The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Buffy the eggs layer on March 05, 2015, 06:31:58 pm
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As I am halfway through my lambing I had a little time today to reflect on what has gone well this lambing season and what can be improved on for next year.
So I thought that I would start a thread with a few of my top tips and encourage the rest of you to add your own top tips. So weather you have had to learn something the hard way or just got lucky, life or death or just light hearted, please share your secrets to a happy lambing period.
Here are my top ten!
1. Get organised - In the preceding weeks take the time to get on top of all those little jobs that need doing around the holding. You know, the dripping hose, the gate that needs a new hinge, the leaky chicken coop, the hook to hang the broom on, that outside light that needs fixing etc. You will be far too tired to tackle them between lambs and their bound to wind up needing urgent attention when you could do without it.
2. Plan ahead - make sure you buy any supplies, meds, feeds etc well in advance and make up the lambing shed a few weeks before you think your going to need it. Sheep have a habit of starting without you. Kit out your lambing shed in a flexible but systematic way that makes things easy and keep things tidy
3. Play to your strengths - organise your feeds, checks and chores around the best times for you. If this means getting the dog into a routine of going for a walk a little later or the ducks being put to bed a little earlier. Take sometime in the weeks before to introduce the new routine.
4. Get some sleep - cat nap, snooze or snore your socks off whenever or where ever you can. If you plodding about unable to think strait from fatigue then take a power nap. Even if you think your ewe is about to lamb. A 30 min snooze isn't going to affect anything much. You may even wake to find that she's done it all without you and if she does need your help, you will do a much better job if your relaxed and refreshed.
5. Stop staring - Sheep aren't lambing until they are lambing. A ewe who is panting, pacing, groaning and grinding her teeth can keep that up for days. So sitting on the edge of your seat in a drafty shed instead of snuggling in your bed is just going to wear you out well before the big event. When she is star gazing, straining, bleating, curling her upper lip back, laid on her side stretching out her legs or pacing round with a water bag hanging from her bottom.....Then shes lambing!
6. Focus on the positive - approach each lambing ewe with the expectation that she will lamb naturally herself without interference even if it takes her a while to do it. If the lambing is not straight forward see it as a learning curve and view every set back as temporary and every disappointment as an opportunity to readjust your expectations.
7.Phone a friend - Getting support and advice from the vet or an other breeder is not a failure it is a chance to get some valuable coaching from a highly skilled professional or an experienced shepherd.
8.Look after yourself - Lambing time takes it's toll. Sleepless nights, caring for sick sheep, learning the hard way, worrying about getting it right, not having the time or energy to shop or cook properly.Take some vitamins, order shopping on line and stock up with easy cook meals.
9.Take a break - lambing can be all consuming so put down the Smallholder catalog and the Tim Tyne books and do something to take your mind off the lambing shed. Pop to the shops, invite a friend round or watch a movie and give your brain a rest.
10. If all else fails, trust in your clever, friendly TAS pals to pull you through!
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Fantastic Buffy - thank you for posting.
On several occasions I had to go for a sleep in the afternoon to recharge - good advice!
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Buy in plenty of Gin? :innocent:
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oh dear, I can only tick number 1 and number 10 on your list!!!
My top tip is have a reliable friend who is an ace lamber who will answer the phone at any time of day or night and talk you calmly through your major disaster in clear, understandable instructions, and in the event of you being totally useless and unable to carry out their instruction, be willing to drive 20 miles at way over the speed limit, and finish the job for you!!!
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Leave the ram in for only 19 days so you know the end is in sight ... right from the beginning. Have a few baking sessions and stock up on really scrummy cakes ... everything looks better after a slice of cake. Decide whether you're going to clean the hall floor after lambing ... or simply plant radishes in the layer of mud.
