A friend of mine has left me two pregnant Ewes to watch. They are bagging up, only, each only has one teat working. (how close are they if they are bagging up?) I am familiar with goats, but, not sheep. Do they begin to 'show' like goats? Do I need to know anything specific if I need to help in delivery? Do I clip their hind quarters? These ewes are known to have twins, yet there is only one teat. Do I milk the one teat for colostrum for one of the lambs, or milk and bottle both? Are lambs normally really weak at birth? Gosh, tell me everything you know and I will be ever grateful! In His Grace, Sissy

-- Sissy Barth (iblong2Him@ilovejesus.net), January 25, 2002

Answers

You've birthed goats, you'll be fine with sheep. Trimming off the wool on her legs inside, front and back, and belly so the lambs have easy access to both teats leave no tags hanging the lambs might suck. Yes I know one won't work but the lambs don't and better they suck a non working teat than dirty wool) It's called crutching if it matters. As fast to thier feet as goats? Depends on breed, Hamps are the slowest I've seen, North County Cheviots practically jump to their feet soaking wet. You know to be sure both lambs get colostrum, if the ewe with more milk lambs first I'd be tempted to steal 3 or 4 onces incase ewe #2 has only a little. Or is there some frozen stuff on hand? Milking and feeding is the sure way to see both lambs get colostrum but if one's to be raised with mum then let it suckle, lambs are hard to get back onto mum after a bottle feeding or two. Plus mum might reject them. They might be able to raise two on one teat, you've been told they can't? Go with that! Hand milking sheep is not easy.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), January 25, 2002.

I would have goat milk or milk replacer on hand. Some times those udders might look good but there is no milk in them or the milk is stringy. If she has one non working half she has had mastitis or may have OPP.They will start pawwing the groud when they are ready to have them. If the lambs are weak they may not be able to strip out the first colostrum and you will.I would supplement them a little with the replacer until you can tell what her milk production will be. Good luck, Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), January 25, 2002.

I agree about the milk replacer powder. I have two orphaned lambs myself, and have been bottle feeding them for about a month now, and they're looking great! If you do go with the milk replacer powder, DO NOT get calf milk replacer powder, it has a few things in it that lambs cannot have; look for a lable that says "Kid and Lamb Milk Replacer Powder". Be careful to not put too much powder in a serving at a time, or they could develop bad diarrhea, or scours. If the lambs are weak, make sure you have Baby lamb drench on hand, and give them a squirt of that. The second lamb I ever had born to me was weak, and couldn't stand up, so we gave him a suqirt of drench, and he was just fine within a few hours! (One squirt is all they need). Since most lambs are born when it's rather chilly, you definitely want heat lamps, (but you probably already know that), and if it's in the winter, when it's deathly cold, bring them indoors and put them in a large box (that's what we did) and wait until the heat comes back outside.

That's all I can think of right now! Good luck!! DJP

-- Danyelle Pierce (dpierce@agacademy.net), March 27, 2002.