The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: lesbri on March 22, 2020, 08:46:09 am

Title: Trimming wool in lambed ewes
Post by: lesbri on March 22, 2020, 08:46:09 am
Can I ask, those of you with "woolly" sheep do you routinely trim a pathway to the udder for your new lambs? Im asking as I have romneys with huge fleeces and lamb outside.

I found a ewe this morning with new twins, I think born in the night as they were completely dry, up and skipping around. Ive iodined the navels and if she had lambed inside I would have trimmed her fleece to help the lambs find her udder but as she lambed outside and the lambs must have fed as they are so lively I am wondering if I should stress her by catching her and trimming her or just leave her be? What would you do?  :wave:
Title: Re: Trimming wool in lambed ewes
Post by: bj_cardiff on March 22, 2020, 10:15:11 am
If  they have obviously fed and are happy and skipping around I wouldn't bother! The only time I have is when I had ewe lambs that had a lot of fleece as they had never been short. I just used scissors to trim the fleece on the top of the legs. In retrospect I was quite paranoid about lambs finding the udder in those days, these days I find it very rare to have a lamb that doesn't find it, maybe only 1 in 40 or weak lambs??
Title: Re: Trimming wool in lambed ewes
Post by: SallyintNorth on March 22, 2020, 12:42:12 pm
The key thing is to check that each lamb has a good bellyful of milk, and to take action if not.  You would do that whatever breed and whatever circs.

I tell everyone to believe nothing but a full belly in any circs.  Seeing a lamb under a ewe, sucking away and waggling its tail, is not a good indicator of anything except hunger and questing ;)   They can be sucking wool, or the leg, in any ewe, not just a very woolly one ;)

ETA I did have to help my Wensleydale with her first two lots of lambs.  Wool trimming may have helped with the second, but she was just being an idiot first-time mum with the first.  Lol.

If you find you do get problems this time, with more than one or two, and you want to avoid it next time, then next year, crutch them a few weeks before lambing - when you do heptavac, or copper, or other intervention.