thanks for sharing Sheegirl!


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## theawesomefowl

Beautiful  sheep! Best of luck with lambing.  My sheep are about 3.5 months bred with luck.


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## Southdown

I am so excited for lambing too.  One is due any day (I believe) and the other is due around April 6th.  Their behavior is changing and they are acting really lovey, lovey.


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## SheepGirl

Got some pictures today...

The sheep started out like this






And in 8 minutes they ended up like this




The smaller group at the bottom is the purebred ewes and the four sheep at the top are all crossbreds. I think it's so funny they separated themselves out like that.

The ram with his head down is the purebred Babydoll and the ram on the right is my Billy (3/4 Babydoll). You can see the fence gate in this pic. There is now a wire tied at the bottom.





My brother named this picture "Sugar Momma"





This picture of Ali reminds me of a horse. Don't know why. But I think it's cute 





I felt so bad for Paulie today. I was trying to catch him because he is breathing loudly (sounded raspy) and I wanted to get his temp, so I grabbed his leg (like I always do to catch sheep) except he lifted himself up and fell down backwards down the hill! He rolled down the whole way, got up and started grazing. I knew he was okay because he started grazing again, but I'm still concerned about his breathing. Poor thing wouldn't walk up to me even when I had grain  I didn't want to chase him in the barn because I didn't want his breathing to get any worse. I will see what it's like tomorrow and then I will try to catch him. But his breathing did improve the time I was down there...it went from me being able to hear it while he was grazing (from where I was standing in the first pic, I could hear him) to him being in these last two pictures and I couldn't.

And I don't know what happened to the other half of my ewe's ear in this picture. I guess she was twitching it because the gnats were getting to her.


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## SheepGirl

Well, Paulie turns two years old today 

He was still a little weary of me today, after what happened yesterday. But his breathing sounded better so I didn't take his temp. This is the hill I accidentally made him roll down yesterday:





Here's a picture of the purebred Babydoll ewes together...in the center is the older ewe (I'm guessing she's at least 6 or 7 now), on the left is her 2008 ewe lamb and on the right is her 2009 ewe lamb. These girls were in the shade relaxing while the crossbreds were out grazing.





Dam & Daughter - if you look closely, they both have their tongue in the same position 
I also love their different eye colors--the ewe on the left (my bred ewe) has light golden eyes while the ewe on the right (the 2009 daughter of my bred ewe) has copper- or rust-colored eyes.





And here's Ali smiling


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## Southdown

Here's Daisy, she is due soon (April 6).  She is looking good.  Everyone got their annual CD&T shots last night.  My husband got cut on his finger with the dirty needle (that wasn't good, we soaked it with rubbing alcohol.)  Everyone's hooves are trimmed.  Now we are ready for the lambs to come.  My suffolk is not getting as much milk as the babydoll, which means I am way off on estimating the suffolk's due date.  I think she will have her lamb after Daisy.  I am so excited!  This will be Daisy's first time lambing.  I wonder if she will have twins...oh the suspense!


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## bonbean01

Just looked through your photos again for the umpeenth time...LOL...can't get enough of these furry faced cherubs))  What a darling breed and I can't wait for baby photos!!!!


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## autumnprairie

love the pics


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## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5960_100_0369.jpg
> Here's Daisy, she is due soon (April 6).  She is looking good.  Everyone got their annual CD&T shots last night.  My husband got cut on his finger with the dirty needle (that wasn't good, we soaked it with rubbing alcohol.)  Everyone's hooves are trimmed.  Now we are ready for the lambs to come.  My suffolk is not getting as much milk as the babydoll, which means I am way off on estimating the suffolk's due date.  I think she will have her lamb after Daisy.  I am so excited!  This will be Daisy's first time lambing.  I wonder if she will have twins...oh the suspense!


I always hope for twins (or more)!  Good luck with your lambing season--I hope it goes without a hitch.



			
				bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Just looked through your photos again for the umpeenth time...LOL...can't get enough of these furry faced cherubs))  What a darling breed and I can't wait for baby photos!!!!


Haha, thanks  And I can't wait to take baby pictures!!



			
				autumnprairie said:
			
		

> love the pics


Thanks!


----------



## SheepGirl

It's getting to be sooo green and pretty around here!  The only thing that would make it better is when the leaves start coming.

But here's a picture update. (Sorry for all the pics! I just have so many I want to share )

This is the old Babydoll Southdown ewe.





This is my ram, Billy (short for Wooliam). He's a nice lil dude, very friendly and has nice manners--through the fence. If you're in the same area as him, he's downright nasty.





Here's my ewe. Her sides seem to be inflating a bit (nice way to say she's getting fatter ). The three sheep in the background are the purebred Babydoll ewes.





Here are my two ewes. Their chins are starting to turn green from all the grass 





Here are my three sheep that occupy the ewe pasture. I love how they stood in a line for me to get their picture 





I don't know what it is, but I really like this picture of my bred ewe.





Here's my 3/4 Babydoll ewe, Ali (short for Valentine). She's twins with Billy (pictured above). They turn three years old tomorrow.





Here's her nose  I love how clear this picture turned out.





Here's my bred ewe again. I don't know what it is, but when the sky is clear and the sun hits her eye just right, the photos have so much contrast and they always turn out really nice.





And here's our beautiful GREEN pasture!


----------



## aggieterpkatie

The pasture is looking good! My sheep finally went out a few days ago to graze some areas that had good growth. They were so happy!


----------



## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> The pasture is looking good! My sheep finally went out a few days ago to graze some areas that had good growth. They were so happy!


It sounds like your sheep would be happy! How are your lambs doing?


----------



## aggieterpkatie

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> aggieterpkatie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The pasture is looking good! My sheep finally went out a few days ago to graze some areas that had good growth. They were so happy!
> 
> 
> 
> It sounds like your sheep would be happy! How are your lambs doing?
Click to expand...

They're doing great! They're really starting to look like little Southdowns...beards and all.  I love 'em.


----------



## wava1vaughn

Hi from Ga.  A couple of pics of our new Ram born last night.


----------



## autumnprairie

what a cutie, congrats


----------



## Cornish Heritage

Ooh what a pretty lamb 

Liz


----------



## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> aggieterpkatie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The pasture is looking good! My sheep finally went out a few days ago to graze some areas that had good growth. They were so happy!
> 
> 
> 
> It sounds like your sheep would be happy! How are your lambs doing?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> They're doing great! They're really starting to look like little Southdowns...beards and all.  I love 'em.
Click to expand...

Good to hear! 



			
				wava1vaughn said:
			
		

> Hi from Ga.  A couple of pics of our new Ram born last night.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4946_100_0056.jpg
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4946_100_0058.jpg
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4946_100_0065.jpg


Very cute  Is it just me, or does your ewe not have any ears? lol


----------



## SheepGirl

My ewe will be three months bred here in the next couple of days...so new pictures will be coming soon


----------



## SheepGirl

Three months bred 

I didn't really get that great of pics (I only took like 20 before my camera died on me), but here are some:


----------



## Cornish Heritage

Looks like she is rounding out nicely. When do you shear?

Liz


----------



## SheepGirl

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Looks like she is rounding out nicely. When do you shear?
> 
> Liz


Normally we shear in mid- to late-April. I think this past year we sheared on April 21st or April 23rd...can't really remember though 

So we will be getting them sheared later this month (or at the very least, very early May). Still need to make an appointment with the shearer!


----------



## autumnprairie

stopping by to say hi


----------



## SheepGirl

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> stopping by to say hi


Hi, AP  How are you?


----------



## autumnprairie

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> autumnprairie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> stopping by to say hi
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, AP  How are you?
Click to expand...

I won my custody battle A gets to stay, found out the that side of the family are sore about it even when they said all was ok   
but other than that I am fantastic
Happy Easter


----------



## SheepGirl

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> autumnprairie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> stopping by to say hi
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, AP  How are you?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I won my custody battle A gets to stay, found out the that side of the family are sore about it even when they said all was ok
> but other than that I am fantastic
> Happy Easter
Click to expand...

Sorry for the very late reply.

But this news is great!  Congratulations. I know it's late, but happy Easter to you, too


----------



## SheepGirl

Sorry for the lack of an update...our computer has a virus (the Windows Recovery virus) and so I am very hesitant about being on the computer and uploading pictures onto my computer because I'm afraid they'll go missing if I get them uploaded. (Some of my pictures are already missing, but they were recovered when we copied the folder over onto an external hard drive. When I get my laptop for a graduation present in a month, we will be getting the Geek Squad protection for half off and we will get this computer fixed then.)

Anyway, you should see how much FLUFFIER and PREGNANT my ewe has gotten over the past month! The wool on her face is noticeably longer and she has a very obvious baby bump. She's due in four weeks  I'm guessing twins based on what she had the past two times she was bred, but I would be ecstatic if she had trips 

Sheep still haven't gotten sheared...hopefully it will be soon because this 80 degree weather isn't making them happy. And with this weather (and season) comes bees. There is a HUGE swarm right near the entrance to the barnyard. They're the big fat bees with the black lower body and the yellow upper body. I'm not allergic to bees, but I'm still scared to get stung because it hurts.

April and May are what I like to call "kitten season." We got all of our outdoor cats spayed and neutered last summer. But we missed one that we thought was a boy. Well, apparently it's a girl. And she had five kittens. She had three of them around 4 am on April 26, and then when I got home from school there were two more in there with her. (We brought her in our house the Sunday before she queened.) Only two of them are red tabbies (like the mother), the rest are gray/grayish orange tabbies (like the father, who lives at the barn). Unfortunately on April 29, late at night, one of the kittens passed away (one of the gray ones). But Oliver (boy name because we thought she was a he) and her kittens are doing good...all are girls except for one of the red tabbies.

At the barn, there are four litters of kittens out of my neighbor's cats (that I've found so far).
Litter #1 - five kittens, all cream tabbies. Three girls, two boys. The mother is a shorthair red tabby. About four weeks old.
Litter #2 - four kittens, three red tabbies, one red/white tabby. Didn't bother to check sexes except for on the red/white one...that one's a girl. Two of them went missing yesterday and one of them was adopted by the mother of litter #3 and the red/white one was wondering by itself. So I brought it up to our house and she was adopted by Oliver. Don't know who the mother is. About four to five weeks old.
Litter #3 - four kittens, one black, one red tabby, two tortoiseshells (one has more red markings on it than the other). Didn't check the sexes...but the black one is a girl. The mother is a longhair tortoiseshell. I call her "crooked head kitty" because her head is always tilted to the side. She's very friendly. About two weeks old.
Litter #4 - three kittens, one gray tabby, one black, and one tortoiseshell/tabby (had orange and gray splotches with black tabby spots--unfortunately I found this one dead). Black baby is a boy, didn't check the gray one. Mother is a shorthair gray tabby. About a week old.

Total: 21 kittens, 17 still alive and kicking. To my knowledge, all litters of kittens have the same father, a nasty lil sucker of a cat that's a gray tabby. He visited our house a couple weeks ago for about a week (which was about the time Oliver would've gotten pregnant). He didn't tolerate any of the other cats anywhere near him. But he loved our dogs.

