# Bred Too Young?



## Cotton*wood (Nov 24, 2021)

What happens when sheep are bred too young?  It seemed way too much trouble to separate out the three younger ewe lambs from the rest of the flock, especially for a whole month and a half.  They're being rotationally grazed, and it's a lot of bother.  I assumed (hoped) that the three young ones wouldn't be going through estrus, and so the ram would leave them alone.  Alas.  Those three are about seven months old, and they seem to be very fertile, and it's too late now.  They're a LOT smaller than the other four ewe lambs, who are ten months old.  But it's too late now.

So what can I expect???  Is there a chance they might actually not get pregnant?  Or might they abort?  Or might they just have difficult births?  Is their (the ewe lambs) growth going to be permanently stunted?  I really wish I'd separated them.....

(They're Katahdins, by the way.)


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## Mini Horses (Nov 24, 2021)

Now you know!   More than likely they will kid a single.  The one who gets stunted is the one now bred too young. 😔. So I HOPE there is a separate ram pen now!   A sad lesson for you.


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## Margali (Nov 24, 2021)

For this misbreed, there a medicine that can be used abort the pregancies if you deem it neccessary. You would need to weigh importance of the young ewes maturing correctly vs vet/med cost vs personal ethics. 🤷‍♀️


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## secuono (Nov 24, 2021)

They're either not bred or shouldn't have much trouble. I've had more issues with 2+ year olds than yearlings lambing. 
Don't overfeed the last month or so.


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## farmerjan (Nov 24, 2021)

It is very possible they will have some growth stunted.  We have it in the cattle if a heifer gets bred too young.  

How long has it been since they were bred?  If less than 6 weeks or so, they can get a shot of lutalyse and it will "abort them" ... at that short a period of time, they basically will just slip the tiny little bit of fetus and then come back into heat.  
Katahdins are one of the breeds that will come in heat easier and more regularly,  than some other breeds that are considered photo estrus.  Meaning, many hair breeds will show heat cycles more often throughout the year, whereas many of the wool breeds will mostly come in heat in the fall so they start cycling more when the days get shorter and then carry their pregnancy through the winter to lamb in the spring when the conditions are more conducive to producing more milk and the lambs growing better coinciding with grass growth etc.,,,

We always have the ram lambs separated out by 4 months if not before.... they have been known to breed back their mothers if they start to cycle and we have not gotten them out.  Our dall sheep tend to be less likely to come in heat in the spring/summer, which is contrary to some other hair breeds, but they are closer to "wild type" sheep and so the genetics for fall or photoestrus breeding is more common with them.  But we have had our share of "OOOPS" babies too.  
Band or cut them as babies.  Then there is no big problem.  Keep a wether and keep him with the ram when you are not specifically using him for breeding.


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 24, 2021)

My whole flock is ewes.  We did band our one ram lamb, and have since sent him to the butcher.  We brought in a ram to breed the ewes and big ewe lambs (just about full size), but I didn't realize that the three young ones would be ready to breed.  I'm wondering if I do that (get the shot), and have them in an adjacent paddock, that the ram might try to go through the electric fence to get to them.....

How much growth stunted?  Do you think it will cause a problem with lambing?  Or for future pregnancies?


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## Baymule (Nov 24, 2021)

Some Katahdin breeders will breed at 7 months. The registry won’t accept registration on lambs born to ewes younger than 6 months. 

Personally I like to wait until 8-10 months, usually 10 months. 

If your ewes are bred at 7 months, that’s right on the line. Most breeders that breed that young have lambs that grow off and are good sized by then. You say your 3 are small, so probably not going to be a good thing. It may very well stunt their growth. Or not. They may be just fine. It may take longer for them to reach full size. It’s a crap shoot. 

You can make pens with cow panels and T-posts. Gates are half a cow panel. They go up fast and easy and come down fast and easy. 

You will know better next time. It’s all a learning experience.


