Lambing with Fedora
Lambing Jugs
Preparing for the arrival of baby lambs is very important. While you wait for your lambs, you need
to prepare your barn and lambing kit. In your barn, you need to install lambing pens to help your
ewe bond with her lamb. Lambing pens, called jugs, should be small. The pens should be a 4ft.x
6ft. square that is 3ft. high. Make sure the area is draft free. A clean water bucket is necessary
because most ewes like a big drink of water right after their lambs are born. Make sure it is warm
water and hang it so the lambs cannot fall in.
Lambing Kit
In your lambing kit, you should have:
1. antiseptic lubricant used on your hands if the ewe needs help delivering.
2. old, clean towels for drying off the lambs.
3. iodine, used to disinfect the umbilical cord of your lambs.
4. lamb bottle and nipple, just in case you have to bottle feed a lamb.
5. tool for docking tails.
6. supply of colostrum.
7. ear tags for identifying lambs.
8. rectal thermometer
9. lamb milk replacer in case a ewe willl not allow her lamb to nurse.
10. hand held scale for weighing lambs.
11. vitamin supplement for lambs, such as "Nutridrench".
Taking the time to collect these things will insure that you have the basic supplies on hand and will
help you take care of your lambs and laboring ewes.
Laboring Ewes
Laboring ewes will usually go through three stages of labor. Your knowledge of these natural
stages will make lambing easier for you.
During the first stage, the ewe has uterine contractions and cervical dilation that usually lasts
about 12 to 14 hours. During this time the abdomen will appear to droop. This is called dropping.
This is indicated by clear, triangle shaped hollows just ahead of the hipbones.
You can tell that the second stage is started when the ewe starts to paw the ground and look
uncomfortable. She will stand up and lie down frequently and when she lies down, she may grunt
and kick and stick her nose in the air. Do not try to pen the ewe up at this stage or she will be
extremely unhappy. During this process, the membranes usually rupture and break the water bag,
lubricating the birth canal. I n this stage, the ewe physically strains in order to expel the lamb.
When the water bag emerges, do not worry if the ewe stands up and walks around. She is just
trying to get comfortable. The third stage includes expulsion of fetal membranes and involution of
the uterus The lamb should appear within thirty minutes. Once the lamb is born, the ewe will begin
licking the lamb and cleaning its face.
Now it is time to “snip, dip, and strip”.
Snip: Find a pair of scissors that are clean. Carefully snip the umbilical cord to about two inches
if it is dragging on the ground.
Dip: Find a pill bottle, or other kind of bottle, with a wide top. Fill it ½ full with strong (7%)
Iodine. Dip the umbilical cord all the way into it.
Strip: The ewe's teats have a waxy plug in the end of them. In order to remove this plug, squirt
some colostrum out of each teat. Make sure that the lambs nurse! Colostrum is what protects the
lamb from disease. It is vital that the lamb get this in the first 24 hours. It is a good idea to have
some frozen colostrum handy.
Caring for your lamb during the first few minutes of its life will increase the chances that your
lambs survive.
If you have adequate preparations, knowledge of the normal process of lambing, and how to care
for your lambs, you will be able to focus more on the rewards of lambing. Listening to the mothers
nickering and watching the lambs frolic are the highlight in a shepherd’s year.
Lambing Jugs
Preparing for the arrival of baby lambs is very important. While you wait for your lambs, you need
to prepare your barn and lambing kit. In your barn, you need to install lambing pens to help your
ewe bond with her lamb. Lambing pens, called jugs, should be small. The pens should be a 4ft.x
6ft. square that is 3ft. high. Make sure the area is draft free. A clean water bucket is necessary
because most ewes like a big drink of water right after their lambs are born. Make sure it is warm
water and hang it so the lambs cannot fall in.
Lambing Kit
In your lambing kit, you should have:
1. antiseptic lubricant used on your hands if the ewe needs help delivering.
2. old, clean towels for drying off the lambs.
3. iodine, used to disinfect the umbilical cord of your lambs.
4. lamb bottle and nipple, just in case you have to bottle feed a lamb.
5. tool for docking tails.
6. supply of colostrum.
7. ear tags for identifying lambs.
8. rectal thermometer
9. lamb milk replacer in case a ewe willl not allow her lamb to nurse.
10. hand held scale for weighing lambs.
11. vitamin supplement for lambs, such as "Nutridrench".
Taking the time to collect these things will insure that you have the basic supplies on hand and will
help you take care of your lambs and laboring ewes.
Laboring Ewes
Laboring ewes will usually go through three stages of labor. Your knowledge of these natural
stages will make lambing easier for you.
During the first stage, the ewe has uterine contractions and cervical dilation that usually lasts
about 12 to 14 hours. During this time the abdomen will appear to droop. This is called dropping.
This is indicated by clear, triangle shaped hollows just ahead of the hipbones.
You can tell that the second stage is started when the ewe starts to paw the ground and look
uncomfortable. She will stand up and lie down frequently and when she lies down, she may grunt
and kick and stick her nose in the air. Do not try to pen the ewe up at this stage or she will be
extremely unhappy. During this process, the membranes usually rupture and break the water bag,
lubricating the birth canal. I n this stage, the ewe physically strains in order to expel the lamb.
When the water bag emerges, do not worry if the ewe stands up and walks around. She is just
trying to get comfortable. The third stage includes expulsion of fetal membranes and involution of
the uterus The lamb should appear within thirty minutes. Once the lamb is born, the ewe will begin
licking the lamb and cleaning its face.
Now it is time to “snip, dip, and strip”.
Snip: Find a pair of scissors that are clean. Carefully snip the umbilical cord to about two inches
if it is dragging on the ground.
Dip: Find a pill bottle, or other kind of bottle, with a wide top. Fill it ½ full with strong (7%)
Iodine. Dip the umbilical cord all the way into it.
Strip: The ewe's teats have a waxy plug in the end of them. In order to remove this plug, squirt
some colostrum out of each teat. Make sure that the lambs nurse! Colostrum is what protects the
lamb from disease. It is vital that the lamb get this in the first 24 hours. It is a good idea to have
some frozen colostrum handy.
Caring for your lamb during the first few minutes of its life will increase the chances that your
lambs survive.
If you have adequate preparations, knowledge of the normal process of lambing, and how to care
for your lambs, you will be able to focus more on the rewards of lambing. Listening to the mothers
nickering and watching the lambs frolic are the highlight in a shepherd’s year.
| In his book, Living with Sheep, Chuck Wooster states, “Without a doubt, lambing is the most exiting, rewarding, complicated and nerve-racking season in the shepherds year.” In order to reduce the stress of lambing you need to have adequate preparations, knowledge of the normal, natural process of lambing, and knowledge of how to care for your lamb after it is born. With these preparations, you will be able to focus more on the rewards of lambing. |
| Here you see the membranes have ruptured and the water bag is broken. The lamb is in perfect position presenting its two front feet and nose in the birth canal. The lamb is moments from birth. |
| Here Fedora is cleaning her newly born lamb. She nickers to her lamb as she licks her all over. Allow the ewe to clean her lamb undisturbed. This is critical to their bonding. |
| Within 30 minutes of birth, the lamb should be up nursing the ewe. This supplies the lamb with colostrum necessary for survival. If the lamb is having difficulty, you can assist by holding the lamb steady to the ewe's teat. Here you can see that Fedora and her lamb have been moved to a jug, which are just wooden panels made to corner off a small section of the barn. |
