The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Little Landy Lover on April 20, 2014, 11:26:17 pm
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Hello again...
Right, Ewes nearing/ on due date. When I've been out at night to check on them at least 3-5 of them are breathing heavily and stopping (breathe in. stop. breathe out then in rapidly) and have been doing this for a few nights but don't when the sun is showing any light. Are they simply imminent and not wanting to lamb due to the rotten weather? This is my first year checking on the ewes, I've only ever been delivering and documenting, never seen them in the days before. can anyone shed any light or am I being styuppid?
Cheers
Arch
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2 Cotswolds, 2 clleyns (1 already lambed), 2 Lambuenogs (Spelling for both?) a Jacob and Jeffex (no one knows, many different breeds in her...)
I'm was just wondering if its something else, a few of them have bubbly guts and occasional farting which seams to be related to the breathing. forgot to mention that :huff:
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If ruminants aren't burping and farting then something is wrong - it's how their digestion works! They should burp roughly once or twice a minute.
What you are seeing is your ewes bringing up a cud to chew. Perfectly normal. If you watch, after the holding their breath looking a bit otherwhere, when they start breathing again they will also be chewing. That tells you 1. that they are content, 2. that they have enough to eat and 3. that they are not going to lamb anytime soon.
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Sallys description is spot on. I too have spent my time watching my sheeps breathing ::) . Rapid shallow breathing is more indicative of a potential lambing although not to be mistaken for just being hot ;D .
Even so this change can be noticed anything up to 24 hours before the actual birth, so probably best to have a cuppa put your feet up and check back later. There will be other more definative signs that are considerably more reliable.
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Well two of the ones that weren't breathing as such have lambed today, 1 had triplets which are all ok, the other had twins which are suckling but aren't getting enough milk so I'm keeping them topped from a bottle!
I'm now 1/3 of the way through my lambing!!
Cheers