# Is it just me?



## luvmypets (Aug 28, 2016)

So I was doing my usual scouring of craigslist and I came upon a new add about a ewe lamb for sale. She really appealed to me as her little face won my heart. And yes I am very aware I won't get her but still . Anyways is it just me or is the way this add is worded he is implying that this 4 month old lamb is ready for breeding. I'm  wondering if its just me interpretting things odd. This add made me a bit annoyed because 4 months old is way too young for her to be bred. Is this just me looking too far into thing?

Im curious what you guys think.


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## Green Acres Farm (Aug 28, 2016)

luvmypets said:


> So I was doing my usual scouring of craigslist and I came upon a new add about a ewe lamb for sale. She really appealed to me as her little face won my heart. And yes I am very aware I won't get her but still . Anyways is it just me or is the way this add is worded he is implying that this 4 month old lamb is ready for breeding. I'm  wondering if its just me interpretting things odd. This add made me a bit annoyed because 4 months old is way too young for her to be bred. Is this just me looking too far into thing?
> 
> Im curious what you guys think.
> View attachment 21203


Yes, it does sound like that to me. Maybe he meant to write 14 months...

I didn't know people docked sheep tails. Is there a purpose for that or just for looks?

As you can probably tell- I do not have sheep and know nothing about 'em .


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## luvmypets (Aug 28, 2016)

Green Acres Farm said:


> Yes, it does sound like that to me. Maybe he meant to write 14 months...
> 
> I didn't know people docked sheep tails. Is there a purpose for that or just for looks?
> 
> As you can probably tell- I do not have sheep and know nothing about 'em .


I was so scared I would be the only one! But hey thats my anxiety for ya.

Anyways sheep tails get docked to prevent fly strike. Its when poop gets caked on the tail and flys lay their eggs. Nasty stuff, thankfully I've never had to deal with it.


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## Latestarter (Aug 28, 2016)

There's little written there to confuse. He states he has an open ewe and in heat... I sure HOPE he meant to put 14 months vice 4. I don't know but I thought under a year it would be referred to as a lamb, not a ewe... You could always respond to his ad to verify...


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## luvmypets (Aug 29, 2016)

Maybe she's 14 months. Here's a picture of the ewe. 

In this picture she looks like she could be 4 or 14 months. I'm trying to compare her to Ras who has matured considerably in the last two months(he is 5 mon) 
 

 
This picture however kinda looks like she is still considerably small. 

As I look back at the pictures Im starting to wonder.. I will try to contact the owner tommorrow(by that I mean later its 4 am  ) .


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## SheepGirl (Aug 29, 2016)

Four months old is a little young to be coming into heat... and I've never been able to spot a sheep in heat unless a ram is nearby, so she's either exposed to a ram currently or there is a ram trying to get to her through a fence.

Her picture seems like she could be either 4 or 14 months old; She does look little in the second photo so she could be 4 months old. Also if she were 14 months old, that would mean she would be born in late June/July of last year--you don't normally have sheep lambing that late. She is likely just 4 months old--but as far as being in heat? Unlikely. He may just be saying that as a marketing ploy: "Buy this sheep today and breed her right away!" kind of a thing.


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## animalmom (Aug 29, 2016)

Ah, come on @luvmypets, you know she needs a good home, you have a good heart.  It is a match made in heaven.  Go get your girl and save her from a life of doom and despair!  You know you want her, you know you need her and she needs you.  (ok, I'll crawl back into my goatie box now.)


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## TAH (Aug 29, 2016)

animalmom said:


> Ah, come on @luvmypets, you know she needs a good home, you have a good heart.  It is a match made in heaven.  Go get your girl and save her from a life of doom and despair!  You know you want her, you know you need her and she needs you.  (ok, I'll crawl back into my goatie box now.)


x2


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## Mike CHS (Aug 29, 2016)

I'm not a betting man but if I was I would bet that she has already thought about bringing that girl home.


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## NH homesteader (Aug 29, 2016)

Maybe the person thinks by saying she's in heat someone will feel like they must rush to get her! Ha I have no idea.  I don't even know what to think about  half of the things I see on Craigslist.  I do know it is a dangerous place for those of us who want to save everything!


