Lambing is not a spontaneous process, but planned and controlled by a person. Sheep usually successfully cope with the task, but very often they need help. We learn what is needed for successful lambing, how to prepare for it, and how, if necessary, to help the animal?
Suitable mating time
Sheep pregnancy can occur from 7 months of age. But livestock specialists recommend arranging the first mating for females between 1 and 1.5 years. Early pregnancy negatively affects milk production. The best age for mating is 18 months. And the ideal time for mating depends on the climate and economic conditions. Typically, sheep mate in September-October, so that lambing occurs in February-March.
The longer the summer, the later you can start mating. Sheep farmers prefer winter-spring lambing for the following reasons:
- the fertility of females is growing;
- lambs have the opportunity to get stronger before the next winter;
- lambs have time to grow up to the moment of pasture of sheep for grazing.
Preparing sheep for insemination
Activities for preparing sheep for insemination:
- 45 days before mating, the sheep are transferred to an enhanced diet.
- 2-2.5 months before mating weaned from the females of the lambs.
- After weaning the lambs, milking is gradually stopped.
- Females are examined for mastitis, teeth and hooves are examined.
- They are transferred to pastures with the best grass stand.
- If necessary, carry out anthelmintic treatment.
- Hooves are trimmed.
- Do the necessary vaccinations.
Not only sheep, but also sheep are prepared for mating - a month before the appointed date they begin to feed intensively. 1-1.5 kg of concentrate is added to the daily ration of a ram.
How to determine pregnancy in sheep?
After mating, pregnancy does not always occur. Experienced sheep farmers are able to independently "diagnose" pregnancy based on the behavior of females.
Signs of pregnancy:
- Three weeks after mating, the sheep has no symptoms of sexual desire. A special detector helps to verify the presence or absence of estrus.
- Hunting in sheep lasts 48-72 hours. The female during this period is nervous, bleats, does not eat, and after some time there are also physiological signs of readiness for mating - edema and redness of the genitals.
- After 12-20 days, the male does not show interest in the female. Insemination sheep have a reaction only to uncovered sheep.
- Older females behave more calmly than before pregnancy. But young females are still active - there is no way to do without a veterinarian.
The veterinarian will help to accurately diagnose pregnancy by probing through the rectum - how the uterine arteries pulsate. Or apply an ultrasonic detector - on 36-60 days after pairing.
Pregnancy duration
On average, pregnancy lasts 142-152 days. The extreme borders are 138 and 159 days. The duration of coagulation is affected by:
- Breed. Among the sheep there are early maturing and late maturing breeds.
- The floor of the lambs. If the lambs are male, the gestation lasts longer.
- The number of births. Uterus with pregnancy experience give birth faster.
Preparation for Lambing
They begin to prepare for lambing in advance:
- A month before lambing, wool is trimmed around the udder.
- Two weeks before lambing, the soft sheep are transferred to a separate room - spacious, warm, with light and without drafts. The room is cleaned, ventilated, disinfected, and dry litter is laid on the floor. Each individual should have at least 2.5 square meters. m
Heralds of fast birth
Two days before lambing, sheep show visible signs of lambing. You can find out about pregnancy by:
- increased udder;
- swollen nipples;
- severely sagging belly;
- swollen genitals;
- restless behavior.
A few hours before lambing, the animal, with all its appearance and behavior, lets you know about its imminent approach. The sheep lies on its side, groans, looks around.
The signs of the imminent birth of a sheep are described in the video below:
How long does lambing last?
The lambing duration depends on a variety of factors, so you can’t say exactly when the lamb will appear. Typically, the process does not take more than one hour. During this time, all the lambs manage to be born - the duration of the birth also depends on their number. The interval between the appearance of babies is 10-15 minutes.
Lamb Features
In connection with a special physiological rhythm, lambing takes place at night. Usually a sheep is laminated without human help, and it copes with all the tasks, and all that remains for the sheep farmer is to accept the born lamb and wipe it.
After a normal birth, the sheep gets up and, having shaken off, approaches the newborn to lick it. This is a mandatory ritual - the uterus, licking the cub, forever remembers its smell. Remembering her offspring, she will willingly let him go to her udder.
Lambing process and how to take birth
Sheep lambing is relatively quick and easy. Human help is either not needed at all, or it is minimal. But there are also complicated births, then one cannot do without human help.
When lambing, the female can lie or stand, so there must be a thick layer of litter. The procedure for independent lambing:
- First comes the amniotic fluid filled with fluid. Do not interfere with the process and puncture it - the bubble expands the birth canal, and the lamb is easier to come into the world.
- The lamb comes forward with the limbs - the head rests on them.
- Lamb, falling out, breaks the umbilical cord. Or a sheep chews it.
- The sheep independently cleanses the newborn from mucus and amniotic fluid.
Sheep help may be required at any stage of labor. Lambing procedure with human participation:
- Amniotic fluid exit. No help needed.
- The appearance of a lamb. Help may be needed:
- If the fetus lies incorrectly - forward with hind legs. The veterinarian will be able to deploy the fetus right in the womb, and childbirth will end without complications.