ANYWAY...back onto the sheep  Well...not really...don't really have anymore updates. But the MD Sheep & Wool Festival is this weekend  Anyone going?


----------



## autumnprairie

I have 2 litters of kittens 4 and not sure how many in the hidden litter


----------



## aggieterpkatie

4 weeks left? That's not long at all.  

And I'm going to S&W! On Saturday!  My sister is coming up from NC and we'll be going.  Can't wait!


----------



## Southdown

I had 8 barn cats and I had them spayed and neutered (except two boys) this past Winter.  Well my ultimate, favorite one of the eight (whom we just had neutered and a hernia repaired) has disappeared.  I am so bummed.  Of course it had to be my favorite one!  Now I have seven cats.  We used to have litters every April too.  We think maybe it was fox.  As for lambing, I ended up with 5 lambs this year (more than planned).  One lamb didn't make it.  My sheep aren't sheared yet either, but we usually do it in May.


----------



## SheepGirl

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> I have 2 litters of kittens 4 and not sure how many in the hidden litter


Don't you just love when the mommas hide the kittens from you? Or put them in a spot inaccessible to you?  lol



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> 4 weeks left? That's not long at all.
> 
> And I'm going to S&W! On Saturday!  My sister is coming up from NC and we'll be going.  Can't wait!


I went on Saturday, too  I got there at about 11:30 and didn't leave until 5:30ish. My mom dropped me off because she didn't think I could park with our truck...but then she came back and she and I walked around for about an hour or two. Did you have fun? I bet it was fun going with your sister!



			
				Southdown said:
			
		

> I had 8 barn cats and I had them spayed and neutered (except two boys) this past Winter.  Well my ultimate, favorite one of the eight (whom we just had neutered and a hernia repaired) has disappeared.  I am so bummed.  Of course it had to be my favorite one!  Now I have seven cats.  We used to have litters every April too.  We think maybe it was fox.  As for lambing, I ended up with 5 lambs this year (more than planned).  One lamb didn't make it.  My sheep aren't sheared yet either, but we usually do it in May.


It's always the favorites 

I am so jealous you have lambs already  Sorry about the one that didn't make it, but did that put you back into the number you had planned?

-----

*Sheep Updates*

Once I'm done writing this update, I'm going down to the barn to take pictures of my ewe. She's getting BIG!

But anyway, my neighbor sold his farm and the sheep need to be off his property by June 8. The Babydolls are going to another farm somewhere near by (though I don't know where or who they're going to). So right now I'm planning out exactly where their pen is going to be going in my backyard until we can get the back acre fenced in...and then when the sale finalizes for the two acres beside us, we will fence that in, too.

Sheep still haven't been sheared yet; hopefully that will be soon.


----------



## Southdown

We had more lambs than we planned.  One in particular I really like; she is the one that had scours initially.  Gosh, I just don't know what happened to my cat either.  We've had cats hide their kittens inside trees.


----------



## SheepGirl

It's raining today. But I got a lot of pictures yesterday when I went down to the barn. But first I'll share some kitten pics 

Three babies, with the adopted, older one in the middle. (ETA: Actually, if you look closer, you can see all five kittens.)






My living teddy bear





Snuggled





One of the orange babies sleeping  (don't ask me which one it is...I have no clue lol)





Now here's some sheep pictures...

The flock grazing





For those of you who like Paulie, here he is.





My ewe and the 2008 Babydoll ewe.





My ewe with a funny look on her face...





Yep, this is a real picture. But it looks photoshopped? I think maybe because of the shadow of my ewe or sumth'in.





My ewe. I love the contrast in these photos the rainy day provided.





And here are the rams (my ram is on the left).


----------



## autumnprairie

I have found all three litters now and have no idea who belongs to who since my new grey Momma feeds ALL of them 
I love your pics and your kittens are prettier than mine I have black with mits and grey with strips and mits and grey and black ones with no mits


----------



## Southdown

I wish I had more colorful kittens like yours.  All of mine are black and white.


----------



## SheepGirl

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> I have found all three litters now and have no idea who belongs to who since my new grey Momma feeds ALL of them
> I love your pics and your kittens are prettier than mine I have black with mits and grey with strips and mits and grey and black ones with no mits





			
				Southdown said:
			
		

> I wish I had more colorful kittens like yours.  All of mine are black and white.


Haha, autumnprairie, sounds like a great momma!

Autumnprairie and Southdown -
I would actually prefer kittens more like you describe!  For the longest time, a red tabby tom cat, lovingly called 'Frank,' was the daddy of all the litters. He was around for at least four years being the dominant male. Because of this, all cats two years old and older are all red tabbies (except for one, she was a red point)...he bred his daughters, and his granddaughters...

But in January 2011, Frank didn't show up for his evening meal. Instead, a _large_ gray and white splashed tom cat showed up. In April and May, there was so much color in the kittens! We brought the red point female mentioned above in the house when her kittens were two weeks old. She had a gray tabby, a calico, a tortoiseshell, and two red white splashed tabbies. We kept one of the red/white tabbies and named him Clarence (he was seriously the best cat ever...he had these quirks about him, like greeting you when you came home, sitting on the newspaper while you were reading it, and running out into the garage (which ended up killing him because he was exposed to the barn cats)). Unfortunately we lost him in November because he developed FIP and we had him put down. The tortoiseshell, however, moved in with my grandparents and she is huge, just like her father. And she has long hair too and she is _beautiful_. They will all be one year old on 5/14...and they're all doing great from what we hear 

But this year, the gray/white tabby's son took over the dominant male's spot. He's the nasty gray tabby I was talking about in an earlier post. He hasn't produced much color...primarily red and dark colored kittens (he did produce some solid blacks, which we haven't had yet, and some tortoiseshells, but they came out of a longhair tortoiseshell mother)...nothing really to get excited about  So unfortunately the color we saw last year didn't appear again this year.

Cat color genetics fascinate me, can't you tell?  lol (That's part of the reason why I want Katahdin sheep--the colors look like fun!!)


----------



## autumnprairie

Can't wait  to see color in your sheep too.


----------



## SheepGirl

Today, I noticed that my ewe was walking a bit funny (it wasn't terribly noticeable, but her gait was definitely different) on her rear legs, like she was walking on the insides of them. Well all the sheep were in the barn, so I easily herded them into one of the pens and shut the gate. First I caught all of mine and checked their general health...their teeth, their eyes, their eyelids, their body condition, and their ears. They all looked pretty good, and their eyelids were either bright pink or red 

Since Ali was my last sheep to check over, I touched up her hooves first. She was a trooper. Until she decided she couldn't stand up with her foot behind her and she laid down. Easy fix--I made her stand up and I pulled her foot out in front of her  The hoof shears were dull so trimming the hooves was a tad bit difficult. 

So then it was Ciqala's turn (she's the bred ewe). I drove her into the corner of the pen and I was able to trim her left front hoof. I wasn't able to trim her right front hoof because she wouldn't let me move her into a position that allowed me to  (She outweighs me by at least 35 lbs and she's much stronger than me). So next I wedged her between a gate and the side of the pen and I had to push up against her body, hold the gate in place with my foot and pull out one of her back legs trying to control it while she was kicking. It was one of the best workouts I've ever had!  But anyway, I figured out _why_ she was walking the she was! You should've seen her back feet. (I didn't finish trimming them because the hoof shears were dull, and I'm gonna finish the trimming job tomorrow with pruning shears unless I can get the hoof trimmers sharpened after school, so I will take a picture.) The outside toe of each hoof was terribly overgrown, going all the way to the center of her hoof. The inside toe, however, had like no growth on it...I barely had to trim it at all. But the overgrown toes on both back feet I was only able to trim about halfway or so. I couldn't trim anymore with the dull shears. 

So that was my day...


----------



## Southdown

I'm tired just listening to you talk about trimming hooves.  It makes me want to get a sheep chair and try that out for hoof trimming.  
As for colorful animals, Kassidy, my 1/2 suffolk x 1/2 babydoll lamb is three colors.  She is white, brown, and black.  Her legs have all three colors.  It is unique and I've never had that.


----------



## autumnprairie

Southdown said:
			
		

> I'm tired just listening to you talk about trimming hooves.  It makes me want to get a sheep chair and try that out for hoof trimming.
> As for colorful animals, Kassidy, my 1/2 suffolk x 1/2 babydoll lamb is three colors.  She is white, brown, and black.  Her legs have all three colors.  It is unique and I've never had that.
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5960_100_0658.jpg


she is a cutie


----------



## aggieterpkatie

I've always wanted to get one of those sheep chairs!  They look so cool!  


Three weeks left!  That's hardly anything!


----------



## autumnprairie




----------



## SheepGirl

Southdown, your lamb is so cute! I love all the half Babydoll crosses! 

And yes, it's almost two weeks now! I'm so excited  I think she is pregnant because she is getting bigger (width wise), but she still hasn't bagged up...normally she would've by now. So we'll wait and see if she starts bagging up here soon.


----------



## Waterfall

Ok, after reading this, do Sheep really need their hooves trimmed?  If so, how often and how much?


----------



## SheepGirl

Normally we trim their hooves once a year around shearing time. But this year, shearing will be later than usual, so I went ahead and checked everybody. But if you check their feet once a year (or whenever they start walking funny) for trimming needs, you should be good.

-----

Just got back from the barn about an hour ago. I got pictures of her feet and her vulva, but they came out really super blurry 'cause she wouldn't stop moving and my camera died on me. So this weekend when we go grocery shopping, I'll pick up some batteries ('cause we don't have anymore) and I'll drag my mom down to the barn with me so I can get some good pictures...either she holds the sheep and I take the pics or vice versa  lol

This is the first time I was really able to look at her vulva. I've never really, like, LOOKED there before...mainly because it is hidden beneath her tail and she doesn't go flaunting it around to everyone in town. I know what an open ewe's vulva is supposed to look like, and I know what a ewe within 24 hours of lambing's vulva is supposed to look like. It's just the in between thing that's getting me lol.

I never caught her to take a picture of her vulva back in January when she was bred by my escaped ram (and I know she was bred because I saw her in heat the previous day and when I went down the day my ram escaped, he was by her side). But like I said earlier in this thread, she never came back into heat so either she was bred or she stopped cycling for the season. So I have nothing to compare her vulva 2.5 weeks away from lambing to other than some open ewes.

But I was only able to catch Ali, who has had one lamb...so the comparison of a mother of five to a mother of one isn't really a fair one. But Ali is definitely open...(warning: graphic descriptions of lady parts ahead )...her vulva is pinkish-blue, small, has peach fuzz, and is tight...as in it's not flexible and the pointy part of it (sorry don't know the technical name for it ) doesn't hang down; it just sticks out like an open ewe's vulva should. But Ciqala's vulva is larger than Ali's, and is pink, soft/flexible (and doesn't have any hair/furr/peach fuzz on it), and the pointy part of it is big and does hang down. So her vulva doesn't fit the description of an open ewe, but I'm not sure if her vulva looks like that because she's delivered five lambs or if it's because she's bred.  

