Best way to divide up my sheep?

[Guest pax]

I have a single lamb/mom pair. The lamb was born in April. I thought eventually the ewe would push her off and wean her without me interfering but she's still nursing and the ewe is starting to look a hair ribby.

 

I want to lock the ewe up for at least a couple of days to get her off the green stuff (what there is of it) and to stop the nursing.

 

I only have 4 other adult ewes, in addition to the one I want to put up.

 

What's the best way to divide them up? I'm thinking, locl up the nursing ewe and one other medium rank ewe. Will just two worry themselves? Should it be more? I want to leave the top ewe out with the lamb, it's dumb friend, and the other ewe, so they have a normal-ish flock.

 

Do I need more sheep?

 

Would it be better to ask the vet for something to dry her up?

 

Thanks, you guys. I just don't want her to freak out in there if I pick the wrong one (or if only picking one) is the wrong thing to do.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

The lamb's a tad young for the ewe to wean on her own yet - I've got a few that were born a bit before that, that I'm leaving on to self wean (I've got plenty of food so I'm not worried about the ewes' condition).

 

Watch the condition of the lamb, not the ewe, unless you are going to breed back the ewe right away or the ewe is in very bad shape or losing weight really fast. Most good ewes will start looking a little peaked at the end of the lactating cycle. Then she'll be on an increasing plane of condition when she goes into the next breeding cycle, which will trigger her body to release multiple eggs and result in twins or triplets - assuming she's genetically so inclined.

 

The reason I don't force wean at this time of year is the heat and stress of parasites - summer lambs need every advantage they can get. Weaning a single ewe can be really tricky - stress can lead to mastitis too, in addition to just being pulled off the lamb.

 

I'd honestly just leave that lamb on - in another two or three weeks the light will start getting shorter and she'll wean the lamb on her own to prepare for breeding, if nothing else.

[kelpiegirl]

Of COURSE more sheep would be good I would see who hangs with who, and put the lamb out with some of the other ewes (nice ones) and put the mother and one other up. That will give a nice group for the lamb, and the mother will have a friend. You need to separate so she can dry up. There will be some vocalizing, but that is natural. Does momma have a full bag still? If so, you will need to not feed grain for a while, until she dries up. It took my ewes about 4 weeks to go back to non-nursing bag.

Julie

 

I have a single lamb/mom pair. The lamb was born in April. I thought eventually the ewe would push her off and wean her without me interfering but she's still nursing and the ewe is starting to look a hair ribby.

 

I want to lock the ewe up for at least a couple of days to get her off the green stuff (what there is of it) and to stop the nursing.

 

I only have 4 other adult ewes, in addition to the one I want to put up.

 

What's the best way to divide them up? I'm thinking, locl up the nursing ewe and one other medium rank ewe. Will just two worry themselves? Should it be more? I want to leave the top ewe out with the lamb, it's dumb friend, and the other ewe, so they have a normal-ish flock.

 

Do I need more sheep?

 

Would it be better to ask the vet for something to dry her up?

 

Thanks, you guys. I just don't want her to freak out in there if I pick the wrong one (or if only picking one) is the wrong thing to do.

[Guest pax]

Rebecca, thank you. That's good to hear. No, the lamb is fine, and the ewe just looks a tad ribby compared to the other ones. I will leave well enough alone then, because to be honest I just never considered I hadn't given it long enough. I'm down with letting nature take it's course, where I can. Yay!

 

Julie... I may get a few more, I still have some green stuff and I may get some foster sheep soon until their home paddock is feeling a bit more chewy.

 

I'm not feeding anything but sheep mineral right now, and a flake of hay if they are locked up for some reason.

 

I've weaned mares and foals. We just did them in the pairs they tended to graze in. I lived in fear for years of the cattle farmer next door starting his "Weaning Week". There isn't much as pitiful as a baby calling for it's mama. I will be glad to be able to avoid that for now.

[juliepoudrier]

Celia,

I'm pretty much doing as Becca suggested here as well, mainly because of space issues. I *have* to pull the ram lambs off soon or face consequences I don't want to think about (I've been counting on the hot weather and their "babyness" to prevent unwanted breeding), but the ewe lamb will just stay with her mama until mama weans her. I'd do the same with the ram lambs if they were wethers instead of rams.

 

J.

[Lenajo]

If I left my lambs on they wouldn't wean until the ewe was skeletal.

 

I wean at 4 months, sometimes 5, and do so by taking the ewes away on putting them on no water for 24 hours, water and dry lot for 72 hours, then medium grade pasture. The screaming from the lambs is minimal, usually only one evening, because the lambs are at "home" and by that point the ewes really dont' care. I do try to make sure at least 2 fences are between - directly contact exacerbates the process.

[hsnrs]

What a great question. We weaned at 2 months with no problems (suggested by a friend). When the lamb and mom were reunited several months later she let him nurse again. Now she is looking skinny again. N