One ewe has no udder development?

[bocephus]

My first year with sheep and I wasn't setup to breed them on my schedule so 1 ram and 5 ewes ran together all summer and fall.

All of the ewes except one are slowly developing bags.

Her belly seems be in similar size to the others so I'm assuming she's pregnant.

Could she be a month or so behind the others or could this end up being an issue? She's showing no bag at all, completely flat.

 

[BrownSheep]

That's a possibility. Some ewes develope bags so close to their belly you have to feel for it to know its there others don't really develope until a day or so until lambing.

 

[goodolboy]

First timers devolope late also. But yes, she could be a month or more behind.

 

[Sheepshape]

She could, of course, not be pregnant. I have a non-prgnant ewe who has a belly bigger than a ewe who is having twins. Some ewes just have big bellies!

I hope she's a 'late developer' though.

 

[irishdancer]

One of my ewes develops her bag several days before birth. One day its small and the next, boom, there it is and she usually drops within 3-4 day after that.

 

[bocephus]

Well, still no udders and all over her barn mates have 3 to 4 week old lambs. She seems to have the same bulging sides like everyone else. Could she just be fat from being on the same diet as pregnant and now lactating ewes?

The whole group has lived with the same ram since last July. It was a first time ram, could he have missed her cycle and she didn't go back into heat? Four other that were with him had lambs already.

 

[promiseacres]

Have 3 ewes who were ran 24/7 with the ram til Jan.....they lambed a full month apart..1 in Jan, 1 in Feb and waiting on number 3...though she did lose her original pregnacy due to the move to my house

 

[bocephus]

I have come to the conclusion that she is just fat and have begun cutting her grain portion. What does this mean for her? With a first time ram and ewes could her heat cycle just have been missed? Would she have not gone back into heat all winter?

 

[SheepGirl]

Do you have a photo of her?

What is her BCS? Usually grain does not cause 'big bellied' sheep. It's usually hay and pasture that do that. If she had been run with the ram as long as the other ewes, she should've gotten pregnant, especially since the other ones have lambed already. It could be that she was bred later or it could be that she is sterile. Also, was she a ewe lamb being bred to lamb as a yearling? (So was she born in 2012?) If so it could be that she never came into heat...some ewes, even ones big enough for breeding, don't come into heat their first fall.

 

[bcnewe2]

I wouldn't count on her not being bred if you let the ram run with them all summer and fall. Have you ever taken the ram out? My ram lives with his ewes until I find the proper spot for him(new place). So I am expecting out of season lambing and lambs straggling in over the summer months. But this will be his first time staying with the ewes.

Last year was hard on rams and sheep in general with most of the country suffering some kind of drought. I have heard from lots of sheep friends that bags have been smaller and less milk.
I also thought I'd be done with lambing back in January. But I still have 2 ewes waiting to lamb. I'm sure they're bred as the ram is still in there. But they probably missed the first few estruses due to the heat and drought. One is famous for holding out. She looks like she should of lambed first. she's not that young so you can see a bag but it's soft and nothing in it. Other one is a first timer and has nothing. Lots of first timers don't really even show a bag till after lambing or so small a bag you can't tell unless you feel.

I would continue treating her as pregnant, a little grain can't hurt and you don't want pregnancy ketosis to set in if you cut her feed back now and she is due soon. If grass is greening up and she has free range of pasture then you should be good even if you do stop. But here I let those 2 girls in while my lambs are eating grain in the morning just to be safe. I will know soon enough if they have lambs.

Good luck. first lambing are always exciting and worrisome. Relax...it happens and really barring any unforeseen issues it happens easy enough of our part!

When she does lamb I would make sure to strip the udder to make sure there is at least colostrum in there.