Author Topic: are any of our other ewes going to lamb ever? (Read 6428 times)

in the hills · « **Reply #15 on:** April 07, 2012, 06:02:52 pm »

I didnt raddle the ram that we borrowed this time. I wasnt sure how useful it would be on our .. small scale .. lambing. We only have 7 ewes. I found the first lamb dead in the field and dont know for certain whether it was full term or came too early. Our sheep mentor came to have a look but he wasnt certain because of course he was used to dealing with commercials and not our tiny primitives. I suppose if I had raddled the ram we would have more idea what happened. It would also I think be good to have more idea as to who was due, late or whatever.

How often do the lambs arrive on their due date? How far over the due date can they go? How early could a lamb arrive and still be viable?

jaykay · « **Reply #16 on:** April 07, 2012, 06:08:14 pm »

I tend to find the sheep I've lambed are pretty accurate about their due date. The Roughs were spot on 148 days, the , and Shetlands so far, on 146 days. They don't often go more than a day either side.

Mel Rice · « **Reply #17 on:** April 07, 2012, 07:31:36 pm »

My two girls lambed exactly four weeks appart, yet they went in with the ram together. I think the first pair were a bit early as their skins seemed a bit too big, they were all wrinkly (mum was a first timer too) The second pair arrived already bigger than the first two..... all four doing very well now.

jaykay · « **Reply #18 on:** April 07, 2012, 09:37:04 pm »

A sheep's cycle is 17 days and it depends where in the cycle they are when they go in with the tup when he'll mate with them and get them in lamb. The two could easily have been at different points in their cycle and it sounds as though the later one was only got in lamb the second time round.