How Many Babies Are Normal For Goats and Sheep?
How many lambs and kids do sheep and goats typically have at a time? Is it possible to increase their productivity so that you can get more twins or triplets? Here are some strategies for having more babies at a time and also for having more babies over time.
If you are looking for goats and sheep for sale in the Northwest Alabama area, contact me 256-668-3014 or check out our website www.rollingofarm.com to see what I currently have available.
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Thus was so beautiful. That little lamb knew it's own momma. God is amazing with all His wonders
Totally agree. We are more likely to keep replacement ewes on the overall look of the animal, lenght, hight and of course a good square hindend. Not as important on being a twin or triple. There are other qualities that we like aswell. This last lambing season we were very lucky with multiple births. Feed your animals very well keep them clean and comfortable and you will see amazing results.
My first ever kidding with my goats years ago was a first time milk goat cross that kidded 5 and raised them all herself. Never had more than 4 since then. Last year I weaned about 2.0 on my goats and this year looks like will wean 1.6.
Had sheep for about 5 years now and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Thank you! I’m glad it’s helpful.
This is great information and it fits comfortably with my own experience. I have a very small flock and breed only 1 or 2 ewes a year. Last year I selected a 2.5 year old ewe for first time breeding. She was very healthy at time of joining and, perhaps consequently, she produced triplets. Whilst she has successfully mothered them all, my feeling is that it has been very hard on her; keeping weight on her has been nigh impossible. She's not in good enough condition to breed this year. On balance, I think I prefer twins over triplets. Singles also grow on very well.
Hi Lonny, I can’t thank you enough for the content you have put out. Your informative and easy to follow videos have improved the health of my flock and I’m also currently in the process of constructing a sheep yard using your methods. I’ll share a few photos once I am finished. Kind regards, Nathan 🇦🇺
Great! Thanks for the kind words.
This is very informative video, love it.
Glad it was helpful!
This is GREAT info thank you. This is exactly what I’ve wondered because my cow farmer neighbor leaves them together year round and so did the lady I got my sheep from and it seemed much lower maintenance for sure. Thank you for these videos. Also really liked your hoof trimming and parasite checking video.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video as always. Bought a small herd last week and immediately had to watch the 3 part series on worms for help. Apparently the previous owner did not watch it.
Good luck!
This is what I am trying to decide which is best. I did have my buck running with my does year round, but having kids born around the time of a severe cold snap here in southeast Kentucky was stressful for me with my current set up. So, right now, I have my buck separated. But the problem with that is having to have hay available for him during a time when there is plenty of browse available. The 2 singles I had this year were both first timers, all my other does had twins. Another thing to consider is how much supplemental feed will they need. I had 5 kids born in November (2 twins, 1 single) which meant I had to feed these kids and nursing mothers through the winter. All my other does kidded mostly last month with a couple earlier. Just in time for them to rely mostly on browse.
Since raising sheep is more of a hobby and not a business for me I have been buying and selling rams. This makes it much easier when they are lambing. I usually break even every year on cost. I usually have between 15-20 mommas
Enjoyed this one!
Excellent video - thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Great info as always
Thanks
Very interesting video.
Glad you enjoyed it
What do you do for retained does and ewes to prevent them from getting bred to young? Was happy to find a local channel! We are out of Hazel Green Alabama (just above Huntsville). Might be coming to you for sheep when we are ready for them!
Howdy neighbor! This is a great question. Personally, I no longer try to keep my replacement ewes separate. They do often get bred younger than I would prefer, but I’ve not found it to be a big enough problem (for my purposes), to justify the effort it takes to keep them separate.
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What breed of goats are you running?
Can Alfalfa be substituted for grain? We have 6 acres in alfalfa production and 2 acres set aside for sheep and a dairy cow. We want to be able to feed properly during gestation and milk production. Converting the alfalfa to grain would be very costly as I don’t have the equipment/infrastructure to harvest and store grain. Advise?
Alfalfa is hard to grow in my area and therefore hard to get. Consequently, I don’t have much experience with it. But I would say that it would be better than grain. I may refer you to Dave E’s comment on my video “How Much Hay Do Goats and Sheep Need?”
