Jugging before lambing?

[Ruus]

The first of my ewes is due to lamb in about a month. The night pen for the ewes is 10'x10', and houses three ewes and a wether. The ewes are around 75 pounds; the wether is a little bigger but I don't think he's over 100 pounds.
I'm worried that if a ewe lambs at night while they're all in the pen the baby will get trampled or that the ewe won't be able to bond well in such a crowded area. Would it be a good idea to start jugging her at night a few days before she's due, or am I overthinking things?

 

[bonbean01]

We like to put them up in a jug when they look very close. Not everyone does...but I feel better doing that. Good luck with your lambings!

 

[bonbean01]

Meant to add...here we have had the problem of one ewe in labour and another ewe that was going to be next try to take over the newborn before it was even completely born...she was gulping birthing fluids and acting in labour and thinking the one being born was hers. Was a struggle getting her out of there, and now we jug any ewe looking close to avoid that again.

 

[Ruus]

Meant to add...here we have had the problem of one ewe in labour and another ewe that was going to be next try to take over the newborn before it was even completely born...she was gulping birthing fluids and acting in labour and thinking the one being born was hers. Was a struggle getting her out of there, and now we jug any ewe looking close to avoid that again.

That's almost exactly what happened to one of my ewes, she ended up as a bottle baby because both ewes got her scent so muddled neither wanted to claim her. Hence my worry.

 

[purplequeenvt]

We don't jug until after they've lambed, but we also have a bigger space for the sheep. They like to find their own spot to lamb.

We've only once had a ewe steal a lamb. We couldn't convince her that it wasn't hers and then we couldn't convince the actual mother that it WAS hers. The thief ended up raising her two plus the stolen one.

 

[Ruus]

We don't jug until after they've lambed, but we also have a bigger space for the sheep. They like to find their own spot to lamb.

We've only once had a ewe steal a lamb. We couldn't convince her that it wasn't hers and then we couldn't convince the actual mother that it WAS hers. The thief ended up raising her two plus the stolen one.

Yeah, I'm not worried about during the day; there's plenty of room for a ewe to sneak off by herself. I just worry if she lambs in the middle of the night. All three are ewe lambs, so I want to be sure they have privacy to "get the hang of it."

 

[SheepGirl]

My ewe lambed in our sheep shack (8x8x4) and she's been keeping the rest of the flock out of there and she's been keeping her lambs in. She's gotten very territorial about it. She's also an experienced mother (these are her 11, 12, and 13th lambs) so I wouldn't expect this behavior in a ewe lamb.

I would allow her to lamb in with the flock, but if you can, maybe lay a piece of plywood on it's side, cut to maybe 4 or 5 feet long and put it 5 feet out from the wall. That way if she does want privacy she can lamb in that little closed off area if she wants.

With that many sheep it is possible the lamb(s) could be trampled, but not likely. Your other sheep will probably come up and sniff the new addition but they will stand away from the new lambs and the dam, unless of course it's another ewe near labor herself trying to steal a baby. And the ewe may headbutt or stomp at the other sheep to keep away from the baby.

As PQVT said, yes, ewes do like to choose their own spot to lamb and I personally don't like confining them during this time because sometimes they do like to get up and walk around in between lambs or move around to another spot, even just a couple feet away, to deliver another lamb. There's usually not enough room for a ewe to have the freedom to do that if she's jugged for lambing.

 

[BrownSheep]

We only jug if the moms are first timers who need the alone time or if the lamb is especially weak...In the past we use to jug 2-3 days but they got a little stir crazy.

 

[Southdown]

We usually jug the day they are due. They still have enough room in the jug to walk around and birth where they want to. They do get up and move around to different spots. I think it's a good idea, as others mentioned, so the mothers don't get the lambs mixed up. But as for them getting trampled or hurt by the other sheep--not an issue. (I've only had two breeds though.) We've also had lambing without jugs and the mother ewe will keep everyone else away with a head butt if she wants to! We even had the ram loose with everyone once and he was such a gentleman with the mom and her lamb. Like sheepgirl mentioned, the others will come and sniff to investigate, but that's about it. It seems that some of the other sheep are actually scared of the babies sometimes. Others are more curious and come to sniff. My farm cats love the babies though!

 

[Ruus]

Thank you all for the good advice! I think when they're due I'm going to try to jug them. My jugs are just sections of cattle panel tied together, so everyone can still sniff and visit through the gaps; it won't be total isolation. My former bottle baby doesn't really like the other sheep much, so I think she'd be happier lambing in her own pen. The other two ewes might be a bit stressed by being jugged, but they're due on the same day, and it'd be just my luck they'd both lamb at the same time and get all mixed up.

Now watch them all lamb a week early without warning me, just out of spite.