[Dans]

Hi,

Our lambs are due in May and we are thinking ahead. We have 6 girls and we are assuming they are all in lamb (scanner coming next week to confirm). Our issue is that one of them was only caught in the first cycle, 4 were caught in the first and second cycle (but not third), and the last one was only caught in the second cycle.

We have a nice tight expected lambing from the second cycle (all caught over 4 days), but that first ewe is due 18 days before the others.

We were thinking of bringing the ewes in to lamb as it is the first time for them and us, but how do we work this for 1 single ewe lambing so far in advance of the others. Do we bring them all in early? Do we leave her out to lamb (Castlemilks are meant to be ok with that but I'm nervous). Any advice?

Thanks

Dans

[Foobar]

Let the first one lamb outside.  Assuming they aren't fat she will be fine, just leave her to it.

Then a) bring the rest in when they are due (a week before though so that they can settle) - this assumes that they have been in before and will be content inside (some primitive breeds don't like it!). or b) leave them all out to fend for themselves, ideally in a small-ish paddock so that you can watch them and catch them if need be (or herd them all into a pen to catch one). But not so small that they all lamb on top of each other - they like to have their own lambing space.

If it were me I would leave them all out, especially as it's in May.  They are Castlemilks after all .  You should? have good grass then so that is the best thing for them to be eating at lambing, rather than hay and nuts inside.

You might be nervous but I bet they aren't. The best thing you can do is to not interfere.

[Womble]

With Castlemilks, you'll be unlucky if you need anything more than a pair of binoculars! The question is, if you leave them outside, how easily could you catch one that had difficulties IF you needed to? If the answer is 'without too much bother', I'd have thought they're probably best left to their own devices.

However, if you do want to house them, couldn't you only bring two of them in initially? That way the other four get to stay outside, and once the first ewe has lambed, you can put them all back out, pending the arrival of the others?

[Marches Farmer]

As you're all new to this I'd be inclined to consider keeping the one that's due to lamb first in a small paddock next to the others, with a shelter.  You'll then be able to keep a close eye on her, catch her if necessary, feed her separately, and have shelter for the lamb(s) if the weather turns bad.

[twizzel]

I have a similar scenario and this is how I'm going to try and manage it... 8 that are due from 18th Feb through to 24th March, and then 1 rogue ewe who returned 2 days before the ram came out and is due on 27th April (she returned some 6 weeks after the first time she was served initially).


I've split them into 3 groups to come in- the first ewe due on 18th Feb and the 2 that are due first week of March are currently in along with 1 that's not got a raddle mark but has drawn up hellish in the last 2 weeks. There's 2 that are due 2nd week of March, and 2 due 3rd week of March, and then the late one. They are out on fairly slim pickings of grass, ad lib hay and on 100g/day nuts with lifeline bucket. My plan is to stagger bringing them in 2 weeks before they are due and then go onto 0.5kg/head/day. The one that's due late will just have to come in with the last 2 to lamb and stay in as I'm worried she will be overfat by then but there's not much I can do about it... all of the ewes have taken a check back in condition and are coming in fit. None of them have lambed before and are very sharp so I definitely don't want them lambing in the field! 

[pharnorth]

Split them in two groups. The early one and two from the caught twice pack. That way there should be no more than a three week wait to get at least two of this group back out then bring in the others as they near time.

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

my for ryelands are pretty much all around a week within each other

its worked out ok as between the 2nd due and 3rd due there ae 10 days between
i have brought the first 2 in and then  next week i will bring the last 2 in

[Bionic]

I had the same problem when I first had my 6 girls.

The one that was due first I wanted to bring in, probably more for my own peace of mind. Anyway, I brought her in with a 'friend' for company. When she lambed I put her and her lambs in a pen on their own and put the other ewe back outside with the others. Kept them all in for a few days and then let mum and lambs out.

It worked well so that when each was due I brought them in and did the same.

[Fieldfare]

Hi Dans- I would leave them all out- they will be less stressed that way- and less work. Counting 5 months from being 'done' is not always that accurate I find (see the calculator at this website http://www.tvsp.org/gestation.html). As in humans the gestation period is not set to the day. Keep an eye on them (particularly at dusk) a couple of weeks before they are due lambing- on the night of lambing the ewe will find some shelter and scrape a bit of a 'nest'. She usually starts just before dusk and may lamb before midnight but if not just leave her if the lamb is not hanging out (if it is keep a watch and start 'thinking' about 'plan B' as you may need to act in the following hours). Go to bed and get up early the next morning. 9/10 you will have a lamb/lambs. Once mum has bonded a bit grab the lamb and get mum to follow you and it into an inside pen. Feed her well and Keep her in for 3 or so days so you can be sure there is good bonding and no risk of fox/badger attack. On turnout check her condition (pink eyelid colour? feet good?). Do this for all ewes in turn. I'm 110% happy if you want me on speed-dial as I have seen some problems in Castlemilks (one stuck badly presented stillbirth and a prolapse last year)- they are good, but not 100% without issues at lambing. If that sounds good PM me and I'll give you my new mobile no.!

