# Are they bred?



## secuono (Nov 29, 2011)

Well, I was out cleaning up the barn a bit and an ewe came over. I noticed she is very round all around, bigger than the ram. Other ewe is also very round. 
Other than having the ram wearing a marking harness and always being separate from the ewe, how else are you supposed to know when to give the CD/T shot 1 month before they lamb? Feb-April was lambing season last year for this trio when they were at the breeders, I'm guessing the same this year. 

Since I obviously cannot give them the CD/T shot 1 month before lambing, when do I give it? Both ewes and rams? When do the lambs get it?


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## SheepGirl (Nov 29, 2011)

Sheep 201 said:
			
		

> Lambs whose dams were not vaccinated for C and D can be vaccinated with some success at two to three days of age and again in two weeks. However, later vaccinations will likely be more effective, as colostral antibodies usually interfere with vaccinations at very young ages. The lamb's immature immune system may also not be able to respond to vaccination at such a young age.
> 
> A better alternative may be to vaccinate offspring from non-vaccinated dams when they are approximately 4 weeks of age, followed by a booster 4 weeks later. Anti-toxins can provide immediate short-term immunity if dams were not vaccinated or in the event of disease outbreak or vaccine failure.


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## aggieterpkatie (Nov 30, 2011)

If you're not sure of breeding dates, I'd go ahead and vaccinate when they start uddering up.  You'll probably want to crutch the ewes (shear around their rear ends and udders) so you can easily see/monitor udders.


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## secuono (Nov 30, 2011)

We are new to sheep breeding, so what is uddering up?
Also, finding hand shears is easy and I can cut their wool on their general body fine. But for bum and udder areas, I'm sure a real shearers would be best. What are a few of the better/best shears and blades for sheep?


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## aggieterpkatie (Nov 30, 2011)

Uddering up means deveping an udder.  

If you want to spend money, then I'd get a set of clippers or shears from Premier, or get Listers.  You may be able to get away with Oster A-5s, but they may have a harder time going through dirty fleece (meaning, not washed, not that your sheep are dirty).  Even hand shears are better than nothing.  Just clip the wool all around the vulva and back legs so you can see the vulva and udder from behind the sheep. You also sometimes have to trim around the insides of the hind legs and udders so there are no wool tags for lambs to accidentally suck on.


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## secuono (Nov 30, 2011)

What blade should I get? Some come with fine, but can change out to others, like; Close, Fine or Medium. There are others, but they are extra. 

Found them, one of each. Got dial up so rather not sift through millions of sites as it would take me literally days! 
http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=540&cat_id=38 
http://www.pfwh.com/index.cfm/product/3538_2145/lister-star-clipper.cfm#reviews

Can you plug them into any grounded US outlet?

Does it matter which hand shears I buy? Is there a site on how to hand shear?


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## aggieterpkatie (Nov 30, 2011)

Any outlet should work.  If you're getting clippers and just doing a crutch clip for lambing, it doesn't have to be super fine and you could go with a comb that will leave a little wool on.  If you're using the shearing machine, the combs with more teeth generally mean there's less of a chance of you cutting them.  I like the 20 tooth comb on shearing machines, but I also use a 13 or a 10 if I have to.    It really doesn't matter what hand shears you buy, but generally you get what you pay for.  When you trim using hand shears, you want to cut close to teh skin, not from the top of the wool.  It's hard to explain, but you'll figure out a rhythm that works for you.  Just make sure you do not pull the wool as you trim.  You may think it'll make things easier, but it just pulls the skin out and makes it easier for you to cut them.  

Here's  one of my blog posts that has a picture of a rough crutching I did on one of my ewes.


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