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infact I didn't do number 1 but I did do number 2 :innocent:
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1. Patience
2. Sit on your hands
3. If you need to assist be gentle, take your time and use loads of lube.
4. Don't leave it too long to get more experienced help and don't put off calling out the vet if necessary.
5. Remember that 95% of ewes lamb unaided.
6. Enjoy it. Every lambing is a fantastic experience that you will never tire of seeing.
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The one tip from another thread I am REALLY going to heed this year is that they don't lamb in the middle of the night. Check them last thing and then at first light, but not in between unless they are well underway at the last check. Ask me in a few weeks if I managed to do that!!
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Hmmm, don't think my girls follow that rule about not lambing at night. Think I need to have a chat with them about it as I had a 2am lambing last year and the previous year a 3am birth. Still, it's a lovely way to see dawn breaking.
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The one tip from another thread I am REALLY going to heed this year is that they don't lamb in the middle of the night. Check them last thing and then at first light, but not in between unless they are well underway at the last check. Ask me in a few weeks if I managed to do that!!
Going to try to follow this this year. I checked mine last year before bed, once or twice in the night and first thing. and none of the night time ones were worth the loss of sleep. That being said, only a small number and recon when I wake in the wee hours I will sleep better if I get up and check, then go back to bed happy nothing is happening than if I lie there trying to tell myself for 45 minutes that nothing is happening and then getting up to check! Guess the gist is I'm not going to set an alarm but if I wake up, I'll get up. ::)
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This year we only have 5 potentially pregnant ewes, so we have set up a large enclosure round a field shelter that we plan to use to contain them in overnight in a slightly smaller area than a whole field. OK, it's a lot smaller but will make the midnight, or whenever, check much easier and potentially save the animals being disturbed by crazy head torch wearing night time visitors. Ours seemed to prefer the just before dawn birth which is still a bit on the dark side too so again easier to find them.
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Oow I'm loving all your tips and agree with them all! Old Shep, in respect of weather they lamb at night.... If believing that they wont helps you get a good nights sleep then hang on to that belief. You have to relax about it all at some point and reach a stage where you can get some perspective on it. Sounds like you have done that :thumbsup:
Many do lamb through the day or early eve and even if they do lamb at night, as ZakTL said the majority do it unaided. I do a bottle feed at 10 and unless a ewe is actually lambing by 10.30 I go off to bed. It takes a little to wind down so I stare at the lambing camera for a bit and unless they are actually giving birth I turn it off and go to sleep till my alarm at 4 for another feed. Some of mine have lambed at silly o'clock but most dont.
Even if one was straining at 10.30 if Im tired I would sleep for half an hour and check the camera again. A natural birth can take a number of hours before the ewe dilates enough to deliver the lamb so there is time for a nap. It would only be once the ewe was fully dilated that I would know if the lamb was mispresented and needed assisting or was suffering from ring womb and needed me to dilate her.
This site is a great resource but remember that most people post their problems, seeking advice so if you read lots of them you can freak yourself out with imagining that every TAS members lambing issues will befall your ewe.
Treud, I lamb indoors but I think your night pen is a brilliant idea for outdoor lambing. Before I had my camera I used to fold mine indoors on an evening for about a week before they were due. It's a huge help to have pens, light and shelter.
Trish.farm, could I have your friends number please? They sound lovely!
Marches farmer, I survive on chocolate minirolls. I can eat them in two bites and hold them in one hand. The wrapper means that I dont have to worry if my hands are clean. You do have to accept that you will put on a few pounds with this method though so thats another good reason to try and keep your lambing period short and sweet ( ha ha, see what I did there?[size=78%])[/size]
Keep em coming guys! :excited:
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This thread is really use full, thanks guys!
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Wonder if the lambing at night thing is an indoor/outdoor divide... Or breed specific? 15 ewes x 3 years outdoor lambing (not a huge sample, I know! ) and never had a night time lambing.... Untill I brought one indoors with staggers this year.
