# SheepGirl's 2016 Lambing Thread



## SheepGirl (Sep 15, 2015)

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! 

Check out my lambing journals from past years: 2012 (2 ewes) | 2013 (3 ewes) | 2014 (6 ewes) | 2015 (8 ewes)

*FLOCK SIRE*

We are using a homebred ram for this year's lambs. He is related to all of the ewes, so all of the lambs will be terminally marketed next year. We may keep back a few select ewe lambs, but they would have to be very exceptional.

*Odysseus*, born February 2014
1/2 Texel x 1/4 Montadale x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown

*MATURE EWES*
*
#44 - Ciqala*, born May 2006
1/2 Babydoll Southdown x 1/2 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-2-2-2-3-3-1 | Lambs Expected: 1-2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#73 - Valentine*, born March 2009
3/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-2-1-2-2 | Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#09 - Lady Gaga*, born May 2012 **FOR SALE**
3/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-2 | Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#10 - Katy Perry*, born May 2012
3/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-2-1 | Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#13 - Rosalie*, born March 2013
1/2 Texel x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-1 | Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#15 - Bella*, born March 2013
1/2 Texel x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambing Record: 1-2 | Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*YEARLING EWES*

*#19 - Phoibe*, born February 2014
1/2 Texel x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*#25 - Elektra*, born March 2014
1/2 Texel x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 2
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*"Chevy,"* born March 2014
Border Cheviot
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/16

*EWE LAMBS*
*
#28 - Pansy, *born February 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 1/4 Texel x 1/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#29 - Poppy, *born February 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 1/4 Texel x 1/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#30 - Hyacinth, *born February 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 1/4 Texel x 3/16 Babydoll Southdown x 1/16 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#31 - Dahlia, *born February 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 1/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#33 - Daisy, *born March 2015 **FOR SALE**
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#34 - Petunia, *born March 2015 **FOR SALE**
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#36 - Ivy, *born March 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 3/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15
*
#37 - Clover, *born March 2015
1/4 Finn x 1/4 Dorset x 1/4 Texel x 1/8 Babydoll Southdown x 1/8 Montadale
Lambs Expected: 1
DATE BRED: xx/xx/15 | DATE DUE: xx/xx/15


~~ You can go to www.sheepandchicken.com for more information ~~


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## promiseacres (Sep 15, 2015)

Is it that time already?


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## Poka_Doodle (Sep 15, 2015)

I look forward to watching this thread as a livestock lover myself


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## SheepGirl (Sep 25, 2015)

We have some ewes who have been bred already:

9/15 - Bella
9/16 - #33
9/17 - Katy Perry
9/22 - Ali
9/25 - Rosie

Which means lambing season starts February 9!


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## SheepGirl (Sep 30, 2015)

9/28 - #28
9/29 - Bella


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## SheepGirl (Oct 13, 2015)

Had an anonymous call into animal control about my sheep and goat being neglected. They said the caller had stated we had too many animals in an area and they had inadequate shelter as well as no access to food or water.

1. There are 19 animals on 1.5 acres. No that amount is not ideal for GRAZING the animals (especially as we approach the fall), BUT that is not what I am doing. I am feeding them hay, especially since the grass is eaten all the way down (that was my goal; when we had the sheep on the dry lot under the deck, the grass grew back thicker and greener, which is what I want the grass to come back like next year when I have a greater demand for it). So the space they have is more than enough. The ACO checked this part as okay.

2. We just had a barn built less than a year ago. 20x32. We have more boards put on now that the last picture of the barn I have posted on one of my threads. And they want to complain about it?! I've sat in there in snow storms, heavy thunderstorms, etc, and I have come out dry and unaffected by the weather (albeit a little cold sometimes).

3. No access to food? How about all the hay in the barn? How about the half used bin of feed I mixed up? The ACO did state that due to the pasture being short, if there had not been hay in the barn, we would've been cited. And all of the sheep are in good condition, except for Ciqala and Ali, who are always a little thin. (I wasn't home when she came by, but I would've asked her if straw in the barn would've been okay too--many sheep resources cite feeding straw along with grain.)

4. No access to water either? How about three buckets full! We have two of large blue heated water buckets (the largest ones you can buy) as well as a 40 (or is it 70?) gallon water tank.

The ACO said it was one of the cleanest and most organized places they've been to and she said it she saw no reason why she had to come out. The sheep looked healthy, and she had walked around the place before she came to knock on the door and she lifted up the lids on the feed buckets and saw grain in them. I know they are allowed to do that but her just walking around willy nilly like nothing--who knows if she went to another farm with her shoes? If ours is the cleanest, how bad are the others that she goes out to? What if she brought a disease to my flock by walking around their barnyard? Like I said, I wasn't home (I spent the night at my cousin's because I went to a Drs appt with her the morning they arrived), so I don't know if she put on protective boots or not.

