Signs of Imminent Sheep Labor

One week ago today, Kit had her first lamb.  A little girl that I named Ella.  She is doing very well.  Kaboodle has not yet lambed, but if my reading of the “signs” is correct, I predict Kaboodle will lamb either tonight or tomorrow morning.

The anticipation leading up to the moment of lambing has been high.  For the last month, I have been wondering if they are in labor, or just acting funny that day.  I searched the web for sites that would tell me the signs that my sheep were about to go into labor.  A few good sites include Sheep’s Creek Farm and Wool Farm.  Another great site for all things goats, which is similar in many ways to sheep is Fias Co Farm. 

Both Kit and Kaboodle are first time lambers and I understand that not all sheep act the same when they are about ready to give birth.  What I saw the day before Kit gave birth, and what I am seeing now with Kaboodle are as follows:  First, almost a month ago both of their udders started to grow and became a little baggy.  About three weeks ago, if you were to squeeze the teat, you would get a clear, very thick, sticky, yellow tinted liquid.  About a week before they lambed, the clear, yellow liquid turned milky.  Although their udders continued to grow, the most growth happens right before they lamb.  With Kit it was about two days before, with Kaboodle, I will bet it is only a few hours off.  Second, the day before Kit lambed, she was acting very strange.  Standing in a funny position and looking off into space.  She didn’t really move around much and when she did, it was slow.  Even when she ate, she ate slower and seemed to chew her food more.  Kaboodle is now doing this.  Standing and staring at nothing for long periods of time.  The strange behaviour also related to the noise they made.  Typically, Kaboodle is very vocal.  Right now she is very quiet.  Kit isn’t as vocal, but about 12 hours before she lambed, she was also very, very quiet.  Kit was interested in food right before she gave birth, but she ate slowly and not all of it like she normally does.  Kaboodle took a few bites of the grain, then turned her nose up at it and went off into the corner of the barn to stare at the wall.  Not typical behavior at all.  Third, their back side changes.  It has been changing for over a month.  But right before they give birth, it protrudes a little and is much more red than earlier.  With them both, it went from a kind of pale color, to a pink, to a darker pink, to almost red.  When it gets to be almost red, they were ready.  Also, right around their tails gets soft.  If you feel back there, you can feel the ligaments right where the tale meets the backbone.  Shortly before they lamb, you can’t feel the ligaments and it is all squishy back there. 

These are some of the signs I have noticed with my sheep.  And it is still unsure if Kaboodle will actually lamb tonight or tomorrow, but I wanted to post this as a challenge to see if the signs I saw are accurate descriptions of when lambing will occur.  If she lambs, we can be somewhat confident that when you see these things, lambing will come.  If she doesn’t lamb, I would argue that you never know and the little ones come when they come. 

Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well with Kaboodle!