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## farmerjan (Nov 25, 2021)

If you are using electrified netting, then it is unlikely the ram will go through.... but it has to be good and "HOT" to make sure they are respecting the fence.  If you are using 2 or more strands as the fencing, then it is likely he will go through. 
There is no way to know what effect being bred "too young" will produce.  If they grow good in the next few months, they might do okay.  If they are small now, then it is a toss up.  Hopefully they will have a small lamb, preferable a single for a first time "young" mom. 
I would not hazard a guess without seeing them in person.  I think it is a toss up on giving them shots all according to how long since you think they got bred.  If you are done with the ram, send him back home (I am assuming you have leased him for the breeding season).  If not too long since they got bred, give the shots and hope they abort.  If the ram is gone then you don't have to worry about it anyway. 
You can just ship the 3 small ewe lambs for meat now... and then you have a clean slate to breeding your sheep next year.  Then just make sure that any ewe lambs you keep are kept totally sequestered from the ram so they don't get bred too soon.  If you are only keeping a few, dry lotting them for the 60 days you have the ram for breeding, is not that big of a deal.  3-6 ewe lambs will not eat you out of house and home in hay and limited grain for the  time you need to keep them away from the ram;   then after he goes home they can go back into the group for rotational grazing and make things easier for you.
Unless there is something in the couple of small ewe lambs that you are really wanting to keep as in a specific bloodline... I think you would be as well off to just ship them, get a fair paycheck for them, get rid of the possible future problems, and then do things better next year.  You will have ewe lambs to pick from to keep next year for breeders.


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 25, 2021)

farmerjan said:


> If you are using electrified netting, then it is unlikely the ram will go through.... but it has to be good and "HOT" to make sure they are respecting the fence.  If you are using 2 or more strands as the fencing, then it is likely he will go through.
> There is no way to know what effect being bred "too young" will produce.  If they grow good in the next few months, they might do okay.  If they are small now, then it is a toss up.  Hopefully they will have a small lamb, preferable a single for a first time "young" mom.
> I would not hazard a guess without seeing them in person.  I think it is a toss up on giving them shots all according to how long since you think they got bred.  If you are done with the ram, send him back home (I am assuming you have leased him for the breeding season).  If not too long since they got bred, give the hots and hope they abort.  If the ram is gone then you don't have to worry about it anyway.
> You can just ship the 3 small ewe lambs for meat now... and then you have a clean slate to breeding your sheep next year.  Then just make sure that any ewe lambs you keep are kept totally sequestered from the ram so they don't get bred too soon.  If you are only keeping a few, dry lotting them for the 60 days you have the ram for breeding, is not that big of a deal.  3-6 ewe lambs will not eat you out of house and home in hay and limited grain for the  time you need to keep them away from the ram;   then after he goes home they can go back into the group for rotational grazing and make things easier for you.
> Unless there is something in the couple of small ewe lambs that you are really wanting to keep as in a specific bloodline... I think you would be as well off to just ship them, get a fair paycheck for them, get rid of the possible future problems, and then do things better next year.  You will have ewe lambs to pick from to keep next year for breeders.


Thanks.  Yes, electric net fence, and yes, very hot. Unfortunately, not done with the ram, as he's only been in there for five days, but I think I have a plan.  Yes, I got those three particular ewe lambs on purpose, and really want to keep them for breeding--NEXT year.  I can make a place to dry-lot them until we send the ram back home.  I'm going to call the vet tomorrow.....


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## farmerjan (Nov 25, 2021)

Sounds like you have a plan.  If you have only had the ram for 5 days, then you will be good to give them a shot to prevent them from being pregnant.   Talking to the vet is the way to go. I am hoping this vet is an experience large animal vet as opposed to just "pets".  They have to be at least 10-14 days after the breeding for the lute to work because sooner than that it will not cause the shift in hormones.  We always wait at least 3 weeks in the cattle; sometimes you get lucky and they don't settle... but since they are ewe lambs you want to use, and it is such a short time since the ram got to them, giving them a shot and getting them to cycle again and then keeping them away is the way to go and then they will get the growth you want and you can breed them to lamb when it is healthy for them and time wise, right for you.  
Glad that you are on top of this in this way.  Hope that you can get things worked out.  Will be glad to offer "opinions" because I am not a vet but we have alot of years with sheep in general.   Here's hoping that the vet will be able to assist you and that you can get them straightened out and held over for next year.


