It's that time of year!

[BCSnob]

I stepped out of the back door this morning on my way to work and heard the sound of a lamb calling to its mom. My wife texted me saying the ewe had not delivered her second lamb yet; so the cries I heard were from a new born.

We bred about 60 ewes.

[BCSnob]

This ewe, being a first time mom, gets a pass for now. Some of this issue is her less than ideal mothering attitude and some is that the lamb makes little effort to keep up with mom (it just stands there and calls to mom). If the ewe has a similar issue next year she will likely loose her spot in our flock.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

BCSnob wrote:
Her attitude is it is her lambs responsibility to keep up with her.

Is her name "Mutton"? 😉 I know you cull the problem moms at some point....LOL!

I had a boss eons ago that raised race horses. Had no use for dogs - his theory was "The only animal I want to keep around is one I can eat in a pinch" And before anyone sparks up the flamethrowers - he loved ALL his animals and took amazing care of them.... just had a dark sense of humor....LOL!

[BCSnob]

Today we turned out from the pens a few new mothers and their lambs. One with a set of twins has not been keeping up with one of her lambs and the lamb has not been keeping up with her mom. So we put them in a pen for the night. The only open pen is in a large stall and the rest of the flock doesn't want to lay in there tonight. The mom is not happy being locked in there "alone" and is constantly calling out. Being with her flock mates is more important to her than being with her lambs. Her attitude is it is her lambs responsibility to keep up with her.

[Uppercrust]

Thanks for that info. Still enjoy hearing about the life of the sheep

[BCSnob]

Two new sets of twins.

[BCSnob]

I found another single this morning. We're getting down to mostly first time moms and most of these will likely/hopefully have singles.


8 sets of triplets
24 sets of twins
11 singles
6 died at birth or within a week
1 ewe and her twins died due to birthing issues

[xteacher]

Oops! Thanks for the info.

[BCSnob]

It's not uncommon to have losses. Sometimes there is something wrong the the lamb or the ewe. Sometimes the weather will impact the weaker lambs. There will be small lambs that didn't develop as much in the womb as their siblings.

According to a usda report 10% lamb losses are average for our size flock.

[Uppercrust]

Great photos! Is that common to lose some of the babies?

[BCSnob]

There are many breeds of livestock guardian dogs (job function). The more common breeds (or crosses) in use in the US are: Great Pyrenees, Maremma Sheepdog, Akbash, Anatolian Shepherd, Kuvasz, Kangal, and Spanish Mastiff. Of these Great Pyrenees, Maremma Sheepdog, Akbash, and Kuvasz are all white with varying coat lengths by breed with the Great Pyrenees having the most and Akbash having the least. There are also personality differences between the breeds in terms of friendliness to strangers; we want our LGD to alert (stay between sheep and bark and/or growl) to strangers but not aggressive towards (charge) strangers. Producers with rustling problems would want aggression towards strangers.

Sam is a Maremma Sheepdog having less coat than a Great Pyrenees, not as broad a head, and not the loose jowls Great Pyrenees can have.

Many working LGDs are crosses of these breeds.

Our next LDG will likely be an Anatolian Shepherd or Akbash for the short coat; Sam's coat gets matted during the winter and keeping him brushed out is not feasible.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

xteacher wrote:

Love your Great Pyr!

I think Sam is a Maremma? The reason I say that is because my son has two of them, and yes, they look a lot like a G. P.

[xteacher]

Love the updates and photos! Please keep them coming. I agree - we need a LIKE button on this forum. You're having some rough luck this season with lambs dying. Sorry about your eww, too. Could it partly be to blame from this terribly wet/cold mess you're suffering through, weather-wise?

Love your Great Pyr! A friend of mine runs a Great Pyr rescue in my town. Lord, they love to roam! Glad yours has a job that keeps him busy. I wish people would realize that they're not the typical couch potato house dog...

[BCSnob]

I went out for the nighttime check and found these BFFs.


This single was born right before I got out to the barnyard. I moved them to a pen and this is the lamb's first suck.

[BCSnob]

While I was out on my morning check I found a ewe cleaning her newborn lamb. We she turned around I saw a sack part way out of her. A moment later mom pushed out the sack and when it hit the ground it burst open revealing her second lamb. A second later I could see the lamb take its first breadth. When I left mom and her new twins she was cleaning up the second one while the first one was trying out its voice calling...maaaa maaaa.

8 sets of triplets
24 sets of twin
9 singles
6 died at birth or within a week
1 ewe and her twins died due to birthing issues

[BCSnob]

New set of twins this morning and a single this afternoon.