Hi Natasha, I'm pretty new with lambing also. This year was so much better for me. I kept track of the days my ewes went i with the rams. I calculated the dates when they could start giving birth. I have found that once they start filling up with milk it is between one and two weeks until they give birth.
Do you bring your ewes into an enclosed or smaller paddock when they are going to give birth? I bring my ewes into a smaller paddock (half of my back yard) where I can keep a closer eye on them. I am like you, I am waiting with total excitement, I can't wait for the births and I have been lucky enough to have seen most of them being born. This year, I saw twins by cesarian (a first--mama developed toxemia), another set of twins naturally, and then my very first pure-bred American Blackbelly (I didn't see), when I thought mama still had a while, I went inside at 10:00 to do something for an hour and when I went back out, I heard her making the (pig) sounds they make to their babies and I knew she had that baby when I went inside. Darn! Have a camera ready! Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Natasha" <meadowskuv...@gmail.com> To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 3:54:43 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Prolapse Thanks Ray, The woman who sold me the one ewe came out to look at her. She didn't think she was ready to lamb yet. She didn't know why she appeared to be having contractions yesterday - do sheep get Braxton Hicks? She didn't think her udder was big enough and it didn't look like she had dropped. Although last year, I couldn't tell if she had dropped or not. My ewe is happily eating and nothing is happening with her today. I haven't seen any prolapse today at all. My friend figures she's going to have triplets and she has also seen with her sheep slight prolapses a day or two before lambing. I guess I wait with bated breath and see what happens. That said, I have no hesitation to call the vet if I need to. She didn't think I needed to call the vet yet. I just don't have all the experience under my belt to know when to panic and when to mellow out. I would hate to lose her as she's such a lovely, friendly, gentle creature. Thanks for your reply. Natasha > It's hard to say when to panic with these girls since they seem to like to > keep you guessing. That being said, if it appears she is in labor or having > contractions and nothing happens within 30 minutes to an hour, you should > have her vet checked. I lost one ewe two years ago by waiting to long, and > lost one this year that prolapsed after giving birth to a healthy lamb. The > one from two years ago had twins in her that were too big for her even though > it was not her first birth. I don't mean to add to your worry, but again, I > would get her looked at. Good luck. _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