- The lamb is born in the bladder - you need to free the newborn by cutting through the shell. If the vet is not nearby, you will have to cope on your own. The bubble is pierced first. Waiting for water to flow out. They turn the fetus, and gently pull it forward - but only at the moment when the female starts trying.
- Lamb birth and umbilical cord rupture. If the umbilical cord is not torn during the fall of the lamb, or is not bitten by a sheep, you need to cut it with scissors treated with iodine solution. The umbilical cord is cut at a distance of 8-10 cm from the abdomen, it is also lubricated with iodine.
- Airway cleansing. Immediately after the release of the lamb, he needs to clean the mucus from his nostrils and mouth - this item is required, both with independent lambing and with the help of a person.
- Rubdown. A newborn lamb is wiped with clean and dry rags.
If there are several lambs, then the second and all subsequent ones will be born faster and easier, since the uterus will expand sufficiently by this time.
In his video, the breeder shows how to help a sheep give birth to lambs:
What to do after lambing?
After 5-6 hours after childbirth, the last comes out. He must leave himself, in a natural way. It must be removed and buried. If the trail has not come out, the help of a veterinarian is needed - there is a risk of blood poisoning, followed by the death of the animal.
In order for the afterbirth to succeed, the sheep needs to drink a lot after giving birth. Every two hours, the uterus is given 1.5 liters of warm water.
After lambing, they are tidied up in the room and look after the roaming sheep:
- Dirty wool is sheared and disposed of.
- Wash the udder with soda solution, and wipe it with a dry rag.
- The place where the lambing took place is cleaned and disinfected. Litter is instilled with the afterbirth.
- After 20 minutes, newborns begin to search for the udder. Human help in this matter is not needed - the lambs find the udder without problems and begin to suck milk. And the sheep, remembering the smell of a lamb during licking, never interferes with the sucking process.
- 4-9 hours after lambing, the animal is fed. It is important to feed the sheep in the same way as before delivery - changing the diet is not recommended. If you change the diet, the lambs will have an upset stomach.
- Sheep is fed with high-quality and light feeds, silage - not more than 2 kg, hay, straw, vitamins and minerals. Complete recovery in the animal occurs after 8 days.
It is forbidden to overfeed a sheep after lambing - overeating can provoke mastitis.
After 1-2 months, the sheep may begin hunting. But earlier than after 4-6 months, mating cannot be started.
How to take care of litter:
- If there is one lamb, it can be left with the mother, if two or more, they are launched to the mother once every 2-3 hours, and then they are placed in a separate room.
- If there are weak lambs, they are left at the udder longer than others. When the lambs are 2 months old, the number of feeds is reduced from 6 to 3 times a day.
- If it is not possible to feed the lambs with sheep’s milk, they will replace it with cow’s milk. It must be fresh, warmed up to 38-39 ° С. But keep in mind that cow's milk is less nutritious.
- From 20-30 days, the lambs are gradually fed with flattened grain, crushed cake, bran.
What can be the complications?
Complications are possible not only with lambing, but after it. The symptoms of a sheep indicate poor condition:
- anxiety;
- immobility;
- bleeding;
- fever.
You should carefully monitor the animal. Within 6 days, discharge from the genitals continues, but if by the 7th day they have not stopped, most likely there is damage to the internal genital organs, and you need to call a veterinarian.
In a sheep, postpartum paresis may begin - a coma of the gastrointestinal tract, pharynx, and tongue occurs. The cause of this pathology is unknown. But it turned out that paresis less often affects sheep who spend the winter in stalls. Also, the animal may experience:
- tears and various kinds of damage to the uterus;
- infectious diseases provoked by infection in the vagina during lambing.
Pathological birth
Options for pathological birth:
- Prematureness. Ends with the death of offspring. A sheep can get sick. An analysis should be carried out - if it becomes clear that the cause of the pathology is the female’s disease, they kill her so that the herd does not become infected. Most often, the cause of preterm birth is chlamydia. They disrupt the functioning of the genitals.
- Prenatal bedding. This pathology also causes fetal death. It consists in disruption of the respiratory organs. The female also runs the risk of dying. The causes of the pathology are joint diseases arising from a poor diet, hypothermia, and poor living conditions. The situation can be saved if pathology happens before the lambing. In other cases, the outcome is unknown.
How many lambs can a sheep bring?
Sheep productivity is influenced by health, breed, and fodder given both before maturation and during it. The breed most affects the number of lambs. From 1 to 5 cubs are born, most often 2-3. It is extremely difficult to say in advance what the offspring will be.
The weight of the newborn cub is 4-6 kg. The more lambs are born, the less they weigh. That is why the best option is 2-3 lamb, since it is in this case that their weight is optimal, they differ in better health and quickly gain weight. Only two lambs can fully feed a sheep.
Expert Advice
Good advice from experienced sheep farmers:
- For lambing to be successful, be careful about feeding animals.
- Count the lambing period so that you can be near at the right time - your help will suddenly be needed.
- Enlist the help of a veterinarian in advance so that in the event of a complicated birth, he can quickly arrive.
The success of lambing directly depends on its preparation and organization. With good care and a balanced diet, the risk of pathologies is minimal. And even if there are some difficulties with lambing, you, having studied the process in advance, can help the animal.
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