How Old is Too Old?

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I'm not sure about sheep but most people retire their does at 10 years old, so they live longer. You can breed them at an older age but it will shorten their life span. Someone around here just ha a 16 year old goat give birth, though it was an accident.

I know someone that has a 14 year old doe I believe. She's 13 or 14 and she has twins or triplets every year and she continues to raise them and not dry up, as most would. She still has good teeth and is still a great mother. Quite amazing really.

 

[SheepGirl]

Is she a gummer?

 

[boykin2010]

The old "mama" ewes are the best ones to me! I have some that are about 9 and still in great health to have lambs. They are the ones you do not have to worry about. In fact, one of them had triplets last year. The others had twins. The one that had triplets stole another lamb from a yearling ewe and tried raising four. Needless to say, that was too much for the old gal. I pulled the stolen lamb and put back with the other ewe. All is well.

I would make sure that the particular ewe you are mentioning has her teeth. Ewes that old tend to lose their teeth and it makes it difficult to eat and therefore makes the ewe lose body condition.

 

[Alice Acres]

I would do as others have mentioned - make sure she has teeth.
Our older ewes make the BEST moms...it's the young ones we sweat over at lambing time.
If she looks good in the tooth dept, then she should be good to go. From the picture, it looks like she is in real good shape

 

[Roving Jacobs]

There was something in a recent JSBA newsletter about a ewe that lived to be 21 and kept on producing right up to the end. Maybe they're related. Personally I retire my old girls after 10 but if she's in good condition and you can make sure she stays that way through pregnancy and nursing she should be fine to breed with everyone else.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

There was something in a recent JSBA newsletter about a ewe that lived to be 21 and kept on producing right up to the end. Maybe they're related. Personally I retire my old girls after 10 but if she's in good condition and you can make sure she stays that way through pregnancy and nursing she should be fine to breed with everyone else.

21? That's hard to imagine. That's some sheep.

 

[Roving Jacobs]

21? That's hard to imagine. That's some sheep.

I was wrong, she was actually around 23 I can't find the article I read originally but she was at Perfect Spot Jacobs in NC.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

21? That's hard to imagine. That's some sheep.

I was wrong, she was actually around 23 I can't find the article I read originally but she was at Perfect Spot Jacobs in NC.

NC? That's awesome. Might have to look them up.

 

[Bridgemoof]

Whew, Roving, 23! I'd love to see her pedigree. Apparently mine come from the Craft line, she was bred and born at Unzickers and then transferred to St. Mountain where I got my other Jacobs.

Here's a link to her pedigree. She threw a lot of twins. h, I haven't been able to check her teeth yet!
http://jsba.netfirms.com/cgi-bin/geneal.pl?op=tree&index=13660&gens=5&db=jsba.dbw

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I love looking through sheep pedigrees!

Your old girl's great grandma Spahrfarm Anabell is the great great great grandmother of my 2010 ewes, through Oaks Edge Maid Marion. It's a small sheep world.