UPDATE! AND NOW TWINS!!!!!!!! Are they actually pregnant or just fat?!

[secuono]

Back when I got them, Oct/Nov. He only shows interest in them if they are eating and he want it or hiding behind them because something scared him....

 

[Hillsvale]

if you only had them exposed to your ram in what sounds like late Oct early Nov they would be 4 months along now... to me they look pregnant but certainly in the next two weeks you will know for certain when they start to bag up and the ligaments start to loosen.

Oh... and to Cornish, your commented on greening pastures... Its snowing today and I don't think I like you much!

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Have they come back into estrus since you bred them?

 

[SheepGirl]

Their udders have developed some in a month, what it's filled with--milk or fat--is the question. I'm leaning toward fat because it looks like your ram has gained some weight, too. But they also look bred so it's a toss up.

May I suggest for the next breeding season, keeping your ram separate from the ewes until you breed them and then when you put them together for breeding, put a marking harness on him? That would make it sooo much easier on you to KNOW if they're bred an WHEN they're expecting.

 

[secuono]

It's our first year with them, nothing is going to be as planned or how it should be. I'm hoping both have twins and at least one ewe to keep and one ram to castrate to keep the ram company.
I don't see how the harness would work that well, I've seen him try and the girls totally say no. His chest would still hit the same spot the harness would mark, making a false positive. They showed no willingness in Dec the few times I did see him try, later the next month he couldn't even walk behind them w/o them moving away.

 

[purplequeenvt]

They look pregnant to me. Keep an eye on those udders. If the udders start getting larger and their vulvas get pinkish and puffy, you will know that you are getting close!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

II don't see how the harness would work that well, I've seen him try and the girls totally say no. His chest would still hit the same spot the harness would mark, making a false positive. They showed no willingness in Dec the few times I did see him try, later the next month he couldn't even walk behind them w/o them moving away.

It wouldn't be a false positive because it would make a very light mark on their rumps. Only count it as a true breeding if there's a good, heavy mark on the ewe's rump.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Oh... and to Cornish, your commented on greening pastures... smack Its snowing today and I don't think I like you much!

LOL! SO sorry! We have had such a mild winter down here it has been incredible! Really spoiled us & the animals. Hope it warms up for you soon.

Liz

 

[secuono]

Every time I see them from a distance, they don't look like anything but fat. When I'm out there with them, they look like the widest little sheep ever, more horizontal than they are tall, lol.
Boy, will their lambing ever be a surprise...


I wonder, do seasonal sheep tend to allow breeding around the same month they did the previous year? I guess if they did, it would vary from flock to flock, breed to breed.
I like the idea of them lambing this 'late', it's far warmer outside and I don't have to worry about lambs getting cold.

 

[SheepGirl]

I wonder, do seasonal sheep tend to allow breeding around the same month they did the previous year? I guess if they did, it would vary from flock to flock, breed to breed.
I like the idea of them lambing this 'late', it's far warmer outside and I don't have to worry about lambs getting cold.

I'm not sure what you mean by "allow breeding" -- if you mean come into heat, it will vary ewe to ewe. Our sheep start coming into heat late September/early October. When your lambs are born depends on when your ewes come into heat, when the ram is put in with the ewes, and if both the ram and the ewe are fertile.

That said, the earliest lambs we've ever had were twin ewe lambs born on March 5 and the latest lambs we've ever had were twin ewe lambs born June 9.

As far as temperatures--I personally like having lambs born in March and April. That way it is still mild out when the lambs are born. I don't really like lambing later than that because it gets hot and the ewes eat less (they like to stay in the barn during the summer) which means they produce less milk, which means the lambs grow slower.