"We have seen [ twinB] eating, but she sucks a couple of times then cries, then sucks a couple of times and tries again. Both twins want to nurse from the same side. Is this normal? [twin B] is more inclined to come to me than [twin A] and the ewe is more concerned about [twin A] than [twin B] Is there something I can do to help the ewe be just as concerned with [twinB]? "

It sounds like for some reason the lambs like one side better than the other. There can be alot of reasons for this but often after lambing, the udder gets pretty distended for a day or two. It can be painful to the ewe and may be so tight that it is hard for the lambs to get ahold of the teat. The dominant of the twins is sucking on the easiest side and getting the most of the milk , leaving the smaller twin with the more inaccessible side. The ewe may be kicking them off the sore side .

First milk down the ewe so that the bag feels a bit less distended and equal. SAVE THAT EXTRA COLOSTRUM! Make sure your smaller lamb gets some of it, but put any excess in the freezer and label it. Milking her down will make the teats more accessible to the lambs and will encourage them to utilize both sides. Usually things will even out in a few days.

Make sure your ewe does not have mastitis. If you get blood or clots when you milk her out, I would treat the affected side immediately with an intramammary penicillin. You may have to tape the teat so that the lambs cannot nurse on that side for a few days, but be sure to keep her milked out on that side until you are done with treatment.

The reason the ewe seems to like the larger twin may be simply that the larger twin smells like her milk (since it is getting all of it) and the smaller twin is not permeated with her milk-smell. It is also possible that there is something wrong with the smaller lamb that we cannot see. It happens and the ewe will know; but I never assume there is something defective about a lamb until I know for sure.

Keep the little family in a small pen until you are satisfied that the lambs are doing equally well and that the ewe has bonded with them both. Monitor the lambs frequently. When you put your finger in their mouth, it should feel warmer than your finger since a sheeps normal temp is higher than a human temperature. If it feels cold, the lamb is not getting enough to eat! You may have to physically put the smaller lamb to the ewe . This uneven nursing usually corrects itself after a few days.

How long can the Border Leicester live and what is their productive lifespan?

The oldest Border Leicester I ever had was 16 years old and she was productive through age 12 . Most live 10-12 years. Consider that the aged ewe (8 and older) may have worn teeth that limit her ability to process her food. She may need supplementary nutritional support to carry a lamb to term and then provide enough milk for it.... but if you can make sure she gets enough nutrition, there is no reason she cannot produce lambs well into maturity. Leicester sheep are excellent mothers by nature and an old reliable ewe is worth her weight in gold!

Hybrid Leicester Bottle Lamb! this white ram lamb is a beauty! Out of a BeechTree Farm Hetty /Bluefaced Leicester ewe (white) and HMFF White Knight / Border Leicester ram(white.. see below) Born 3-8-07 He is nice enough to grow out as a herdsire, but he would also make a fantastic addition as a wether to a spinners flock . Those Hybrid fleeces are the cream of the crop! $75 through the end of April.

HMFF White Knight - this is a fabulous white BORDER LEICESTER ram with a LONG staple fleece with uniform character throughout. He is proven (my herd sire for the last two years) and easy to get along with. Sheared 9 lbs last year, 12 lbs this year!. Out of HMFF Guenevere (white) and HMFF Jupiter (silver). $250

(yearling photo)

HMFF Rook a black Hybrid Leicester born in 2005 out of HMFF Raven (dark silver BL) and BTF Danforth (white BFL). Ready to work for you this year! $200

SheepWool In the News

Shear Genius Upgrades Sewage Treatment Plant
Sheep's fleece might keep people warm in the winter but it also is one of the
newest products used in treating sanitary sewage. Officials in Portage, N.Y., hope new filters made of fleece, scheduled to be installed at the city's wastewater treatment plant next year, will help increase plant capacity. The new filters should increase process capacity from 3.5 million gallons per day to 14 million gallons per day. The plant presently uses sand filters in the process, which allows for filtering 2 gallons of waste water per minute per square foot. The new filters could nearly double that capacity.
from ASI news