SheepGirl's 2012 Lambing Thread

[SheepGirl]

SheepGirl, how on Earth can you tell them apart from a distance?
I only have 3, black is a ram. But the two whites, if one wasn't missing the ear tag, I would never know them apart...

Here's how I do it:

There are two pastures: one for the rams and one for the ewes (and a wether). The ram pasture has a two-head flock and the ewe pasture has a seven-head flock.

Rams: Both rams are black. My 3/4 Babydoll 1/4 Montadale ram is bigger and darker than his smaller, lighter-colored purebred Babydoll ram pasture mate.

Ewes: There are three white ewes, three black ewes, and a black wether.

The largest white ewe is my 1/2 Babydoll 1/2 Montadale ewe (the one this thread is about). The other two white ewes are both 3/4 Babydoll 1/4 Montadale. Being they are the same "breed," it sometimes gets hard to tell them a part. But my ewe has a nice, dense fleece--it's also kind of gray/brown in color. The other ewe has a shaggier-looking fleece that is more yellow in color. The shaggier looking ewe from a distance looks bigger/fluffier than my ewe.

For the black ones, two of the purebreds are very light in color (pretty much a dark shade of gray). The older ewe (I guess she's at least six years old now) now has a gray fleece when shorn and her daughter is still pretty black underneath. To tell these two girls a part, the older ewe has a more refined looking head, while her daughter has a "blockier," more fluffy head. Both are wool-blind, though. :/ Remaining are the two darker ones, a purebred ewe and a 5/8 wether. Well to put it simply, the short black one is the ewe and the tall black one is my wether

Edited to change the wording of my answer.

 

[77Herford]

UPDATED PICTURES! I can safely assume that she is now one month bred because I haven't noticed her seeking out the rams...or she could not be bred and she just stopped cycling because it was the end of breeding season for her. But I don't know.

Well, today it was snowing...well it is snowing. It's been snowing for like the past three hours or so already. It's a shame that I never remember to bring the camera when there's no snow on the ground. Oh well. And the sheep were outside grazing. In the snow, while it was snowing. When there's beautiful green grass hay in the barn. If I were a sheep, I'd be eating the hay...not only because it's better than the pasture right now, but because I wouldn't want my lips to be cold from being in the snow! Lol...Enjoy the new pictures!

My little goofball of a wether, Paulie, eating some feed
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0228.jpg

And here he is again...
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0242.jpg

Some pictures of the flock
The white sheep in the back, from left to right are my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe and my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The white ewe in front is my ewe, Ciqala, the bred one. The three black sheep standing in a row are all purebred Babydoll Southdowns. The black guy in front is my wether Paulie.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0244.jpg

Three black sheep in the back are the purebred Babydolls. The black guy in front is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my 3/4 Babydoll. The white girl next to her is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0250.jpg

The ewe on the far left is my bred ewe. The white ewe on the far right is my 3/4 Babydoll ewe. The black one behind her is Paulie. The white ewe in the middle is my neighbor's 3/4 Babydoll ewe. All the other black ewes are the purebred Babydolls.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0254.jpg

Now of my ewe - her "official" one-month bred pictures.

Rear
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0234.jpg

Side - She looks like she's gotten bigger. But I think it's just because she's not as stretched out as she was in the initial pictures I took of her.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4485_dscn0238.jpg

Edited for spelling errors.

I REALLY like your 3/4 Babydoll sheep. They all look sweet but that 3/4 one just draws me in. I think my wife would freak though if I brought home some Babydolls.

 

[SheepGirl]

I REALLY like your 3/4 Babydoll sheep. They all look sweet but that 3/4 one just draws me in. I think my wife would freak though if I brought home some Babydolls.

Thanks

Well you did bring home some Black Welsh Mountain....

 

[SheepGirl]

New pictures...got some when it wasn't snowing!

(Sorry if I'm overloading you guys with pictures!)

The only thing I don't like about this one is her whole head isn't in it. But I LOVE how beautiful and clear the sky was today! Here is her "official" one-month bred front picture:

So, my ewe went from this (trying to run away):

To this:

And she absolutely did not want to get out of my face! lol

But here are some goofy pictures of my ewe I thought y'all would enjoy:

I'm not even sure what was going on here...

 

[neener92]

Cute sheep!

 

[SheepGirl]

Cute sheep!

Thanks!

 

[SheepGirl]

SPRING'S ON ITS WAY!

Here's another pic of my ewe.

Is the ram on the right pregnant? Nope! Just fat! (Just on grass...) He's my 3/4 Babydoll ram; the sire to the lambs I think are going to be born Memorial Day weekend. The ram on the left is the purebred Babydoll.

 

[Southdown]

LOL. My ram looks "pregnant" too; in fact, he's fatter than all of the girls.

 

[secuono]

Do you guys notch the ears? In your latest pics of the ewe, it looks like it. My ram lost his tag about a week ago, based on how it's healing. They don't rip out though, they seem to pop off from both sides leaving a circular hole. So dumb, only have one sheep with it in, after that, I won't be able to tell the two girls apart, lol.

SheepGirl, must be nice to tell them apart.

 

[SheepGirl]

LOL. My ram looks "pregnant" too; in fact, he's fatter than all of the girls.

Haha. That's how my ram is Isn't it so funny how we let the rams get all fat but then we care more about a ewe's nutrition?

Do you guys notch the ears? In your latest pics of the ewe, it looks like it. My ram lost his tag about a week ago, based on how it's healing. They don't rip out though, they seem to pop off from both sides leaving a circular hole. So dumb, only have one sheep with it in, after that, I won't be able to tell the two girls apart, lol.

SheepGirl, must be nice to tell them apart.

Nope. That's just where her Scrapie ear tags fell out. She had the first one in for less than a year. The next one she had in for a mere two months; it fell out at fair. I take her to the fair and also school petting zoos so Scrapie tags are required due to the mandatory scrapie eradication program. Otherwise I wouldn't have them in. (Sheep are only legally required to have scrapie tags when they leave their farm of origin.) I guess these tags were poorly made because her flock tag, the red Allflex tag (44), has been in for almost six years now. But then again, my neighbor got the Scrapie tags back in 2003, and they're just now being put in the sheep. So maybe that has something to do with it?

If you can't tell them a part now...wait till they lamb! When our ewes lamb, I normally find very discriminate differences between the lambs...like, oh, this lamb has high-set ears, or that lamb has a black spot near its eye...or something like that. After about ten lambs, they start looking more and more like each other. Then it gets hard to tell them a part and I thank God for ear tags

Part of the reason why I like having a crossbred flock is that they all look different, so it is easy to tell them a part! But with the purebred ewes, I've known the old ewe since 2006, and she had the ewe that looks like her in 2008, and then the darker one in 2009, so I've known them long enough to be able to tell them a part But if you want to tell them a part, I would invest in some ear tags. Usually feed stores sell a pack of 20 or 25 for about $20 and then you can also get the ear tag applicator for $20 as well. Also if you have registered stock, it's usually required to have them ear tagged (or tattooed) when you register them.