[Jacob-list] Ewe rejecting second twin

[Neal Grose]

I had a jacob ewe that routinely cleaned and fed the first lamb, then 
rejected the 1st one when the second was born, which she then cleaned and 
fed. Not smart and overly protective, maybe?

Neal Grose

-----Original Message----- 
From: shmee1 at mail.com
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:07 AM
To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
Subject: [Jacob-list] Ewe rejecting second twin

Last year we had a ewe reject one of her twins, I know it was hers because 
she was the only one that had lambed that day.  We tried and tried to 
convince her that it was her lamb but eventually it became a bottle lamb.

This year she only had one lamb when I went out to check on her, so I put 
her in a pen and hung out in the barn to keep an eye on her.  After a half 
hour of waiting I figured only one lamb and had to get back into the house. 
Now this lamb was already standing and nursing, so at least 10 min old. 
About 2 hours later my husband went out and found a second lamb which she 
was rejecting.

Could she be rejecting this lamb because she had it so long after the first? 
My husband says she's should be going to the freezer but I'm not so sure. 
She did clean off the lamb after it was born.  Do you think it has anything 
to do with the fact that she had let the first one nurse before the second 
was born? I find normally they don't let the first nurse until the second is 
born.

Any thoughts?

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