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## Mini Horses (Nov 25, 2021)

Good advice from FJ.   Didn't realize this had "just happened".  Lutalyse..I've used on the mini horse in years past.  It works.  Think it was about 2 wks post breeding for them.  Been a while.   But a good option and no issues for the animal.


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## farmerjan (Nov 28, 2021)

At this early a stage, all the lute does is cause the CL to shrink so that the progesterone will recede, which will cause them to just come in heat again.... the sloughing off of the lining of the uterus will be no different than a normal heat cycle.... they will not even know they were pregnant, and you will not have to feel guilty about "aborting them" because it is so miniscule that it is not like aborting a growing fetus.  Basically you are making the uterus uninhabitable for the newly fertilized egg.   
Let us know what the vet says and how you make out getting them squared away, and into their "dry lot" "safe lot" for the next 2 months.


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 28, 2021)

farmerjan said:


> At this early a stage, all the lute does is cause the CL to shrink so that the progesterone will recede, which will cause them to just come in heat again.... the sloughing off of the lining of the uterus will be no different than a normal heat cycle.... they will not even know they were pregnant, and you will not have to feel guilty about "aborting them" because it is so miniscule that it is not like aborting a growing fetus.  Basically you are making the uterus uninhabitable for the newly fertilized egg.
> Let us know what the vet says and how you make out getting them squared away, and into their "dry lot" "safe lot" for the next 2 months.


I talked to the vet on the phone, and he mentioned that too.  He's coming out on Wednesday, and I have a whole list of questions for him (it'll be our first visit).  I'm hoping that he'll say I can wait to give the shots when the ram is leaving so I won't have to separate them, but if we need to do it now, I certainly will, and then have those three elsewhere.  The trickiest part of it all will be getting the other eight back out to their paddock, and the three to a different place.


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## farmerjan (Nov 29, 2021)

Glad the vet is coming out.  But don't wait that long to do them.  60 days is too long.  Sheep only carry for 5 months, that is over a third of the gestation.  It will be much easier on them, more like a blip in the radar, instead of an actual "abortion" to their system; to do it within the first month or less.    Again, do as your vet says; but I would do them at about 14+/-  days after you saw them get bred.... 
Good to write down the list of questions for the vet because you will inevitably forget to ask something.  He//, I still make a list for the vet and we have been doing this for over 40 years......


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## Baymule (Nov 29, 2021)

Do you have any cow panels? These are infinitely useful and will make a good sorting chute. If you don't have any, it might be a good idea to start accumulating some. They are not cheap, have gone up from $20 to $26 here. If that is not an option right now, go load up on pallets and build a chute. For the "working" part, buy a hog panel and cut it in half. It is low enough that you may be able to step over it, I can and I'm 5'7" tall. You need a "stop" at both ends of the hog panel. The stop keeps the sheep from running the whole length of the chute and confines the ones you need to work on in a smaller space. To make the stop, leave a gap between the last pallet and the hog panel, wide enough to slide a pallet through. Be sure to T-post the ends of the hog panels and the last pallet. Run a few sheep in the hog panel, slide a pallet through the gap and they are confined. For the stop at the other end of the hog panels, use hay string and tie a pallet to the end. 

For putting the young ewes in a pen, you can make a halter and drag them where you want them. Get ready for a workout. They will try to run away, they will fight and then just lay down. LOL If you have help, it would be nice. My first weaning and separating of sheep was wild. I had a pen ready for them, but it wasn't close to the sheep barn and lot. Went through all the fighting and laying down, refusing to move, so we picked them up and put them in my garden wagon. My husband pulled the wagon, I held their legs up so they couldn't roll over and jump out. LOL LOL 

I hope I have helped with my description of a make shift run and chute for you. I used to drag cow panels around to make loading chutes, working chutes, etc. I love cow panels! 

One of the best purchases I ever made was a used Premiere 1 set of working equipment.






						Handling Equipment for Sheep and Goats - Premier1Supplies
					

In a well-designed handling system, the system of animal “flow” from entry to exit(s) is important.




					www.premier1supplies.com
				




I got 2 Guillotine gates, a stop gate, a 2 way sorting gate and a hog panel, cut in half. We used--you guessed it!!! Cow panels to make the chutes!! LOL LOL 

This link is our equipment purchase and it shows how other people set up their chutes and equipment. Maybe the pictures will help you set up something to work and sort your sheep. 






