Author Topic: Rig sheep and ewe lamb (Read 3432 times)

JMB · « **on:** September 15, 2013, 02:44:41 pm »

Hello.
We have rig sheep, 18 months old, with just one testicle which is still up inside his body.
I know that he could still, potentially, breed, but is this highly unlikely, unless it gets very very cold ? Or is it too risky to leave him with the flock? (We don't have alot of room, and the other option is to get rid of him, which looks likely, but I'm covering all my options...)
We only have a few sheep, and it wouldn't be a disaster if the ewe got pregnant, but we have a ewe lamb at 5 months old.
So my next question is, could she get pregnant at this age? ( shes a hebridean/shetland cross and very little) And if she did get pregnant, what would be the impact on her??
Thank you
Joanne xxxxxx

Hillview Farm · « **Reply #1 on:** September 15, 2013, 05:04:17 pm »

There is a high chance of him getting them in lamb. And yes your ewe lambs can get in lamb from that age and if they are not up to a good enough weight then the ewe lambs can be stunted (height wise) and you risk getting stuck lambs if she is too small!

Get rid, he'll taste nice!

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #2 on:** September 15, 2013, 05:14:38 pm »

Gotta agree, get rid.

We unwittingly kept one such and ended up with late May lambing hoggs - 147 days after the temperature plummeted to -15C...

So whilst the probability is that he'll fire blanks at the moment, there's a much bigger risk that he will successfully tup your ewes and your ewe lamb in deepest winter