[Jacob-list] surprise lambs/strange mother

[SharHill at aol.com]

Hi all,

I thought we were done lambing 2 months ago, but last night our big Suffolk 
ewe, whom we thought wasn't pregnant, gave birth to 2 lambs last night.  She 
never looked or acted pregnant until a couple of days ago when I saw she had 
made a milk bag.  The father is a Jacob ram and the babies are solid black, 
except for a white patch on their heads.  

My problem is this: This is the first time this ewe has lambed.  She is 
showing good maternal instincts in that she licks them and is very responsive 
to their cries etc.  However, she seems to be unaware of where they are in 
relation to her own feet.  She has several times knocked them over and 
stepped on them even with me there to try to keep them out of her way.  I am 
surprised that they are still alive.  I cannot leave her alone in the stall 
with them.  They are very small and not very agile yet.  I have to tie and 
hold the mother in order to let them nurse in safety.  I am not sure what to 
do.  Will she learn to be more careful in a few days, or do I need to go 
ahead and take the lambs and raise them on the bottle?  I have heard that you 
can't wait too long after birth to start the bottle or the lambs may not 
accept it.  I would appreciate any advice given as quickly as possible.   

Raising sheep is full of unexpected crises, each one a new learning 
experience.  It is so good to have this list here to help out in situations 
like this, especially for a new breeder like myself.

I had 2 non-Jacob ewes give birth this year, and both of them had problems 
with figuring out what to do with their lambs.  It makes me really appreciate 
the superior brains and mothering abilities of Jacobs.

Sharon