Our First year Lambing! (2024-25)

[Baymule]

In the evening after the ewes have been fed, they like to gather around me for scratches and lots of petting. I sit on a milk crate so that I’m on their level. I have a new-ish ewe that didn’t have a name. She finally got brave and for reasons known only to her, she stuck her nose in my armpit. She snuffled in my armpit, calm and happy. I was able to pet her. Next few days, same thing. I named her Snuffy.

 

[LearningSheep]

This morning she got a better intro to her guardians... through a fence.
Mom was watching a dog outside the fences on the other side. The mini donk here is Velcro. He actually pushed our jenny (named Mimi) away from her at the fence when they where having a nose-to-nose moment. I had them out in our converted horse stall so I could clean out the jug, my husband is afraid the other ewes will trample her (I dont think so) but wants us to be able to supervise her with the donkeys and the "big girls" for the first time. Based on the way mom pushed her back to the jug when she got a little TOO nervous, I'm pretty confident she'll keep using it when I take the front panel off.



She even got nose to nose with the 2nd youngest Ewe in our flock, my daughter's dorper Boo. Pretty sure that Boo is more dog like than sheep like

 

[Baymule]

It’s ok to give them a few days to themselves. This lets new mom bond more to her lamb.

 

[LearningSheep]

She has actually showed a really good bond to the baby since day 1 - which surprised me as she is a 1st time mama. We left them to the horse stall tonight, I will check before leaving for work in the morning (first day i've worked since Princess was born). Hubby wants mom in the stall for a week, I don't think she will make it without pushing a fence when the others get turned out during the day. (others are in a smaller pasture for the night, have access to a bigger pasture during the day) When the others got "bored" of the new attraction and headed out to the bigger pasture, Dorothy (mom) got nervous and started pushing the hog panels on the horse stall.

 

[Baymule]

A few days to let baby strengthen up and it will be fine. If mom is anxious about being left behind, then don’t keep her in for a week.

 

[SageHill]

Mine stay in a stall (12x12) or jug (4x4) if needed, for the first couple/few days, then go out with the flock. I make sure when I let "the bigs" out that the "littles" aren't in their path. There's usually a little nosing around, then some nudging and all is well. The current 2 like to hang out under the feed bunks when the others are eating.
Your lamb is adorable!!!

 

[Ridgetop]

We jug mom and lambs for a couple days to 1 week for bonding. They can lamb with the flock (which is less upsetting for them) but then we grab the newborn lambs and lead the ewes into the barn and stick them in a jug. Bonding is important, particularly when you have mutiple ewes lambing at the same time. This year we will put up the jugs in the side barn and avoid the problem.

This year we moved the entire flock to Texas unfortunately right around lambing time. We couldn't wait past that time since the temperature would be too high to transport. Most had lambed and we were hoping the last few would wait unti Texas to lamb. Several ewes lambed in the trailer and we didn't know who they belonged to. The transporter just tossed dfthe sheep all out at once and since it was dark we had a hard time matching the lambs. Over the next week a couple other ewes lambed and we didn't have jugs up - they were still in the barn in CA. Some were ok with bonding, but the first time moms had a hard time bonding to their lambs and their lambs were confused as to whom they belonged. We lost a couple, some of the youngest ones didn't grow well probably because they were not with their moms and didn't nurse well. Any ewe lambs we couldn't positively ID and any undersized ewe lambs were all sold at the auction along with the ram lambs. Without positive ID we can't register- DNA is too expensive.