Pregnant Ewes - Prenatal care

If you're managing your sheep well and can plan your flock pregnancies, then prenatal care can be managed well and help you produce healthier and faster growing sheep as well as reduce the mortality in your flock.

Blackbelly tend to give birth at 153 days +/-3 days after the date of inception. The only way you'll know this is if you watch, and know the inception date. Ewes tend to go into estrus about every 17 days and if you watch them attentively, rams in the nearby pasture will smell them; sticking their heads high and pulling back their top lip -- absolutely the oddest thing to watch. They will also become more agressive toward one another (if you keep more than one) and perhaps start to take out their aggressions on your fencing and gates - perhaps even YOU so watch out !

At about 2-3 weeks PRIOR to lambing you should be starting prenatal nutrition and care. If  the exact date of inception isn't known then you may need to look for visual clues

-- read through Signs of Pregnancy.

At a few weeks before birth you may notice that the pregnant ewe's stomach is very cramped for space (especially with twins or triplets) and she won't be able to eat as much as she normally would. If she's having a single it might be hard to notice but you'll see that your ewe gets very pushy at feeding time -- much more than normal -- and she's looking very well rounded and seemingly very fit. At this time the lamb is growing at an incredible rate and using up every bit of reserve protein the mother can get hold of. Yet at the same time, her stomach is so cramped she can't eat much because of the lack of space.

To help both the mother and lamb, it's good to start feeding the pregnant ewe a high protein feed which will help grow healthy cells in the lamb. This feed should be in the range of 15-18% containing a medication called Decoquinate (see the page called Deworming & Parasites); normally you'll see this labeled as "Medicated Show Feed" or "Sheep and Goat DQ". While this feed gives the ewe a higher protein source, the added parasiticide (Decoquinate) is meant to inhibit the growth of Coccidia, which is a parasite that can easily be spread to the lamb through the ewe's feces contaminate utters -- a normal thing.
 
Once started it's a good idea to continue feeding the medicated feed for an additional 2 - 3 weeks or more after birth to ensure the best chances for both a rapid lamb growth and a healthy flock. Normally coccidia isn't an issue for your larger sheep, but since the lamb's immune system and digestive system are just getting started by the mother's colostrum, a stressed sheep can be quickly overcome by this parasite and death is a possibility for the lamb in flocks known it.  

Besides the feed, keep plenty of water, free minerals, salt, and baking soda available. This should be a normal part of a sheep diet regardless.

That's about it for prenatal care. These sheep are normally very attentive mothers and there are relatively few things to worry about.