She said due to the fact you can't see the sheep from the road, it would've had to been someone who came up the driveway. We are thinking it's our neighbor (or one of their visitors; they put in a modular home so they have people coming up all of the time) because we don't really get along with them. Either way, whoever reported it needs to get their facts straight before wasting tax dollars on things that don't even matter. If they had a problem with the way the animals were, they could've knocked on the door and even pretended to buy a lamb so they could get more info before making a judgement on whether to call AC or not. I would've been more than happy to show them around and let them look at my records. But now that this has happened, I am going to make feed inventory forms, animal inventory forms, and water cleaning records to document how I care for the animals; feed inventory on a weekly basis to document that I am using the feed (read: sheep are being fed), animal inventory on a monthly basis to document that there aren't millions of sheep on the land, and water cleaning records (much like the bathroom cleaning records you see on the door at Walmart) to show that their water buckets are being scrubbed AT LEAST once weekly. (I usually do it Tuesdays and Fridays.)

And five more ewes are bred, I just have to check my phone to get dates on them.


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## Ferguson K (Oct 13, 2015)

I feel your pain! We had a bad neighbor that called AC and complained my guineas were keeping him up at night. 

I reiterate. At night.


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## goatgurl (Oct 13, 2015)

i just don't understand people.  what have they to gain except the satisfaction of harassing you.


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## promiseacres (Oct 13, 2015)

pain in the butt neighbors

to you sheep girl, glad it worked out, hopefully the ACO takes good notes and no more wasted time.


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## OneFineAcre (Oct 13, 2015)

That's awful what happened 
Glad all turned out ok for you
I know you take good care of your animals


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## SheepGirl (Feb 24, 2016)

Well I am overdue for an update!!

Back in mid January, Ciqala was having a hard time standing up. She was thin, and she was being knocked over easily...and once knocked over, she couldn't stand herself up. Not sure what was going on with her, my dad was convinced she was going to die. I wasn't. I had noticed she had stopped eating hay with the rest of the flock (but she would eat other things I would bring out to her). So off to the feed store to get shredded beet pulp and alfalfa pellets. She was kept penned up and I was feeding her lots of alfalfa pellets and some beet pulp. It took her a few days to eat the beet pulp with enthusiasm like she did the alfalfa pellets. It helped I mixed some ground corn in there, lol.

We also had the huge snow storm the end of January, altogether we had around 33 or 36" of snow...and because we live on a hill with no windbreaks, we had snow drifts upwards of 8' (covering one entire side of the barn wall).

Fast forward to the beginning of February...on the 4th, what a surprise! Our first lamb of the year! A little ewe lamb. It was wandering around the barn. I couldn't tell who it belonged to. My dad and I penned everyone up and I looked at everyone's butts to TRY to find the slightest amount of evidence that someone had given birth to this little baby. Not one! Then the lamb crawled through the gate into Ciqala's pen and I was like "Dad, I think I know who had the baby!" "Who?" "Ciqala--there's a placenta in here" -- What a little miracle baby! Two weeks ago this ewe could barely stand on her own and now she delivered a little ewe lamb.

Unfortunately the next morning I found the baby behind the mattress frame aka giant pallet in Ciqala's pen (it was leaned up against the wall because her pen was the hay storage and I leaned it up against the wall to get it out of the way so she would have more room and left the hay in the garage). Her head was wedged between two pieces of wood and her body was kind of on the outside. My guess is she got stuck overnight (between 11 pm and 8 am) and she couldn't get out, couldn't eat, and got cold and passed away. 

However, less than a week later, Feb 11, Katy Perry had a BIG 13.5 lb ram lamb! Such an ugly little guy. He was cold, so he was the very first lamb I had ever put a sweater on, lol. So he's doing well.

Then a couple days later, I noticed Rosie was looking really big. I was getting excited, I thought maybe she had triplets! Another day or two passed and I noticed that her left side was really distended and her right side didn't even look like she was pregnant. Unfortunately with a little research I found that my poor girl (the first lamb born at my house after years of living at the neighbor's) had a ruptured prepubic tendon (more common in horses and cows than with sheep). Pretty much everything I found said they would need help during labor and the ewe and lamb would die during birth and if not then about a week later.

