Caseysmom Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 Who's lambing now? How's it going? This will be my first time. I only have 3 ewes and I'm a nervous wreak. I have electrolytes, milk replacer, some other colostrum supplement, vaccines, Pen-G, needles, syringes, stomach tube and BIG syringe, bucket feeder, pritchard teat, soda bottles, chopped up flannel sheet, Vitamin E drench,a leg noose and iodine. One ewe appears to be bagging up, otherwise they just look like they swallowed whole watermelons. They are tired of me stalking them with a flashlight too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 Hi, Best way to make sure your ewes have lambs is to: 1. Get invited to a fancy dinner party. 2. Get dressed, heels, makeup, expensive dress, the works as well as the spouse. (brand new dress) 3. As you walk out the door, just glance over to the barn and see a ewe giving birth and it's dark enough so you can't tell if she is in trouble. 4. Leap over electric fence in heels in a single bound. 5. Have spouse help you in his suit. 6. Find out ewe is ok after all (after a bit) 7. Look at each other and laugh and call your friends and tell them you won't be coming. 8. Repeat as necessary. Seriously...my ewes have started to lamb. I stay out of their way and they do just fine. Lambs are up in minutes and nursing. If you do want a good sheep book to read....Laura Lawson has 2 good books. "Managing your ewe" and "Lambing" (not too sure about the Lamb book title. Worthwhile getting. Diane Pagel www.deltabluez.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 Yep, I had all that stuff my first lambing season too... 'cept I had no idea how to use it... Do you have any "lambing short courses" in your area? Pipestone Technical College puts on one in Minnesota, and Mike Neary has one at Purdue...they are well worth going to for your first time, if only to reduce anxiety... And Diane, you OWN high heels? And Hubby has a suit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgt Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 We're lambing here. I got a dozen churro ewes in the fall, and stuck a ram in with them in December. Turns out a few of the ewes were already bred. 3 little surprises so far. From the looks of 'em their daddy was coal black. I *thought* I saw a milk bag the other day, but the wool on these beasts is so long I couldn't be sure. And, of course, I *knew* they couldn't be lambing yet. Needless to say, they decided to lamb while I was away for the weekend at a trial. Fortunately, these ewes seem to be quite happy taking care of business without my help. The little buggers are growing fast; they're already eating hay! charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caseysmom Posted February 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 I'm lucky. I have a sheep guru nearby. She'll talk me through stuff if I need her to. If I have real problems she'll come over. I do know how to use most of the stuff I have(at least theoretically). I figure that I have at least a couple of weeks. I hope so anyway, it's supposed to get cold here again next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookcove Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 I'm done, last one today. My favorite ewe, twin lambs up and literally uncatchable within minutes (handy-dandy crook to the rescue). For some reason she took two extra months to breed this year (must have gotten in with ram) - maybe cause she's like 150 years old . . . . 75% ewe lambs this year, I'm thrilled - I needed a boost to my flock numbers. 185% (approximate) lambing rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suelee Robbe-Austerman Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 So far it has been an excellent lambing season. We have had very few weak lamb/abortion submissions to the lab. I am seeing more pregnancy toxemia, most likely due to the good winter. Some ewes were on crop residue until January. They just got too fat with all that corn. I start teaching our sheep production medicine class to our sr. vet students next week for the last time. We will be visiting several flocks in Iowa for the next 2 weeks. I have had a hard time finding producers with significant enough problems to fill 2 weeks worth of class. That is a good thing. Our own personal flock we started lambing Feb. 4th. We have 260 ewes done so far, we are about half way. Every chance I get I disappear and sneak north to South Dakota so I can help my husband. With our straight Rambouillet flock we are dropping 190%. It has never been this high. We usually average around 160. It is creating a back log in our jugs as those with twins have to stay longer. But it is a good problem to have. Life is good on the plains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgt Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 500+ ewes?? That's lambing. I'm going to delete my post. charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 >>And Diane, you OWN high heels? And Hubby has a suit?<< Yes, and if I can find them I bet they still have sheep sh*t on them!! Jeff took his suit to the dry cleaners after that. Our friends just laughed about us not making it to dinner. They claim it was the *BEST EXCUSE* they had ever heard!! Jeff watched a lamb being born this morn. First the ewe laid down and *pop* a lamb appeared. So he gets up and goes to get me which took about 5 minutes and I peer out the window. She told me the ewe was down and he wasn't too sure if he needed to help her or not but he decided to get me instead. So I see a lamb already drinking from mom and the mom licking her dry. Gotta love those Clun Forest!! Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura L. Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 I've had some ewes lamb already and things are going good. Right now it's about 165% for lambing rate. I haven't figured out the ewe to ram percentage yet though. What's considered good? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Diane wrote: 5. Have spouse help you in his suit. Whew. For a minute there I thought he was in a dress too. Amy, The most important thing to learn about lambing time is when to keep your hands in your pockets. The correct answer is: almost always. The books and conversations with other shepherds will make you think that lambing time is just one disaster after the next, but usually it's not. For a long time I used to think I was a great one for selecting ewes that didn't need help lambing, because the longer I had sheep the fewer I needed to help. Then I realized that several of the ones that didn't need help had "needed" help when I was starting out. I realized that what I had learned wasn't how to select for easy birthing, but how to keep my hands in my pockets. We'll start lambing in early April with 300 ewes due then. The ewe lambs will start in early May. There are 130 of them, but probably only half are in lamb. It'll be a busy time, and I'll rely heavily on my long-suffering wife, Lynn, to get me through that time. But I won't hire extra help. Keep the ewes in good shape -- not too fat, not too thin -- exercise them well, and there will be very few lambing problems. One hint. As soon as you can, try to steal some colostrum from one of the ewes and freeze it for next year. If you have a heavy milking ewe with a single, collect a pint. Throw the artificial stuff away once you have the real stuff. The artificial is better than nothing, but just barely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Laura, A good lambing rate depends on the breed and your management system. Scottish blackface ewes on hill ground are doing well if they produce 100 percent. Finnsheep in an intensive system are in trouble if they only produce 300 percent. It also depends on how you calculate lambing rate. I use the following formula: (live lambs weaned divided by ewes exposed to rams) times 100 This formula will give you the lowest possible figure, because it takes into account all open ewes, all ewe flock mortality between joining and lambing, and all lamb mortality until weaning. I also don't count bottle lambs as "weaned." Others calculate lambing percentage by figuring the number of lambs born (dead or alive) per ewe that lambed. That will give you a much higher number most years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 We only bred 7 of our Katahdins this year; none were maiden ewes. As of this morning, 5 have lambed and no problems. We have a 200% lambing rate thus far. Three sets of twins, one single and a set of triplets. The set of triplets was expected since that ewe has delivered and raised triplets all except for a summer breeding when she had a set of twins. We have 6 ram lambs and 4 ewe lambs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 "(live lambs weaned divided by ewes exposed to rams) times 100... This formula will give you the lowest possible figure, because it takes into account all open ewes, all ewe flock mortality between joining and lambing, and all lamb mortality until weaning. I also don't count bottle lambs as "weaned."" I like this method, Bill, I think it gives more emphasis to total grass flock management...and includes viability of rams... I've been thinking of playing with the time element in a standardized system as well - giving more emphasis to dropping more lambs in a shorter time...while it's kinda rushing about dealing with several birthings at once, it sure seems better to drop a couple hundred lambs in 3 weeks rather than stretching it over 6 weeks or so...at least to many of us flashlight farmers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura L. Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Bill, Thanks for your reply. I can't wait until the lambs are weaned so I can figure it that way. Coincidentally I have 6 Scottish Blackface and a couple of Finn/Rambouillet crosses. They were all bred to a Cheviot ram. So I should have some interesting crosses. These ewes have become real dog haters now that they have lambs. I have one dog who works far enough off that he's ok, but my other dog has too much eye to move them into the barn at night. Besides she's not good with young lambs. So she's got a few weeks off until the ewes aren't quite so protective. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suelee Robbe-Austerman Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Charlie, Don?t delete your post, I am the fake. It is my husband that does all the work. I just show up with my coveralls and play for a while then leave again. I was watching him the other day. He has been lambing out ewes for over 30 years. He still has the patience to hunch over and spend 15 minutes to get a dummy lamb on a teat. He knows just how to touch it to stimulate it enough to get it to try to nurse. The amazing part is he might have 3 or 4 like that in 12 hours and yet he still has 20 ewes to take care of in the jugs, lambs to mark and move, creep feed to grind, corn to feed, barns to bed etc? It is the every day grind that can wear you down, and separates the players from the real shepherds. I?m just a