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Author Topic: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?  (Read 5416 times)

pooks

  • Joined Apr 2012
is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« on: January 29, 2015, 08:26:20 am »
this is the first year that I have put ewe lambs to the tup! (and only time will tell if I live to regret it or not, but that's another story!)  normally wait a year but previously they have got so big as shearlings that was worried that they wouldn't get in lamb -  so to the tup they went (all four of them).  was expecting only 1 to get in lamb, however, all four have taken and so am now thinking about the lambing due to start end of march.  my question is should I expect the ewe lambs to lamb a little earlier than the ewes and shearlings (due to the lack of internal space).  my ewes are normally on the button at 145 days, should I expect the ewe lambs to come a little earlier? what is everyone else's experience with ewe lambs gestation length.  they are Wiltshire horns (3 scanned with singles and one scanned with twins).

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2015, 09:37:26 am »
No they should be the same.  My BWMs are 147 days whether they are ewe-lambs or adults.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2015, 09:38:24 am »
I think most folks lamb their sheep at two years old as they're fully grown by then, so not growing both themselves and lambs inside them - their frame will often be smaller once they're mature and their productive life shorter.  In my experience first-timers (and all mine have been two years old) tend to take a little longer - 148 days is pretty standard. It's the old-timers with twins that have tended to be early in our flock.  The weather also plays a significant part, in this area at least.  Depending on conditions through the Winter all ours have lambed six days early or up to nine days late - this was for extreme Winters, though.

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2015, 09:59:09 am »
I think its around the same, I have welsh mule ewe lambs, meatlinc cross ewe lambs, charmoise ewe lambs and charolais cross ewe lambs in lamb this year to a charmoise ram

Also I have not found that the productive lives are shorter, you get an extra lamb in the first place and with some ewe lambs I find they do alot better tupped young, some charollais crosses or others get far too fat when run over winter empty, I have some lambing in 6 weeks first time as shearlings and they are far far too over conditioned, should have tupped them last year  ::) hopefully no problems at lambing

They do eventually catch up, my biggest ewes now were tupped as ewe lambs


edit: perhaps its different with things like southdowns
« Last Edit: January 29, 2015, 10:01:05 am by Ladygrey »

Tim W

  • Joined Aug 2013
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2015, 10:50:33 am »
I lamb 200+ ewe lambs every year (mostly shedding sheep like wiltshires---all off grass and nothing else) their gestation length is not noticeably different from mature ewes

Animals that lamb as ewe lambs have a greater lifetime productivity than those that lamb for the first time as older ewes ---they catch up to mature size remarkably quickly, have more lambs over a lifetime and learn mothering skills earlier on. There is also research to suggest that lifetime milk yield is significantly enhanced by lambing as ewe lambs
You just have to manage them correctly ---wean at 10 weeks and make sure they have a nice bite ahead of them
And be nice to the one with twins ----maybe consider taking 1 lamb away ?
Good luck!

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2015, 11:07:06 am »
If you don't have any other sheep to cross foster the twin onto, and no other pet lambs to keep it with, I would leave the twin on and top it up with a bottle, or even top up both twins if you can.  Then as Tim says wean early.  I do mine at 12 weeks.  Once they have lambed feed them well so they have enough reserves to produce plenty of milk (either with priority to the best grass or top up with hard feed).


I've left twins on ewe lambs without any issue, usually when the mother is *really* insistent that her lambs don't need my bottle, haha!  You just have to see how you get on :).



I sometimes creep feed my ewe-lamb's lambs, just for two months to take the strain off the ewe lambs until the grass comes in, but that's mainly down to my grass management (or lack of :)).  But it's an option if you are worried about the ewe lambs.

pooks

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2015, 01:15:41 pm »
thanks everyone for your replies and words of wisdom, was considering creep feeding the ewe lambs lambs (have a separate field for the ewe lambs to go onto with their lambs, with grass that I have  been saving).  will certainly wean early, thought the creep would help their too.

we will seen how it all pans out.  thanks again

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2015, 02:40:54 pm »
In this area, at least, few ewes lambed as ewe lambs will raise twins every year until they're 12 or 13 years old, as ours often do.  Most 3-crops are cast and may lamb 2 or 3 times more on sheltered ground and better grazing.  20 lambs or 12 lambs ....

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2015, 06:30:56 pm »
In this area, at least, few ewes lambed as ewe lambs will raise twins every year until they're 12 or 13 years old, as ours often do.  Most 3-crops are cast and may lamb 2 or 3 times more on sheltered ground and better grazing.  20 lambs or 12 lambs ....

Ahh so thats why your ewe lambs are growth stunted... because they all die young  :thumbsup:  :roflanim:

Maybe southdowns are much slower maturing and growing? and more suited to selling as stores?, hence why we dont see them around my area as they wouldnt be growing fast enough  :thinking:

Actually we saw two southdown rams go through the market at Thame in the summer, but thats all I have ever seen

Edit, I dont know much about the breed, hence I am actually asking genuine questions, I tried to ask about the breed at NSA malvern but they were not helpful and I was very unimpressed with the crossbred lambs they had there, very loose skinned and runty


« Last Edit: January 29, 2015, 06:38:02 pm by Ladygrey »

Me

  • Joined Feb 2014
  • Wild West
Re: is gestation period for ewe lambs any shorter?
« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2015, 06:50:45 pm »
They were three years old....  :P


only joking MF

 

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