Preparing for Lambing

Our focus this time of year is on preparing the bred ewes, our facilities and supplies, etc. for lambing which will start shortly at Circle J. We lamb twice a year, fall (October) and winter (January through March).  The winter lambing ewes are scheduled to start lambing shortly after the 1st of January. Every shepherd has different "protocols" they follow. Here's what works best for us:

Bred ewes about 45-60 days before lambing.

Our Ewes

• Receive a vaccination of CDT,  2-5 weeks before lambing. We feel this is so important that it is the one thing we never miss! The ewe will then transmit these antibodies to the lamb before it is born, so you don't have to vaccinate baby lambs until they are about 3 weeks old. 
• We are watching "condition scoring" very carefully this time of year! Meaning, we want our ewes to go into lambing with the appropriate amount of "cover" or fat; they should have enough to be able to handle growing a lamb, then lactation but not too much so they have difficult deliveries or are unhealthy. 

Facilities

Homemade lambing "jugs"

• We're setting up lambing "jugs". We made our own 6X4 jugs of plywood and 1x1s and painted them white. I've thought several times about buying a fancy lambing "system" from one of the great sheep equipment producers, but in our climate where it can be below zero when we lamb, we've found the solid wood sides of our jugs keep in the heat better from the ewe and the heat lamp above the jug.
• Our lambing camera has changed our lives! We purchased one about 7 years ago online for $125. It is mounted over the "drop pen" and transmits the live video and sound from the pen to a small TV in our kitchen. 

Resources

• We review the lambing calendar with everyone in the family who will be helping; so people can plan ahead! We live to have 100% "coverage" during lambing, meaning someone is always here. That isn't always possible, but we try! Because our flock is small, we do everything possible to prevent any losses or accidents from happening.
• We assemble a lambing kit - both a small hand held kit that goes out to the barn with us when a ewe is lambing, and a larger rubber maid tub with misc. supplies in it that may be needed. 
• I take inventory of the drug cabinet and make sure we have the drugs on hand that might be needed during lambing.