						SCORE! Sheep Handling Equipment
					

WHOO-HOO!!!! :weee:weee:weee:weee  I'm just a little excited. I found a Craigs List ad for sheep handling equipment. Two guillotine gates, a stop gate and a 2-way sorting gate for $650 from Premier1. I immediately looked up the pieces, new they totaled $955. This couple had used hog panels to...



					www.backyardherds.com
				




As you read the posts, you will see me in the hog panel chute clipping matts off the sheep with house hold scissors. Major job. blisters and no fun at all. I have since gotten a set of hand shears for those girls that don't shed well and they are awesome. 

Cow panels for the run, hog panels for the short chute are not the greatest, but they work. Sheep and lambs do get their legs through the holes and they can get hurt. Prompt attention to get their legs back in the chute or they will figure it out themselves. Maybe one of these days I will get solid sides, but for now this is working for me and is a huge improvement over chasing and doing the flying tackle. LOL LOL 

I have since made a loading chute for the stock trailer, again with cow panels. 

I hope this gives you an idea on building some sort of small holding pen, even a temporary type of working chute, anything to help make it easier on you. Good luck and let us know how it goes!


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 29, 2021)

Baymule said:


> Do you have any cow panels? These are infinitely useful and will make a good sorting chute. If you don't have any, it might be a good idea to start accumulating some. They are not cheap, have gone up from $20 to $26 here. If that is not an option right now, go load up on pallets and build a chute. For the "working" part, buy a hog panel and cut it in half. It is low enough that you may be able to step over it, I can and I'm 5'7" tall. You need a "stop" at both ends of the hog panel. The stop keeps the sheep from running the whole length of the chute and confines the ones you need to work on in a smaller space. To make the stop, leave a gap between the last pallet and the hog panel, wide enough to slide a pallet through. Be sure to T-post the ends of the hog panels and the last pallet. Run a few sheep in the hog panel, slide a pallet through the gap and they are confined. For the stop at the other end of the hog panels, use hay string and tie a pallet to the end.
> 
> For putting the young ewes in a pen, you can make a halter and drag them where you want them. Get ready for a workout. They will try to run away, they will fight and then just lay down. LOL If you have help, it would be nice. My first weaning and separating of sheep was wild. I had a pen ready for them, but it wasn't close to the sheep barn and lot. Went through all the fighting and laying down, refusing to move, so we picked them up and put them in my garden wagon. My husband pulled the wagon, I held their legs up so they couldn't roll over and jump out. LOL LOL
> 
> ...


Aw...that's all too complicated.  I'll just put them all in the stall in the barn (piece of cake getting them in--a bucket of corn or alfalfa pellets will have the whole flock thundering after me, stepping on my heels and crowding me from all directions).  I have a half panel in the stall where I can do some separating, but a leg hook will let me snag any individual animal (most of them are very tame anyway).  And then to get the majority back out to the paddock (probably about 200 yards at this point), I'll have one person outside with a bucket of grain, and a gate-keeper to only let the ones out which should be out.  The goal will be to keep the three small ones in, and let the others out.  Once they're separated that way, the grain bucket person will walk the main flock back out to the paddock, and the three little ones will be in.  My worry is about getting them into a SEPARATE place.  I have a couple of ideas about places (the duck yard has a tall wooden fence), or I could put a separate electric net fence someplace nearer, or put them in with the chickens who are in an electric net fence in the whole big huge vegetable garden--though that might be a bit weird. I have plenty of cattle panel (I think--we've been using it regularly for various things, like making portable sheep shelters, and filling in some egregious gaps in fences).

I thought that it had to be at least two weeks after they were impregnated for the lute to work (but I'll for sure ask the vet); I was only planning on having the ram in there for a little over a month--time for everyone to run through two cycles if they didn't settle the first time, so it sure wouldn't be 60 days.  But, I'll definitely ask the vet.  

