[Jacob-list] Re: Feeding ewes, Issue 6
Victoria da Roza
castlerockjacobs at yahoo.com
Tue Apr 5 16:56:40 EDT 2005
--- jacob-list-request at jacobsheep.com wrote:
This year we fed our ewes alphalfa nuggets and grain
for the last month because that is when they were
supposed to have the greatest drain on their systems
from the forming lambs. the rest of the time they are
on straight orchard grass or in the Spring, just
pasture. We thought they were going to twin because of
their size.
Like other breeders this year, the 2 singles were
large! and the ewes did not look all sunken in like
last year so I thought maybe they were
"overconditioned" but since the lambs were larger they
are really demanding lots of milk and after a month of
nursing, even with grain supplements and being wormed,
the ewes are beginning to get that thin look. So in a
way I am glad they were not thin after the babies but
it did make the babies large which made the births
harder than last year. So maybe this year I will just
keep them on orchard grass till they lamb.....of
course with the heavy rains this year we have lots
more pasture than usual???? I am sure there is a
pattern here somewhere. Victoria
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. big lambs this year? (Melody)
> 2. A lamb! (spotted_sheep at bluefrog.com)
> 3. 2005 Lambs (Cathy Robinson)
> 4. Re: A lamb! (Mary Hansson)
> 5. Re: big lambs this year?
> (Paintedrockfarm at aol.com)
>
>
>
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>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2005 14:45:39 -0700
> From: "Melody" <critterland at bendcable.com>
> Subject: [Jacob-list] big lambs this year?
> To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
> Message-ID:
> <020101c5395f$a48a4a90$e667dc42 at n9mpwwmp25taqb>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Just wondering if anyone has ever noticed a
> correlation between severity of winter weather and
> size of lambs? We had a much milder winter than
> usual here, in fact we broke some high temp records
> in Feb. and I am having much larger lambs than
> usual. Not that there are any record-breaking
> giants, but averaging out at least a pound, probably
> more, higher birthweight (unfortunately my scales
> have decided that everything weighs exactly a pound
> and 3/4, so haven't been able to weigh the big boys
> born this morning.) So far I have had 2 sets of
> twins and 3 singles (two first-timers and an older
> ewe) and the twins are larger than my average
> singles, and the singles are proportionately larger.
> I've had to assist with two of the singles and the
> firstborn of one set of twins, they were just too
> large for the ewes to birth and after prolonged hard
> labor I gave some help. The twin and one single are
> from proven ewes who have never had to be
> helped--they usually pop them out like water
> melon seeds.
> I can't think of what may have changed to cause
> this. The first couple of big lambs I thought were
> just a fluke, but it is carrying through with every
> birth. The sire is the same ram I have used for two
> previous years, and he was not a particularly large
> boy himself. I have not changed feeding practices
> and my shearer has commented each year that my sheep
> are in excellent condition, neither too thin nor too
> fat, so I don't think overfeeding the ewes is a
> problem. I don't grain them, just good hay free
> choice and whatever grazing they find in the
> pasture. I'd sure like to figure it out, because
> while I don't mind larger lambs I do mind setting up
> a situation in which the ewes are unable to lamb
> unassisted. Any ideas?
> Oh, I just thought of the only thing besides the
> weather that was different this year. There was a
> two week period in December when I was waiting for
> my "hay guy" to deliver more grass hay, I ran out
> and they were getting an alfalfa/orchard grass mix.
> Could the alfalfa for that short time have had
> anything to do with increased fetal growth?
> Melody at CritterLand
> Redmond OR
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>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2005 20:11:10 -0400 (EDT)
> From: <spotted_sheep at bluefrog.com>
> Subject: [Jacob-list] A lamb!
> To: <Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
> Message-ID:
>
>
<2545.209.222.250.55.1112659870.squirrel at webmail.bluefrog.com>
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>
> Well who was it on this list who said that lambs
> don't come during
> storms?? We just had our very first lamb this
> morning, where we have an
> Noreaster!! We think it's a ewe, and it may have 4
> horns, like her mom.
> The dad is Fibre Folds Patrick, a ram lamb from
> Nedra's farm. Mom is an
> unknown hertiage, Athena. We enclose a picture.
> When Sue (the mom) went
> to check on the sheep this morning, never expecting
> a lamb, there was one
> standing there!! We think there may be another one
> coming, not sure yet.
> Thanks for all your wonderful help!! We gave it a
> shot of Boce, and
> dipped the cord in tea tree oil and water. All
> looks wonderful!
> Sue and Marie
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2005 20:19:47 -0400
> From: Cathy Robinson <perfectspot at blueridge.net>
> Subject: [Jacob-list] 2005 Lambs
> To: jacob-list <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
> Message-ID: <4251D9A3.8060303 at blueridge.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I finally have been able to get some lamb photos
> taken, and our 2005
> lambs can be viewed at
> http://www.patchworkfibers.com/PerfectSpotLambs.html
>
> We have been lambing since mid-February and still
> have three more ewes
> to deliver. It has been an unusually long season
> for us this year, but
> several lambs short of what we had planned for. My
> guess is that our
> male Great Pyrenees took his "guarding" duties a bit
> too seriously.
> This is the second year in a row that 5 out of 8
> girls did not get bred
> in his group....different rams and different girls
> and a couple of clues
> point to that hypothesis!! We will be happy with
> the healthy babies
> that have arrived this year, and revise our breeding
> plans for next year.
>
> Hope all are enjoying the antics of their bouncing
> babies. We have a
> few new lambs less than a week old, and it is always
> so much fun to
> watch them discover playtime--- lamb-style!
>
> Cathy
> Perfect Spot Farm, NC
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005 03:10:10 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Mary Hansson <buffgeese at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] A lamb!
> To: spotted_sheep at bluefrog.com,
> Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
> Message-ID:
> <20050405101010.75626.qmail at web40502.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Congratulations on your lamb.
>
> I have talked about the storms and the LACK OF
> CORRELATION to birthing. The old wives tale runs
> along that a storm and the resulting changes in
> barometric pressure induce labor. There is nothing
> that really supports that belief in the scientific
> community.
>
> If lambs decide to be born and get the labor going,
> they will come storm or no storm. We tend to
> remember
> the babies born in a bad storm because we don't want
> to be out in it----and therefore believe that more
> babies come in stormy weather.
>
> Mary Ellen
>
> Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
>
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Victoria
Castle Rock Farm
Jacob Sheep & Nigerian Dwarf Goats
www.castlerockfarm.net
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