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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Um....help! Sheep! Pregnancy! Help!!!

When the shearer was here on Monday, he said that Bianca was pregnant, likely with twins. He said he can pretty much tell because he's been in the sheep business for about 30 years. I asked him if she would lamb before the others who are due on April 27, and he said "Yes." Her udder, when she was sheared, was nicely rounded, but not "big" in any way.

Today, I came home to this:

The shearer also said that her vulva would become much brighter pink than it was on Monday. Well, it is a LOT brighter pink than it was on Monday.


I felt for ligaments, now that I know where they are from the experience with Stuffin. If sheep have ligaments like goats, then she has none that I can feel. Here is her back angle at the moment.

Can anybody tell me when you think she might be ready to lamb? Is this close? A week? A day? Any help? Please???

By the way, he also said KitKat has triplets.


I would guess he might be right!

18 comments:

Lola Nova said...

Oh my goodness! I wish I could help. Ooh I know, make yourself some tea.

Did that help?

Kara said...

I am no help! I have a half dozen that have looked like that or bigger for a while! I am making myself crazy going out to check on them every 2 hours. I am convinced My Cotton Candy has a litter in there. Time will tell, I am trying to be patient.

Anonymous said...

Oh my stars! Those are some fertile livestock you have!! Twins and triplets! WOW, what fun you will have. I am useless when it comes to this stuff. I am just part of the peanut gallery. Best of luck with everything. ;)
Jeanmarie

Sharrie said...

Yup!!1 They're pregnant. My best indicator was when they decided to not eat. That worked a couple times. Good luck!!!

Carolyn Evans-Dean said...

Oh, my... I'm just speechless...I can't even fathom that much birthin' goin' on.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Whooeee! Thems some very pregnant sheep! Being that I gave birth to twins I sure do feel for those gals!

I have no helpful information, but just wanted to say how excited I am for you...baby lambs...just in time for Easter!

You'll have to take a photo of your bunnies and lambs together. Too sweet!

~Lisa

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Carolyn

Just picking up another beautiful farm blog for my reader.

I have enjoyed reading yours!

DebH said...

Oh my...I feel your agony!! I think your first girl in the photo is mighty close though..strutting nipples and all. You have little time to fret I believe. Now that triplet girl..you be ready for those..tangled lot of babies ..Oh My!! You will do fine..you worry like I do!! Try to get some rest between the twilight checks. I am fortunate my son put a camera in my pen for me and I watch from the house..still though..I get up and if I hear any grunts or unusual noise...I am out in a flash. What a Worry!

Totally Timmy said...

hmm...when our cows changed color and bagged up the birth was usually right around the corner..how exciting!

Unknown said...

See? That's what you get for shearing them! As long as they were all just round and fuzzy you could have gone on your unstressful way, never worrying about a thing! Now you've got naked Moms about to spit out adorable babies to play with Luna!

Take a deep breath and eat chocolate.

Hugs,
Nancy

JLB said...

Personally I wouldn't garantee the accuracy of a sheep shearer. There is no way of telling without ultrasound (which can also be wrong occasionally and most people dont use on sheep) I would say to go by the ligaments like you did for stuffin and also if she bags up (although that isnt a sure thing either) They can sometimes go off their feed but not always. There's a post on my vet blog on signs in goats, they're similar for sheep :) Good luck!

Anonymous said...

KitKat is huge :) It looks like you have a day or so on the other girl. She is pretty pink and her teats look like they are starting to fill up. My girls will eat right up to going into labor but they almost always separate themselves from the flock. We have a 'lambing corner' in our barn and that is the preferred area for our ewes to have their lambs.

Jennifer said...

Nice looking sheep. KitKat is really cool looking, pretty color. Shearing day looked like a long, tiring day but a lot got accomplished. They sure look different after they are sheared don't they? Going by the ligaments are probably the closest to accurate but if they are anything like goats they will try to fool ya! ;o) Or maybe that is just my goats? LOL.

Yellow Jacket Ridge Angoras said...

Good Lord Girlfriend!!!! I hope Nancy K. from a Shepherd's Voice stops by. She could give you some indication what to expect. She's amazing. You might drop in on her and ask her to visit.

As we all know I don't have a clue.

Nancy K. said...

Your girls look to be in very good condition! I especially like Kit Kat ~ she's a beauty.

Make sure they're getting plenty of exercise ~ that helps get the lambs into the proper position for delivery! I carry their hay into the far corners of the pasture so they have to at least walk some distance to eat.

It's so hard to predict without knowing the individual sheep. I would expect Bianca to go for a couple more days (based on yesterday's photo). I think her udder will become more engorged just prior to lambing. My girls often eat right up to and during labor. If I'm around when they are lambing, I like to feed them animal crackers between contractions! I figure the sugar will give them extra energy... ;-)

Good Luck!
I'm sure your lovely ladies will do just fine and you'll be over run with beautiful lambs in no time!

Christy said...

How exciting and scary! You sound like me, I worry about everything. I'm scared to death to have babies next year, so much can go wrong.

Anonymous said...

Oh my that is great,I can't wait to see pictures,congrats and keep us posted;)

diane said...

omg my first pink vulva experience- thanks claire!