Please share your thoughts on sheep giving birth in the forest or field

[soarwitheagles]

Hi again everyone!

Well, we are in a wee bit of a dilemma. Our planted paddocks are not yet fully ready for our sheep [they ate one annual paddock down to 3 inches in two days! The other annual paddocks are only 4 inches high with grass and clovers]. Our perennial paddocks will not be ready for several months.

Our hay/dry clover bills were getting way too high. So we decided to let the sheep eat in the back forest [first time we have ever tried this]. They have been doing just fine [3-4 weeks of forest grass, etc.], and they would automatically come back to their pen every afternoon just before dark. Lately they like to stay out in the forest into the dark hours of the night [with past coyote and fox challenges, staying out past dark in the forest is probably not a good idea]. So I do my best to call them in and lock em' up every night [Makes me feel somewhat like a prison guard, doing head counts and all].

Now the ewes are beginning to give birth left and right out in the forest. I am a little concerned about this.

I would rather they give birth in the pen or better yet, our lambing stalls. But the ewes cry like crazy if we separate them from the flock. And some won't even let us separate them.

Please share your thoughts on sheep giving birth in the forest or field.

We had twins on Sunday, and came home tonight to discover another ewe missing. When I searched the back forest area with powerful flashlights, I found the other ewe with her newly born twins still on the ground. At this very moment, I am waiting for my wife to come home so we can go out and bring in the mama with her twins.

On Sunday, I was totally stressed out. I literally guarded the lambs on the ground with a shotgun until they got up off the ground and followed mama toward the pens. Finally, my wife and I simply picked up the two new born twins and brought them all the way back to the safe area. One minor concern I have is the ewe gave birth out in the forest, during a rain storm. Then, she won't let us take her into a covered area, so she and her twin lambs have been out in the rain all Sunday, all Sunday night, all Monday and Monday night, all Tuesday now she will be there all Tuesday night. Her twin lambs look like ugly super wet rug rats. I suppose this will either toughen them up or kill them.

My biggest concern is coyotes or foxes. The lambs seem so utterly helpless. Two neighbors [3-5 miles from us] have each lost lambs to coyotes...one lost 17 lambs last year, the other lost over 20.

What else can I do?

Please give me some ideas if you can.

Posting a pic of lambs from Sunday.

Also posting a pic of the lambs born tonight.

Thank you!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You don't have any LGD's? Do you have enough room to lock up all the pregnant ewes?

 

[babsbag]

Somehow you need to get those ewes back to the paddock or in the stalls. Go buy some hay and keep them home until lambing is over. Coyotes can smell the blood and afterbirth and they will be there.

I seem to recall that you were against an LGD but you might want to reconsider that for next year.

 

[soarwitheagles]

You don't have any LGD's? Do you have enough room to lock up all the pregnant ewes?

We do not have LGD's. I still do not know enough about them to purchase the right ones and intergrate them with the flock. Also, I am still concerned about a LGD getting loose and hurting neighbors or neighbors animals. My neighbor's son was terribly mauled by a LGD and they settled for $300,000.

Yes, we have lots and lots of room to lock up the pregnant ewes. I think we will begin to separate them tomorrow.

Somehow you need to get those ewes back to the paddock or in the stalls. Go buy some hay and keep them home until lambing is over. Coyotes can smell the blood and afterbirth and they will be there.

I seem to recall that you were against an LGD but you might want to reconsider that for next year.

Babs, we are definitely not against LGD's. I so much wish I could have one or two that knew how to do their job and were safe to keep here. My wife just called and let me know she will be here in about 10 minutes. So we will follow your good advice and simply carry the lambs in. I hope mama will follow them.

My neighbor just gave me some good advice: he said leave all the rams and larger sheep that are not pregnant out in the forest and then bring all pregnant ewes into the paddock and let them eat the grass there.

Ohhhhhhhh! My wife just arrived. We are off to rescue our lambs! BRB!

 

[soarwitheagles]

UPDATE: This second ewe was so much more easier to handle. My wife picked up the lambs and as she walked to the lambing pen area, the mama followed from the forested area. We were able to place mama and her new born twins in a lambing pen with a covered top. So this is really good news.

Still hoping that the Sunday ewe will let us place her in a covered lambing pen too....they still look like rained upon wet little rug rats!

 

[norseofcourse]

Congrats on the lambs! I would be way too nervous to let them lamb out there with the danger of coyote or fox, too. I'd take the advice your neighbor gave you, or find some way to make sure they come back to the pen every evening. Food usually works great, if you have a way to give them a bit of grain or something.

Just as a note, if you find a ewe giving birth out back, don't move her and the lambs until she's given birth to all the lambs she's going to. I did that once - moved a lamb/mom and then she had another lamb. I think moving her was at least part of the reason she rejected the second lamb (she finally accepted it after a week of me making her stand to let it nurse).

 

[soarwitheagles]

Congrats on the lambs! I would be way too nervous to let them lamb out there with the danger of coyote or fox, too. I'd take the advice your neighbor gave you, or find some way to make sure they come back to the pen every evening. Food usually works great, if you have a way to give them a bit of grain or something.