I've always kept wool sheep and my experience is that they only come in season in the fall. I've heard hair sheep can breed year 'round. Is this everyone else's experience, or am I mistaken in thinking wool sheep only breed in the fall? PS--really enjoying the videos!
You are correct. Most wool sheep are seasonal breeders and most hair sheep can breed anytime of year (if conditions are favorable).
Great content as usual. Hey I wanted to confirm something you said at 10:45; you mention 1.6 to 1.7 lambs per lambing? This is not per year and per ewe? Because if you think about it, breeding about every 8 months by keeping your rams in as opposed to every 12 months would mean an average of 2.4 lambs per year and per ewe (~1.6 per 8 months, ~0.4 for the other 4 months). This seems like a high number and would negate the benefits to try to maximize twins and triplets in my opinion. So I wanted to double check if you meant per lambing or per year
Yes. 1.6 lambs per ewe every 8 months. I come out better leaving rams in. More twins don’t make up for the time lost resting ewes. Now, there may be other factors I’ve not kept up with (like shortened productivity years for ewes, etc. I haven’t looked into that).
Great info! Do you keep the same ram from year to year or how often do you switch them out?
I just switch my rams out after every breeding season. I've been told you can keep them for two cycles before line breeding becomes a problem. But it is just easier for me to swap them out every time.
Do you know of anyone in the southern states with any Kalahari goats? Do you have an opinion on that goat breed?
I do not know of anyone in my area raising kalaharis. Boer goats are great but higher maintenance. I love savannas. Kikos are probably the hardiest out of the main meat breeds that I have experience with.
How likely are you to lose ewes and lambs due to over breeding,or vet bill for sick sheep.I think that has to come into play whether you come out profitable.(Terry of KY)
I think that is great point to consider. I don't know the answer to that. I don't think my losses are that high, but I have never tried to compare with someone who only breeds once a year. Great point to ponder though.
Thank you Lonny so much. If I choose to rest them, for how long should I rest them from the time it gives birth to the time that I supply it with a male?
I would rest them 2-3 months from the time they wean till the time you put the male back in with them.
What wormer would you use for baby goats?
They usually won’t need to be dewormed until they are 2-3 months old (if then). But you worm with same wormer as for adults adjusted for weight difference.
Are you running goats and sheep together? If so, have you ever had bucks breed a ewe or ram breed a nanny? Thank you
Often mine are separate, but from time to time I do run them together. While a buck will occasionally try to breed a ewe, I have never had one actually conceive (although I understand there have been rare occasions where conception has taken place but almost never results in a live "Geep").
Where did Lonny go?
I hope to add a few more videos soon. Thanks for asking.
@@rollingofarm Excellent !
Do you keep the goat bucks in with Ram lambs all in same pasture or separate goats and sheep?
Sometimes I run them all together. Sometimes I have them in separate areas.
@@rollingofarm do the rams fight with the bucks or are they ok?
@@sarajean9637 they may fight a little but they usually lose interest pretty quickly. At least I’ve never had problems.
Do you recommend portable shelters ?
I’ve never used them, so I can’t say. But they seem like they could be a good idea.
@@rollingofarm right? In a permanent shelter( barn) manure builds up So one has to shovel it up weekly no?
@@rollingofarm Try it out maybe? Would make a great video!
I hope you’re doing well, I have a five month old sheep with diarrhea, I put some apple vinegar in the water, I dewormed her and she still hav diarrhea and I saw her sucking milk from her mom, what would you recommend me? Thank you 🙏
There are many things that could cause it to have diarrhea from change in food to bacteria in water, to parasites. One thing you may want to treat for is coccidiosis. I wish I could give a better answer.
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How do I get in touch with you about buying some of your stock ?
You can call or text 256-668-3014
How soon do you pull your lambs and kids to avoid being bred too young
They can breed as early 4 1/2- 5 months old (depending on time of year). So moving them out from any rams at 4 months old should keep them from breeding too early.
What breed of sheep do you have?
Mostly Katahadins and a few Dorpers.