Echo all the great tips (not all of which do I feel I achieve- whatever I have in, I always seem to 'could do with...' Something else!) this year I was advised to have ewe boost, oxytocin, and sugar beet. And had to send hubby out for various tempting greens :-)
So far from what I had in I have used.... Gloves, lube (in the lambing kit gathering dust for 3 years) Lamb colostrum and lamlac, lamb kick start, calciject and twins lamb drench.
Biggest lesson so far is to keep positive - thought I would have to 'pet lamb' an unlicked lamb, but no.... And thought I was loosing a ewe and her twins at one point.... But no. Fingers crossed for us all xxxx
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Mine start next weekend, so in weeks run up I'm going to have to get used to getting up at first light. (I don't do night checks) Oh well, the dog will enjoy the early morning walk even if I don't! :)
Be patient. Try to stay relaxed. Eat well, keep hydrated. Like others have said stock up on quick cook meals and easy grab snacks, bottles of pop/water etc. oh and chocolate of course :)
And remember cleanliness is next to godliness .. so keep all equipment and pens (and yourself) as clean as you can to minimise germs, even if its a tedious job it will be worth it in the long run.
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FiB the night time lambing is an interesting observation. I have often pondered the events preceding lambing at night and wondered if there is a connection.
A member of our breed society compiled some stats for his own flock and afternoon lambing was the most common I think. Indoor lambing, artificial light etc could certainly have a bearing but I haven't had enough ewes lamb in the wee small hours to establish a pattern. The only consistent factor for my ewes is that they were all first timers so perhaps they started in the evening and just had a long labour? :thinking:
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I've never checked outdoor lambers after dark, as the worst thing would be to disturb a ewe that's lambed one and started another, and have her not get back to her firstborn.
It seems to us that they lamb outdoors at dusk and at dawn or nearly, and not usually in between overnight, though they do sometimes lamb in full daylight. First check at early light usually finds any of the morning's early crop.
If we have one looks like lambing last thing, we may catch her and bring her in, just in case. If a lamb born at dusk in March up here doesn't suck, it'll be dead by morning.
It's different if they're indoors. We've put them in an unnatural situation, a more risky situation, so we owe them the extra care. More risky because of the possibility of infection - we iodine all navels indoors and not at all outside, for instance. More risky as indoors often means in closer quarters with other sheep, so increased risk of muddles, stealing, one sheep attacking another ewe's lambs, etc.
But yes we all need to recognise that an absolute top priority is a shepherd who's had enough sleep to think straight and has the energy to be able to look after his/her charges. So sometimes a calculated risk must be taken for the greater good.
If I had 20 ewes, tupped as one group over 17 days, indoors with plenty of room, then unless it looked as though anyone was likely to lamb in the night, I would probably leave them till first light. Even if one does lamb, it's likely to be just one, so hopefully no muddles.
However, if I had 20 indoors that I'd AI'd, so they're likely to lamb in a tight batch, then I'd be checking every couple of hours so as to get lambers off to a pen with their lambs before anyone tries to pinch 'em.
(And, sorry to disappoint, but I have had 5 lambs born to 2 ewes indoors at 2am, and a right royal muddle with the two mothers and one who hadn't started yet but claimed one of the new lambs... ::))
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I do think that if they are indoors with the light on there is more chance of them lambing at night, so last year I made sure lights were turned off and had no night time lambs (I think I lambed about 25 ewes last year). So those that use webcams I'm presuming that you need the lights on, so I wonder if that makes more work through night time lambers than it saves?
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I bet you're right that overnight lights do make a difference - but I have to say, our overnight lambings occurred when no lights were on ;). Mind, we had a batch of 50 lambing indoors, probably about 30 of them still to go at the time, so on average you would expect 2-3 to lamb in any 24 hour period.
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All interesting stuff folks and part of the magical mystery that is sheep!
No lights on. I have a night view camera!
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My 2am and 3am girls both lambed with lights off too! I think my horse is the problem, as he is stabled in the same barn and when I go along to check on the sheep, he gets a carrot. I therefore think he has told the sheep to lamb at all times, just so he gets extra treats.
