comanche 2,799 Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 Alan ,despite the name , is a ewe. Alan was declared unpregnant . This is Allen and her baby 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 8 hours ago, comanche said: Alan ,despite the name , is a ewe. Alan was declared unpregnant . This is Allen and her baby Amazing mate were getting 3 ewes with lambs at foot and some pet lambs this year, well in a few weeks cant wait Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted February 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) This is Alan the ewe safely indoors with baby George, unsurprisingly George is also a little girl! There have been a few more since. First steps. Which was a relief because the big lad in the front needed a " helping hand "to come out. Here he is 10 hours later. I'm probably not supposed to have a favourite but..... Edited February 19, 2021 by comanche 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 Were getting the ewes with lambs at foot any time then hope to lambs them our selfs next year think it will be good for kids to be involved with etc , getting them some pet lambs to daughter has been busy making a pen up in my shed today think shes as exited as me ha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted February 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 55 minutes ago, vfr400boy said: Were getting the ewes with lambs at foot any time then hope to lambs them our selfs next year think it will be good for kids to be involved with etc , getting them some pet lambs to daughter has been busy making a pen up in my shed today think shes as exited as me ha Really good luck. l've had a few sheep for a few years but have always bought "by-product" lambs from a sheep dairy farm . This means l've a fair bit of practice with bucket suckling but this is the first time l've bred any myself. So l'm definately a beginner regarding lambing. Your kids will no doubt learn about the sad side of keeping livestock but it only takes a really tame ewe or a cute lamb to compensate. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted February 21, 2021 Report Share Posted February 21, 2021 On 19/02/2021 at 20:53, comanche said: Really good luck. l've had a few sheep for a few years but have always bought "by-product" lambs from a sheep dairy farm . This means l've a fair bit of practice with bucket suckling but this is the first time l've bred any myself. So l'm definately a beginner regarding lambing. Your kids will no doubt learn about the sad side of keeping livestock but it only takes a really tame ewe or a cute lamb to compensate. Good luck! Shes been shopping and got some bits yesterday, any tips on bottle feeding? We are borrowing a bucket to Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) On 21/02/2021 at 09:53, vfr400boy said: Shes been shopping and got some bits yesterday, any tips on bottle feeding? We are borrowing a bucket to Bottles are good for getting a lamb used to the fake teat but a the suckling bucket is so much easier and more natural and possibly produces better lambs. Put it this way . A very new lamb might start off on a manageable pint or so a day but at peak milk demand the lamb will be asking for three or four pints a day .Which means half a dozen bottle feeding sessions per lamb per day set to the human timetable. Or you could go for bucket feeding. Simply put a day's supply of milk substitute in the bucket and let the lambs feed themselves ad-lib ,just as they would in the fields but without the risk of a kick from Mum. Ideally the lamb should have had its "first milk" (colostrum) from its mother or another newly lambed ewe as this supplies anti bodies against infection. Artificial colostrum can be made or bought but l've not used it so don't know how good it is. This ancient ewe had twins due to my mismanagement of a rather eager ram. The lambs had a couple of days on her to get the first milk but now we are topping them up by bottle to ease the burden on the elderly Mum. Keep everything really clean. Don't be too quick to feed lamb pellets . They will only be wasted ,but lambs will pick at hay from very early on . Never water down the milk . One of those sacks of 25kg Lamlac might see five lambs to weaning at about 35 days old if they are already a week or so old when you get them and you mix wisely. They will often reduce their intake themselves once they are happily eating hay ,pellets and grass . Once they have totally transitioned to a solid diet don't ever offer them milk again . Their gut won't be able to cope and they could die. You'll know you are getting close to weaning when the little sxds start biting and splitting the ends of the rubber teats . This results in leaking and wasted milk just when you are getting low on milk powder. If you bucket suckle always have a few spare teats! As they develop only change one thing at a time . For instance if you move them outside or to a different pen, don't change their diet at the same time. Only my experiences . I'm pretty sure there are some proper sheep experts on here. Edited February 22, 2021 by comanche 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 I have got 2 milk buckets too thats what the teats are for in the pic , thanks for the advice, were looking forward to it , hopefully keep a few ewe lambs back so maybe end up with 5 ewes in total, all a learning curve for us as a family , What age do they stop breeding? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) On 22/02/2021 at 21:39, vfr400boy said: What age do they stop breeding? From what l've been told and read, if a ewe is still breathing a ram will treat her as fair game! But the process of carrying the lambs and especially producing milk can be a tremenous drain on a ewe of any age. The farmer l had most of my lambs from told me that body condition is more important than a ewe's age . This is linked with her teeth which wear out as she gets older. An old sheep on easy living may support herself with poor teeth for longer than a commercial farmer would keep her alive but can't eat fast enough to match the drain of energy used in pregnancy and rearing lambs. Our old "lawn mower" ewe that was accidentally mated is thought to be 12 or 13 and definately should not've been allowed to breed! Edited February 23, 2021 by comanche 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted March 8, 2021 Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 Had our 2 pet lambs since Friday n coming on nice now just need some warmer wether now 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
comanche 2,799 Posted March 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 On 08/03/2021 at 12:43, vfr400boy said: Had our 2 pet lambs since Friday n coming on nice now just need some warmer wether now They even have some Early Learning toys. I thought mine were spoiled Seriously , they look lovely. Good luck with them! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 One more 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Wilkes 2,914 Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Brilliant pic pal 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vfr400boy 3,112 Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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