[Jacob-list] sheep and cold

[Debbie Bennett]

I asked that question once. I was told that the ewes are sheared before 
lambing for several reasons; if the ewe is cold she will seek shelter 
for herself and her lamb, the lambs won't be sucking on dirty wool tags 
instead of teats, and a ewe who gives birth to twins cannot eat enough 
during the first two weeks of nursing- she will lose weight and that 
causes a break in the wool rendering it useless. Almost forgot, optimum 
temperature for a sheep is 55 degrees. I think the lambing in December 
and January has something to do with getting the lambs to market at a 
certain time of the year for better prices. Commercial lambs "make 
weight", that is over 100 pounds, in 6 months. They are often raised 
around here to "feeder weight", that is, 70-90 pounds and then sold on.

We plan for late Feb. to mid-March lambing. It usually doesn't get all 
that cold here in Southern Oregon. Every year, we try to shear before 
lambing, but so far, we have not succeeded. It is wet, wet, wet and I 
hate to lock my ewes in the barn for days before shearing. I'm a softy, 
I spoil them.
Debbie Bennett
Feral Fibre Farm
Oakland, Oregon

On Jan 28, 2004, at 10:40 AM, Karen Sigler wrote:

>    I have a question for those of you in the cold or have raised sheep 
> for a long time.  I try to plan my lambing for the early spring- March 
> or April,  due to my very small barn.  We have just broken the record 
> for one of the coldest Jan. ever here in Utah.  Most of the farmer's 
> around me with sheep-sheep, plan for Jan. lambing and are currently 
> sheering their sheep.  Most of these sheep are just rotated thru the 
> hay pastures during the winter months with no shelters.  So here is my 
> question... Why would you sheer and lamb in one of the coldest months 
> of the year??
> Karen Sigler
> Benjamin Farms,   Utah
>
>
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