# Frequency of Ovulation



## Rvrfshr (Feb 9, 2013)

My wife and I raise Dorper/Khatadan crosses.  Our ewes have lambed in the past month and we are in the process of getting a new ram.  I found a very nice Dorper (about 4 mos old) that I plan to pick up this week.

My questions are:

How soon will my ewes begin to cycle?  Will they wait until their lambs are weaned or would it be sooner?  

Would it be wise to sequester the new ram or go ahead and integrate him into the flock now?

I don't want to tax the ewes health by breeding them too soon after their lambing.  Any input would be welcomed.


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## Sheepshape (Feb 20, 2013)

Ewes can normally become pregnant twice in a year (though most of us will only let them have one lamb per year as it takes a lot out of them)

Much like people (!) ovulation is suppressed by lactation i.e. oestrus cycles will not re-establish until the lamb is weaned.

I would keep the ram far away from the ewes for two reasons.....i) he won't impregnate ewes randomly and lead to unpredictable lambing and ii) 'the ram effect'....he will bring them into oestrus when he is introduced to the ewes.

Good Luck....


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 20, 2013)

They could begin cycling again very shortly after lambing, especially if exposed to a ram. Someone I know keeps their ram in with the ewes all the time and last year the ewes lambed in January and then 5 months later most of them lambed again. These were Jacob/Navajo Churros.


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## boothcreek (Feb 20, 2013)

Mine usually come back into heat within 4-6 weeks of giving birth.


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