Lambing related, what to expect...

This blog has been created for people who are new to sheep or who don't know much about lambing.

I would like to be able to help educate others in some small way.

I am going to keep it simple and not go too in depth.

Signs that your sheep is pregnant...

Here is a photo of a sheep's 'lady parts' who is not pregnant and one who is pregnant and has 2.5 months until her due date. It gives you an idea of the changes that start happening.

Not pregnant (below)

Pregnant (below)

Usually you will see the udder start to develop about 6 weeks before giving birth, this happens slowly.

The lambs grow the most in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy and it is important they get extra high quality feed during this period.

The next photo below shows you the udder and vagina of a sheep 1 day before she lambed. See how she is very pink and puffy and the ligaments are all slack. It's important to note, that every sheep is different.

When a sheep is close to lambing they find a birthing site away from the other sheep and start to nest. This includes pawing at the ground which is what the photo below shows

When labour starts the water bag emerges, the photo below shows this. Featured in this photo is a different one of our sheep and that is the spot she picked.

Once she is actively pushing you should see two feet and then a nose. This is the correct presentation and unless it is a huge lamb, it should come on it's own.

Unfortunately the birthing video is too big for me to upload here but I have uploaded videos to youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDUWufnno7c and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zFBtMFGVfw

Photo below showing the correct presentation

Then as she pushes more the head emerges (see below)

When the lamb has been born, the ewe licks the lamb. This is all part of the very important bonding process.

Our sheep are very bonded with us and trust us completely.

We weigh our lambs and put iodine on their umbilical cords, putting iodine on their cords helps prevent umbilical infections that can lead to joint ill.

When the ewe below lambed it is was rough stormy night so once she was dry we also put a wool over jacket on the lamb to keep her warm & they stayed in the shed overnight. I recommend rubbing the wool over on mum and the lamb before putting it on. It helps the ewe accept the lamb with no problems.

It is very important to ensure that the new lamb/s get colostrum once they are up and standing. It is instinct but it can be helpful to gently squeeze the ewes teats to dislodge the wax plug so that the lamb can drink freely.

Below are new born lambs, as the lamb has it's first drink of colostrum the ewe will often lick it's bottom to help stimulate it to drink.

A few basics for your lambing kit:

Towels

Lube

Iodine (for lambs cords)

Gloves

Paper towels/rubbish bag

Bulb syringe

Woolover lamb jackets

Scales if you have them

Pen and paper

Colostrum, bottle and teat in case it's needed

If you have shelter or sheds it really does save lives in winter or wet/windy spring weather.

*I also recommend talking to your vet about having them administer antibiotics and pain relief if your sheep has a long painful assisted birth.*

I have made another blog about our 2019/2020 lambing.

I hope this blog has been useful.