[SallyintNorth]

I wouldn't lamb first time horned primitives indoors unless i absolutely had to.  You do need to be able to catch one if she's having trouble, but primitives mostly don't have trouble.  And once she's lambed and bonded, if you need to, you can get the lamb/s and she'll follow.  You won't catch them by day 3, though

[Marches Farmer]

I remember my sheep husbandry lecturer telling someone with Soays that all they'd need for lambing was a pair of binoculars.

[devonlad]

I think it partly depends on how tame they are and how used to being around you they are, We can now move our small flock around with very little stress to them or us, but it wasn't always so.
.The very  first year we lambed our young ewes were fairly skittish and didn't know us or the set up very well. we were on edge, they were on edge. we'd had them covered by a friendly farmers ram and we didn't even know exactly who was due when. we religiously brought all of them in every night for the best part of a fortnight, with 4 hourly checks. by the end of it we were totally frazzled and they all gave birth, by day out in the field with no issues.
since then we've chilled out a bit and also got better at knowing who's due when. we still prefer for them to come in by night when they are a day or so from  due date and most years the lambing gestation calculator is pretty much spot on for us.
as they're reasonably comfortable around us, bringing in the ones we want is not usually a big headache. our first one is due next Friday so we'll prob bring her and another who's due the following day in next weds night for the first time.
we've got one straggler this year who's about a fortnight after the other tight little group, but fortunately we've got a couple of last years ewe lambs floating about who we'll bring in with her for a bit of company.

last year was a bit of a pain as they were all dotted around with no tight little groups. we relied on our two older girls who are fairly tame and lambed early to co-operate and provide a bit of night time company when needed
we always prefer to lamb outdoors as its cleaner and just feels more natural. the only reason we bring them in at all is that we have badgers and foxes all around us and even on some of our land and when we moved in the previous owner warned us of badgers and foxes regularly  taking his newborn and even part born lambs - so we've always taken precautions just in case

Good luck with your first lambing experience. ours was terrifying and wonderful in equal measure- every year it gets a little less terrifying (this will be our 7th lambing year) but is always the most exciting wonderful time of our smallholding year

[bazzais]

Its a roller coaster, happens every year, be prepared not only in your actions but the disappointment and guilty feelings.

Just do what you can whenever you can.

Personally with that amount - I'd shelter them and get a microphone in the shed and maybe a camera - instead of watching late night news you stick it on and listen.

[Dans]

Thank you all, and sorry for the delay in replying.

All our paddocks are fairly small (about a 3rd of an acre), so we shall keep them in the one with the best grass at the time and let them lamb out there. They currently come running whenever they see us just incase we have a treat for them so it should be easy enough to catch one if needed, I think my hubby is actually a sheep whisperer.

Just a question about bringing them in post lambing. Can I still bring in just one? Will her lamb(s) be company enough?

We had the scanner come round and out of 6 shearlings we have 1 twin, 2 singles, 1 with a single but possibly a smaller twin and 2 empty. Unfortunately our tup only left 10 days before the scanner came. Is it possible that those girls could still be in lamb? We always said we would cull any that were empty to conserve our grass a bit, and these two are at the bottom of my estimate of 'meeting the breed standard', but I'm a bit terrified of sending them off if they do have lambs. Any advice? Other than these two it looks like our estimates based on the raddle paint are right.

[member=10275]Fieldfare[/member] We've been using that link to work out dates. We would very much like to take you up on that offer. Hopefully there will be no need though, but we'll have your number in the kitchen and out by the sheep. Thank you

I am both stupidly excited and dreading lambing at the moment!

Dans

[SallyintNorth]

If the two scanned geld have been with the tup all along, up until 10 days before the scanner came, then I'd say you're safe to cull them - they'll have had what, 10 weeks?to get themselves into lamb with a tup that clearly works.  Unless they were poorly early on or have any other excuse for not getting in lamb within the first four weeks. 

They've scanned empty now, so it's safe to send them off now.  But if you don't send them off now, and you think they may have caught the tup only a few weeks ago, then you possibly ought to wait until they can be scanned again, or are clearly empty when they should be getting large.  (Although it's very unlikely that they are in lamb, I'd say, from your description.)