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Best tip of all.......
have time to sit and watch your lambs playing in the evening sun. 14 lambs, from 3 days old to 2 weeks old, all flying around the field together like they are in the grand national, taking it in turns to jump on and off the oak butts in the field. Total time wasters, but makes it all worth while. So wish I had a video camera, they are such a joy to watch!!! Now I know why I do this!!! (and because they taste nice :roflanim:)
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We lamb indoors - only 15 this year, 12 last year. I don't leave the lights on at night just check them with a torch at 10pm, 2am and 6am. Last year, 11 lambed at lunchtime and one at teatime. I'vethougt about droppig the 2am check but I'm too feart that I'd be tempting fate.
TBH after the first few days, I can get up, dressed (well, jammies into waterproof trousers and wellies), check the sheep, undress and get back into bed without waking up :)
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:roflanim: Thats a professional shepherdess !
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I haven't lambed this year but last year we lambed indoors. I stayed up until 2am watching TV and did a check before I went to bed then, depending on what I had to report, OH would get up at 4 or 6am. Usually nothing happened until 6am but if I hadn't checked earlier I wouldn't have slept anyway.
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Successful lambing starts months ahead---getting the ewes in the right condition and in good health ----culling the problem makers
Then when the time comes all you have to do is grab a flask of coffee & a pair of binoculars and watch from afar :)
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That's a good job Tim. It's all I'm going to be able to do with half of mine! ;D
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That's a good job Tim. It's all I'm going to be able to do with half of mine! ;D
I find that if I get out in the field before 8 am I am just wasting my time----if (rarely) there is a problem it only then becomes apparent
All the easy lambers have lambed and are suckling by then ---any still faffing around warrant a prolonged look (still through binoculars so as not to disturb them)-----actually catching and aiding birth is a last resort
More problems are caused by interfering shepherds than any other reason -----many shepherds seem to have an almost uncontrollable desire to box get involved, lambing is something sheep do not shepherds---
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That's a good job Tim. It's all I'm going to be able to do with half of mine! ;D
I find that if I get out in the field before 8 am I am just wasting my time----if (rarely) there is a problem it only then becomes apparent
All the easy lambers have lambed and are suckling by then ---any still faffing around warrant a prolonged look (still through binoculars so as not to disturb them)-----actually catching and aiding birth is a last resort
More problems are caused by interfering shepherds than any other reason -----many shepherds seem to have an almost uncontrollable desire to box get involved, lambing is something sheep do not shepherds---
Hmm, cant say I agree with your "most problems are caused by interfering shepherds than any other reason" and I don't think all my shepherd friends would be too impressed with that sweeping statement!!!
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That's a good job Tim. It's all I'm going to be able to do with half of mine! ;D
I find that if I get out in the field before 8 am I am just wasting my time----if (rarely) there is a problem it only then becomes apparent
All the easy lambers have lambed and are suckling by then ---any still faffing around warrant a prolonged look (still through binoculars so as not to disturb them)-----actually catching and aiding birth is a last resort
More problems are caused by interfering shepherds than any other reason -----many shepherds seem to have an almost uncontrollable desire to box get involved, lambing is something sheep do not shepherds---
Hmm, cant say I agree with your "most problems are caused by interfering shepherds than any other reason" and I don't think all my shepherd friends would be too impressed with that sweeping statement!!!
I am sure there will be plenty of shepherds who won't be too impressed but that doesn't change the fact ;)
The amount of 'professional ' shepherds I see that feel they have to assist any lamb that isn't born within 5 mins of them seeing a ewe in labour always amazes me :(
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All the "professional" shepherds I know, lambing 800 minimum ewes, have always told me and shown me to leave the ewes to lamb on their own. Only step in when the life of lamb or ewe is in danger. I know I am only a smallholder, with around 15 ewes, but mine all lamb outside, unaided, apart from this year where I used a Hampshire Tup and have struggled with massive lambs, which have been stuck with legs back etc or just a head out. Have left the ewes to struggle on their own but have had to step in. I usually go out in the morning to find newborn lambs waiting for me in the field.
