[Yeoman]

I hope those of you who have started lambing are all doing well.


I have a quick question...

One of my first time ewes was bagging up nicely over the last few weeks - like the other first time ewes.  Now she seems to have nothing much showing at all.


I wondered whether ewes experience variations in their hormone levels that had cause the bag to slowly appear only to disappear later.


Has anyone else seen a bag fade away?

[Marches Farmer]

Never seen that one.  When was she due?  If lamb failed in utero it may have been reabsorbed.  Lots of ewes are dry or drying up after 3 or 4 weeks this year.  They need body fat to produce milk and if they haven't got it the lambs will die but the ewe will survive to breed the next year - Mother Nature being efficient, I guess.  If this is the case it won't matter how much high energy feed she has - it will help her survive but not to produce milk.

[Sbom]

She could have aborted the lambs and so is now drying up.