Well on Feb 19, I went out to feed about two hours earlier than what I normally do, and I'm glad I did! Everyone came up to eat but her. I found her laying flat on her side, I thought she was dead. I nudged her up to get her to an upright position and I looked behind her and there was a dead ram lamb. And there was also another lamb coming! So because I had read that the contractions wouldn't be strong due to the displacement of the uterus, I figured I would go ahead and pull this lamb. And she was alive! Rosie would bleat and lick her, but only when she was in front of her. However this little lamb was a little explorer and wanted to walk everywhere to try to find mom, even though she was right there. I let Rosie sit for a little bit to see if she had anymore coming and then I stood her up eventually so the baby could nurse. I couldn't get any milk out of Rosie's udder. Her left half was the size of a cantaloupe (likely due to the ruptured tendon) and the other half was the size of a softball. Both were not easy to get to, I even had trouble finding the teats so I had to flip her on her rear. And I just wanted Rosie to rest so I ended up making the little ewe lamb a bottle baby. She's been living in the house in a dog cage and she is so adorable. Spitting image of Rosie as a baby. She's not even a week old yet and she is so thick and muscular, even for a bottle baby.

February 22nd, Bella lambed sometime in the morning. When I went out around 2 pm, Lady Gaga was lambing. Bella had twin lambs, one ewe one ram. They were both cleaned off, but only the ewe lamb looked fed. That said, when I penned Bella and her babies up to keep them separated from Lady Gaga, Bella started attacking her babies. Since I had to work within an hour or two, I didn't have time to try to make this momma accept her babies, especially since Lady Gaga delivered twin ram lambs that she wanted nothing to do with, and one couldn't walk. I ran over to Sheepman Supply and grabbed some colostrum replacer and a bag of milk replacer. I had some left over from Rosie's ewe lamb from a few days prior, but it was definitely not enough for four newborn lambs! I also stopped at Walmart and bought a dog playpen for $60. Definitely a great investment as they can be in the garage with straw -- with lambs inside the dog cage in the house, I have to change the towels out 2-3x a day because they get messy quick. So the three newborn lambs who are normal are in the garage, and the handicapped lamb went in the dog cage with Rosie's lamb. He never could stand by himself until he was 18-20 hours old. He mainly stayed splayed out and he couldn't stand up. Another couple of hours later, he had the strength to walk a few steps. Finally today he can walk on the hardwood floors without falling. Maybe in a couple days both indoor lambs will move outside with the three garage lambs. Ultimately I was surprised about Bella not wanting her babies as she was a fantastic, protective mother last year. I'm not sure why she changed her mind about motherhood. And Lady Gaga, I'm not surprised. She's a terrible mother. Honestly I don't know why I keep her around lol. Five lambs and she's raised none of them. Three of them have been bottle lambs and two were raised by her sister, who also lambed on the same day as her last year.

Feb 23 - Phoibe had a ram lamb.

Feb 24 - Elektra had a ewe lamb.

Both Phoibe and Elektra lambed within a few days of each other last year, as well.

So far, the count is 10 lambs from 7 ewes, 8 alive. 4 ewes, 6 rams. 3 living ewes, 5 living rams. 10 more ewes to go!


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## promiseacres (Feb 24, 2016)

Wow, crazyness those girls didn't take care of their lambs! So sorry for your losses, but you sound up beat, taking it in stride. I commend you for that.


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## Poka_Doodle (Feb 24, 2016)

Wow, a lot has happened. I was going to ask you about it but had forgotten


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## SheepGirl (Mar 10, 2016)

On March 1st, #36 (a ewe lamb) had a ewe lamb herself. Completely unassisted -- I went out to the barn to feed along the fenceline, did a head count, was missing one. Walked into the barn, scared the bejeebies out of her. It looked like she had a foot or two coming out her rear. I herded her into the back pen so I could watch her without her seeing me. Within 20-30 minutes the lamb was on the ground. I was a little bit concerned; she didn't get up immediately so I went to go get the gunk off of the lamb's face, swooshed the ewe up and walked away to watch. Momma sheep didn't want her baby. Was butting at her, but she was calling to her. 5 to 10 minutes later she was like "OMG IS THIS MY BABY?!" and she started licking and trying to get the baby to stand. It was like a eureka moment for her lol.

The next morning I went out to find #30 (also a ewe lamb) to have lambed, but her ewe lamb was dead. Possibly stillborn as it didn't look like it had moved from the position it would've come out in when it was born. But I'm not sure. Momma was baaing loudly at it, I don't think she understood what happened.

March 7th, Chevy had her baby! Boy does it look just like her!! A pretty little ewe lamb. Well actually she's not little. She's a big lamb, lol.

And the bucket lambs are doing good. They are so chunky -- not sure if it's the milk replacer or the fact that they are 25 or 50% texel, depending on their mom lol.

I need to wether all of the boys, there's five of them. It's a nice day so I might do it now while it is still relatively cool (it is supposed to be 81* today) or maybe in the early evening. I finally got all the ear tags caught up, I only had 3 of the outdoor lambs tagged, I had to do the five in the garage plus the two that were born March 1 and March 7.

I will probably go get some pictures, also. I don't think I've posted any yet!


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## samssimonsays (Mar 10, 2016)

WOW! Congrats on everything!


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