Just as a note, if you find a ewe giving birth out back, don't move her and the lambs until she's given birth to all the lambs she's going to. I did that once - moved a lamb/mom and then she had another lamb. I think moving her was at least part of the reason she rejected the second lamb (she finally accepted it after a week of me making her stand to let it nurse).

Norse,

Thank you for the warning, information, and heads up! I never even thought about being cautious by waiting until all the lambs drop! Great info! We fed our sheep much better this year so I believe most will give twins and triplets. So this tells me I must wait until all sheep hit the ground before I dare mess with mama. Ok, how do I know when all sheep have hit the ground? Please help me out on this. What is the longest time in-between births for multiple births?

American Blackbellies give birth year round having 3 birthing times every two years. So that is a new sets of lambs every 8 months. I kinda like that! Now we just need to set this up in a manner that is safe and healthy for the sheep.

Learning new ideas every day!

I would like to learn how to "lasso" a sheep. I have seen my rancher friend's ranch hand do it over and over again. I would like to be able to "lasso" those hard to catch ewes and simply put them in the lambing stalls!

Thanks again for the help!

 

[babsbag]

The only way I can tell that there are done is to wait for the afterbirth but that can be hours and hours. I have had goats go for hours between kids but the usual time is probably about 15-30 minutes. I have moved goats in the middle of kidding; have had them drop them on the ground as we walked to the barn...UGH!!! But they never rejected them for that reason. I think that moving them in between lambs is far better than being out at night, especially in the rain.

About the dogs. Two of my LGDs love people. My third one is a little shy but she is still a puppy so I can't say definitively that she likes or dislikes people. For an LGD breed dog to maul a person while off of its property is very very unusual. My adult dogs have both ended up at the neighbors on occasion and they didn't hurt the people or their animals. Mine even like to go to the vet's office. Weird dogs. But seriously, if you get the right dog you will forever wonder how you raised sheep without them. They are amazing animals.

Do you have a hot wire around your property?

 

[norseofcourse]

What @babsbag said about the afterbirth is the only way I know they're done, too. I've heard some people can 'bump' a sheep/goat to tell if there's any more babies in there, but I've never done it.

About moving them - maybe I phrased it too strongly. Yes, I had it happen once, and the Storey guide to raising sheep says moving them between lambs can be one of several reason for rejecting a lamb, but as I've said in other threads, sheep don't read the books (it was nearly midnight when I posted, that's my excuse lol). Maybe it's just something to keep in the back of your mind, to watch for. I'm with babs on not waiting in the rain!

 

[soarwitheagles]

The only way I can tell that there are done is to wait for the afterbirth but that can be hours and hours. I have had goats go for hours between kids but the usual time is probably about 15-30 minutes. I have moved goats in the middle of kidding; have had them drop them on the ground as we walked to the barn...UGH!!! But they never rejected them for that reason. I think that moving them in between lambs is far better than being out at night, especially in the rain.

About the dogs. Two of my LGDs love people. My third one is a little shy but she is still a puppy so I can't say definitively that she likes or dislikes people. For an LGD breed dog to maul a person while off of its property is very very unusual. My adult dogs have both ended up at the neighbors on occasion and they didn't hurt the people or their animals. Mine even like to go to the vet's office. Weird dogs. But seriously, if you get the right dog you will forever wonder how you raised sheep without them. They are amazing animals.

Do you have a hot wire around your property?

Thank you for your encouraging words about LGD's. I will begin to read more about this adventure and hopefully, in the future, I will be able to find the right LGD for our needs here.

Regarding moving the ewes that are giving birth...I hope to separate all the pregnant ewes this morning and move them to the paddock with annual grasses and clovers. I think they will be fine there. I noticed that the lambs require 1-3 hours before they are up and walking/moving. If this ever occurs again, I suppose we will simply let the ewe walk their lambs back to the pen. That requires that I spend considerable amounts of time after the birthing process and I would like to avoid this. So moving the pregnant ewes is now a great priority.

What @babsbag said about the afterbirth is the only way I know they're done, too. I've heard some people can 'bump' a sheep/goat to tell if there's any more babies in there, but I've never done it.

About moving them - maybe I phrased it too strongly. Yes, I had it happen once, and the Storey guide to raising sheep says moving them between lambs can be one of several reason for rejecting a lamb, but as I've said in other threads, sheep don't read the books (it was nearly midnight when I posted, that's my excuse lol). Maybe it's just something to keep in the back of your mind, to watch for. I'm with babs on not waiting in the rain!

I hear you on the rain. The challenge is we have 3-4 ewes that are incredibly distrustful toward humans. They will not permit us to go near them and the one that gave birth Sunday refused to go into the covered lambing pen even after we moved her two lambs there! Presently we have her in a transitional pen that has lots of grass, forbs and clovers, so I suppose we will leave her there for now. I made two lean to's for her, but she still refuses to come in out of the rain. She just lets her lambs remain in the rain, laying on the ground, without a worry at all.

These American Blackbelly sheep are suppose to be the lowest maintenance sheep on the planet. They remind me of deer and antelope. Perhaps leaving them out in the rain is not as bad as I think it is. Most of the flock will come in out of the rain during a storm. But some just hang out and get wet.

I suppose I am thankful we are not down in the 30F degree weather right now. That could probably really be a problem...