Help me determine is my sheep have started “showing” in their pregnancies

[MMGardens]

I’ve owned sheep for a while now, but these are my first pregnant ewes and they came to me already bred and closer to term. Since all bodies are different, I am trying to figure out if they are considered to be showing or not yet, so I can start to narrow down a timeframe for lambing.

The sheep with the green collar( may not show well in pics) cannot be bred as she hasn’t been exposed, and honestly her belly rivals the rest of them compared to her size.

I will post a side shot and front/back shot of each one blue collar, purple collar, and red collar

The blue collar and red collar have lambed before and their bags already look saggy / have some volume to them, whereas the purple collar is 1 and this will be her first if she’s bred and she has had no changes to her bag

 

[Ridgetop]

To be honest, if they are supposed to be bred, none of them look very close to lambing. Can't really see the udders since they have tails hiding them. Blue and red collar look fuller bodied than the others, are they older? If their udders are starting to fill out, they may be bred. Sheep that have lambed before but are not in final stages of pregnancy have baggy wrinkled udders. If this is the first lamb for purple collar, first timers often don't show an udder until right before lambing.

How old are these sheep?

 

[MMGardens]

To be honest, if they are supposed to be bred, none of them look very close to lambing. Can't really see the udders since they have tails hiding them. Blue and red collar look fuller bodied than the others, are they older? If their udders are starting to fill out, they may be bred. Sheep that have lambed before but are not in final stages of pregnancy have baggy wrinkled udders. If this is the first lamb for purple collar, first timers often don't show an udder until right before lambing.

How old are these sheep?

I also didn’t think they were very close, I was under the impression that they start to show signs about a month out, but start bagging up closer to 10 days out or so. So essentially are you saying that they look normal right now and I’m still waiting for signs of showing? Also, yes red collar and blue collar are older, however I do not know much of their life history, I just know the man I got them from had them probably for a few years and they came from the stock yard before that. Purple collar has begun to have a fuller look in her belly than previously, but she’s certainly not very big

 

[Baymule]

They are pregnant for 5 months, usually don’t get real big until last 1 1/2 months. I had a ewe that looked pregnant even after delivering twins. She always had a big belly. Some will bag up weeks before lambing, some barely bag up.

 

[farmerjan]

How long have you had these "new" sheep from the guy who had them previously? Just because they were exposed to a ram does not mean they are definitely bred either... They will start to show an udder from 1 to 2 months ahead... it's hard to say. Let's establish when you got them for starters.

 

[MMGardens]

How long have you had these "new" sheep from the guy who had them previously? Just because they were exposed to a ram does not mean they are definitely bred either... They will start to show an udder from 1 to 2 months ahead... it's hard to say. Let's establish when you got them for starters.

I have had them for 1 month. I am aware that they don’t “have” to be bred, but they weren’t just exposed once, his herd is always kept together and there are many rams. I got 4 total, but one was really skinny and had a poor famacha score compared to the others, so I’m hoping she didn’t get pregnant due to her poor health right now. The red and blue collar though in particular seem to be thriving and healthy with great BCS and under normal conditions wouldn’t it be odd for 2 ewes in really good condition who have lambed before to just not be bred after being run with 10 + rams? If I’m being honest, I’d prefer for only two of them to be bred, so that I can have a nice slow starter year and not have 4 mamas deliver and double my numbers off the bat. I felt like I was working under a pretty safe assumption that at least some are bred, and therefore trying to narrow time a timeline so that I’ll be prepared. I know that once they are undeniably showing I’ll know, but I was trying to start noticing early changes and it’s hard when I have no idea how these sheep usually look. I’m referring back to previous pictures of them when I first got them, and I have noticed changes in the ones I asked about, that’s why I was asking if anybody else agreed or if I’m still waiting for signs

I’ll attach an example pic from about a month ago of the same three and I find that all of their bellies have a lower and more pot belly look to them. But hey, technically in my area most who farm sheep want babies during our winter which is for 2.5 seconds in January and a bit into February, so it would be early based on those practices, so if they aren’t bred or aren’t showing yet, then all the better

 

[Baymule]

I wanted fall lambs, so divided up 13 ewes between 3 rams in April. Rocky didn’t get down to business until August. Evidently he didn’t read the memo. Rocky had 5 ewes and bred the last one on September 10. He had them since APRIL!!!! AAARRGGHHH!

Coopers ewes look to be pregnant. Little Ringo only had 2, registered first fresheners and they maybe sorta halfway look pregnant.

Here’s a good article that explains the breeding process of which I obviously know nothing……..

https://publications.ca.uky.edu/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/ASC237.pdf

It’s very possible that the two ewes that look so poorly, may not be bred. They might have been in such poor condition that they did not cycle or have been able to hold a pregnancy. But since they are sheep and love to make you crazy, they probably are bred.

 

[farmerjan]

Okay, @MMGardens ... I agree that if they were in with that many rams there is a good chance some are bred at least. Mostly you won't see much difference until they are at least 3 months and they start to "get a belly". The reason I asked how long you had them because they will lamb between now and 4 more months or not at all... being facetious here.....
I don't know how the estrous cycling and the photoestrous periods work in Florida since your weather is so much warmer.... and as you say, you have like 2 seconds of winter..... but shortening days is a trigger for most sheep breeds, even with the hair sheep.... the period that they more likely come in heat is shorter and longer for the different breeds.
The blue and red collar ones do look like they could very well be bred... All of them have filled out quite a bit from the early pictures. They look very good overall.
Word of caution, be careful of leaving collars or halters on them out to pasture... if they get caught, they could get tangled up and strangle. I think you check yours regularly, but it only takes 5 minutes for them to strangle if the collar gets caught and twisted somehow...
NOT CRITICIZING.... but it happens...

 

[MMGardens]

thanks so much for your response, im just going to keep watching for more apparent signs such as bag changes. I changed from the halters to the collars for that reason, but I know it’s still a risk as with dogs or cats. We live in a residential neighborhood and in the event that any of them get out it would be a really big deal and I need to have a way to make sure I get them back in very quick like and the new ones aren’t nearly as friendly as my bottle baby sheep. Both I and my four children are home all day every day in and out caring for everything, so we do keep a close eye on them, but I know that’s a very real possibility. They are breakaway collars technically but they have a strong enough latch that I can hold on to them when I need to

 

[MMGardens]

I wanted fall lambs, so divided up 13 ewes between 3 rams in April. Rocky didn’t get down to business until August. Evidently he didn’t read the memo. Rocky had 5 ewes and bred the last one on September 10. He had them since APRIL!!!! AAARRGGHHH!

Coopers ewes look to be pregnant. Little Ringo only had 2, registered first fresheners and they maybe sorta halfway look pregnant.

Here’s a good article that explains the breeding process of which I obviously know nothing……..

https://publications.ca.uky.edu/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/ASC237.pdf

It’s very possible that the two ewes that look so poorly, may not be bred. They might have been in such poor condition that they did not cycle or have been able to hold a pregnancy. But since they are sheep and love to make you crazy, they probably are bred.

Animals do have a tendency to do that to us don’t they lol. If none are, then next year at least I will get to do it like I’d like to and choose when to put the ram with them and follow suit to what most sheep farmers do around me and shoot for winter babies. It seems they have good luck with that for our climate. My vet acted like i better not put a ram on my property if I wasn’t wanted certain ones bred (I have one that’s very very petite for her breed and have been counseled not to breed her unless I want c sections), even if I penned them up, so I got the impression that under usual conditions these should be safely assumed to be bred until proven not