Lambing Your Flock
Sheep thrive in winter,therefore the housing is minimal.A three sided shed is adequate in most climates unless there is a mid winter lambing.In this case you need a warm place for lambs.
You need around 12 square feet of space for each animal.In Idaho we lambed inside a shed covered with canvas,and had a wood stove for warmth.The stove was for the lambers and the new born lambs,as the ewes lambed outside.
The lamber would make his rounds outside every hour,as sheep in a huge flock of 1000 drop a lot of babies in a hurry.The temperature is in the 20s or low 30s.You also need to assist some ewes in having the lambs.
The baby may be coming into the world backwards and the feet tend to get lodged in the mother.So you will have to pull the baby to freedom by turning it around or pushing it back in and pulling the feet out first.This has to be done quite rapidly or the lamb will suffocate.This means you become a veterinarian also.The floor of the lambing shed can be dirt or concrete but not wood,and covered with 1 foot of straw.
Sheep manure is dry and can accumulate on the floor where it will warm the floor.It is cleaned out once each year.If it becomes wet and smelly it should be changed or it can cause pneumonia in the flock.A lamb creep can be set up for the new lambs to get to the special feeds and not the mothers.
The breeding season begins in the fall.It is advisable to feed the ewes a high protein diet as this bolsters their chances of having twins.Big flocks are usually pastured on hay fields after the last cutting of hay.This is a high protein diet also.But sheep raised in frigid areas have to have shelters to lamb in.
Lambing time is 148 days after mating.Be prepared to take good care of the lambs as soon as they are born,such as wiping them off especially around the nose,so it can breath better.Make sure the lamb suckles it's mother right away,as this will get the needed colostrum it needs to survive.
The colostrum has antibodies and vitamins.Sometimes a ewe will not feed the lamb.You will have to bottle feed the baby every two to four hours for the first few days.
After that bottle feed the lambs twice a day for two months.We call these lambs bummers as they will try to suckle other ewes.
Most big sheep men will give or sell the bums to an outside person,as it takes time to mix and feed milk for all the little critters.Once in a while another ewe will adopt the lamb,these are called gram mas.
Each ewe and her lambs are kept in a separate stall for a few days,as this helps mother and baby to recognize each other in the herd,from smell and the blat of each other.
You will also have to change the bedding,because lambs are susceptible to pneumonia and will die quick.Always keep dry bedding in the stalls and lambing barns.
After the lambs are a couple weeks old they are vacinated and the rams are castrated.I used rubber castration bands for my bucks.
A lot of Sheep men use knives to castrate their bucks. Also the tails of all lambs are docked at this time.Lambs will gain five pounds a week if fed properly,and when they reach 100 lbs.are sold for meat.Some of the ewes are kept back for breeding purposes.