MMGardens
Ridin' The Range
My friend got a supposed katahdin, but maybe mixed ewe who was supposed to be a year or more old when she got her on Feb 14 2024
I ended up with this sheep in April
She seemed really small to me so I measured and weighed her and she was 45 lbs and 20 inches at the shoulders
By June she was up to 65 lbs which seemed to be quite a big jump in weight to me for a sheep that old, so I spoke with the vet and they thought either she had a high parasite load (which she didn’t per her fecal) or she wasn’t being fed well in her previous homes
I also had the vet come look at her in June and give me his opinion on wether or not she could be safely bred being so small, and he said essentially not unless I wanted c sections
It’s now Nov 2024 and I just measured her again, 86 lbs and 23.5 inches at the shoulders
I’m wondering now if maybe she was likely just younger and still growing a lot? Is it usual for ewes to grow so much at this age?
I was inclined to believe she was Probably not a younger lamb because she came to me with a full winter coat that she shed and my December 2023 born hair sheep still had his baby coat even this year in August
Her size now and comparing her to my other girls also doesn’t seem inappropriate for breeding now, especially to a fine boned ram in my opinion, but the vet did say it would be better if she had twins so the babies would be smaller
Opinions? Is it likely she was younger than they said, or was she maybe stunted? Or is this much growth just normal?
Pics of ewe in question below
First one is before she was mine
Second one she’s the one on the far left with the green collar
I ended up with this sheep in April
She seemed really small to me so I measured and weighed her and she was 45 lbs and 20 inches at the shoulders
By June she was up to 65 lbs which seemed to be quite a big jump in weight to me for a sheep that old, so I spoke with the vet and they thought either she had a high parasite load (which she didn’t per her fecal) or she wasn’t being fed well in her previous homes
I also had the vet come look at her in June and give me his opinion on wether or not she could be safely bred being so small, and he said essentially not unless I wanted c sections
It’s now Nov 2024 and I just measured her again, 86 lbs and 23.5 inches at the shoulders
I’m wondering now if maybe she was likely just younger and still growing a lot? Is it usual for ewes to grow so much at this age?
I was inclined to believe she was Probably not a younger lamb because she came to me with a full winter coat that she shed and my December 2023 born hair sheep still had his baby coat even this year in August
Her size now and comparing her to my other girls also doesn’t seem inappropriate for breeding now, especially to a fine boned ram in my opinion, but the vet did say it would be better if she had twins so the babies would be smaller
Opinions? Is it likely she was younger than they said, or was she maybe stunted? Or is this much growth just normal?
Pics of ewe in question below
First one is before she was mine
Second one she’s the one on the far left with the green collar