This is an open ewe...you can see what I mean by a 'tight' vulva. The black lamb looking at the camera is Paulie. The white ewe facing towards the right is Ciqala.






As for her udder, it fits in my hand and it's squishy. So this year, I guess she could just be bagging up late. When she was pregnant with Paulie, her udder hung down below her hocks three weeks before lambing, and when she was pregnant with Billy & Ali, her udder hung halfway down to her hocks two weeks before lambing. So who knows...going by an udder is never a sure fire way to tell if a ewe is bred.


----------



## Southdown

The one in the photo doesn't look bred to me.  But I have noticed that different breeds look different back there.  My babydolls have different looking vulvas than my suffolk.  This year, my ewes didn't bag up as early as last year.  But they had plenty when the time came.  Share pictures of the lambs when they come.


----------



## SheepGirl

The one in the photo is an open ewe, so you're right  But yah. My ewe still hasn't bagged up and she should be lambing in a week if she's bred. I'm starting to think she isn't, even though she looks like it. Ohh well. Less sheep I have to worry about when I move them to my house in 2-3 weeks  lol

But, here are some updates...
May 15 - the 2008 Babydoll ewe died. She was my favorite ewe's paternal half sister. In the pic below, she is the one facing the camera. We don't know why she died, but she was put in the compost pile.





May 17 - one of the neighbor's holstein cows found her way into the sheep pasture and started harassing them...I saw the cow as I was leaving to go to FFA officer interviews (I'm a senior officer, so I got to interview the younger members wanting to be officers) so I called my grandfather and he went over to the farm to tell them they had a cow missing. Well they got her back.

Buttt....

May 18 - the darn cow brings the whole herd over!  so it was about 50 cows in there. My poor sheep were hiding in the barn. But apparently they made their way through the fence up near the gate connecting the two farms. My neighbor's in Texas looking for homes to buy so the neighbor with the dairy was there fixing the fence.

crazzzyyy week.


----------



## autumnprairie

for all of it hope your days get better


----------



## Southdown

Gosh, sorry for the loss of your ewe.    I'm sure the cows stressed out the sheep, but I have no experience in that.  At least no one got hurt.  Are you expecting any other lambs or just one ewe?  Hopefully she's pregnant and you will get a nice surprise.    Your babydolls look cute.  They have more wool on their faces compared to mine.  I'm trying to breed for that trait.  I have a lot of variation in looks in my flock so far.  Wonderful breed.


----------



## SheepGirl

She had twins this morning...both girls  My mom actually came and picked me up from school lol. And then I went to Harper's Ferry with my family...I will have pics up soon


----------



## bonbean01

Congrats on the twins!!!!  Can't wait for the photos...such a cute looking breed 

So sorry about the ewe you lost.


----------



## SheepGirl

She had QUADS! I will give a full update on Mon or Tues after my family leaves.


----------



## Queen Mum

QUADS


----------



## autumnprairie

QUADS


----------



## Southdown

Is this for real?  Wow, that is cool.  How many lambs can sheep actually have?  I've heard of triplets, but I thought that was rare.
You must share pictures.  Will you need to bottle feed to supplement?


----------



## SheepGirl

Okay...here's the complete, thorough update I promised you guys 

So I was starting to think my ewe _wasn't_ bred because she just did not have an udder (and she always udders up real heavy 2-4 weeks before lambing), even though her belly was getting big and round. Well, Friday came, and my neighbor had called my grandparents (who then called my mother) that my ewe had lambed. My mom came and picked me up from school and my cousin had came with her. I was so super anxious, but we had to stop and order a cake at Safeway for my grandmother's 70th/dad's 50th bday mini-party we were going to have the next day while the whole family was up. So I got home and she parked near the barn and there were two white babies, both girls!! (Last time when bred this way she had the exact opposite...two black boys.) So we put her in a pen with the babies and snapped a few pictures and left.

(These pictures are from when I had first gone down)











Then we headed to Harper's Ferry and stayed there for a couple hours, doing touristy stuff.






Afterwards, we stayed home a little while and then I went back down to the barn (some cousins came down a bit later). Well there were two more babies! One was another white girl, though she was stillborn (either that or my ewe didn't clean off the placenta, because she was stiff, like there was some oxygen in her). It was actually pretty cool, though, seeing all the different colors of the umbilical cord (pink, green, yellow, red, purple). But she went in the compost pile. I didn't get a picture of her though because I didn't want my cousins lookin' at me funny haha. The other baby was a black girl, but I knew she wasn't gonna last very long, and my ewe did not want her or want anything to do with her. So I left her down there and she survived the night. My neighbor found her still alive, so he brought her up to my house and she was still kickin', so we tube fed her some milk replacer (my aunt is an RN, so she had fun doing that lol). We had a family reunion/picnic at my great aunt's house and so we took the lamb with us. Before we left though, she was looking pretty good, she was standing and taking a couple steps before she fell down (the day she was born, I never did see her stand up).






As the day progressed, she got worse and she was cold and she was limp as a ragdoll, though her heartbeat was still strong and her breathing was hard and heavy. Around 6:45ish I called the vet to see if she could see her, so we took her to the clinic at 7:30ish. To be honest, if we didn't have family up we would've just let nature take it's course, but because we had a house full of 25 people that all really liked this baby, we took her to the vet. Well Dr. Link said she was already too far gone, and her lungs weren't developed completely, so there was nothing we could really do for her. So she stuck the needle directly into her heart to make it quick and she passed away. And I knew they would've wanted to bury her, so rather than letting Dr. Link take care of the body or putting her in the compost pile, we buried her behind our shed and they made a little funeral out of it.

I never did weigh the two white babies that are still alive, but I did weigh the black girl and she was 5.5 lbs.

But the remaining two babies are doing fantabulous, and my ewe and her 2009 daughter (Ali) are both taking care of the babies. Ali doesn't have any milk (I checked), but thankfully both babies are getting fed by Ciqala (my '06 ewe), even though they do try to nurse Ali. So it's pretty cool they are like tag teaming here taking care of the remaining two babies.

So last night it was so funny. I had docked their tails (below is a before/after set of pictures) and tagged their ears (just the scrapie tag; I didn't bother with the farm tag).






(don't worry--I didn't use the one that was on the ground...it fell out of the bag so I just threw it out, since they cost less than 2 pennies each)





and then they were both sitting in the barn, and the one got up and walked away with it's mommies, but the other one stayed there.

Okay, here's one baby.





Oh, no! We're missing a baby!





Running back to where they last saw it. (Ali's a bit slow.)





Is this everybody? (Even Paulie needed to help them double-check.)





Okay, so this is everybody, so let's go back out to pasture.





I love watching momma sheep reactions when they realize they don't have all their babies in tow


----------



## Cornish Heritage

Congrats on your new babies. Sorry two didn't survive - 4 ewes?! Someone told me that if a ewe has triplets that it is very rare for the triplet to survive as the ewe does not break the bag. Apparently you need to be physically there to help. Anyone know about this? Of the triplets we had here this year it was certainly true. The ewes lambed in the middle of the night & the third lamb was always dead although looked perfect in its bag. 

Liz


----------



## Southdown

Sometimes the ewes can really surprise us.  I bet you never guessed there were four in there.  
Have fun with the new babies.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

Congrats!!  Too bad that natural colored one didn't make it (or the other one too).  That's great though!  

Cornish, we've had triplets before that the mom cleans all three.  Could be just a wivess tale about the third never making it I guess.


----------



## Southdown

They look like babydoll lambs.  They are babydoll crossed with what other breed?  Does momma still have a helper?  So cute.  I had two cats once that both raised their kittens together and would let the other ones nurse them.  It was funny.


----------



## SheepGirl

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Congrats on your new babies. Sorry two didn't survive - 4 ewes?! Someone told me that if a ewe has triplets that it is very rare for the triplet to survive as the ewe does not break the bag. Apparently you need to be physically there to help. Anyone know about this? Of the triplets we had here this year it was certainly true. The ewes lambed in the middle of the night & the third lamb was always dead although looked perfect in its bag.
> 
> Liz


Yep, four ewes! I would've been sooo happy if they could've all survived because then I would've had a six ewe flock to breed. But four ewes is good enough. I'm debating on whether or not I should sell these two (like I was planning) or keep them to breed. I imagine being inbred and then outcrossing them would result in some really great heterotosis in the lambs.

As for the triplets, we have had two sets of triplets before, and all survived. But one ewe had mastitis so 2 out of 3 of her lambs became bottle babies. But my fourth lamb did look good in the placenta. Such a shame she didn't clean her off.



			
				Southdown said:
			
		

> Sometimes the ewes can really surprise us.  I bet you never guessed there were four in there.
> Have fun with the new babies.


Nope, most I would've guessed was a big single or a set of twins!



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Congrats!!  Too bad that natural colored one didn't make it (or the other one too).  That's great though!
> 
> Cornish, we've had triplets before that the mom cleans all three.  Could be just a wivess tale about the third never making it I guess.


Yah. But I'm kinda happy she didn't make it  I know that sounds bad, but...it kept up my streak that all my boy sheep are natural coloreds and my girl sheep are all white 



			
				Southdown said:
			
		

> They look like babydoll lambs.  They are babydoll crossed with what other breed?  Does momma still have a helper?  So cute.  I had two cats once that both raised their kittens together and would let the other ones nurse them.  It was funny.


They are Babydoll crosses. The momma sheep is 1/2 Babydoll 1/2 Montadale and she was bred to her 3/4 Babydoll 1/4 Montadale son, so that would make these babies 5/8 Babydoll 3/8 Montadale.


----------



## SheepGirl

Little #0016 has flystrike 

I noticed that her tail had fallen off today (she had only been banded 3 or so days ago), and I knew it was wayyy too early for that to have happened. So I caught her, looked at her, and was completely disgusted by all the _maggots_. I was in panic mode because I knew the maggots were eating her alive and if not treated she would be dead in the next couple days. So I brought her up to my house and picked out all the maggots I could find with tweezers. I cut off the eggs embedded in her wool, too.

Then I sprayed her behind with water and waited until my mom got home so she could help me spray her wound with iodine and then the prozap screwworm spray that was down in the barn. So right now she's in my house in a dog kennel sleeping. I also gave her a shot of Pen G because it is an open wound and all the muscle around her tail has been eaten away. Maggots even got into her vulva. I hope they didn't damage anything in there because if they did, I'm not sure if I could use her for breeding.

I sprayed her sister with the screwworm spray as a preventative. Now they both have blue butts  (Well #0016 has more of a green butt thanks to the iodine.) So we'll she how she is tomorrow.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

She should be alright once she's treated. They heal amazingly fast.  This is one of the bummers of having a late lambing, isn't it? The temps are so nice but the stupid flies ruin it.  I think I'd rather deal with heat lamps and freezing temps.  Two years ago one of my ewes lambed in June, because she was supposed to have been bred when I bought her, but she wasn't.  I swore no more late lambings!  

