[Womble]

Hi Sally, We do have a couple of bays inside that we can bring them into if the weather is awful, but at the moment we don't have the facilities for lambing everybody indoors. Our stock came from various different places, some of which lamb indoors (Z show flocks mostly lamb at Christmas), and some outdoors.

Ours lamb outdoors in a small paddock, then we move them to another paddock once they're settled.  We put the livestock trailer in there, and also have a 6'x4' mobile field shelter which goes by the name of Soweto  . We put straw in both of these and they'll often seek them out as places to lamb.

I have to say, 'Soweto' works particularly well. After it's been used, we muck out the straw, drag it to a clean patch of grass and then re-bed it.

[SallyintNorth]

Thanks for the info, Womble.  Actually your system sounds similar to ours for the Zwarbs. 

Belinda did come from a show breeder, so you're probably right they'll lamb at Xmas and therefore indoors.  Gwyneth came from the same place and was exemplary, I should add.

[zwartbles]

This 7yr old ewe has had 4 sets of triplets, then a year off, and rewarded us this year with quads.
She feeds three and we bottle feed one. But she is a terrible mother, she will only let two lambs jump on her at once  .
We lamb outdoors unless the weather is bad and then they go into field shelters with a hurdle across the front for 48 hours for bonding.
We find they are pretty good mothers and so easy to work with. Narrow shoulders make for easy lambing with very few problems. This year 23 lambs from 11 ewes.

[SallyintNorth]

Awww..  bless her.  Quads!?!? 

We lamb outdoors unless the weather is bad and then they go into field shelters with a hurdle across the front for 48 hours for bonding.

Do you mean you only pen them if the weather is bad, or all new families are penned for 48 hours?

[zwartbles]

All new families in 6 foot pens some come out for a bit after 24 hrs then go back in for a second night.

[zwartbles]

She is a terrible mother! I  rest my case!

[silkwoodzwartbles]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was wondering how everyone got on lambing their Zwartbles this year? Did you make any changes pre/post tupping and have they resulted in better mothering at birth?

I did everything "by the book" this time with my ewes - they were on plenty of grub, wormed as appropriate based on the results of worm count tests, given a Selenium, Vitamin B12 and Cobalt drench pre tupping and 6 weeks pre-lambing when also Heptavac'd and still my first two ewes to lamb didn't take to their lambs. The one actively rejected one of her twins but finally accepted the other after a good long time penned together and the other has accepted her lamb but he's not got much will to live.

Following a chat with another breeder, I drenched my remaining two ewes again and fingers crossed we've turned a corner as the one ewe lambed this morning and when I got to the yard, the lamb was up, dry and suckling and the ewe was being very attentive (this is one I considered culling out last year for bad mothering!) Very pleased (and relieved!)

The other ewe is due next Thursday and I may well dose her again before then.

I will be getting the vet to take blood samples from the ewes after weaning and if any deficiencies show up, bolus appropriately rather than relying on drenches.

[zwartbles]

We are due to start in 2 weeks with our normal routine. Out in the mud this year until 2 days before due then into a smaller paddock until they start. Then either lambed out in the paddock and moved into pens in field shelters or moved in when they start if they are co-operative!! Had one ewe who would lamb herself and then try and flatten anyone who came near the lambs until she was offered food. Then you could do whatever you wanted!!!
Will report progress.

[Buttermilk]

Two left to lamb.  It has been a good year so far with nothing needing help, six sets of twins and two triplets.  However one ewe had mastitis, I expected it as she developed an abcess on her udder three weeks prior to lambing.  Two shearlings are not in lamb but as I did not scan I do not know if that is due to losing lambs or not having started cycling before the rams came out.

They stayed out in the mud field with big bale haylage and trough feed/lick bucket until they looked close to lambing then moved across onto the yard with access to some stables, one of which is set up with the lambing pens.  Not had any mothering problems or problems getting the lambs onto the bottle where needed.

I will have jinxed the last two now saying that.

[SallyintNorth]

We cut right back on Zwartbles this year, retaining only two.  Both experienced and good mothers.  We sadly had to cull one of the better ewes after an udder problem; it didn’t go on into full-blown mastitis but left her udder with fibrous lumps.  So as we were reducing numbers, it would have been bonkers to keep her in favour of either of the others.

Lambing starts 1st April for us, so I’ll report after that.  Assuming the weather and grass are good, the two Zwartbles and one or two other larger sheep will go into the very sheltered field near the barn, so they’ll be handy if they do need to come in.  The rest of the lambers (we tupped 9 this year) will be in one of the larger fields where they can get away from the public glare .  The native types like privacy in a familiar field, and I like to let them get on with their job in peace - keeping an eye through binoculars and only approaching if there seems to be a problem until everyone is born, licked and suckled.