False pregnancy?

[Hawaiianhighlandsfarm]

Hey everyone it's been a while since I've been on here cuz things have been going good for my little ewe. I put her to a ram on the 18 the of April. She had all the signs of pregnancy but she hasn't lambed yet. Her udders are still flat but she has colostrum. She is a clun forest for those of you that don't know us. Do they have a longer gestation? Should I just be patient or could she have lost it and we're just waiting for her to pass it? There's like no info online. HELP

 

[mysunwolf]

Clun Forest have an average gestation the same as other sheep, 147 days. But if you put her in with the ram on April 18, she could have been bred anytime after that, unless you took the ram back out again. Did you see the exact day that she was bred?

And why do you say she has colostrum? A lot of my maiden ewes will have a clear, thick liquid in their udders even if they are not pregnant. I've always heard it's just fluid. However, you don't want to milk too much out of her if it is colostrum!

 

[Sheepshape]

As mysunwolf says, unless you saw her mated, you can't be sure when she will lamb.

Is she a first timer? If so, her udder may not be very large at lambing and/or may just 'bloom' in the day or so before lambing.

I wouldn't advise 'milking' her, myself, as you can introduce infection leading to mastitis.

Other signs that may help you as to when she will lamb......belly 'drops'.... indentations either side of her tail. May go off her food and seem restless. Her vulva may look red/swollen etc and there may be a clear or white vaginal discharge. (A picture of her 'nether regions' may help.). May want to be on her own.

Usually if a ewe has aborted you will find blood on her rear unless it happened during the very early stages of pregnancy.

Good Luck.

 

[Hawaiianhighlandsfarm]

So she is not in fact pregnant. She was put in with a friend's ram on the night of the 18th of April. This was her first and only time.

My question now is how do I know for sure when she is open? And how long should she be in with the ram to try again?


Oh and I didn't milk her, lol, I just pulled on her teet to see if anything was in there (I read later not to do this because of the risk of mastitis and will not do it in the future) and got excited about the discharge, thinking it was colostrum. Thank you mysunwolf for clarifying that one. Such a newbie over here, but I'm learning and she's a happy little sheepy! Love her to pieces.

 

[Hawaiianhighlandsfarm]

So she is not in fact pregnant. She was put in with a friend's ram on the night of the 18th of April. This was her first and only time.

My question now is how do I know for sure when she is open? And how long should she be in with the ram to try again?


Oh and I didn't milk her, lol, I just pulled on her teet to see if anything was in there (I read later not to do this because of the risk of mastitis and will not do it in the future) and got excited about the discharge, thinking it was colostrum. Thank you mysunwolf for clarifying that one. Such a newbie over here, but I'm learning and she's a happy little sheepy! Love her to pieces.

 

[babsbag]

Unless you can catch her in heat she needs to be with the ram for about 3 weeks to be sure that she is covered. They come into heat every 13-19 days.