You may want to give her some antibiotics if her wounds are that bad.  Good luck with her!


----------



## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> She should be alright once she's treated. They heal amazingly fast.  This is one of the bummers of having a late lambing, isn't it? The temps are so nice but the stupid flies ruin it.  I think I'd rather deal with heat lamps and freezing temps.  Two years ago one of my ewes lambed in June, because she was supposed to have been bred when I bought her, but she wasn't.  I swore no more late lambings!
> 
> You may want to give her some antibiotics if her wounds are that bad.  Good luck with her!


Yep, I'm gonna stick with March and April lambings! That's what we normally do, but that daggone ram....

But my last day of school was yesterday, so I have all day today to be home with her. Tomorrow I have graduation practice, so unless she's looking good enough to go back outside, she's gonna be staying home alone (albeit she has the dogs that seem to adore her) for a couple hours. Sheep are supposed to be sheared tomorrow, too, but I can't help because of graduation practice (if we miss it, we can't walk ).

But I gave her some Pen G last night and I will probably give her another shot tonight. But her wound is scabby this morning, which is good, and I haven't seen any maggots, either. Yesterday, when she peed, she had maggots coming out with her urine but today, I didn't see any when she peed. So that's good, too. She's also a lot more active and playful this morning than she was last night. But she was bleating all. last. night. and so I finally got out of bed at 3 am to see if she wanted a bottle, but nope! So I went back to sleep and woke up at 7:30 and my mom had tried to get her to eat but when she started sucking on my finger I quickly replaced my finger with the nipple and got her to eat a couple oz. My goal is to get her to eat at least 25 oz over the course of the day, so we'll see if she gets hungry enough to eat off the bottle.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

Are you planning on putting her back with your ewe?  Congrats for being out of school, and even bigger congrats for GRADUATING!!!


----------



## SheepGirl

Thanks, I'm excited! :bun

But eventually I will put her back out with my ewe...I may keep her overnight again, though. But the bleating is getting a bit ridiculous  lol Right now she's sleeping so it's pretty quiet 

I've never dealt with flystrike before so all what I'm doing now is pretty much experimental. But so far it's working. I just don't want her back outside with the flies until her wound is completely healed over. But at the rate it's going now, it should be pretty soon when she goes back out. My only concern right now is her ability to poop--her tail (or what's left of it) is sitting right on top of her anus and blocking it a bit, so that may be an issue. She did poop last night after we were done spraying her with iodine and the screwworm spray, but there is no poop in her kennel, so I'm not sure if she's defecating or not. But I'm keeping an eye on her.


----------



## Southdown

What is screwworm spray?  Is it something that prevents flystrike?

Hopefully your lamb will be ok.  I would think if there's any improvement, then it should only get better.  

Are you graduating from high school?  You sound very educated about sheep for such a youngin'.  

I had two lambs in the house for one day and they were so loud, I don't think I could keep them in overnight, lol.


----------



## SheepGirl

Prozap Screw Worm Aerosol Wound Spray is used for both prevention and treatment since it does kill maggots and eggs (as well as a bunch of other bugs). I never knew we had it in the barn--if I did know, I would've sprayed it on them when I first docked them. But the darn little lamb licked off the iodine and the spray, so instead of having a green butt, it's now almost back to normal. I will spray her butt again with the screwworm spray before I put her back outside permanently.

And yep, I'm graduating from high school  And thanks for the compliment 

Jeez--I couldn't imagine having two of them in the house! But my cousin and I did take her outside and we sat under a tree in my front yard for a good 4 hours and she was nibbling on grass (and our noses)...but most importantly, she was QUIET!  Unfortunately though I was wearing a spaghetti-strap tank top and I was laying on my belly and so now my back is sunburned. It's going to be exciting when I take a shower. But my cousin named her Lady Gaga lol. So now we need a name for the other one because right now she just goes by #0017.

Oh, and I saw her poop  So now I don't need to worry about that.

But here are pictures from earlier today:











Next picture is of her wound (after she pooped), so it is pretty graphic....


----------



## Southdown

Her face is adorable.  She almost looks like a purebred babydoll to me.  What a cutie.  Gosh, I just don't understand how the tail could fall off so soon.  It takes sooo long for my lambs to drop their tails.  At least 2+ weeks.  Could flies actually chew it off to make if fall off?  That just seems crazy.  It looks so raw, but at least it looks clean.  Maybe you should call your vet and get advice over the phone as to what to do.  Poor thing.  At least she looks spirited and not lethargic.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

She is pretty darn adorable!

Her poor hiney.  Make sure you take pics to update us as she heals.  There are some anti-fly ointments you can get.  Maybe you can use that so she can go back out w/ mom?  It looks pretty swollen (but may just be the pic).  Perhaps soaking in warm epsom salt water would really help it heal quicker.  If you can sit her rear in the water you can soak a rag and hold on there.  


Hmm...a name for the other one....maybe something to match Lady Gaga?  Another singer?


----------



## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> Her face is adorable.  She almost looks like a purebred babydoll to me.  What a cutie.  Gosh, I just don't understand how the tail could fall off so soon.  It takes sooo long for my lambs to drop their tails.  At least 2+ weeks.  Could flies actually chew it off to make if fall off?  That just seems crazy.  It looks so raw, but at least it looks clean.  Maybe you should call your vet and get advice over the phone as to what to do.  Poor thing.  At least she looks spirited and not lethargic.


She's 5/8 Babydoll, so not quite pure, but a little over half 

But her tail falling off so fast was my cue that something was wrong. The band was only on there for like 3 days or so. But my guess is that the maggots did chew it off, or at least chew enough of it off that it ended up breaking off like if another sheep stepped on her while laying down or something. It's weird because the day before she was looking good. But then again these thunderstorms we've been having make it really humid and that really brings out the flies. I did call the vet as soon as I brought her up to my house but she said just to keep it clean and spray it with fly spray. So I did that (minus the fly spray) and I sprayed her with iodine and screwworm spray, and it seems to be looking good.

But she's not lethargic at all! lol she was bouncing around my kitchen, did a couple face plants, too...I didn't mind because her hooves sounded cool on the hardwood floors. 



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> She is pretty darn adorable!
> 
> Her poor hiney.  Make sure you take pics to update us as she heals.  There are some anti-fly ointments you can get.  Maybe you can use that so she can go back out w/ mom?  It looks pretty swollen (but may just be the pic).  Perhaps soaking in warm epsom salt water would really help it heal quicker.  If you can sit her rear in the water you can soak a rag and hold on there.
> 
> 
> Hmm...a name for the other one....maybe something to match Lady Gaga?  Another singer?


Yep, I will be taking pics everyday  I just put her back out with her moms about an hour ago because I don't want a full-time bottle baby, but I did spray her butt with screwworm spray. But yesterday it did look swollen but last night it didn't look swollen (or at least not as much). I was going to go to Tractor Supply or Southern States tomorrow to see what I could find...so I will look for the anti-fly ointments. I will also see if I can get some epsom salt and see what it does for her booteh.

But my cousin was thinking of calling the other one Beyonce because Lady Gaga and Beyonce sung 'Telephone' together. So I don't know 

-----

Today the sheep were sheared and they are looking good! But they are getting dirty because they lie down in the mud 

Also...Ali is producing milk? And she's feeding the babies whereas Ciqala is taking the backseat to raising them. I feel so bad for Ciqala because her udder is engorged and her teats are filled up. I will probably have to milk her out--that will be fun!  She hates it anytime I touch the lower back half of her. I know for a fact that Ali is not bred/is not the mother to these lambs, because my neighbor watched Ciqala give birth to them.

Has anyone ever heard of an open ewe start producing milk even when she's not pregnant/last lambed in 2010? They were born a week ago and now she's bagging up. And she also stole the lambs from Ciqala. Ciqala still watches them and everything but she can't nurse them because her teats are too big, because they are filled with so much milk. Ughh my sheep are so bizarre


----------



## aggieterpkatie

I was thinking Katy Perry.  Not because I like her, but because it seems her songs and Lady Gaga's songs are always played in succession on the radio.   

Is there a chance Ali is also bred?  And did your neighbor see Ciquala give birth to all 4 lambs?  Didn't you say you came back to find 2 more lambs?  Is there a chance Ali could have had 2 of them?  It's possible for her to be producing milk again even if she didn't freshen, especially if the lambs have been trying to nurse on her.  I sold a ewe lamb to people and later the ewe (as a yearling) bagged up a bit. She did have mastitis, but she also produced a bit of milk.  One of my doe kids also had a precocious udder, and produced a small amount of milk for a while but it eventually dried up.  Could be that Ali just really is a great mom and wants these babies for her own, and is letting them try to nurse on her.  

If you don't see the fly ointment in the livestock section, check the dog section. We used to sell some stuff called Flys Off or something, and it was kept in the dog section.


----------



## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I was thinking Katy Perry.  Not because I like her, but because it seems her songs and Lady Gaga's songs are always played in succession on the radio.
> 
> Is there a chance Ali is also bred?  And did your neighbor see Ciquala give birth to all 4 lambs?  Didn't you say you came back to find 2 more lambs?  Is there a chance Ali could have had 2 of them?  It's possible for her to be producing milk again even if she didn't freshen, especially if the lambs have been trying to nurse on her.  I sold a ewe lamb to people and later the ewe (as a yearling) bagged up a bit. She did have mastitis, but she also produced a bit of milk.  One of my doe kids also had a precocious udder, and produced a small amount of milk for a while but it eventually dried up.  Could be that Ali just really is a great mom and wants these babies for her own, and is letting them try to nurse on her.
> 
> If you don't see the fly ointment in the livestock section, check the dog section. We used to sell some stuff called Flys Off or something, and it was kept in the dog section.


I like the name Katy Perry for the other one! 

I mean there _could_ be a chance Ali is bred, because the ram did escape into the ewe pasture, but she's not looking bred at all...she looks like all the other open ewes. I did find two more lambs but I had put Ciqala in a pen in the barn so I know those were hers as well. (And the delay between the lambs would make sense because one was stillborn and the other one had always breathed funny (in addition to her underdeveloped lungs) and eventually didn't make it, as though they had been in the birth canal too long.)

But I mean that would be cool if Ali is coming into milk just because there's babies around. That will make it real nice if I ever have bottle babies in the future...I could just stick them right on her lol. But we'll see if she will surprise us with a baby or two. If not then I have a magic sheep 

I googled the Fly Off ointment and it looks like what I would need so I will go and pick it up  Thanks!


----------



## aggieterpkatie

Oops, sorry, I spelled Ciqala's name wrong!    Oh, so there's no chance Ali had the last 2 lambs.  Can't wait to see if she's bred or not!


----------



## SheepGirl

Here is a picture of Lady Gaga's wound from yesterday (sorry for the weird angle, I had to hold up her back legs to get the picture so she wouldn't move.






(I will add more pictures later, but my neighbor has someone picking up his sheep today and I have to go down now to separate out mine from his.)


