[InadvertentShepherdess]

Hello all, this is my first post so be gentle! We have a depressed ewe that lost a single lamb. She’s either sleeping or hanging out as close to the ram as she can get (through a double fence). How long would you give her to recover from her pregnancy before putting her to the tup again? I would have thought she’d need six months to recover properly, but she seems keen and I want her to be a happy sheep! She’s a Valais Blacknose if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance.

[shep53]

Depends on the best time to lamb for you and the sheep eg in with ram now would lamb early feb ,  rain /snow /cold needing lots of bought in feed , time off for you  to supervise ? do you have a shed / shelter ?

[SallyintNorth]

I would trust her hormones, but yes, think about the consequences of the time she lambs on your ability to care for the family - and to be able to get hold of a foster lamb for her if it happens again, so that she doesn't have to suffer this heartache twice.  (So if no-one around you puts tups out yet, wait a bit, or there won't be any foster lambs for her if you need one.)

[bj_cardiff]

How old was the lamb that she lost? Does she still have milk or had the lamb self weaned? It could be that the lamb was actually weaned and the ewe is ready to breed now. Is she with other sheep - it might be company she is after rather then the ram - if she was cycling and in a field next to a ram I imagine he would climb the fence (or break it down) to get with her!

I would think it would take around a minimum of 1 month for a ewe that had lost a young lamb, (around 6 weeks for example) to dry up and then start cycling and be ready for the ram.

[InadvertentShepherdess]

Thank you everyone. The lamb was pretty much stillborn about a week ago. It drew breath for maybe 30 seconds, but it was about 3 weeks premature and so tiny. ? I’m not intending to put the ram in with my other girls until October, so maybe I’ll see how she is then. I’m more concerned about the toll it would take on her physically to be pregnant again so soon. It would be easier if she was in sync with others I must admit, then I could put another lamb on her if I needed to. I’ve got one ewe that normally has three anyway!

[harmony]

Was she tupped late then?


I would like to know why she lost the lamb before I put her back with ewes going to the tup. If she was last years lamb and was tupped by mistake and wasn't fit enough to carry and produce a healthy lamb then I wouldn't tup her this year. What's her condition score?

[InadvertentShepherdess]

She was tupped in April. This is quite normal for Valais. She’s previously had twins with no issues. Her condition score is 3. The vet has seen her and we just don’t know why she lost the lamb. Obviously it’s an expensive loss for us, and we don’t want it to happen again. I’m more concerned about her well being than anything else though. She’s my girl and I love her.

[twizzel]

You could always put her back out with ram to lamb next spring. If she’s ready, she will be cycling and hold service. If she’s not, she won’t. Have you blood tested her for toxo? That can present as very weak live lambs or stillborn, and if that’s the case you ought to vaccinate her and the rest of flock before going back to the ram.

[harmony]

I didn't know that it was normal to tup Valais in April. Thanks for explaining. Why is that?


Echo Twizzel's comment above.