Author Topic: Searching for her babies (Read 4358 times)

Fleecewife · « **on:** April 18, 2014, 08:51:54 am »

A couple of days ago my very widest Heb ewe started some behaviour I've seen before but never going on for so long. She started rushing around the paddocks, shouting and calling for her lambs, checking out everyone else's to make sure they weren't hers, and generally being a bereft mother. The thing was, she hadn't lambed yet

. When another, bottom of the pecking order ewe started to lamb, I was sure Lunan would try to steal the lambs, but she didn't

just carried on dementedly searching for her own.
Eventually, during last night she produced a giant single ewe lamb - just the one from that enormous overstuffed sofa-type belly

She's shut up at last, but at least we had due warning she was about to lamb.
Always something interesting going on

So she's the last of our Hebs to lamb, all problem-free. Just the big fat lazy Shetlands to go

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #1 on:** April 18, 2014, 09:14:51 am »

Great that you've had a problem-free lambing ! (I am very envious.)

I have seen lambing ewes keep looking for the lambs that aren't born yet, but I haven't seen the behaviour you describe Lunan doing.

As you say, always something new to observe and to learn!

Hellybee · « **Reply #2 on:** April 18, 2014, 10:18:40 am »

Aww bless her, glad she's happy now with her baby, we ve had some frantic behaviour like that too, and second ly the other one was rookies being obsessed with following they're afterbirth behind them, not noticing the baby theyve just lambies in front of them...,bloody sheep eh lol xx

moony · « **Reply #3 on:** April 18, 2014, 01:50:17 pm »

We had an old hebridean ewe this year that stole one of a first timers twins and took it down the other end of the field. Luckily we noticed straight away as the first timer wasn't bothered in anyway. The older ewe lambed later that day with twins. First time that has happened to us, and hopefully the last.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** April 18, 2014, 02:34:18 pm »

Quote from: SallyintNorth on April 18, 2014, 09:14:51 am

Great that you've had a problem-free lambing ! (I am very envious.)

Ha - not totally. One of the Shetland ewes lambed just now - big tup lamb, dead as a doornail ewe lamb, born dead and unrevivable. I'm sure those Shetlands are too fat - think once they've weaned their lambs they're going on reducing diets over winter and we won't breed them next year. They stuff themselves with cake, unlike Hebs which just eat what they need.

So just the last Shetland to go.

It's beautifully

here - best day this year

Bionic · « **Reply #5 on:** April 18, 2014, 04:25:53 pm »

Aww, sorry to hear about your dead lambs. We had one. It's not nice. I didn't even look to see what sex ours was. I was upset enough without that.

I think a couple of mine were a bit on the fat side too. One in particular will eat until she pops if you let her. I had to keep my eye on them to make sure the others got their share. She had a partial prolapse a few days before she was due and I am sure being overweight was the problem.

Brucklay · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2014, 10:15:27 pm »

Lambing my primitives here is progressing steadily - also at local farm for a lambing shift - today my observations - Suffocks are doppy, my first so bit worried about her size but managed to trick her into a pen then it was straight forward - I must admit my favorite pastime is outwitting sheep, if you can outwit a castlemilk it's a good day

Fleecewife · « **Reply #7 on:** April 19, 2014, 12:14:17 am »

Quote from: Bionic on April 18, 2014, 04:25:53 pm

Aww, sorry to hear about your dead lambs. We had one. It's not nice. I didn't even look to see what sex ours was. I was upset enough without that.

Just the one Sally so at least the mum has one to raise. The twin is a big robust male, now a wether. Hope his fleece turns out nice, then he can join last years little chap and be a fleece wether for a few years - too early to tell yet

Looks like he will be our only Shetland, as we found this afternoon that the second Shetland ewe doesn't have the least hint of an udder, so either she's empty or she isn't going to lamb for at least a week or two. She has until mid-May.
Even more reason not to breed them next year. Hebs are so simple in comparison. Heaven knows how I would cope with Suffolks - my elder son worked as a shepherd for a while with Suffolks - he hated lambing them as they would drop their lambs then just wander off as if nothing had happened (they can't all be like that of course or the breed would die out rapidly)

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #8 on:** April 19, 2014, 01:47:43 am »

Oh, sounds like the Shetlands are being a real pain.

I guess the Hebs are a hard act to follow

Please don't ever use the phrase 'fleece wether' in BH's hearing - he has no idea I may ever hold onto such an animal beyond its first fleece

Although he has now agreed I can have a Shetland tup

- so he'll need a companion, huh

As to Suffolks - hereabouts I don't think anyone lambs them outdoors. Nor in Exmoor either. So they probably could wander off and leave their lambs and the breed survive..

Fleecewife · « **Reply #9 on:** April 20, 2014, 12:02:38 am »

My best fleece sheep were all FLEECE WETHERS

I kept quite a few and they did absolutely nothing all year (except eat) then get shorn then go back to doing not a sausage. They weren't of course cost effective even though I could sell their fleeces for way above average so after about 7 years of building up the mini flock we ate them (other reasons too). They were pretty fat, on no exercise and plenty of grass.
Just build their numbers up slowly Sally, sneak in one each year and he'll be too busy to notice