----------



## BrownSheep

She looks MUCH better!


----------



## SheepGirl

Yep, her butt is nicely scabbed over completely now and the swelling is pretty much nonexistent AND she can wiggle her tail now when she nurses 

Here are some sheared sheep pictures...

You can see her udder and how much her teats are filled. I've been trying to milk her out a bit (I even took a sip of it and it tasted like 2% milk lol) but she does NOT like her udder touched at all. The ewe on the right is Ali and the lamb whose face you can see is Katy Perry. The lamb whose face you can't see is Lady Gaga. I can tell them a part because Katy Perry has tan/brown markings on her legs and Lady Gaga has black/gray markings on her legs.





Here's Ali and Lady Gaga





LOOK at these legs on this purebred Babydoll ram! I'm so jealous...haha. He was sold today so he should make his new owners (a very nice older couple, I might add) some nice meaty babies 





Here's my ram and his legs 





My sheep are soo fat. I can't wait to get them up to my house in the next couple of days to get them on a very limited diet of just grass hay, since they will be drylotted under our deck until we put up the fence and build their barn.

Speaking of moving them up to our house...their pens are almost ready. We have the T-posts set up so tomorrow after graduation practice I will be putting up the fencing. I may need to stop and get zip ties/railroad ties to attach the fencing to the posts because I kind of took of some of the pegs on the T post when I was pounding them in with the T post pounder


----------



## Southdown

It's good that she is scabbing over.  Oh my goodness, I've never seen the teats so filled with milk like that!  Are the lambs not emptying her enough?


----------



## aggieterpkatie

The sheep look great.  Is it hard for your neighbor to sell his sheep?  The lambs are looking good too, and holy cow, poor Ciqala's udder!  I'd definitely tie her up and milk her out.  Her teats are too engorged, and it's no wonder she doesn't like them touched!   I think if you milk her out maybe her lambs would nurse a bit more.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

Oh, and Lady Gaga's hiney looks much better too!


----------



## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> It's good that she is scabbing over.  Oh my goodness, I've never seen the teats so filled with milk like that!  Are the lambs not emptying her enough?


The lambs have actually stopped nursing off of her and started to nurse off of Ali...who is now producing milk. So I'm waiting to see if she has any babies in her or if she's a magic sheep.



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> The sheep look great.  Is it hard for your neighbor to sell his sheep?  The lambs are looking good too, and holy cow, poor Ciqala's udder!  I'd definitely tie her up and milk her out.  Her teats are too engorged, and it's no wonder she doesn't like them touched!   I think if you milk her out maybe her lambs would nurse a bit more.





			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Oh, and Lady Gaga's hiney looks much better too!


Thanks  Normally he just sells his lambs and culls to auction, but his friend was looking for some sheep so he bought my neighbor's three ewes and ram.

I've been trying to get her milked out...it is such a comedy show for anybody watching. I have her wedged between a gate and the barn wall and I have to push up on her butt to keep her from backing out and while milking her I have to hold onto the gate since it can't latch to the wall...and she is smart enough to push her nose up against the gate and turn around. So I've outsmarted her and I put a halter on her so if she decides to do that, she can't run away  The lambs do try to nurse off of her after I milk her out because her teats are small enough, but since I milk her out there's very little milk left and so they lose interest and go back over to Ali.


----------



## SheepGirl

Sheep are coming to my house tomorrow so I will get some updated pics of them in their new 'crib.'


----------



## boykin2010

That ewes teats are HUGE! Are they warm and hard also? I had a ewe that had an udder that started looking like that. For some reason she started producing milk again even though her lambs had been weaned for 2 months.  I thought maybe it would go away quickly but it didn't.  Thankfully the breeder down the road had some excellent medicine for early mastitis in sheep.  One was a steroid I think.  As soon as I gave her the shot, the next day the udder was half her size.  I believe the shot was called dexamethasone. It helped a lot.  Thought I would mention that in case you needed something.


----------



## SheepGirl

boykin2010 said:
			
		

> That ewes teats are HUGE! Are they warm and hard also? I had a ewe that had an udder that started looking like that. For some reason she started producing milk again even though her lambs had been weaned for 2 months.  I thought maybe it would go away quickly but it didn't.  Thankfully the breeder down the road had some excellent medicine for early mastitis in sheep.  One was a steroid I think.  As soon as I gave her the shot, the next day the udder was half her size.  I believe the shot was called dexamethasone. It helped a lot.  Thought I would mention that in case you needed something.


They are warm, but they aren't hot. They are soft and flexible. She is my ewe that had quads, but now her daughter (my 2009 ewe, Ali) has started to produce milk and now she's feeding the lambs, even though Ciqala (the ewe with the big teats) is still watching them and calling to them. I have been milking her out to try to relieve some of the pressure in her teats. After I milk her out her teats get down to almost normal size.

If she does develop mastitis, I will keep the dexamethasone in mind, thanks!


----------



## Southdown

What is the dexamath. ?  I don't know much about treating mastitis?  But I would like to know more.


----------



## SheepGirl

Dexamathasone is an anti-inflammatory steroid so it works because mastitis in an inflammation of the mammary gland. It is RX so I would have to get it from my vet should I need it.

But my ewe had normal sized teats until my other ewe came into milk and my lambs preferred her milk over Ciqala's milk. So her teats became really big due to the lack of nursing from the lambs so they filled with milk. But I've been working on her but she produces so much milk. So I'm going to try to dry her off and then just let Ali nurse the babies.


----------



## SheepGirl

The lambs turned 2 weeks old today and I weighed them.

Lady Gaga - 9.5 lbs
Katy Perry - 14 lbs


----------



## SheepGirl

Katy Perry is full of energy. I swear, somebody must've snuck her some cotton candy from the carnival that went on this past week 2 miles from our house. She's running back and forth across the pen jumping two feet in the air. Lady Gaga is more reserved and would rather hang out with her momma at the feeder nibbling on pieces of hay. When Katy Perry really gets into her play, she goes over to Lady Gaga and tries to hump her. I've never seen a ewe lamb do this--let alone a lamb this young. My sheep just keep throwing me curve balls left and right


----------



## autumnprairie

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Katy Perry is full of energy. I swear, somebody must've snuck her some cotton candy from the carnival that went on this past week 2 miles from our house. She's running back and forth across the pen jumping two feet in the air. Lady Gaga is more reserved and would rather hang out with her momma at the feeder nibbling on pieces of hay. When Katy Perry really gets into her play, she goes over to Lady Gaga and tries to hump her. I've never seen a ewe lamb do this--let alone a lamb this young. My sheep just keep throwing me curve balls left and right


  Thanks I needed to smile after the day I have had.


----------



## Southdown

At least I'm not the only one.  My ewe lambs try to hump the other lambs too.  I thought only the boy lambs would do that, but no.  Dixie mounted her brother.  But they're just playing around and chasing and jumping and being cute.


----------



## SheepGirl

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Katy Perry is full of energy. I swear, somebody must've snuck her some cotton candy from the carnival that went on this past week 2 miles from our house. She's running back and forth across the pen jumping two feet in the air. Lady Gaga is more reserved and would rather hang out with her momma at the feeder nibbling on pieces of hay. When Katy Perry really gets into her play, she goes over to Lady Gaga and tries to hump her. I've never seen a ewe lamb do this--let alone a lamb this young. My sheep just keep throwing me curve balls left and right
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks I needed to smile after the day I have had.
Click to expand...

Haha, no problem 

I read your journal and I'm sorry about your goat 



			
				Southdown said:
			
		

> At least I'm not the only one.  My ewe lambs try to hump the other lambs too.  I thought only the boy lambs would do that, but no.  Dixie mounted her brother.  But they're just playing around and chasing and jumping and being cute.


Okay...that's good lol. I was worried I might have a gay sheep I wouldn't be able to breed  Out of 100-200 lambs my neighbor has had born at his farm that I've been around, I've never seen a ewe lamb do that.


----------



## Southdown

Well, I guess we both have rare sheep with unusual behaviors.  Go figure.


----------



## bluebirdsnfur

Yep, I enjoy reading your daily sheep blog with my morning coffee!


----------



## SheepGirl

Weighed the babies today since they turned three weeks old.

Lady Gaga - 11.0 lbs (Week ADG: 0.214 lbs)
Katy Perry - 17.5 lbs (Week ADG: 0.5 lbs)

I wish they would gain more. I haven't put out any creep feed yet, but I will tonight, so we will see what that does to their ADG. Also, Lady Gaga is much smaller than her littermate (6.5 lb difference!) so I'm gonna see about giving her a bottle and increasing my ewe's grain so she produces more milk.

I really want to get them to 90 lbs by early/mid December, so they would need at least a 0.392 ADG from now until then. So far, it looks like Katy Perry is on a roll. Lady Gaga won't be able to breed this winter if she doesn't make weight.


----------



## BrownSheep

The adg difference is a little concerning, but I'ld pin that on the stress from the flystrike.


----------



## SheepGirl

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> The adg difference is a little concerning, but I'ld pin that on the stress from the flystrike.


That's what I was thinking.


----------



## SheepGirl

Well the lambs are really starting to eat their feed and I've noticed they've started eating minerals a lot more, too. Ali, one of their moms, is already trying to wean them  She lets them nurse for all of three seconds and she walks away. They are already starting to act like a big sheep and eat hay out of the feeder...well they try to. It takes them forever to try to eat one piece of hay and they really like the seed heads on the timothy hay, so that's all they really eat/pick at. They aren't as playful as they were when they were about 2 weeks old. They used to run around the pen like wild banchis but now they're more concerned about eating, so that's nice  Lady Gaga is already starting to look almost as big as her sister. There used to be an obvious visual size difference between the two, but Lady Gaga's finally getting some size to her frame. I'm anxious to see what they weigh in at on Friday


----------



## Southdown

Lambing is so fun.  I look forward to it all year and then they grow up so fast.


----------



## bonbean01

So true Southdown!!!!  Ours lamb in January/Feb....but one ewe Suzie who is by far the sweetest one ever, is 3 years old and never lambed.  We gave her the shots for 5 days should it be a cyst in the ovary duct this year before giving up on her, and by my calculations....if she is pregnant, her earliest date would be July 21...really, really hope she lambs..so we may have our first summer lamb


----------



## Southdown

Cool.  Share pictures when you do.  

P.S. I see Lady GaGa is on the pic-of-the-week.


----------



## Symphony

Southdown that avatar sheep is just so darn cute Me and my GF keep saying how cute it is.


----------



## SheepGirl

Yep, I love having lambs around  No lambs last year so this is my first set of lambs in what seems like a bajillion years.

bonbean01 - I can't wait to find out if your ewe lambs or not!

Southdown & Symphony - Lady Gaga is on the pic of the week looking as adorable as ever  Whenever I go out to check on the sheep, she sticks her head out through the fence and cocks it to the side and she looks at me with the big loveable little face of hers. I seriously need to get a picture of it. Katy Perry isn't as friendly or adorable. But she is the largest and meatiest one so that more than makes up for it lol.