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We put ours in the paddock next to the house and then just shine a lamping torch out the bedroom window periodically during the night to check. Very few nighttime lambs but they always seem to wait for the bad weather. :furious:
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All the "professional" shepherds I know, lambing 800 minimum ewes, have always told me and shown me to leave the ewes to lamb on their own. Only step in when the life of lamb or ewe is in danger. I know I am only a smallholder, with around 15 ewes, but mine all lamb outside, unaided, apart from this year where I used a Hampshire Tup and have struggled with massive lambs, which have been stuck with legs back etc or just a head out. Have left the ewes to struggle on their own but have had to step in. I usually go out in the morning to find newborn lambs waiting for me in the field.
And that's exactly how it should be. Leave the ewes alone whether lambing inside or outside, unless you feel it is necessary to assist. Head only out or large lamb with one leg back needs a little assistance for a good outcome. No need at all to assist in a normal presentation or to go diving in for second lambs. Patience and not panicking is key. There is certainly nothing wrong with helping out a ewe and although everyone likes to see lambs born and up and sucking when they go out to check on their ewes, it can't be expected 100% of the time. Gimmers especially deserve some extra tlc.
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All the "professional" shepherds I know, lambing 800 minimum ewes, have always told me and shown me to leave the ewes to lamb on their own. Only step in when the life of lamb or ewe is in danger. I know I am only a smallholder, with around 15 ewes, but mine all lamb outside, unaided, apart from this year where I used a Hampshire Tup and have struggled with massive lambs, which have been stuck with legs back etc or just a head out. Have left the ewes to struggle on their own but have had to step in. I usually go out in the morning to find newborn lambs waiting for me in the field.
And that's exactly how it should be. Leave the ewes alone whether lambing inside or outside, unless you feel it is necessary to assist. Head only out or large lamb with one leg back needs a little assistance for a good outcome. No need at all to assist in a normal presentation or to go diving in for second lambs. Patience and not panicking is key. There is certainly nothing wrong with helping out a ewe and although everyone likes to see lambs born and up and sucking when they go out to check on their ewes, it can't be expected 100% of the time. Gimmers especially deserve some extra tlc.
Thank you!! See, that's 2 of us who don't jump in and cause all the lambing problems Tim!!!
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That's good-----too many around with itchy hands though :)
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Oh well ! I think whats paramount is the well being of the ewe and her off spring.
We each deal with that in our own way. :sheep: Happy lambing :thumbsup:
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Good advice, HOWEVER, I had a ewe lying on her own for days, up and down, wandering aimlessly, but still eating. No sign of any classic labour indicators. Today, after watching her while I worked, I had another peek under her tail. Her bum has been hanging for days and I thought she'd lamb weeks ago.
Got a friend to hold her cos I wasn't happy and inside it was worse than trying to do a Rubik's cube! I had about 5 legs, an upside down head and eventually found a second head. After a lot of sighing from me as I couldn't get a matching pair of legs and nothing was budging, I phoned a friend (2nd friend as first was holding the ewe!). By the time he got there I had managed to find a little head and one leg and pulled out the tiniest ewe lamb. Next came a hefty ram lamb with both legs and head then finally managed to get the one coming backwards out. Thank god it was a black Welsh ram on a suffolk mule. Anything bigger and they wouldn't have made it.
So, whilst I agree with the advice, you need to know your ewes and go with your gut if you think something is wrong. If I'd left this one might not have had any survivors. Littlest one is enjoying some goats milk as not strong enough yet to fight for the teat.
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Exactly scotsgirl! Im no expert but anyone with any experience will never say " i always ...."
