CochinBrahmaLover=)
Loving the herd life
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Those are too adorable. Congrats on the lambs. Sorry about losing one, but you ended up with some very cute babies 
Norseofcourse's lambing thread - 2015 - over, or not?
- Thread starter norseofcourse
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Chivoville
Ridin' The Range
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beautiful babies!
- Thread starter
- #83
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Thanks everyone - it's so fun to watch all the lambs bouncing around!
When Brosa miscarried a lamb in February, I wasn't sure if she would come back into heat or not. Icelandics are seasonal breeders, and February may have been too late in the season.
Well, she did - we have baby bump!
She's also getting a tiny bit of udder development. Estimated lambing date would be sometime in July, most likely. She's looking pretty decent sized for having nearly three months to go, so I just hope everything goes alright for her lamb or lambs. And so the waiting begins anew...
When Brosa miscarried a lamb in February, I wasn't sure if she would come back into heat or not. Icelandics are seasonal breeders, and February may have been too late in the season.
Well, she did - we have baby bump!
She's also getting a tiny bit of udder development. Estimated lambing date would be sometime in July, most likely. She's looking pretty decent sized for having nearly three months to go, so I just hope everything goes alright for her lamb or lambs. And so the waiting begins anew...
Goat Whisperer
Herd Master
Congrats on all the adorable lambs! 
Waiting on Brosa!
Waiting on Brosa!
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
Good luck
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
to you both!- Thread starter
- #87
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Brosa's current pregnancy is past the point where she miscarried her lamb over the winter. There's not much I could do but keep an eye on her and watch for signs of anything amiss. I am feeling a slight bit hopeful that this time she seems to be doing well.
I haven't used a marking harness yet, but I keep what notes I can of dates. She miscarried on Feb. 12 and passed the placenta Feb. 14. So there's no way she'd have gotten bred before that. And a friend of mine said she may have taken a couple weeks before she came into heat. According to my notes, Elding (my ram) was acting particularly stupid on Feb. 18, 19, 20, 22 and 28. If she was bred on or around one of those dates, that would put her lambing in about 2 or 3 weeks. I removed Elding from the ewes on 3-21-15, so she won't go too far into August.
From the looks of her udder and vulva, I'm thinking 3 weeks is a good rough estimate. I'll have a better idea as the days go by. I've been fortunate to be here for nearly all my lambings so far, and each one tells me a bit more about how my sheep look and act before they lamb. A lot of it is sheer luck though...
Her wool grows fast - I'm wondering if I should trim her down any? It hasn't been horribly hot yet, but that can change.
I haven't used a marking harness yet, but I keep what notes I can of dates. She miscarried on Feb. 12 and passed the placenta Feb. 14. So there's no way she'd have gotten bred before that. And a friend of mine said she may have taken a couple weeks before she came into heat. According to my notes, Elding (my ram) was acting particularly stupid on Feb. 18, 19, 20, 22 and 28. If she was bred on or around one of those dates, that would put her lambing in about 2 or 3 weeks. I removed Elding from the ewes on 3-21-15, so she won't go too far into August.
From the looks of her udder and vulva, I'm thinking 3 weeks is a good rough estimate. I'll have a better idea as the days go by. I've been fortunate to be here for nearly all my lambings so far, and each one tells me a bit more about how my sheep look and act before they lamb. A lot of it is sheer luck though...
Her wool grows fast - I'm wondering if I should trim her down any? It hasn't been horribly hot yet, but that can change.
- Thread starter
- #88
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Brosa is going to drive me nuts!
She's got to be pregnant. Her vulva is finally swelling, she's getting rounder (although it's hard to tell under her fleece), and she was getting an udder. Yes, was. It was about up to the size of a small orange, which had me wondering, since this close to lambing I figured it would be bigger (based on her previous pregnancy at least, plus now she's not a first freshener and her udder should be larger).
I checked her udder last night (I check it maybe a couple times a week, she's fine with it because she's quite friendly with me and used to being handled). Her udder was... deflated is the best word I can think of. I checked her again this morning and it was about the same. I've never had a sheep lamb so late in the summer - could the heat be affecting her udder development? They have multiple water buckets, free choice loose mineral, hay, pasture. It has been warm (some days close to 90 and sun) but they do have shade.
Just checked her udder a bit ago when I fed, and it's about the same, very small. Her last possible due date *should* be about August 10. She's going to drive me nuts...
She's got to be pregnant. Her vulva is finally swelling, she's getting rounder (although it's hard to tell under her fleece), and she was getting an udder. Yes, was. It was about up to the size of a small orange, which had me wondering, since this close to lambing I figured it would be bigger (based on her previous pregnancy at least, plus now she's not a first freshener and her udder should be larger).
I checked her udder last night (I check it maybe a couple times a week, she's fine with it because she's quite friendly with me and used to being handled). Her udder was... deflated is the best word I can think of. I checked her again this morning and it was about the same. I've never had a sheep lamb so late in the summer - could the heat be affecting her udder development? They have multiple water buckets, free choice loose mineral, hay, pasture. It has been warm (some days close to 90 and sun) but they do have shade.
Just checked her udder a bit ago when I fed, and it's about the same, very small. Her last possible due date *should* be about August 10. She's going to drive me nuts...
mikiz
Loving the herd life
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Anything??
- Thread starter
- #90
norseofcourse
Herd Master
Nothing definitive - I don't know what to think anymore!
Brosa's vulva is swelling and getting 'loose', as they all have as they get closer to lambing. But she still has very little udder. It's hard to tell her body shape under all that wool, but it seemed like she 'dropped' somewhat about two days ago. Her appetite for grain has intensified, but she was one of the first sheep to quit eating tree leaves day before yesterday, when I was out there bending young trees down for the sheep to eat (they love it). And I am sure I've seen lamb movement - wish I'd written it down the one time, which was at least a month or two ago.
SO, she may be showing *some* signs of getting close, or I may be imagining it all
I did recheck my notes, and I did let the sheep in with Elding again later in the spring - mostly in May. But Icelandics are seasonal breeders, so she should not have come into heat at that time. Besides, that would make her at least another month or two away - unless he bred her through the pipe gate...
With her first lamb, she was the most vocal of any of my ewes giving birth - I heard her cries a couple hundred feet away. So I can hope if she does that again, I'm within earshot - if I don't pick up on any other signs of labor.
So all I can do is just watch and wait...