Other things on my list:

>growth/stunting when bred young (how young/how small/nutritional needs?)
>what I need to worry about with parasites (timing of pasture rotations various times of year, doing faecal egg counts)
>fescue toxicity (times of year) and other toxic pasture plants (really a problem?)
>Hoof trimming needs (they all look pretty good to me--but is my impression correct?)
>a bump on one ewe's tail


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## farmerjan (Nov 29, 2021)

If sheep have a 16-19 day cycle... I always figure 21 days for sheep,  goats,  cows to be on the safe side of average;  you need to figure from the very last day of the cycle... thinking the ewes came in heat the day before the ram got there... so you are looking at at least 40 days for the ram... which definitely better than 60 days.... so maybe giving them the shots the day the ram goes out will be okay... but yeah, 2 weeks after the ram got them would be ideal for the lute shot. 
Your list of questions is good... One thing about fescue.... if they have enough other grasses available it will not be much of a problem.  If they have just lambed and get put on fescue mixed grass, they will be okay.  The fescue is palatable early in growth... it gets to be a problem with later term ewes, and with the breeding herd.  After frost, the fescue becomes much more palatable as the starches change to a sugar and we graze cattle good on fescue in the winter.  Fescue toxicity can cause feet problems and actually cause them to founder from the heat destroying the hooves.  Again, we don't see alot of it in the sheep but they get plenty to eat and have a choice. 

The further down you graze, the more likely they will pick up worm eggs.  Barber Pole will be the most common.  The larvae will "climb" the stalks of grass and will be more in the bottom 2-4 inches of the growth.  They can lay dormant for awhile,  but are much more prevalent in "wetter" conditions..... If you have any other ruminants (cows or horses) to rotate behind the sheep, they will often graze the grass with the parasites,  and most parasites are "mostly" species specific.... so barber pole worm larvae will not likely affect a horse or cow... so it helps to break the cycle because there will be fewer/no larvae when the sheep get back to graze... not perfect but it helps....

If you have a way to do fecal egg counts that is your BEST way to time rotations and to decide down the road the best animals to keep.  @Mike CHS  and Teresa have been breeding their Katahdins to be parasite resistant.  Believe me... it is the most economical way to get your herd to be resistant.... we do it with our White Texas Dall sheep too.  We have to weigh the worm resistance,  with the bad feet, with the best horns.... we have 3 different strains.... and keep crossing them to try to get better parasite resistance in the strain that has the best horns... and then crossing in the other strain that has very good feet and hooves compared to the ones with the best horns that have the softest worst feet ever.


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 29, 2021)

farmerjan said:


> If sheep have a 16-19 day cycle... I always figure 21 days for sheep,  goats,  cows to be on the safe side of average;  you need to figure from the very last day of the cycle... thinking the ewes came in heat the day before the ram got there... so you are looking at at least 40 days for the ram... which definitely better than 60 days.... so maybe giving them the shots the day the ram goes out will be okay... but yeah, 2 weeks after the ram got them would be ideal for the lute shot.
> Your list of questions is good... One thing about fescue.... if they have enough other grasses available it will not be much of a problem.  If they have just lambed and get put on fescue mixed grass, they will be okay.  The fescue is palatable early in growth... it gets to be a problem with later term ewes, and with the breeding herd.  After frost, the fescue becomes much more palatable as the starches change to a sugar and we graze cattle good on fescue in the winter.  Fescue toxicity can cause feet problems and actually cause them to founder from the heat destroying the hooves.  Again, we don't see alot of it in the sheep but they get plenty to eat and have a choice.
> 
> The further down you graze, the more likely they will pick up worm eggs.  Barber Pole will be the most common.  The larvae will "climb" the stalks of grass and will be more in the bottom 2-4 inches of the growth.  They can lay dormant for awhile,  but are much more prevalent in "wetter" conditions..... If you have any other ruminants (cows or horses) to rotate behind the sheep, they will often graze the grass with the parasites,  and most parasites are "mostly" species specific.... so barber pole worm larvae will not likely affect a horse or cow... so it helps to break the cycle because there will be fewer/no larvae when the sheep get back to graze... not perfect but it helps....
> ...


Well, they're eating mostly fescue now--I'd say about 75%, after not touching it most of the summer.  They're actually loving it, which has surprised me.  I wasn't going to have them on this particular pasture yet, but we had to have some pond work done and where they were supposed to be needed to be kept clear for the big machinery to get through.  I'm not TOO worried about the parasite eggs because they grazed this particular pasture only very lightly several months ago the last time they were here (not much sheep poop) and it was in the 90s that whole month which I've read is not very conducive to barber pole eggs hatching. But they're clipping it pretty evenly down to four or five inches, so I don't know.  But they are currently breeding, so I hope the fescue doesn't have too adverse an effect on them.....