----------



## bonbean01

Well...I've never had a lambing thread...but...if it looks for sure that Suzie is bred, will be starting one for sure.  We just love this ewe and she is so sweet, but it would be hard to justify keeping her if she is barren.  She had those shots from the vet...was with our ram for three months...so now we wait and hope!


----------



## Southdown

Symphony said:
			
		

> Southdown that avatar sheep is just so darn cute Me and my GF keep saying how cute it is.


Thanks.
The picture is "Mow" my oldest wether.  He poses better than the others.  I need a faster shutter speed on my camera because they usually move.


----------



## SheepGirl

Weighed the babies today and they turned four weeks old.

Lady Gaga - 14.0 lbs (Week ADG: 0.429 lbs, 2-week ADG: 0.321)
Katy Perry - 18.0 lbs (Week ADG: 0.071 lbs, 2-week ADG: 0.286)

I can't believe Katy Perry gained a half pound in a week!  I had my mom help me weigh them so maybe there was an error (I would hand her a lamb from inside the pen and then she would weigh it). Especially since the creep feed is out for them and they are eating hay, I thought she would gain some more weight than just a measly 1/2 pound. I'll weigh her again tomorrow and see what she weighs. Buttt I hope there isn't an error for Lady Gaga! She is catching up to her sister and her week ADG is looking a lot better than last week's.

I just calculated their two-week ADG and I am really shocked. I hope my mom messed up on her math! (Then again, she's an accountant so maybe not.) I really need to reweigh them tomorrow. I am just so surprised at what they weighed in at.


----------



## Southdown

How come you are concerned about their weights?  Are you selling them to market for meat?


----------



## SheepGirl

No, but I really want to get them to 90ish lbs by December so I can breed them.


----------



## SheepGirl

Okay so I weighed the babies again tonight, unfortunately my scale only weighs to the nearest 1/2 lb so it's hard to get 'actual' weights. But Lady Gaga's still hovering right around 14 lbs but Katy Perry is 20 lbs. Two pound difference between 9 pm last night and 6 pm tonight! I don't think she gained that much in 21 hrs so I'm thinking my mother may have messed up on her weight.

Sooo let's just assume she was 19.5 yesterday, which means her week ADG would be 0.286 and her two-week ADG would be 0.393. I would've liked to see her gain more weight, but it was in the high 90s for a couple days earlier this week and heat is an appetite suppressor. So that may explain her decreased performance from last week to this week, even though I did start to provide her creep feed.

---

So I put out fresh creep feed for the lambs today and they're chowing down so I go over and feed my ewes and next thing I know Katy Perry is running around the pen hacking and throwing saliva all over the place and she was making gurgly noises. First thing I thought of was bloat since she was foaming at the mouth due to her saliva, but I wasn't sure bloat would come on so fast. (She also didn't look bloated.) So I had to chase her around the pen to catch her and I felt a lump in her throat so I assumed she was choking and so I tried to massage it out. Not working, I wiped the saliva off her face and then I held her by her back legs and swung her a bit. I set her down and she was still all gurgly. I did it again and set her down and the gurgling stopped. She then started panting like a storm and she went over and started eating minerals. Her panting subsided to 'regular' breathing (she still had a fast respiration rate, like all the other sheep, due to the heat) and she went to go lay down. I stayed outside for about 1.5 hrs watching her and the other sheep and she was all fine and acting normal, so I think her 'issue' is now gone. I'll be sure to watch how she eats in the future!


----------



## Southdown

Gosh, maybe she was choking?  Glad she's ok now.


----------



## bonbean01

We've had this before and it is downright scarey!!!!  Noticed our new feed pellets had too much fine stuff in it and they choked on it.  When I think there is some fine stuff in it now, I wet it down with water and that took care of that.  It's an awful thing to see that happen and yes, ours that did choke also had foam that came flying out when they shook their heads to clear it.


----------



## SheepGirl

Weighed the babies yesterday.

Lady Gaga - 15.5 lbs (Week ADG: 0.214 lbs, 3-week ADG: 0.286)
Katy Perry - 20.5 lbs (Week ADG: 0.143 lbs, 3-week ADG: 0.310)

Katy Perry seems to be slowing down in terms of growth rate whereas Lady Gaga is speeding up. I need to get some new pictures of them--I haven't taken any pics since the 14th I think.


----------



## SheepGirl

Finally got some new pics 

My ewe was sticking her tongue out at me. Can you believe that?! How rude...






Katy Perry - you can tell by the wool around her eyes that she won't be wool blind. For the longest time, it was looking like she would be.





Look at the frame size and muscling difference between these two sisters. Katy Perry is on the left and Lady Gaga is on the right. (If you look all the way to the right, you can see my ewe's teats have gotten back down to normal size )





Katy Perry standing under the stairs/in front of the tarp.





Three ewes





Lady Gaga always looks at me with her head cocked to the side. It's the cutest thing 






(warning: sheep butt picture below )






And for those of you who were following her fly strike ordeal, here is a picture of her bum all nicely healed up


----------



## autumnprairie

lady GAGA is adorable and so is Katy


----------



## bonbean01

They are really cute!!!! And I'm so glad that little bum has healed nicely


----------



## Southdown

They are both very cute.  I'm glad she healed up.  She's been through a lot so maybe that's why her size is smaller.


----------



## Symphony

They look great.  Lady Gaga is looking much better.  Katy Perry is filling out nicely and has a lovely coat.        Wish I would of paid heed to the warning about the butt picture as I had just eaten...


----------



## SheepGirl

Lol thanks guys 

No graphic pictures this time...just a bunch of cute ones!

Lady Gaga: The Nonconformist






Katy Perry





I really wish I didn't cut off Lady Gaga's ear in this pic...but she's still cute 





Katy Perry started choking again. She's fine now though.





My ewe went to go underneath the steps, but she found me there. You can tell she's not too happy about that lol (see that lil snarl?)





Kitty!





Momma kitty is tired...





Ali after she took a drink. I love how I captured that drop of water on her chin!


----------



## Southdown

Seeing that picture with the foam coming out of the mouth makes me think that's how my Leroy might have died.  I like Lady Gaga's face.  The cat is cute too.  That is quite the little snarl from your ewe.  What is she trying to say to you?  Hmmm?


----------



## autumnprairie

love the snarl


----------



## SheepGirl

Haha, my snarling ewe is the oldest of the bunch (she's 6) and my first sheep ever, and she has a low tolerance for everything. She has a 'been there, done that, don't wanna do it again' attitude. When she sees me, she knows she's gonna be caught/handled/pet/walked around with a halter. (When she sees the halter, she runs as far away as she can, so normally I hide it in my back pocket until I can get her in a corner to catch her.) My other sheep, who are lambs, 2 y/o, and 3 y/o, still haven't caught on quite yet...


----------



## bonbean01

Love the photos!!!!!  Your sheep just have the cutest faces


----------



## Bridgemoof

I don't know how I missed this whole long thread with all of these cute pictures! They are really adorable and look like they are doing well.

I'm going to go check all of my sheep tomorrow to make sure none of them have that flystrike thing going on!


----------



## SheepGirl

More pics -- primarily of Lady Gaga. I told RTG that I would get her some more pics of Lady Gaga in the pic of the week submission thread, and I never really did get any good ones that day. But here are some I just took about an hour ago 

The two babies





I went over behind the tarp and took a picture of Lady Gaga from above.





I guess I bothered her so she got up and then turned around and looked at me.





Katy Perry got up too and s t r e t c h e d!





The went back over under the steps and Lady Gaga decided she needed to s t r e t c h before she laid down as well.


----------



## Symphony

She's so cute, she looks like an old fashion teddy bear.


----------



## SheepGirl

Weighed the babies on Friday but I forgot to update.

Lady Gaga - 17.0 lbs (Week ADG: 0.214 lbs, 4-week ADG: 0.268)
Katy Perry - 23.0 lbs (Week ADG: 0.357 lbs, 4-week ADG: 0.321)

Also added new pics of them--check out all of them at my web site link (under my avatar). But here's a few 






















Look at how excited they get when I go feed. They run around their pen like maniacs lol





I thought this was a cool picture.


----------



## autumnprairie

they are so sweet


----------



## bonbean01

Adorable 
And Symphony is right...they do make me think of teddy bears too!


----------



## Southdown

I can't wait until I have my next baby lamb.  I have one that's expecting this Summer (oops) and probably this month!


----------



## SheepGirl

Southdown, I expect to see pictures!  lol

I weighed the lambs tonight...but I think my bathroom scale is broken.  I weighed myself before I took the scale outside and then I picked up Katy Perry and took her out of the pen and weighed her in our shed and when we were both on the scale (me holding her) the scale was going all over the place in a 3 lb range. Then I put Katy Perry back and weighed myself again and I managed to lose 4 lbs in less than 5 minutes? And then I calculated her weight and she came out to 18 lbs? 

She weighed 23 lbs last week so I highly doubt she LOST 5 lbs. And then I weighed Lady Gaga and she came out the same weight as when I had held Katy Perry, but then I put Lady Gaga back and weighed myself again and I gained 7 lbs? Ummm I don't think so. Lol, I seriously need a new scale...at least before they're weaned. Maybe tomorrow I'll go run errands with my mom and we can stop at Walmart and pick up a scale


----------



## sdsmowen

OH they are so cute! We are brand new to sheep but i think i have the bug bad LOL we have 2 a ram and a ewe they are still young he is 4 1/2 months and she is 3 1/2 months and we just adore them.


----------



## Southdown

Do your sheep play with that ball?


----------



## SheepGirl

Southdown said:
			
		

> Do your sheep play with that ball?


No  I put it in with my ram hoping he would ram that instead of the ladder/gate. But he doesn't even touch it! lol


----------



## Southdown

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Southdown said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do your sheep play with that ball?
> 
> 
> 
> No  I put it in with my ram hoping he would ram that instead of the ladder/gate. But he doesn't even touch it! lol
Click to expand...


----------



## bluebirdsnfur

SheepGirl, your babies are soooo cute! Nice pics too! And I may have to copy and build a hay rack like yours! 

I am so anxious to get mine home!


----------



## SheepGirl

bluebirdsnfur - I really like my hay feeder and I'm so glad I built it! I'm also glad I didn't put the legs on it because my sheep would be too short to use it otherwise  Here is the thread which includes a link to the plans: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15452

-----

I took some new pictures two days ago but I just never uploaded them until now. Here is a cute little series featuring Maggie, my dog, and Lady Gaga:

sniff sniff






Maggie: "why is this thing following me?"





Maggie: "maybe if I pretend to be a sheep by eating this grass she'll leave me alone"





Success!





...and here are my sheep looking up at my brother while he was standing on the deck.


----------



## bluebirdsnfur

Hey thanks SheepGirl! That's a big help and looks fairly easy! Your sheep and puppy are so cute...and I like your kitty too!


----------



## SheepGirl

The babies turn 60 days old tomorrow, so they will be weaned. (And they also get their last shot of CD/T.) I didn't weigh them this past Friday because I am going to weigh them tomorrow.