player. I agree with both the Bills on measuring lambing crop %. I will say however that productivity is less than half the equation. The big part is cost and most shepherds don?t do an adequate job of measuring it. (But it is hard to do) The best overall measure in my opinion is cost per lb of sheep produced. It includes total costs/ lbs of lamb and cull sheep produced from the operation. These broad measurements give you an overall picture of how the operation is doing, but you need those smaller measurements to evaluate where problems lie. For example my figure might tell me I?m inefficient, but it doesn?t tell me where. I might be high cost, or have poor production or both. % lamb crop does not tell you if you have a ram problem a lamb death problem, etc.. It is just a nice picture of overall productivity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Good points, SueLee. How's Fly? You coming up to our "training trials" this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suelee Robbe-Austerman Posted February 22, 2003 Report Share Posted February 22, 2003 Hi Bill, Thanks for asking about Fly. As a team we keep getting better and better. I couldn?t ask for more. Her hips are really becoming a problem though. When she puts in a hard day she will be three legged at the end, even with cox 2 INSAIDs like Celebrex. I have gotten to the point where I don?t even let her gather ewes off the corn stalks because running on that ground really sores her up. It is sad because she really does have talent. I really should have scheduled her for one hip replacement this spring but I am lambing some research ewes in some super poor facilities and I need her. So after shearing next winter she will have a date with the surgeon if she can last, otherwise we will have to do it this summer. We will just see how it goes. I can?t make the trial the first week in May. I have 40 ewe lambs down here in Iowa on a vaginal prolapse research project and I can?t leave em. We synched them and they are scheduled to start lambing April 25 so we should really be lambing hard the first week of May. I really hope to make it to one later though. I had a really nice time last year. Suelee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 Sorry to hear about Fly, my prayers are with you both... I know a few show folks around here who could certainly help you with the "vaginal prolapse" study... Well, get up here when you can, even if it ain't a trial, we'll work some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 Well I've been gone a few days and can't believe all of this great lambing info... Got 10 ewes due..should be starting to pop in about two weeks..Several are starting to bag up..They all look like the Goodyear Blimp with legs. Have two that I would be willing to bet are carrying twins.. Still working them with the dog, looking for laggers. However these ladies must be pretty fit..they still try to out run the dog on the trip home..Which is quite a sight to see.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 We're done lambing; our last ewe lambed early this morning. From the 7 bred Katahdin ewes we got 1 single, 4 sets of twins, and 2 sets of triplets. All lambs were delivered without problems. There is one ewe lamb (from triplets) I'm worried about; she's not growing as well as her siblings. Part of the problem is the mother is not aggressive enough with another lamb that is stealing milk from her (and anyone else he can steal from). We're going to move the thief, his siblings, and mother in with the other adult sheep. That way he won't be able to rob any other lamb's milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caseysmom Posted March 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2003 I'm exhausted. I got my first lambs last night. 2 girls, 1 black and 1 white. This ewe never twinned before so I got her cheap. She's a great mom to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne Bell Posted March 14, 2003 Report Share Posted March 14, 2003 Hi, We had our first lamb yesterday too. Ewe lamb had her firstborn all clean, dry and fed when I got home from work. She had him in the barn so avoided all the heavy rain we had yesterday. Great start to lambing season! Those are the kind of ewes I just love. Twins would have been nice but I'll take a healthy well mothered single from a ewe lamb any day. It's 60 and sunny today. I need a secondary flock to train on. I think next year I'll hold a few back for fall lambing so I have something to work with when spring fever hits. Jeanne (in the formally snowbound, currently sunny beautiful WV mountains.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Posted March 14, 2003 Report Share Posted March 14, 2003 Well here I sit waiting for the stork..Who seems to have gotten lost.. I've one ewe who dropped about a week ago, her bag is ready to burst and still no lamb..Got another one that is due in a few days and I swear she is going to have triplets.. Jeanne I can relate about a second flock..However too late for that now..I'm still training on these ewes..in fact took out my three biggest baggers this morning for about 20 minutes..Can't believe how fast those girls can be when they want to. Oh where is that stork??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caseysmom Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 I'm all done. I had a 133% lambing rate. All ewe lambs. My flock went from 3 to 7. I now know why ya'll do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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