Hi, I have 3 Shetland ewes that had a Finnsheep ram in with them for 8 weeks. The first due date would have been April 14. All have had enlarged udders for some time. One looked farther along a few weeks ago, they all look wide. Today when I checked them, they all looked wet, and had some discharge. They all had 'dairy sized' udders. I've never had lambs, but these ladies look ready. How much longer can I expect to wait, and are there more signs I can look for? I'm not really worried about them, as it's drying up nicely and most all of the snow is gone. Being Shetlands, I don't expect many birthing problems. I'm just a first time lamb mom and am anxious! I love these little gals and can't wait to see they're young ones! Thanks, Jill

-- JillSchreiber (schreiber@alaska.com), April 22, 2001

Answers

I am waiting for some answers too .I have one gooping and bagging .I thought she would have gone yesterday as she was laying down alot , but nothing yet .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), April 22, 2001.

Most ewes will be bred within the first seventeen days after the ram is put in, so if April 14 was the first possible date, then I would expect them to lamb between now and May 1. Assuming they have been sheared, watch for a change in the appearance of the hollow in front of the hip bones. When it becomes more pronounced, they will usually lamb within two days. When they are ready to lamb, they will appear restless, sometimes pawing the ground, and lay down and get up repeatedly. Once they lay down and start to labor, they will usually stretch their necks out and grunt occasionally.

What part of the country are you in? Good luck.

-- Leo (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), April 22, 2001.

Besides a definite hollow area in front of the hip bone, look for reddened , swollen vulva area as well. A sure sign labor is imminent is the ewe going off into a corner by herself and pawing or snifffing the ground. She usually will not be interested in eating with the others at this time. Watch for a mucous discharge followed by the beginning of the water bag.We usuallyleave the ewes in a large area to lamb and than once they have lamb or lambs, we put them in smaller jugs or pens for 2-3 days to make sure they bond okay and ewe has enough milk. Before I move them out, I also eartag or paint mark the lamb ( and the ewe) and band the tail as well. If you paint mark the ewes and lambs , its real easy to spot who belongs to who and any problems. I get a special wool scourable marker from Premier Sheep Supplies, but Nasco carries it as well.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), April 22, 2001.

All good advice. The one thing that usually clues me in is that at the earliest stage of labor (sometimes the day before if they lamb at night) the expecting ewe will go off in a corner of the pasture by herself. She often hangs her head, sometimes paws the ground. Sheep are very social and I always suspect something is up when one goes off on its own. Kim

-- kim (fleece@eritter.net), April 22, 2001.

Thank You all. Leo we are in Alaska, between Delta and Fairbanks. They have not yet been sheared and are sporting 10" of wool right now so it's a challenge to check weight and near impossible to notice what you mentioned. One seemed to drop a couple weeks ago, I guess she's just carrying them lower than the others. With this advice I guess I will just follow instincts and keep an eye on them. They are all behaving absolutely as always, I know them pretty well and would notice changes. Hopefully they will wait a few days for this beautiful 60 degree sunshiney, breezy weather to get rid of the lake in their feild that is the last of the snow! Thanks again, Jill

-- JillSchreiber (schreiber@alaska.com), April 22, 2001.

If they are like my sheep, they'll wait for the nastiest, coldest, most unforgiving day to lamb. Just never fails! When it gets really close, I have slept out in the barn with them. That's an experience...listening to grunting ewes all night...Of course, when they STOP grunting, it's an even more interesting experience!

I didn't breed our gang this year and I miss lambs! Good luck to all of ewe!

-- sheepish (WA) (the_original_sheepish@hotmail.com), April 22, 2001.

Hey any babies yet? I've never had sheep but sheep and goats are really close. I look at udders. The 2nd or more time mom's (not so much 1st but somethimes) there udder will slowly grow and then 1 night it looks as if is grew and is really full and shiney looking in between the hair. Good luck let us know when she kids (that is what you call it in goats is it the same in sheep) Hope this helps. remember though you are talking to a goat person here.

-- lindsey (l_shamhart@hotmail.com), April 28, 2001.