My original plan was to cut the ewe pen in half and have the ram/wether pen, the ewes, and then the ewe lambs, but because of Paulie's "situation" he doesn't want to be housed with Billy. So I will just move Ali over with Billy for 2-3 weeks and move her back in with the lambs, Ciqala, and Paulie. If Billy starts to harass Ali (like he does with Paulie), I don't know what I'm going to do. I may use teat tape or maybe I will just cut the pen in half, and the two ewes and Paulie can live in one pen together and the ewe lambs can live by themselves in another pen and then Billy's left by himself.

By the way, I _love_ Ali's udder conformation--the only thing I would change is her udder capacity (it's needs to increase lol). Her udder is sooo much better than her mom's, in terms of teat size and udder attachment.

I also added a bunch of new pics on photobucket (link under my avatar), so check 'em out!


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## redtailgal

oh the lady gaga pics!


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## SheepGirl

Billy is going to auction next week. I am sick and tired of him. It took me 20 minutes to get from his pen to the ewe pen just to give the sheep their vaccinations. As soon as I was in his pen he was aggressive and he's been mean ever since I moved him up here. I didn't have anything with me but I grabbed a tomato stake that was supporting the gate and every time he rammed me I smacked him on the nose or face with it. He outweighs me by 50+ lbs so it's hard for me to put him on the ground (like RTG did with Socrates ) so the only thing I can do is smack him with an object. He would back up at least 16 feet (judging by where the T-posts were) and come at me, so when he did I would run towards him and smack him on the head with the stake. I was finally able to get to the waterer where the gate is to the ewe pen so I was relieved. I was only able to get the lambs vaccinated before a storm hit, so now I was rushing to get back inside. So I was back in his pen trying to get out and he still kept wanting to ram me. My method of smacking him on the head as he comes at me stopped working and he threw me into the fence and my foot...I don't really know what happened to it but I guess it got scratched and now it's swollen :/ But I have scratches all over my hands and I'm not sure if they came from a needle as Billy was ramming into me or if the fence scratched me as I was rammed into it. But I ran out of his pen and as I was doing so he was trying to ram me but he hit the ladders instead. And as I was securing the gate (while the wind was blowing like crazy and rain that I thought was hail was pouring down) he kept trying to hit me.

So after the storm quieted down I was NOT going back in the ram pen to get in the ewe pen. So I took pliers and undid the wire around the T-post near the steps (that took me like 15 minutes but I was determined lol) and I attached it to a step-in post. That will be my gate into the pens from now on. So I went out and I got Katy Perry and weighed her (yes, I did get a new bathroom scale ) and she weighs 29.5 lbs. I wanted to get pictures of them showing their profile when 'set-up,' but my brothers didn't want to help me (even though I drive them around for free), so I may have my mom help me on Friday when she works from home. I got Lady Gaga and weighed her and she weighs 20 lbs.

But since I _plan_ on selling Billy at auction, I didn't separate Ali. Billy is aggressive and I didn't want to put my sweet lil ewe in with him. So when I ship him I will put the lambs in his pen and keep them separated until breeding. Then I get to use the $70-$191.625 (based on the last auction report for 'sheep') I get from him and buy or rent a ram. And pay for feed. I'm really hoping to get at least $100 from him. Based on my measurements for the heart girth x heart girth x length divided by 300, he should weigh around 175 lbs.

-----

Katy Perry is obviously the superior lamb. She's heavier muscled (you should _feel_ her legs) and she has a higher weaning weight/ADG. I'm really disappointed in Ali, as weaning weights are an indication of a dam's milkability. As I said in an earlier post, I LOVE her udder conformation, she just needs more capacity. Maybe that will increase next year when she has her own lambs. If they would've stayed on their real mom, they would've been much heavier because Ciqala's a real heavy milker, even though she doesn't have good udder attachment. I can't wait to see how fast the lambs grow post-weaning so I can really see their growth rates 

Katy Perry
60 day weight: 29.5 lbs (adj: 37.76 lbs)
ADG (assuming she weighed ~5 lbs at birth): 0.408

Lady Gaga
60 day weight: 20 lbs (adj: 25.6 lbs)
ADG: 0.250


----------



## bonbean01

Really glad you ddn't get badly hurt by Billy...yeah...once that starts it gets dangerous.  We had to do this with our first ram and although his babies were beautiful, you can't take care of sheep if you are injured or worse case...dead...and it does happen.  Be super careful next time you have to be around him...for us, it just kept getting worse and worse.  First time our ram showed any agression at all was a shock and I didn't quite know right away what had happened...he rammed me very hard up against a tree and as I was trying to get up stunned, he backed up quite a distance and started at me again...hubby tried to do the throwing thing, but even that made it worse and he had to go.  What a relief to have him gone and be able to enjoy being with the sheep again.  We bought a ram lamb and he is turning out really well, and his lambs are beautiful too.  We watch him, but so far so good with him.

Don't take any chances...just not worth it!


----------



## SheepGirl

He knocked me down 4 times just today. I already have 2 bruises from him. And he broke my favorite pair of flip-flops--I was in his pen the other day fixing the barrier between the two pens so he could drink out of the waterer and I was on my way out and he rammed into me and he partially knocked me over, though I ended up doing a split, and the 'toe-thong' came out of the shoe. He is by far the worst tempered ram I have ever met. All the other rams my neighbor has had were respectful. I don't know why my ram, Billy, is so different. I would've liked to sell him as a breeding ram, but I don't want to endanger anybody else. He's best being bought by a meat buyer and turned into sausage.

Worst part is I tell my mom about him ramming into me and she just laughs. She can't imagine a small sheep like him doing any damage (he's only 25" tall). I outta go in his pen and show my mom what I'm talking about. Then she won't be laughing


----------



## bonbean01

We put our ram up on Craig's list here and stated very clearly why we were selling him...at that point I didn't care if someone wanted to take a chance with him as a breeder or if he was going to end up hamburger.  Phone started ringing right away and one guy called and said he needed a ram as soon as possible to breed his ewes for spring lambs and he wasn't concerned with his aggression since he'd use him for breeding and then take him to auction.  Guy showed up pretty quickly with a livestock trailer, loaded him up....paid cash (we didn't ask much and he was pretty happy and so were we) and he left with us again stressing how dangerous he was.  I've always wondered if being moved to another location with other people changed his attitude or if he remained dangerous.

You could try Craig's list...just be sure to stress why you are selling him.  This guy didn't care...just needed a ram right away and this ram was a handsome Kat, which is what he wanted.

Your Mom would have a fit if she really knew how dangerous even a smaller ram is...broken bones...you down on the ground and not able to get away as he continues to ram and ram you.  Really not funny at all, but she's probably thinking of how cute your breed is and not realizing just what could happen to you.


----------



## BrownSheep

My ram who is MUCH larger than billy is also agressive. My largest beliefe is to keep rams in constant fear of you. We made friends with Henry our other two we didn't and they are gentlemen. Sell him, unless you can't bare to part with him.....as is the case with Henry.


----------



## boykin2010

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> We put our ram up on Craig's list here and stated very clearly why we were selling him...at that point I didn't care if someone wanted to take a chance with him as a breeder or if he was going to end up hamburger.  Phone started ringing right away and one guy called and said he needed a ram as soon as possible to breed his ewes for spring lambs and he wasn't concerned with his aggression since he'd use him for breeding and then take him to auction.  Guy showed up pretty quickly with a livestock trailer, loaded him up....paid cash (we didn't ask much and he was pretty happy and so were we) and he left with us again stressing how dangerous he was.  I've always wondered if being moved to another location with other people changed his attitude or if he remained dangerous.
> 
> You could try Craig's list...just be sure to stress why you are selling him.  This guy didn't care...just needed a ram right away and this ram was a handsome Kat, which is what he wanted.
> 
> Your Mom would have a fit if she really knew how dangerous even a smaller ram is...broken bones...you down on the ground and not able to get away as he continues to ram and ram you.  Really not funny at all, but she's probably thinking of how cute your breed is and not realizing just what could happen to you.


I did the same thing with my bottle baby ram. He became aggressive after his first breeding season. I put him on craigslist stressing how dangerous he was but since he was purebred and registered plus he was RR someone wanted him right away. The bottle baby was always very obnoxious and when he arrived at his new home he started to try and headbutt one of three Anatolian Shepherds the guy had. The dog didn't like that at all and let the ram know it too. He was a in a pen with 3 full grown kiko billies with huge horns and 2 anatolian shepherds. So, he settled down pretty quick from what I understood. I think his attitude changed after the move to another location


----------



## SheepGirl

I put him on craigslist as you all suggested, so we'll see if we have any bites. But he's always been this mean, except it's always been in the fall when the ewes start to come into heat. As a ram lamb he rammed me into the barn wall (the barn made of cinder blocks) while I was feeding the ewes. In the winter as a ram lamb, he rammed into my neighbor and my neighbor had to walk around with the shepherd's crook for a week or two. He was fine as a yearling and a two year old, but now that he's three it's like he's a whole new ram. Even while he was on pasture at my neighbor's he would try to ram me, except they were more of 'threats' than serious, since I was able to stop him by putting my foot up in his field of vision. But now it's war lol. I've even tried choking him--which worked before--but even he's not scared of dying if it means he can ram me. So he's on craigslist and I emphasized that he needs to go due to his aggression. But if he's not sold, he'll be going to auction next Tuesday.

On the upside, today is a beautiful day--sunny, not too hot with a cool breeze, and beautiful clear blue skies. I may take the ewes out to graze around our sheds and the house today since I don't have anything better to do.


----------



## aggieterpkatie

Billy might be more frustrated or bored since he's moved, but it defintely sounds like it's his time to go.  

And goodness, don't fret over Ali's job of raising the lambs.  After all, they weren't even hers. I'd be happy as pie she even lactated at all!


----------



## SheepGirl

Lol, well I can't wait till next year when she has her own! 

I'm still trying to think of what breed of ram I should buy...another Babydoll? Maybe a Cheviot...or a Texel. Or maybe a Finn? soo many choices! lol Just don't want anything too big for Ali to deliver, since she's ~130 lbs. Maybe I could buy a Katahdin ram and use my ewes to create a registered flock over a couple generations?


----------



## aggieterpkatie

You could buy a Southdown.  I wouldn't go with a Finn...not if you want meat sheep.


----------



## boykin2010

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Lol, well I can't wait till next year when she has her own!
> 
> I'm still trying to think of what breed of ram I should buy...another Babydoll? Maybe a Cheviot...or a Texel. Or maybe a Finn? soo many choices! lol Just don't want anything too big for Ali to deliver, since she's ~130 lbs. Maybe I could buy a Katahdin ram and use my ewes to create a registered flock over a couple generations?


