Ewe-Phoria Dairy Information

** East Friesian **
(Friesian Milk Sheep, Ostfriesisches Milchschaf)

Sheep vital statistics: 

• Body Temperature: 100.9° F-103.8° F
• Pulse/heart rate: 70 - 80 beats per minute
• Respiration rate: 12 - 20 breaths per minute
• Estrus cycle: 18 days
• Estrus duration:  28 hours
• Gestation period:  145 days
• Breeding season: August through fall
• Weight: Adult sheep average between 150 and 200 pounds.

Carrying for Sheep:

• Sheep should have an adequate supply of clean flowing water, particularly on hot days. 
• Sheep must be fed at least once a day but preferably twice a day.  Ewe-Phoria sheep are fed each morning and again in the late afternoon. 

• Sheep are not smart animals and will not necessarily seek shelter from rain. However, especially when their fleece is long, they will seek shade from the sun. Ewe-Phoria provides cover for the sheep to use when the weather is either too sunny or too wet.

• Newborn lambs lose bodyheat quickly and need protection from the cold, especially wet cold.

• Additionally, to maintain good condition, sheep need exercise. Young lambs romp and play, creating their own activity whenever they're not nursing or resting. Ewe-Phoria's roomy pens and pastures allow mature ewes and rams to move around as much as needed to maintain good condition. Lambs raised for market, however, need extra activity to ensure that they do not become "overconditioned" or fat.

Routine preventative health care.

• In addition to food, water, exercise, and shelter Ewe-Phoria sheep receive preventative care to keep them healthy.
• Ewe-Phoria lambs have docked tales, cut close to the tailhead, for hygienic reasons (to prevent the accumulation of manure that would attract flies).
• Ewe-Phoria sheep received periodic worming--at least twice a year, though the frequency will vary according to weather and herd condition.
•  Ewe-Phoria ewes receive three types of vaccinations, BoSe, tetanus, and enterotoxaemia.  Young lambs that have not yet been vaccinated will receive tetanus antitoxin at castration time and docking time for immediate protection against tetanus.
• Finally, Ewe-Phoria sheep have their hooves trimmed and checked periodically for "foot rot," a fungus infection common in the neglected feet of substandard herds.

Carry during labor and birth.   

• Ewe-Phoria pays particular attention to our ewes during labor and birth time.
• Unless the ewe is shorn, and sheep are not typically shorn in the winter, it is difficult to see some of the changes that happen in the early stages of labor. The pelvic ligaments loosen up, creating a hollow around the dock or tail head. A sign that is easier to detect is a "dropped" look to the abdomen with a hollow below the hip bone.
• If you happen to notice the ewe pass her mucous plug or drip gobs of mucous, you will know that the first stage of labor has begun. She may paw the ground or stand away from her usual companions. Later, during the second stage of labor, the ewe will push, first expelling amniotic fluid and later, hopefully, the front feet of the first of several lambs. As you watch her strain and grunt you will understand why this natural process is called "labor." But if the labor continues for an hour or more with no sign of a lamb, someone will need to check to see what is the matter. If the ewe stops pushing, she could be weak because of a selenium deficiency or because the labor has been prolonged without progress. Straining with neither a sack nor feet protruding from the vulva usually means that the lamb is in a position that makes delivery difficult. If you need to assist in the delivery, you will be relieved to learn that the entrance to a ewe's reproductive tract is usually roomy and well lubricated at this time. The hardest part is knowing how long to wait before interfering. The second hardest part is identifying a lamb's body parts when your hand is exploring the inside of the ewe's reproductive tract. Ewe-phoria has experienced livestock "midwives," and our ewes rarily reach the stage where we have to make quick decisions about when and how to help.
• Ewe-Phoria also cares for the newborn lamb.
• Out slips a wet lamb, usually with front feet followed by a muzzle that is struggling for its first breath.
• We break the amniotic sack before the whole lamb is born so that it can breathe. Ewe-phoria ewes are moved to a clean, dry shelter, bedded with straw prior to labor. We worry less about bacteria that could infect the newborn lamb when we are sure the lamb will land in clean, dry bedding.
• Dipping the umbilical cord in a strong (7%) iodine solution a few minutes after birth is essential. We have spent a long night waiting for this moment, but wont leave yet!
• Ewe-Phoria first ensures the lamb is able to stand and nurse. A colostrum meal will provide not just energy, but antibodies vital for the health of the young lamb. About 16 hours after birth, the lamb will lose its ability to absorb antibodies from the colostrum. If the ewe rejects her lambs, we are prepared to bottlefeed them.
• We normally let the ewe eat the afterbirth. In the wild this is what mothers do to remove some of the birthing smell, hoping to discourage predators. The afterbirth also contains hormones that, when consumed by the mother, stimulate the uterus to contract and return to its normal size.