[Penninehillbilly]

Ok, i know the situation isn't ideal but-
I have 2 sheep,  last year I borrowed a top,  (big dream of increasing my 'flock') . 1 sheep lambed to the day I expected, the othe, Big Fat, didn't lamb, i know she was covered at least twice. I put a ring on lambs tail, but it was getting too dark to ring his bits, then it was too late, over a week.
Then Big Fat decided to die, which left just Black and her son.
Couldn't leave her on her own, so son stayed with her, presumably she will be in lamb to him, that's not a problem, only first in-cross. I just have no idea when she will be due.
But
a, are there any visible clues as to when she may be due to , and
b. Will the boy harm the lamb?
She isn't looking over fat yet, they are just getting haylage.
Thanks

[Fleecewife]

It's not really possible to tell early on without scanning - sheep all have big bellies for digesting all that grass.  However, if she has lambed before, which she has, then she should have no problems, so why worry?  You will just go to check on her one day and find her happily delivered.
Closer to the time, you will see her bagging up, so you will know she is in lamb, and heading towards birth, but even then you won't know when.  But remember, a watched pot never boils 

As for the tup, I would assume that yes, he will butt at the lamb, and maybe even at his mother once she is in labour.  Many people have had no problems with keeping a tup in with lambing ewes, but I have (and from a demented wether) so I would say 'better safe than sorry' and eat him.

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks FW,  I'll gladly dispose of him, i was planning on him going in autumn, but don't want Black to be distressed on her own, only other way would be to bring her in with the goats, that's not practical, Best I can think of, if i can see she looks somewhere near, to put him on there other side of a stock fence, but that's in some trees planted by others, (our land, planting scheme where they plant and care for, not sure they'd be happy about a sheep in there). But for that I have to recognise signs - I didn't last time :-).

[Fleecewife]

Once she actually goes into labour you have an hour to an hour and a half before she will lamb.  She will go off to a corner, or into a shelter, be quite restless, stand up, sit down, turn around, paw the ground and generally look like she has something on her mind.  Keep an eye on her udder before that - a ewe which has lambed previously will usually bag up well before she actually has the lamb, so once that's getting tight then check her frequently. ( If you have two indoor pens, you might want to bring the ewe and the tup into neighbouring pens, where they will be happy for a week or two, just to be sure there are no problems with him.)

Once she starts to push when she's doing one of her lying down bits, and her waters break, leaving a stringy bit hanging, you haven't got long til the lamb is born, and it would cause more problems than it would cure to remover the tup at that point, unless he's very docile.  Just stay and watch if that happens, so you can keep an eye on them both.  Then send the laddie off as soon as you can arrange it.
A ewe on her own with just her lambs is not ideal, but it's better than her being on her own.
You could try them back all together carefully watched, if you have time, in case he's a model of gentleness with the lamb.

[Marches Farmer]

I wouldn't keep the tup in with the ewe and lamb - adjacent pens up until she lambs OK - but it would only need one nudge from a ram to kill a new lamb and you can't be there 24/7. 

[Fleecewife]

If you put them in adjacent pens, make sure there is a solid barrier between the two, as lambs can squeeze under most hurdles.