[Green Mountain Farm]

I have a ewe that I purchased in December. She is the sweetest thing!
I used P-tests to see if she was pregnant and she tested positive! That was about a month or so ago, the test also said that she was late term.
Anyways... her ligaments started to soften yesterday, she’s “puffy” and pink, and her milk is now coming in! She’s also breathing super heavy, isn’t eating all her food, and is laying down a whole lot. I’m so excited for babies!
I do have one question... I don’t have a due date on her (the ram was with her from October to December) so I was planning on giving her CD-T shot on March 1st. (A sheep professional recommended doing that)
Well, yesterday came and she’s looking like she is progressing. Is it too late to CD-T her? Should I give her the shot now? I am going to be giving her lamb (I think she just has one because she is small) the shot too, along with a booster.

 

[toth boer goats]

If it is within 2 weeks minimum, the kids will get some protection.
1 month prior is always best , but, sometimes we are a bit late.

 

[SalteyLove]

Go ahead and vaccinate her now since you don't know the due date. The lamb won't need to be vaccinated until 6+ weeks.

But do watch her: not finishing her food is always concerning. I'm not sure if sheep get pregnancy toxemia like goats but heavy breathing & low appetite are symptoms. I would check her rectal temperature as well just to be sure there isn't something else going on.

 

[Green Mountain Farm]

Go ahead and vaccinate her now since you don't know the due date. The lamb won't need to be vaccinated until 6+ weeks.

But do watch her: not finishing her food is always concerning. I'm not sure if sheep get pregnancy toxemia like goats but heavy breathing & low appetite are symptoms. I would check her rectal temperature as well just to be sure there isn't something else going on.

Ok, I will take her temperature.
She is my first sheep, I'm very familiar with goat kidding but have never had a ewe lamb before. What are the signs of lambing?
Her ligaments are getting soft but I can still feel them and I can feel some milk coming in, but her teats are empty. She is not breathing as heavily right now but is pacing like crazy! She's also biting her sides quite a bit and is super clingy, she won't leave my side. I felt under her belly and felt movement!
She seems swollen and pink in the back end, and she's holding her tail out quite a bit. She was laying down a lot in the field so I put her in two days ago.
I have a goat who hates her, so I don't want to take the risk of her lambing in the field. If I put her out and she goes into labor and I can't catch her, that wouldn't be a good situation. Should I just leave her in the stall? I don't like to keep her locked up but again I don't want to risk anything happening to her or her baby.
Oh and her lamb(s) have dropped so that she doesn't even look pregnant anymore.

 

[ksalvagno]

Cute sheep! Good luck!

 

[Green Mountain Farm]

Go ahead and vaccinate her now since you don't know the due date. The lamb won't need to be vaccinated until 6+ weeks.

But do watch her: not finishing her food is always concerning. I'm not sure if sheep get pregnancy toxemia like goats but heavy breathing & low appetite are symptoms. I would check her rectal temperature as well just to be sure there isn't something else going on.

I looked up symptoms of pregnancy toxemia and one of the main signs is "depression" or drowsiness and she is the opposite of those so I'm not worried. She has also started finishing her food again, she's just uncomfortable. She does have a temperature of 103.8 so I will keep an eye on it but it's also been warm out and she has a thick coat of wool so that could be it. What do y'all think? I talked to a friend who is a sheep professional and he said that if I'm worried I can give her penicillin.

 

[MadHouse]

@fivemoremiles is a sheep farmer, maybe he has some advice.

 

[MadHouse]

She is very cute!
Good luck lambing!

 

[fivemoremiles]

Hi welcome to lambing. I have 350 ewes due starting May 15.
first every thing you know about kidding throw out the window like the ligaments thing
CDT I never give the shot to the ewe. i give it to the lamb before it is 12 hours old. one shot and your done. I dock / band the tail and castrate at the same time i give the shot.
the last month the ewes are uncomfortable so that is not a sign. the size of bag is but for a First time lamb not so much.
I can see a ewe getting ready to lamb up to 36 hours before lambing. but i cant tell you what i see they just act different. they find a corner of the barn a tree a fence line a bank of dirt and are separated from the herd. this is the place. they stop chewing there cud. they will stretch there neck out during a contraction. when it is getting close they do what we call praying. they stretch there neck out and look to the sky.
i don't get to close to the ewe during lambing after the water bag i do not move the ewe. the water bag should be yellow after she lambs if another yellow bag comes out you got twins. if the water bag is red she is done. Do not help unless there is a problem like one foot, no feet, back feet.
I try not to go in or push the lamb back in if i need to help. the uterus of a ewe is delicate and can tear very easy.
so for a head and one foot i turn the lamb a quarter turn and pull the leg and head and they will come . if you have just a head fish one leg out and turn a quarter. with 300 births i only help 20 give birth.
the bully goat. the ewe needs lots of food and exercise. barn the goat. once the ewe gives birth put the lamb and ewe in to the stall for at least 24 hours for a first time ewe. 48 hours in the stall if she has twins and 36 hours if she has triplets.
you can see when the lambs enter the birthing channel but they could say there for a bit.
lambs are not kids they get up and start to hunt for food with in minutes.

 

[fivemoremiles]

how to tell if the lamb is getting enough to eat. when you come up to the stall startle the lamb by rattling the door or banging a stick on the door. if the lamb jumps you have no worries. if the lamb is asleep and just lifts its head make the lamb stand up. if the lamb gives a big good morning stretch he is fine. if not stick your finger in its mouth. if it is cool IT IS HUNGRY FEED NOW
ewes milk can be very thick like cream. I like to see cream that is the good stuff.

 

[goathiker]

Lol, people should throw out most of what they think about kidding anyway. Only passive antibodies are passed to offspring. Giving a shot to the doe literally does nothing for the offspring unless given a few months beforehand.

 

[fivemoremiles]

Giving a shot to the doe literally does nothing for the offspring unless given a few months beforehand.

I agree
many years ago i was giving my sheep herd there vacations religiously. then one year i had one ram that was shooting blanks and another ram went lame. needless to say my lambing was spread out over two and a half months. the last lambs i had were born to long after the vaccination to be protected. I lost three lambs the vet saved the fourth. he told me to give a CDT shot at birth to prevent any more losses. I had 20 lambs born that year that i gave a one cc shot of CDT. as i was giving the shots i suddenly realized that i gave 5 cc to the ewe and If i gave the lambs 1 cc that saved me lots of vaccine so i never gave my ewes a shot again.

 

[toth boer goats]

Giving the does the vaccine one month prior to kidding does help the kids for a short time after birth.
2 weeks prior gives a little bit but at least some.