HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SHEEP IS PREGNANT
If you're anything like me, you've stood staring at your flock wondering 'how do I tell if my sheep is pregnant?' I might have even seen the boys in action but 4 months later I can't help but watch those ewes nibbling grass and showing no signs of motherhood and worrying that I might have got it wrong.
Luckily there are some signs of pregnancy, many of which are pretty subtle, but with careful observation you can increase your confidence that yes, baby lambs are indeed on the way.
It’s not always easy to tell if sheep are pregnant
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SCANNING
For a commercial sheep flock, having ewes scanned is a pretty standard process. It helps farmers plan future lamb yields and also allows ewes to be identified by the number of lambs they're carrying. This is important for feed rationing in the later stages of pregnancy.
Scanning can only be done relatively early on, however, as it relies on being able to see the individual embryo sacks to access just how many are in there. Scan too far along in the pregnancy and you'll be able to tell there are babies but have no clue just how many. And because these scans are conducted early on, sheep may still lose their lambs along the way so it's important to know late pregnancy signs.
SHEEP GROWTH
Relying simply on watching if your sheep gets bigger is not a good idea. Sheep are pregnant for around five months but lambs do the majority of growing in the final month. It means that assessing your sheep's body condition for pregnancy at any time other than the final month is unlikely to help you get a definitive answer.
You might look at your sheep and think she's getting bigger. But wait until the final month; it's unmistakable how big they get. In my experience if you look at your sheep head on, their rounded sides become increasingly egg shaped, indicating they're pregnant rather than just fat!
Pregnant sheep begin to look more egg-shaped than round
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BAGGING UP
Like sheep growth, bagging up doesn't happen in sheep until the final few weeks before birth. However, ewes generally hold their teats very close to their body. So as soon as you start to see a nipple hanging lower, it's a good idea to begin looking at the area every day. You'll notice that the sheep wool around the udder often starts to shed in preparation for drinking lambs.
Over the course of two or three weeks, you will notice the udder descending and looking increasingly full of milk.
EWE LADY PARTS
Along with bagging up, the back ends of ewes will become increasingly puffy. This can be hard to see due to their tails, but watch carefully as they're tottering around and you'll notice the change.
COLOSTRUM PRODUCTION
I personally like to keep all my sheep bucket trained. It means that when it comes to assessing ewes, I can get their head in a bucket of breakfast and then have a quick feel around the back.
About 10 days before birth, ewes will begin to produce colostrum - a thick, yellowy rich milk filled with antibodies and goodness to help lambs get the best start at life.
Whilst your ewe's head is in the bucket, give the teats a quick squeeze. There may be a wax plug that needs removing first. You will recognise colostrum immediately ... it looks more like puss than milk! But I promise, its good. In preparation for lambing, it’s important to have things like powdered colostrum ready, so I’ve put together a handy list of the best sheep keeping supplies. Or you can pop over to Ebay and buy this powdered substitute.
Colostrum comes in about 10 days before birth
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LAMB MOVEMENT
By the time your sheep has an udder and is producing colostrum, the lambs will be big enough to see them moving, just as we can feel babies kicking and moving pre-birth. Of course, its harder to see in sheep due to the fleece but with short sheep wool or self-shedding varieties like Wiltshire Horns, baby movement is very visible. And the closer to birth, the more obvious kicks and rippling across the ewes middle will be.
BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES
Finally, there are some subtle behavioural changes that will happen to your sheep as they're approach imminent motherhood.
As you might expect, the larger they get, the slower they'll move around. They will look uncomfortable, having specific difficulty getting up and down. Some of my ewes also choose to walk around on their knees rather than stand up; not because of a foot problem but simply due to comfort. You'll notice teeth grinding and lip curling, again due to the discomfort of large lambs moving around inside. You may also notice increased hunger, not just because your sheep is feeding her unborn lambs but because her stomachs are compressed and she physically cannot eat as much as before.
The typical pregnant ewe post; one front leg out, rolled onto a hip, and one back leg splayed
I should say of course, that every ewe is different. Some show no signs of pregnancy, whilst others balloon and then only have a tiny single lamb. Some will bag up super early, whilst others will produce milk only a couple of days before. But often these traits stay with ewes so once you've noticed them, not them down and they'll help you next year.
I hope these tips help you answer that age old question - is my sheep pregnant? They've certainly helped me over the years.
Any questions, just ask below. :)
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