I started doing this a while back with my "experimental sheep." when I first started out I bought some crossbreed wooly looking sheep that were cheap just to get used to them.  I bred them to a Katahdin ram and then keep the ewe lambs born. This is going to be my third generation this year and all of the wool is gone.  It does take a while but it is cool to see the sheep progressing.  They are looking more like a Katahdin now.  I am very impatient and wanted purebred an registered ewes now so every year I buy some Katahdin ewes from a breeder that are already purebred and registered.  It will be interesting in a few more years when I can compare my new purebred registered Katahdins with my own stock which came from wool breeds.  I think it is 5 generations before they can be registered as purebred....


----------



## SheepGirl

Well I think I might end up with a Texel ram...after I sell my ram of course. I'm hoping it will be next week or the week after, whenever we get my car back from my uncle so my mom can drive my car to work and I can have the expedition to take him in.

So when I breed my sheep I will have
1/2 Texel x 1/4 Montadale x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown
1/2 Texel x 1/8 Montadale x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown
1/2 Texel x 3/16 Montadale x 5/16 Babydoll Southdown

I really hope when I breed Katy Perry she takes because with her butt plus a Texel butt her lamb(s) will have a big meaty butt! 

Here are some pictures from a couple days ago I never did upload...

The Peanut Gallery was watching me...






...while I had Lady Gaga. (I know the picture is blurry, but she has such a pretty face, especially with those longgg eyelashes )





Oh! And I was able to get my brothers to take pictures of me and my lambs on the 25th, so I didn't need my mom last Friday  So in these pictures they are 61 days old.

This is Lady Gaga...I wish I didn't set her front feet up so she was so camped out. I had to put my foot in front of her back feet though because she kept wanting to take a step. (Notice her black & pink tongue...any sheep with natural colored genes will have a bi-colored tongue; a natural colored sheep will have a black tongue.)





This is Katy Perry...you can tell that she is soo much more meaty than Lady Gaga. Too bad I didn't have her set up in this picture. My brother just wanted to get the photo shoot done and over with lol. Katy Perry is kind of annoying when I go out to feed though...she's always bleating thinking I have something for her and when she sees me with grain she stands on the fence to try to get to it. She reminds me so much of my old ewe Lily.


----------



## Southdown

What does the Texel breed look like?  It sounds like you are going to have with your sheep breeding in the years to come.    So explain the tongue thing; I didn't get it.


----------



## SheepGirl

Texels are a super meaty breed...and they always tend to be the ones that win carcass competitions at fairs. They don't grow as fast as Suffolks or other black face breeds, but they produce a better carcass.

Here's a picture from the Texel Sheep Breeder's Society





As for the tongue thing...as far as I know this only applies to traditional wool breeds...I'm not sure how it applies to hair breeds. 
A white sheep without any genes for natural colored wool (which tends to be a recessive trait), ie no black sheep in the pedigree, will have a solid pink tongue.
A black sheep will have a solid black tongue, regardless if there are white sheep in it's pedigree.
A white sheep with genes for natural colored wool, who may or may not have black sheep in it's pedigree, will have a pink tongue with black spots or splotches.

Basically a tongue will "tell" you the color genetics of an animal. So it's helpful especially if you want to produce natural colored sheep (or NOT produce natural colored sheep) because you can choose a white ram (especially if you can't find a natural colored one) with color on his tongue and he may produce a black lamb, depending on what ewe(s) you breed him to. Or if you don't want to produce natural colored sheep, you can choose a white ram with an all-pink tongue and that will pretty much guarantee you wont' have any black lambs.

I hope that's not too confusing :/


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## Bridgemoof

Love your pictures SheepGirl. That's good info about the tongue color. My Jacob's have pink and black spotted tongues. I'm not sure what color Dipsy, my Cormo ram's tongue looks like. My Tunis was bred to Dipsy and her lamb is pretty much red, like a full tunis, but had a few white patches on his head.

So back to the aggressive ram thing. How old is your aggressive ram now? At what age do they start to act "ramish" with hormones? Dipsy is the sweetest ram and he is so easy to handle. He never butts. He's almost 2. Now I have a Jacob ram, too, who is 6 months old, Beastie Boy. I just love him to death, he is so sweet, too. But I dread to think if he starts getting aggressive, because he has 5 HUGE horns that surely will be dangerous!


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## purplequeenvt

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> So back to the aggressive ram thing. How old is your aggressive ram now? At what age do they start to act "ramish" with hormones? Dipsy is the sweetest ram and he is so easy to handle. He never butts. He's almost 2. Now I have a Jacob ram, too, who is 6 months old, Beastie Boy. I just love him to death, he is so sweet, too. But I dread to think if he starts getting aggressive, because he has 5 HUGE horns that surely will be dangerous!


There is a huge range in when a ram gets aggressive/how aggressive he gets. In my experience, if they are 2 or 3 years and not aggressive they will probably be good. But again, there are no set rules and no guarantees.


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## Bridgemoof

Hey Sheepgirl,

I happened upon this Craigslist ad today for a ram:
Texel X Southdown X Suffolk cross ram lamb for sale. DOB: 3/8/12

It's in Culpeper, VA and they want $275 for him which may be beyond what you are looking for. Just thought I would bring your attention to it.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/grd/3180505095.html


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## aggieterpkatie

Hey Sheepgirl, the male vet at the practice I told you about raises sheep, and he was breeding some Texels (and crossbreeding) so you may want to give him a call.  Dr. L.


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## SheepGirl

Actually now that I think about it, that's the guy I've been emailing  It didn't even occur to me lol.


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## aggieterpkatie

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Actually now that I think about it, that's the guy I've been emailing  It didn't even occur to me lol.


  Awesome.


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## Roving Jacobs

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> So back to the aggressive ram thing. How old is your aggressive ram now? At what age do they start to act "ramish" with hormones? Dipsy is the sweetest ram and he is so easy to handle. He never butts. He's almost 2. Now I have a Jacob ram, too, who is 6 months old, Beastie Boy. I just love him to death, he is so sweet, too. But I dread to think if he starts getting aggressive, because he has 5 HUGE horns that surely will be dangerous!


Cormos rams are known for being sweet. The lady I got mine from called them "love puddles" and I probably couldn't get my boy to be aggressive towards me for all the grain and ladies in the world. Always be cautious and don't encourage rough behavior but I wouldn't worry about him getting mean. All my Jacob boys are pretty easy going as well. I wouldn't put up with a mean ram with horns and I think most other breeders feel the same way. They won't seek me out for cuddles like my cormo does but they're perfectly respectful and keep their distance when I'm working in their pasture even if they're curious about what I'm doing.


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## Southdown

I learned something interesting about the tongues.  Thanks.


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## SheepGirl

Finally got those pictures from a week ago uploaded...

Here's Ciqala, my old ewe.






Have I ever mentioned that I _love_ the color of her eyes?





Ciqala and Maggie really do get along quite well. All Maggie does is sniff & lick the sheep and then she loses interest in them so I guess Ciqala doesn't see her as a threat 





Paulie wanted to get in a picture before I overload you guys with lamb pictures 





Okay...I love this picture of Katy Perry  I focused the clover and then I moved my camera to include my lamb and I love it.





Doesn't the white marking on Lady Gaga's muzzle look like a question mark? or is it just me...lol





Like I said...Lady Gaga has such a pretty face 





Sister kisses





OMG I love this expression Lady Gaga gives...I've only seen her make that face once before and I'm glad I got both on camera!





And, just cause....here's a picture of my kitten. You see that heart on her? it's sideways, but it's still a heart!


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## bigshawn

Love the pics................


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## Southdown

My lambs will sometimes stick their heads through the fence too on those larger squares.  I hate it when they do that and they think there is greener grass on the other side, of course.


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## SheepGirl

Lambs turned 90 days old today. I'm shocked that Lady Gaga beat Katy Perry for ADG!

Katy Perry
90 day weight: 40.5 lbs
Post-Weaning ADG: 0.367

Lady Gaga
90 day weight: 31.5 lbs
Post-Weaning ADG: 0.383


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## SheepGirl

I weighed the lambs Saturday since they turned 120 days old.

Katy Perry 
120 day weight: 52.0 lbs
30-day ADG: 0.383

Lady Gaga
120 day weight: 40.5 lbs
30-day ADG: 0.300

I currently have them on about a 1/2 lb of grain each so I'm hoping they will pick up their pace in terms of ADG. At this rate KP will be 90 lbs by the beginning of Jan. Lady Gaga I don't think will breed. Katy Perry I have hope for. I just hope she can be 90 lbs by mid December, so I will probably increase her feed.

I blame Lady Gaga's lack of gain on her issue with an infection earlier this month. She was on antibiotics for 12 days trying to get the infection out of her joints. It's pretty much gone and the lambs jump around and play with each other and run around the place...something she couldn't even do when I first let them out on pasture.

---

But I took them to the fair in the backseat of my car  I put a tarp down and then I put a medium sized dog crate in the backseat (which barely fit lol ... I had to collapse it first to get it to fit and then I assembled it in the back of the car) and bedded it with towels. I got a picture of them in my rearview mirror  but we were jammin out to pop music...you know, like Katy Perry & Lady Gaga   but I didn't have the music too loud. I didn't want to stress 'em out even more than they already were haha.


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## SheepGirl

Weighed lambs today (sadly without my new scale--had to use my bathroom scale, hopefully for the last time...I had a hard time reading the scale with a big lamb in the way! )

Katy Perry
150-day weight: 62.0 lbs
30-day ADG: 0.333

Lady Gaga
150-day weight: 50.5 lbs
30-day ADG: 0.333

They each gained exactly 10 lbs in 30 days...considering they were given 1/2 lb grain per day (15 lbs each, total) I'm happy with that number. I think I'm going to increase Katy Perry's grain to 3/5 lb (~9.5 oz). Hopefully she will convert it just as well.


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## SheepGirl

Been a long time since my last post!

Well it has been one year since this thread started due to my ram going through the fence gate and here are the changes in my flock:

I had two ewes, a wether, and a ram and they lived at my neighbor's farm.
Today I have four ewes and a new ram (bought with the money from selling the wether and ram) and they live at mine.

The lambs that resulted from this are healthy & are 70+ lbs. The adult ewes are now 3 months bred, in lamb to my new Texel sire. One of the ewe lambs is (hopefully) ~2 weeks bred and is due 5/18 if she took. I don't think Lady Gaga will breed this year.

It is so neat seeing the changes from the past year.

If you enjoyed this lambing thread, you will enjoy my 2013 lambing thread -- read it here: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22468

THANK YOU for a great year! I enjoyed sharing my lambs & sheep with you guys!


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## Southern by choice

So much has changed for you sheepgirl.  It is fun to follow your journal and threads!

You sure are a help and a hoot sometimes! Here's to a great new year!


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## Bridgemoof

Yes it's so fun to watch the progress. And now we are all familiar with the beloved Lady Gaga and Kate Perry.  Hard to imagine they are already old enough to be bred. Will be watching anxiously in your 2013 lambing thread for updates! And it will be interesting to see what develops in a year's time.


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## SheepGirl

Wanted to update that Katy Perry is now a mom! Ten days before her first birthday she gave birth to a single 9.8 lb ram lamb. You can see pictures and get more info on page 28 of my 2013 lambing thread.


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