Ewes and lambs on pasture in early summer
We're grass farmers first. Sheep are used to harvest forage, an abundant, economical resource. Pastures in the hill country of southern Ohio make feed of superb quality if managed well.
We raise ewes and lambs on forage from spring until fall. We wean at 90 days and graze lambs ahead of the ewes. In dry years, ewes often spend a month or two on hay in a sacrific paddock in order to give the lambs the best pasture.
Ram lambs are separated at 120 days from the flock to prevent unwanted breeding. At that point, we generally feed the ram lambs grain to promote faster growth on lesser-quality pastures or hay. In the fall, retained ewe lambs are grained to keep them growing, which can be important, because they are bred to lamb at one year of age and are growing fetuses too.
During the growing season, we move the flock daily to a new paddock, often clipping behind the flock to foster high pasture quality.
Pasture Lambing
We have always pasture lambed in tune with the spring flush of grass. We have tried lambing from early April to mid-May. For years we turned the rams in about Thanksgiving for mid-April lambs and that usually worked well. April is a bit cool and misty but is usually our driest month of the year on average. Of course, snow and cold rain are sometimes possible!
Mid-May is a great option for large commercial flocks, because weather is more stable and there is so much forage that supplemental feeding before lambing may be unnecessary. But May-born lambs are smaller in the fall and that is not the best for the breeding stock market. Also, mid-May lambing is getting a bit late for submitting data to the National Sheep Improvement Program, in which we participate for objective performance measurement. Parasites could be a greater concern, too, as the lambs might not get a good start before getting hit by the blood-suckers.
For two years we lambed in early April, going for better-developed fall lambs. We found this too stressful for the shepherds. Supplemental feed is vital then, because our pastures are thin after being grazed down all winter. We have a forage base of naturalized Kentucky 31 fescue that is grazed hard in winter and early spring to help clover and other species of grass compete.
We returned to lambing in mid-April to late-April, which presents a nice balance among these variables: weather, forage availability, and fall breeding stock sales. As little as a week's difference in lambing date can make a huge difference in feed quantity, quality, and stress level for sheep and shepherd.
Our first grazing date here is considered to be around March 20. If our first lambing date is about a month later, the grass has had time to come on and offer meaningful feed.
In our system, giving the ewes up to a pound of corn before lambing is important as an energy supplement and to prevent ketosis. But the feed component is not so all-important as it is with earlier lambing. In many ways, mid-April to early May is just a more forgiving time for us to lamb.
For years we set-stocked ewes on pasture for a month at lambing. Sheep experts tend to say this is the best way for ewes to bond with their lambs. But Katahdins may not need that.
For several years we have kept the flock moving during lambing, after seeing the success that Doug and Laura Fortmeyer of Kansas have had by managing that way. We have had no mothering problems and have been able to keep our grass under better control. (I should add that ewes with fresh lambs are not pushed ahead with the flock as it moves that day but are nudged to catch up in the afternoon or the next day.)
We use livestock guard dogs to protect the sheep from coyotes, which are abundant here and can kill a lot of lambs quickly. Once bonded to the flock and matured past the puppy stage, these dogs are reliable and take minimal extra management.
© Copyright 2006 by Richard Gilbert