My pregnant (?) ewe is butting everyone including me.

[melody]

Hello:
I am quite new to herding animals. This summer I purchased a pregnant ewe and her older lamb, (Kat/Dorp mix) and a few weeks later, 2 young Nigerian Dwarf Does. Everyone has gotten along beautifully, until recently. The ewe..if she IS pregnant as I was told she might be, is due by the end of this month. She has been like a big dog with me....I could give her massages and belly rubs...even head and ear rubs. But now she is butting the little does and she is chasing them with her older lamb as her wing man. She has recently started butting me as well....and I mean backing up and running at me. I have seen postings about "correcting" this behavior, which I thought I was doing but pushing her back has not worked.What is the proper way to correct?
Because they are our lawn maintenance crew, they have access to our whole acreage and they come up onto the wrap around porch when it rains. I am nervous that she will smash one of the Nigerians against the house. And I am not comfortable with my back to her. Do you think this is hormonal behavior?
Thanks for your advice.

 

[jenn]

You should NEVER push back at a sheep! They see this as playful behavior and will make a game of it! And then your in real trouble. My guess is that she might be getting close to lambing and she is warning everyone to stay away. Has she produced milk bags yet? Do you have a place where she can go and be in private and not be bothered by everyone else to lamb? Ewe's want a quiet place that is theirs and theirs only to lamb. There is also what you would call pecking order in the pasture. She may just be letting everyone know...she is boss. We have had that in the past when introducing new ladies into our pastures. We have one ewe that is the oldest and all the newbies learn quickly that she is boss and no one is to question that! Our ram is the one you can't and should never turn your back on. I am not sure if this helped any... Good Luck! Keep us updated on her progress.

 

[melody]

Thanks Jenn. Today is better..I am avoiding her head..which is hard since she walks up next to me and it is my instinct from having dogs to rub their heads. And why does she lean on me?
OK...so she needs a place to go...well...there is lots of room but not any place that is really private. I cannot separate her from her other lamb because they both go a little crazy. But like I said she has free roam of almost 4 acres.
I will keep an eye on her. What are some other signs I can look for for her getting ready to labor?
And I will keep you posted. I want to do right by them and all the input by "experts" I can get is welcome.
Oh...and her udder does not seem any fuller than when I got her...maybe a bit more? I'll see if I can get a picture today. (How would I post it here?)

 

[jenn]

My "old" girl leans on me also. She does it when she wants attention. I mush all my ewe's. At least the ones that are staying for breeding. She is about 200lbs. so when she leans...she leans. lol If your ewe starts pawing at the ground, kinda of trying to make a nest so to speak. That a sure sign that its almost time!!! If she lays down and starts to pant and push then your getting even closer. She may get up and walk circles and lay back down and repeat it over and over. She may also baaa non stop. Just depends on the ewe. We had the same thing with the last two ewe's we purchased. They "thought" only one was preg. and a week after we got them, sure enough one lambed and then 2 weeks later I looked over and holy milk bags!! And with in a couple of days.. another baby! I would say that milk bags are the easiest way to tell.

Once she is done lambing, you really need a place for her to be alone with the babies for a couple of days to "bond". This is how a mother learns who her babies are and how they learn her also. It also provides the mama a couple of days off from protecting her babies. Ewe's will protect their babies to the bitter end... at least ours do!! Don't be surprised when she starts to be mean and push or butt the others away from the newborns. Once the babies are big enough to defend themselves, she'll stop.

We have had just about the entire gauntlet thrown at us this past year with lambing..I wouldn't say we're pro's but we did obtain a LOT of knowledge. I'm willing to share any if you need it!! Don't worry and let nature take it's course and only help when needed.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

You can make her a knocked together lean to with some pallets, a couple T posts and a tarp. It will give her a space to call "her own" and she can lamb there and feel more secure.

 

[melody]

Thanks Jenn .
True...how do you keep the others out of that space...or do we just need to keep her in this pen? I do have some stalls that I could use if she needs to be all on her own. But again...she has not grown that much recently (but then I see her everyday) and her udder is certainly flacid by appearance. Plus the other lamb (quite large now) and she do not take well to being separated.
Today she is pretty bad. We have had to use a pole (bendable) or broom to gently nudge her away but it takes a 10 minutes or more to get her off her interest in butting me. I don't walk the grounds without one now.And the only pawing she is doing is when she is trying to break apart her alfalfa or just before she charges. Perhaps she is a Taurus?

 

[melody]

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Here are pictures of her so you can see if she looks preggers to you. I will post elsewhere as well. The black one is her "lamb".

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If she is bred she's not very far along.

 

[SheepGirl]

If you bought her as a bred ewe and were told she is guaranteed to be pregnant, I would talk to the breeder to see about getting a refund or a free breeding. She doesn't look bred to me.

 

[Bossroo]

Her aggressive behavior suggests that she has cystic ovaries and/ or pituitary / or thyroid dysfunction leading to other hormone inbalance. May not ever get pregnant again ... The Vet and lab tests cost several times over what this ewe is worth, which leads to Campbell's soup time as the best option as this aggressive behavior can be very damaging to your/ other peoples' physical health without any warning first. Not worth the risk. Good luck !