Everything you ever wanted to know about lambing but were too afraid to ask

• There are currently about 100 breeding ewes in the flock and we expect 150+ lambs.
• Our ewes are 2 years old the first time they lamb.
•  The gestation period for a sheep is 5 months:

1. The ewes come into season in September.
2. We put our rams in the field in with the girls on 1st October.
3. Lambing will commence in the first week of March.
4. We choose this schedule in order to have lambs on show in the fields for Easter.

•  The pregnant ewes come in from the field just after Christmas for extra care, shelter and food. This is important for strong lamb development.
• The ewes are all scanned in the New Year and we separate them into two groups:

1. Those expecting a single lamb in one group.
2. Those expecting twins or triplets in the other.

• Normal presentation for a lamb to be born is head and forelegs first. If this is the case then the ewes can normally manage with no assistance. They will sometimes need help if the lamb is particularly big, or if it is coming the wrong way round.
• Once they have given birth, the ewe and her lambs will be put into a separate pen:

1. This allows the bonding process to happen.
2. It prevents the ewes that haven’t lambed yet from overenthusiastically ‘adopting/stealing’ someone else’s baby!
3. They stay separate for 1–2 days.
4. Weather permitting, healthy ewes and lambs can go out into the field after 3–5 days.

•  It is normal for ewes to have blood and mucus around their back ends after giving birth.
•  It is normal for new babies to sleep a lot – newborn lambs will sleep for 12–16 hours a day.
• We will probably keep or sell most of the female lambs as pedigree breeding stock, most of the males will go for meat with a few of the best sold as breeding rams.
•  Lamb on your plate is anything from 4–12 months old.