We're getting ready........for lambing

[BCSnob]

Here is our checklist to be completed by early February

Purchase hay square bales for lambing jugs: done
Purchase heat lamp bulbs: done
Repair tilt table: done
Purchase & install rolling stop gate: done
Check and restock lambing supplies: done
Clean and rebed lambing jugs: not done
Give ewes CD&T booster: not done
Purchase grain to feed pregnant ewes: not done

Lambing jug: small pen in our barn to keep ewe with her lambs together but separated from the others just before or just after delivery to ensure good bonding of ewe and lambs, lambs are healthy and well fed, ear tagging of lambs and recording information, and deworming of the ewe. Once all has been completed and the lambs look strong the family is turned loose into the field with the rest of the flock. If one or more of the lambs look weak we might place a heat lamp in the lambing jug to help keep the lambs warm while they are weak. We have 7 permanent lambing jugs, can make use of 3 more locations, and can put up a few more portable pens.

Lambing supplies: USDA Scrapies ear tags, syringes, needles, dewormer, powdered milk, bottles & nipples, tube feeder, injectable antibiotics, lamb puller, nutrient rich liquid, injectable calcium and vitamins, and ewe halter.

The Tilt Table is used to squeeze/confine and flip sheep on their side for checking feet; it saves my back. A rolling stop gate in a sliding gate placed along a cute where the sheep pass single file; the gate will allow use to load the cute with 5-10 sheep, stop them in the cute, and then vaccinate the group before letting them out and reloading.

CD&T Vaccine is for Clostridium perfringens type C and D (overeating disease) and Clostridium tetani (tetanus). Mothers should be vaccinated prior to delivery to increase antibodies going to lambs in utero and in their milk. We haven't had issues with the first two bacteria but tetanus is endemic on our farm.

We are delaying when we start feeding grain because our sheep are "well fed" just on grass and last year we had a few gain too much weight contributing to prolapse (look up sheep prolapse images).


I'll probably rebed the lambing jugs just before the start of lambing.

We’re expecting at least 100 lambs

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Awwww, RIP, Sam. I guess I've been hanging around this forum for too long because I remember when you first got him! 13 years is a good life; so sorry for your family's (human and animal) loss

[dturm]

So sorry about Sam's passing. I know he was a great protector and help with your sheep.

[BCSnob]

We finished with 102 lambs. There were 6 ewes that either did not get pregnant or Cache Valley Virus caused them to abort. Since several of these 6 lambed last year I tend to blame the virus.

On a sad note, Sam (our Maremma Sheepdog) is no longer with us. This winter he wasn’t keeping weight on even though he was eating and we dewormed him. Our friend who is a vet gave him a physical while she was with us helping with lambing and found nothing wrong except old age. Sam came to us as a 6 month old pup and protected our flock for 13 years. The barn cats had become his companions while he slept. Here he is with one of our barn cats, GW, about a month ago.

Sam at 13 with GW

Here he is with Wendy in 2017 shortly after Wendy came to us.

Sam & Wendy

He stayed mentally alert and physically active, just slow, until he was no longer able to stand.

[BCSnob]

Friday was sunny and mid 60s. Saturday morning is very different.

Video of Saturday Morning Feeding Time

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

The family pictures are so cute - I'll be showing them to my grandkids!

[BCSnob]

Family Portrait


What the cool "kids" are doing these days


Just chillin


Snug as a bug in a rug


I don’t want my ear pierced

[BCSnob]

Towards the end of the time our friend was here helping with lambing we had a ewe that needed both lambs pulled. They were not coming out on their own; they were already dead and badly deformed (which is why the ewe couldn't deliver them). While this ewe was recovering another delivered two very large lambs. The ewe was thinking about rejecting the largest lamb. Instead of forcing the mother to nurse both we gave the largest to the ewe that had the defective twins; either way we were going to halter a ewe and hold it to allow the lamb to nurse. I can report that the foster mom and lamb are very tightly bonded and both are doing well. Having a lamb to nurse will help prevent the ewe from getting mastitis.

[BCSnob]

We may be at the end of lambing; we didn’t record the date we pulled the rams off the ewes so were not 100% certain on the last date they could deliver. There are a few more ewes that have not delivered; however, Cache Valley Fever can cause abortions. We are still waiting to hear from Cornell on the samples we sent in for testing.

As if this morning we have 100 live lambs from 55 ewes.

[BCSnob]

As of 8:30am on 22 Feb 2022 we have 81 live lambs from 44 ewes.

We had one more lamb die; this one was from malnutrition due to an mother not taking care of her lambs. We didn’t notice this one (amongst the 70+ lambs). We put the ewe and the sibling in a pen; the sibling is well fed but not by its mother (she was barely letting it nurse). The sibling must have been stealing milk where it could. We’ll keep this ewe and lamb up until we know she is letting it nurse or until we find a foster mother. This ewe will be culled.

We have 18 bred ewes left to lamb. We’re running at a 184% lambing rate; higher than previous years. We’re also getting more triplets than typical. We had good rain last fall which gave us lots of grass; the rich nutrition for the ewes before breeding likely increased their productivity.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

That's heartbreaking news.... our local zoo just closed the bird exhibit due to Avian Flu. I've never been so aware (in the last couple of years) of how viruses torment us.....

[BCSnob]

We had 4 sets of twins and a single yesterday. We’re a little over 1/2 way (33 ewes delivered out of 62 bred) and have 60 live lambs.

We’ve had a few lambs stillborn and 2 die a day or 2 later. We had a lamb born yesterday that’s not right (appears to be a neurological issue, it was euthanized). Our friend is starting to think our flock may be affected by Cache Valley Fever; this is new for her. She is sending a blood sample from the euthanized lamb to Cornell. In 2020 there were the first reports of this in MD flocks. Most of our lamb deaths would fit this. The lamb with the broken back may have been a birth defect and not an injury.

[BCSnob]

Just before I left for work I took a look in the barnyard and saw this set of twins. Video

My wife and our friend will take care of these and any other new lambs.

So far today we’ve had 5 sets of twins and 2 sets of triplets

[BCSnob]

We have 3 new sets of twins this morning. Our friend (a vet) arrived yesterday afternoon; just in time for when we’re having lots of births.

Another set of twins tonight

38 live lambs from 21 ewes
41 bred ewes to go

[BCSnob]

Busy day today. There was a set of twins in the morning, one was stillborn. In the afternoon there was a single, two sets of twins, and a set of triplets. We have 30 lambs and are only 25% of the way through our bred ewes.

Wendy was bad today, she took a lamb from one of the new sets of twins away from the ewe. Wendy really likes lambs and wants them to be her friend.

The thief with her prize



Oh no, we ran out of ivermectin. We’ll have to get another liter of it from a store that has a sign “not for human use”. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself)

[BCSnob]

So far today we’ve had a single, set of twins, and our first set of triplets (Video). The triplets will get a little more time in the pen and tonight we’ll give them a heat lamp to ensure they get a good start. We found the triplets right after they were born and the ewe had cleaned them up; they were at the top of the field. I carried the lambs with the ewe following and my dog Lee keeping the ewe with me.