We have somewhere between 6 and 8 acres of pasture, and so far (in the year we've had them), we've run them through most of it three or four times.  Where I'm planning to keep them for several months of the winter, with hay, they haven't been on since June.  It's the worst pasture, about half and half fescue and serecea lespedeza (which has already died back since we had a couple good freezes), and a number of forbs (also already died back), some Indian grass, a little Little Bluestem, and some major clumps of Eastern Gamma grass, but only the fescue is still green, and it's pretty puny.  My plan was to keep them in the same paddock for a number of days (like 4 or 5) and feed them really nice hay all around, with native grass seeds spread beforehand. So they'll eat part of the hay and the rest will mulch the grass seeds, and get tromped and pooped and peed on. And then move them into a much better pasture when they get closer to lambing, which will have been untouched for 6 months by that time, so hopefully not too much in the way of worm larvae population.

I will be really glad to finally meet this vet.  He runs a mobile clinic (his building was torn down more than a decade ago when they built a new highway through the area), and I've heard great things about him from other sheep people.  Up until now, I have just been consulting with various sheep friends, and I haven't really had any problems.

And here's my flock, a couple days ago.  You can kindof see how little the black lambs are.


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## Baymule (Nov 30, 2021)

If you keep them with chickens make sure they can’t reach any of the chicken feed. It will make them bloat and possibly die. Naturally sheep love chicken feed or any feed for that matter.


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## Cotton*wood (Nov 30, 2021)

Baymule said:


> If you keep them with chickens make sure they can’t reach any of the chicken feed. It will make them bloat and possibly die. Naturally sheep love chicken feed or any feed for that matter.


That'd be easy enough.  No other problems with that?


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## Baymule (Nov 30, 2021)

Cotton*wood said:


> That'd be easy enough.  No other problems with that?


Nope. Just the feed. Sheep get along with chickens. LOL


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## misfitmorgan (Dec 1, 2021)

Baymule said:


> Nope. Just the feed. Sheep get along with chickens. LOL



Only thing our chickens do is ride or lay on our sheep, the sheep dont seem to care.


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## Cotton*wood (Dec 1, 2021)

Had the vet visit.  He gave the three little lambs their shots, said it would take 3 - 5 days for them to start cycling again, and now I get the joy of keeping them away from all the others until the ram leaves.  The hardest part of it all was to let the rest of them OUT of the stall while keeping those three IN.

It was actually really good to finally meet him, and get all my questions answered.


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## farmerjan (Dec 1, 2021)

That is wonderful.  Nice to establish a working relationship with a vet.  Sounds like you are satisfied with what he said and did.  Your lambs will be better off for the time to grow.  They were pretty nice ones in the picture you had posted.


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## Baymule (Dec 2, 2021)

I know you are relieved that is done. Glad you were able to ask questions of the vet and get answers.


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## Cotton*wood (Dec 2, 2021)

Here's another question: The EASIEST thing to do with these three lambs is to keep them in the barn--at least until the rest of them are moved out of the current pasture (which is within the same perimeter fence as the barn) into the north pasture (on the other side of a significant fence), as I'm not sure these three will follow me with a bucket, and may run back to where the others are.  Can one keep sheep inside a barn?  It's an ample-sized stall--probably 8 X 16 feet or so.  It just seems so cruel when they've always been on pasture.  How long could one do that?  And how bad would it be to switch to just hay?


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## farmerjan (Dec 2, 2021)

It's not going to kill them to keep them in the barn for the 6 weeks or so that you will have the ram out with the others.  This is a good time to get them more used to you and more "dependent" on you so they will follow when you want to move them.  This time of year they can more easily switch to the hay since the grasses are not as succulent and appetizing.  I would just keep them in there, keep them away from the ram with no possible accidents of them getting in with the ram for the 6 weeks or whatever length of time you have the ram. 
Don't over think it or stress over it.  Just make sure they get water and good hay and maybe a little grain as a training tool... the 6 weeks or so will go fairly fast and you will not have any questions of them being bred by accident again.