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Scotsgirl, sounds like a tricky one :o Well done for getting it sorted and intervening when you knew it was needed. Like you say, it's very useful to know your ewes well and keep a close check on them :thumbsup:
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Moving this thread back to it's original theme of top tips, I have thought of another.
Dont be fooled into thinking think that just because Rosemary checks her sheep in her Jammies and waterproofs, that you will take advantage of a mild and sunny morning and attempt to let the sheep out wearing a fluffy grey and white zebra stripe onsie complete with hood and pompoms and a pair of pink plastic clogs.
It startles, the hens, worries the sheep and unsettles your farming neighbours.
In other words.......don't take all comments on this site too seriously! :-J
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Dont be fooled into thinking think that just because Rosemary checks her sheep in her Jammies and waterproofs, that you will take advantage of a mild and sunny morning and attempt to let the sheep out wearing a fluffy grey and white zebra stripe onsie complete with hood and pompoms and a pair of pink plastic clogs.
In principle I still don't see a problem, however, if you are going to collect the escapee cade from the drive in your jammies make sure they don't have a rip in the bum where you caught them on a nail. It means you have to spend a lot longer than you wanted to talking to the people walking their dog down the road as you can't head back up the drive without them seeing your knickers!
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Dont be fooled into thinking think that just because Rosemary checks her sheep in her Jammies and waterproofs, that you will take advantage of a mild and sunny morning and attempt to let the sheep out wearing a fluffy grey and white zebra stripe onsie complete with hood and pompoms and a pair of pink plastic clogs.
Who wears knickers under jammies?
In principle I still don't see a problem, however, if you are going to collect the escapee cade from the drive in your jammies make sure they don't have a rip in the bum where you caught them on a nail. It means you have to spend a lot longer than you wanted to talking to the people walking their dog down the road as you can't head back up the drive without them seeing your knickers!
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People with big holes in their jammies!
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I don't wear knickers under my jammies 8)!
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I don't wear knickers under my jammies 8)!
I don't wear jammies!!!!
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LADIES PLEASE! I'm all for keeping people in the loop but must we be brought up to speed about the details of your pyjama and undergarment arrangements? ::) Thank goodness you don't lamb in the height of summer, you would probably be shepherding in a babydoll nightie and fluffy slippers. ;D
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^ I've decided to do that anyway. What the hell!
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Well I hadn't anticipated that my choice of underwear would prove more controversial than over or under-interferring in lambing!
I suspect I over-interfer (a trait I'm trying hard to combat) but have never had a bad outcome when I have had to intervene. I'm a belt and braces (and an extra pair of knickers) kind of gal! :innocent:
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HA ha! :excited:
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If you want a happy lambing buy a Charmoise tup! :D sorry everyone - had to say it!
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:roflanim: I hate to say I do go out and check in my pj's, sometimes I will put waterproofs over to save scaring the goats!
I can't remember if it was on the list but putting vet (emergency line) on speed dial is a must. When I tried to phone I only had daytime number and vet who's on maternity leave. A slight sense of panic overcame me at that point!
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I can't remember if it was on the list but putting vet (emergency line) on speed dial is a must.
Definitely!!!
Might be a little shocked if the vet turned up in her PJ's though!
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Good tip about the vets number. I have mine in my phone. Unfortunately I get so punch drunk with fatigue that I forget to take it with me and it sits on the the kitchen workshop with the 4 hourly alarm going off every 10 mins.
So, can I add.....AND TAKE IT WITH YOU!
As I was lubing up a rather enormous, partly protruding lambs head on Saturday afternoon (while avoiding its blue lolling tongue) I thought of a couple of other useful supplies.
A big roll of that blue paper that you can get from auto jumbles and cleaning product purveyors. Its strong and absorbent but dosent break up and stick to wet things. Also I put a pump of that sterilising hand gel in the lambing box this time which has been handy. Its great when you need to act quickly and dont have the time to boil a kettle and wash your hands. You can scrub your nails with it two.