5 Crucial Thoughts for Lambing Season

Homesteading Chef

Growing lamb on the homestead can be very difficult if we are not considering a few points on our homesteads. It seems like everything on the planet kills baby lambs. Bobcats, coyotes, stray dogs, ant beds, etc it feels can kill a baby lamb. Essentially in the first 6 months, an infininte amount of probabilities could kill a baby lamb. So how do we deter death, and make lambing a successful, maybe even profitable part of our homestead.
We need to consider 5 Thoughts when raising lambs to be successful.
1st is their diet. Their diet drastically changes during the ewe's 150 day gestation period and continuing on until that lamb is weened from its mom.This past summer we experienced a devastating drought that sun burned the fields eliminated much of their year's supply of in-pasture hay. We are relying on expensive hay and grain to maintain their diet. It is not ideal but necessary to keep nutrient rich diets.
2nd- Be Prepared! Have all of your supplies ready to go for lambing season. Livestock bottles, iodine, sanitized sheers in case you need to cut an umbilical cord, gloves, and colostrum are important to have around. It is not uncommon to have a ewe who either cannot produce the milk required to sustain that baby (normally in my experience a first time mom) or the mom entirely rejects the baby. We our 50+ lambs we have birthed here on our homestead in the last 3 years, we have had 3 rejected baby lambs that needed to be bottle fed for their first 12 weeks. I wish it were less than that, but it has kept us always prepared because it has happened in the past. All three were either part of twins or triplets born where one sibling was accepted and the other not as lucky. We, as dominion managers of the homestead, have to be there to pick up the slack. In all three cases it resulted in a healthy sheep that was either butchered for meat supply, or healthy to be a mothering ewe in the pasture now.
3rd- Protection and Monitoring. We have to be extra on our toes during lambing season. My ewes, or mother sheep, typically give birth between the 145-150th day, but it is almost always on the beginning of a cold snap. I cannot count how many times I have had to get baby lambs out of an icy, snowy field that the mom left behind. If it were not for my guardian dogs who watch my flocks, I would have been very disappointed. Marla, our main alpha lady our main pasture is the first line of defense versus predators, and even themselves. She managed to lick the newborn lamb clean, and lay with it to keep it warm, when we arrived she went crazy until we went and saw her out in the field. It was an amazing experience and awe struck moment in my homesteading life that my livestock dog was that "on the job." We have to be monitoring listening to their sounds and their bodies. We should be noticing changes in the milk bags and nipples as well as sounds in their voice. It is the first signs of lambing season is upon us.
5th- A lambing area is crucial if you have multiple ewes or mixed livestock inside of your barn. Our barn has mixed animals in there. I have the livestock dogs, goats, sheep, and the occasional stray cow that finds their way into the barn. If not careful, a baby lamb could easily be trampled during feeding time. Having a safe area where they can mother their child, eat, and have clean water is crucial in the first few weeks. During the day I typically allow the mom and the babies to be in the pasture knowing that Marla, Saki, Tofu, and Sushi have them protected in the pasture. In the barn area though it is important we are protecting them for larger animals.
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