# Pregnant or not? Warning...vulva pic



## Akjm1724 (Mar 23, 2021)

Hi! First time with pregnant babydoll sheep. Both girls just under 2 years old and first time moms. First one delivered as planned. The second one is confusing the heck out of me. Originally thought she was bred 10/1-10/2. That due date range came and went. Now thinking maybe she was bred 10/20ish. Today would be day 154? No udder at all. Pic of vulva attached. Interested in your thoughts.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 23, 2021)

If she has no udder and her vulva looks like that, she may not be bred. Can we have any photos of her belly (and maybe her face so we don't feel so weird?) Lol.


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## Akjm1724 (Mar 23, 2021)

Thank you for your reply!


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

Do you know when they were taken away from the ram?


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## Akjm1724 (Mar 25, 2021)

Baymule said:


> Do you know when they were taken away from the ram?


She was with him until 10/31


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

Then you should know pretty soon if she is bred or not. If she goes a couple of weeks past the very latest due date, based on 10-31, then get her bred again. That isn't what we like to hear, after waiting on the birth event, what a disappointment. The only thing worse than that is having a ewe birth a dead lamb or one so deformed that you have to put it down. 

I'm glad that the first one had a lamb for you. Got any pictures of the lamb? We just love pictures you know. LOL


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## Akjm1724 (Mar 25, 2021)

Thank


Baymule said:


> Then you should know pretty soon if she is bred or not. If she goes a couple of weeks past the very latest due date, based on 10-31, then get her bred again. That isn't what we like to hear, after waiting on the birth event, what a disappointment. The only thing worse than that is having a ewe birth a dead lamb or one so deformed that you have to put it down.
> 
> I'm glad that the first one had a lamb for you. Got any pictures of the lamb? We just love pictures you know. LOL


 Thank for your reply! Here is our little Louie right after birth and then just a couple of days ago. He’s so cute!!!


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

What a love! You are on your way, sheep math is real and the numbers always seem to go up more than the go down. LOL


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## mysunwolf (Mar 25, 2021)

Really hard to tell with her being so well conditioned  If she has no udder and the rest of her looks like your posted photos, I believe she may not be bred. Time will tell, though!


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 25, 2021)

mysunwolf said:


> Really hard to tell with her being so well conditioned  If she has no udder and the rest of her looks like your posted photos, I believe she may not be bred. Time will tell, though!



That was sort of my thought she may have been to over-conditioned and didnt take the breeding. To me she does not look late stage prego so I would say likely she didnt take. Same suggestion as Bay wait until April 9th and if there is no lamb breed again if possible. Babydolls are usually seasonal breeders only breeding in cooler months/shorter daylight. There are some that will breed year round though. Your new lamb is very cute.


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## Akjm1724 (Mar 26, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> That was sort of my thought she may have been to over-conditioned and didnt take the breeding. To me she does not look late stage prego so I would say likely she didnt take. Same suggestion as Bay wait until April 9th and if there is no lamb breed again if possible. Babydolls are usually seasonal breeders only breeding in cooler months/shorter daylight. There are some that will breed year round though. Your new lamb is very cute.


Would you suggest breeding soon after April 9th or try to get some weight off and try again next fall?


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 29, 2021)

You can try to breed her again, if you grain her normally cut back her ration. Sheep really only need grain when they have lambs on, or if you choose to flush them in the fall. She may simply not come into heat again until fall but you might get lucky if it stays cool.

If it was our sheep we would toss her in with the ram April 10th and see what happens. We do own our own ram, if you have to take her off farm to another ram it's likely not worth the bother honestly. You also dont want to leave your other ewe alone.


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## Ridgetop (Apr 2, 2021)

She does not look bred to me either.  You said she was with the ram until October 31, but you did not say (unless I missed it) when she was put in with him.  Where are you located?

Weather, daylight hours, and temperatures play a large part in successful livestock breeding.  

In the case of Babydoll Southdown sheep they have a *seasonal breeding cycle*.  This means they will only breed once a year, and the rams only come into annual rut during certain months (seasons)of the year.  *This breeding season starts in the fall and lasts through the winter in the northern hemisphere.  *Also, rams can become *temporarily* infertile during extremely hot weather.  If the weather was very hot when she was in with the ram, he may have lost fertility when she was in season to breed.  Ewes cycle every 2-3 weeks.  If you miss the date they are fertile, you need to keep them with the ram another 3 weeks to make sure to catch them on the next go round.  It is not unusual for a maiden ewe to miss her first go round.  Also if the rams have not been used before putting them with the ewes, they can also shoot "blanks" the first time or two.  

Depending on where you live, putting her in with the ram _now_ will be _useless_ since this is not the normal breeding season for Southdowns.  Breeding now is only useful for breeds of sheep than breed "out of season" or all year round.  Dorpers are the most well known of those, although I believe Katahdins are also a year round breeder as well as some of the other hair breeds.

You will be better off to shear her now and check her condition.  It is hard to tell what that is because she is carrying so much wool.  She needs to be in a 3+ condition to breed and produce well.  You can find condition scoring charts on line with instructions on judging condition.  If she is over conditioned, cut all grain - (you did not tell us how much or what you are feeding) and try to get her into appropriate condition for September-November breeding.  When you take the ewes to the ram you might also want to britch them - shear off the wool around their vulvas - so you can see clearly if they look like they are coming into season.

Hope this will help you in having a successful lambing season next spring.


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