Cruel is them getting rebred and lambing too small and dying.


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## Baymule (Dec 2, 2021)

Nothing wrong with basically dry lotting them. Get a chair or something to sit on, I use a plastic milk crate, it puts me at eye level. Just sit quiet and no sudden movements. They will get curious and come up to you. After about a week of feeding them, offer feed in your hand. Offer it every day before you feed them. One of them will figure it out and start gobbling the feed down. Once you have gained a little trust, start scratching them. On the neck, under the chin, they like that.


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## Cotton*wood (Dec 2, 2021)

Cotton*wood said:


> Here's another question: The EASIEST thing to do with these three lambs is to keep them in the barn--at least until the rest of them are moved out of the current pasture (which is within the same perimeter fence as the barn) into the north pasture (on the other side of a significant fence), as I'm not sure these three will follow me with a bucket, and may run back to where the others are.  Can one keep sheep inside a barn?  It's an ample-sized stall--probably 8 X 16 feet or so.  It just seems so cruel when they've always been on pasture.  How long could one do that?





Baymule said:


> Nothing wrong with basically dry lotting them. Get a chair or something to sit on, I use a plastic milk crate, it puts me at eye level. Just sit quiet and no sudden movements. They will get curious and come up to you. After about a week of feeding them, offer feed in your hand. Offer it every day before you feed them. One of them will figure it out and start gobbling the feed down. Once you have gained a little trust, start scratching them. On the neck, under the chin, they like that.


Been doing this daily from the very beginning.  The two wild ones WILL sniff my finger, so I have hopes they'll tame down.  They're pretty interested in the treats that the tame one is enjoying.


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## Ridgetop (Dec 8, 2021)

Since the ram was only in with the flock for 5 days, it is possible that unless you saw him actually breeding the ewelings, that they did not get bred.  Giving Lutelyse was a good preventive measure.  

Definitely keep them in the barn for the next 6 weeks.  Much better to be sure than sorry - *again*.  LOL  It is easier to have a definite pen just for breeding your ewes.  Even if you are renting a ram, using a harness and marking crayons is a good way to make sure when the ewes are bred so you can determine lambing dates.  We change the crayon color every 2 weeks so if the ewe remarks we have another date.  Also, if you have one ewe that continually remarks you can dispose of her, while if the entire flock remarks, you can get rid of the ram.  

How many sheep do you have?


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## Cotton*wood (Dec 8, 2021)

Ridgetop said:


> Since the ram was only in with the flock for 5 days, it is possible that unless you saw him actually breeding the ewelings, that they did not get bred.  Giving Lutelyse was a good preventive measure.
> 
> Definitely keep them in the barn for the next 6 weeks.  Much better to be sure than sorry - *again*.  LOL  It is easier to have a definite pen just for breeding your ewes.  Even if you are renting a ram, using a harness and marking crayons is a good way to make sure when the ewes are bred so you can determine lambing dates.  We change the crayon color every 2 weeks so if the ewe remarks we have another date.  Also, if you have one ewe that continually remarks you can dispose of her, while if the entire flock remarks, you can get rid of the ram.
> 
> How many sheep do you have?


We have ten sheep--three adult ewes, four almost-yearling ewe lambs (being bred), and these three smaller, younger ewe-lambs.  I actually saw the smallest one (6.5 months) being bred, and he was sniffing around one of the others, though I didn't see him actually mate with her.  

Yeah, probably a good idea with the marking crayons.  We were around a ton that first week since it was Thanksgiving week, and saw a lot of breeding action going on.  I wrote down the dates of witnessed breedings, so have a very good idea when they'll be lambing if they actually got pregnant then.  Now two and half weeks later, I'm seeing no action or interest, so I'm guessing that perhaps they're all bred.  We'll see.

We keep the sheep continually on the move--a new paddock every day, so don't really have a definitely pen, or at least not something I'd want them in for any period of time.

The ram is borrowed from a friend/neighbor who manages his sheep just like we do (though with more acres of pasture and fewer animals), and we're not looking to increase our flock.  All the lambs will either be sold or eaten.


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