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## farmerjan (Aug 30, 2016)

4 months is too young to even think about breeding, possible to in heat, as our dall ram lambs have been known to catch a ewe if we don't get them weaned off quick enough, but never can recall a ewe lamb in heat that young.  Don't trust craigslist too much....


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## luvmypets (Aug 30, 2016)

animalmom said:


> Ah, come on @luvmypets, you know she needs a good home, you have a good heart.  It is a match made in heaven.  Go get your girl and save her from a life of doom and despair!  You know you want her, you know you need her and she needs you.  (ok, I'll crawl back into my goatie box now.)





Mike CHS said:


> I'm not a betting man but if I was I would bet that she has already thought about bringing that girl home.


I contacted the owner, and got some good info. She is in fact 4 months old, but such a cutie.  I just need my dad on board I will keep you updated


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## TAH (Aug 30, 2016)

Boy that is super young.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 1, 2016)

I'd never breed a lamb of 4 months....too much for her little body to take (and,it's almost impossible to tell if a ewe is coming into season if there's no ram around, let alone a lamb,as folk have already said)

luvmypets.....she's VERY cute,would be an asset to any flock,needs a home etc. If I'd seen similar, I'd have had to have her....but I personally keep all my own misfits...currently amounting to about 10....LLeila (Avatar) who has grown really well,but is still much smaller than her contemporaries, a couple who have had joint ill, a couple who have had their fleeces hacked back due to maggots etc. Also a couple who were bottle lambs who are just too friendly and I could never trust a thrifty farmer to treat them well plus  a few who's mums can't bear to let them out of their sight etc. guess I'm just a hopelessly soft touch,though.


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## Green Acres Farm (Sep 1, 2016)

Sheepshape said:


> I'd never breed a lamb of 4 months....too much for her little body to take (and,it's almost impossible to tell if a ewe is coming into season if there's no ram around, let alone a lamb,as folk have already said)
> 
> luvmypets.....she's VERY cute,would be an asset to any flock,needs a home etc. If I'd seen similar, I'd have had to have her....but I personally keep all my own misfits...currently amounting to about 10....LLeila (Avatar) who has grown really well,but is still much smaller than her contemporaries, a couple who have had joint ill, a couple who have had their fleeces hacked back due to maggots etc. Also a couple who were bottle lambs who are just too friendly and I could never trust a thrifty farmer to treat them well plus  a few who's mums can't bear to let them out of their sight etc. guess I'm just a hopelessly soft touch,though.


Aren't there diseases you should test for in sheep? In goats, people usually test for CAE as a minimum, and sometimes Johnes and CL as well.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 1, 2016)

Thankfully in my neck of the woods,Green Acres, Johne's and CL are pretty rare. In a country with 3 times as many sheep as people and a low incidence of both CL and Johne's you would be unlucky for a ewe lamb to be incubating either.

 Both CL and Johne's can be tested for and the tests aren't expensive. There's a vaccine for CL, and that could be used......she'd be unlucky to have had contact with CL by 4 months of age (not so for Johne's if it is endemic to the area). Whether a person decides to have tests depends upon the disease demographics in that area. It's always a good idea to give at least a two week quarantine period for any new animal arriving on your patch even if CL and Johne's aren't common in order to exclude animals incubating disease, check for foot rot and CODD, lice,fleas,ticks etc which may not have been initially noticed.

My heart all too often rules my head, but I have a closed flock by-and-large (except for the introduction of new tups from trusted sources) and have managed to get a low incidence of disease this way.


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## Green Acres Farm (Sep 1, 2016)

What is OPP? I saw it on my CAE testing submission sheet. Is that something that is not usually tested for?


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## Sheepshape (Sep 1, 2016)

OPP is ovine progressive pneumonia, a viral infection that cannot be cured and persists for life, leading to shortness of breath, persistent pneumonia and "thin ewe syndrome". Secondary bacterial infections often occur with severe bouts of pneumonia, hard bag, arthritis etc. Affected sheep can also get meningitis or encephalitis. Symptoms don't usually become apparent before 2 years of age.

I'm not at all sure as to whether it's something that is usually tested for in a health screen.


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