How Can I Tell When My Ewes Will Lamb?

My 2 ewes are looking very close to lambing. Their udders have swollen nicely. How can I tell how close they are? We bought them pregnant. 

Indicators vary from breed to breed and individual ewe to ewe,  esp. depending upon age.  But generally, once a ewe starts making an udder the event isn't too far off.  A day or two before the birth, you should notice some subtle changes in the ewe's body and the udder.  The lambs "drop", and the ewe becomes saggier looking around the hips.  The tail head appears to move up slightly.  The udder will become full, taught, and somewhat "shiney" (assuming it isn't covered with wool!); and you will be able to express a little bit of milk.

The actual day of lambing, the ewe will probably separate herself from the flock.  She'll probably refuse feed, and may stand by herself staring off into space or start "nesting".

All these signs are somewhat subtle, and seeing them may take some experience and knowledge of your individual sheep.

Email from Charles - a new potential shepherd - and some answers

"I have been doing a lot of research into bio diverse farming methods and "flerding" techniques. I also have a real interest in setting up a sub commercial aggrobiz for myelf and my family with a lot of varied options after im done with military service.

"Without going into long winded detail about various business aspirations, I wanted to know if you had any ideas as to a good breed of sheep that gives high quality meat and wool while still producing enough milk and decent quality hide for home useage for recreational crafts that'd be good in the climate of northern Pennsylvania."

There are dozens upon dozens of breeds available in the USA. I can pretty much guarantee you that every breeder will tell you his or her breed is the best! I urge you to talk to various breeders, and ask them why they have chosen their particular breed. Take every response with a grain of salt, of course. Read everything you can about a breed before investing in it.

A few details to keep in mind:

(1) No breed is perfect in every way

(2) Most money in sheep is made by selling meat lambs.

(3) There are some niche markets for speciality breeds, wool, hides, and breeding stock; but it takes a special effort to find and develop such markets.

Just about any breed you find should do just fine in your climate.

"I am trying to see if i can come up with cost projections to grow my own feed. Also is there a preferred method of preparing pasture and grazing land? "

A great source of such information can be your county extension agent. Yes, there is most certainly methods of preparing pasture! Good pasture and hay does not just happen by itself.

"I want to start off with a small herd of maybe 10-15 sheep and slowly include cattle, on an acreage of say 100 acres of pasture. Do you think it would be possible to maintain a few cows as well as sheep and horses? "

Certainly. Starting with a smaller farm animal, such as sheep, is a good start.

Barbados Blackbelly Lambs Available

We now have a few select Blackbelly lambs on the ground. They will be weaning age in early May, and may be reserved now. Check our online saleslist at http://www.barkingrock.com/sheep4sale.htm

Update 5/6/10 - one ewe lamb left this year!
Update 11/20/10 - we are sold out for the year.  If you're interested in a lamb from our winter/spring 2011 crop, please drop us an email at farms@barkingrock.com

When is a lamb first shorn?

Please tell me when a lamb is born, are they born with some fleece already or are they naked?

After birth, how long can the sheep be shorn for their wool? How long it will take for the fleece to be fully grown before another shearing is needed?

All lambs are fully covered with wool when born; but the wool is very short - just a few milimeters long. The wool grows quickly, and most lambs *can* be shorn at around 6-8 months of age; although typically lambs are shorn for the first time at around one year of age.

While most breeds are shorn annually thereafter, a few of the faster-wool-growing breeds (with generally coarser wool) are shorn every 6 months.

Sheep & Fruit Trees

From a recent email correspondence...

I came across your site and I was very thankful to read. I am wondering, do sheep typically eat the bark of fruit trees?

Yes

I have a flock of sheep and I would like to put them in the orchard to keep the grass down, but don't want them to damage the trees.

Unless the trees are quite large and well-established, with the trunks well protected, the sheep will definitely damage and probably kill the trees.

Is there something I could feed them in order to deter them from the trees in the case that sheep do eat tree bark?

Pasture the sheep in the orchard ONLY when the grass is very lush and thick, and move the sheep at first sign of the grass being depleted and/or the sheep start experimenting on the trees. Don't pasture rams with the trees. Resign yourself to losing the bottommost branches. Wrap the trunks with hardware cloth...NOT chicken wire or page wire. (Neither of those will do much good.)

Repellants (such as "Hinder") MIGHT work temporarily; but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Sorry I can't give you better news here; but as I look out at what was once our orchard, I can say all this from experience.

Will sheep fight?

Q. I have 2 acres in northern California in a temperate area. I want to have a flock of about 8-10 jacob sheep, I plan to sell the majority for meat and home consumption. I also do some agri-tourism. People come to see crops, and they’d like to see the sheep (even if the sheep don’t want to be seen).

I will be new to raising sheep, and am busy with two young kids and an off-farm job. So I thought maybe I’d just buy young males or castrated rams and see if I think it’s too much of a hassle. If I start with 3 males and plan to sell/butcher 2 within a year or so, am I going to have bunch of fighting on my hands? If I have one or two females and two males will that lead to fighting?

A. It's pretty typical to keep a group of males together during non-breeding season, and it usually works out ok. Wethers (castrated males) will sometimes fight, as of course do intact males; but unless there's something serious to fight about (read: females or starvation), it should work out fine.

There's always the potential of acquiring that one SOB ram that just won't adapt, in which case he's a candidate for early retirement to the freezer. But that's not usually the case.

A female in heat kept in with (or very near) 2 adult rams will probably drive everyone crazy until she's bred.

Questions Welcome!

Please feel free to post any sheep-related questions you may have here, or under a new heading.