– A sheep’s year

– A ram (male sheep) – this one is a 2 horn Jacob sheep

In Oct/November the ram goes to visit the ewes (female sheep).

The ram wears a sticky paint marker on his chest called a raddle The ram wears a sticky paint marker on his chest called a raddle. When he makes the ewe pregnant it leaves a coloured mark on her bottom. This helps shepherds to know when the ewe got pregnant so they can tell when she will give birth. The ewes are pregnant for about 145 days. During this time they will be scanned to see how many lambs they are expecting. This is exactly the same procedure that human mums have. Knowing how many lambs a ewe is carrying is important as it helps shepherds to give the ewes the right amount of food.

When the ewe has given birth to her lambs she will be put in a safe pen to bond with them. The ewe and lambs will learn how each other look, sound and smell, so they can easily find each other when out in a big field.

After about 24 hours the ewe and lambs can go outside in the field After about 24 hours the ewe and lambs can go outside in the field. The lambs will drink milk from their mothers, and gradually start to eat grass as well.

Lambs will grow very fast and soon start to move away from their mums and start playing together.

In the summer when the weather starts to get hotter, it’s time for the ewes to have a haircut. This is called shearing: it only takes a few minutes to shear a sheep and they are much happier when they have lost their heavy warm wool.

These lambs have been “weaned” which means they no longer need to drink milk from their mothers and can happily live with other lambs, eat lots of grass and grow big and strong. When they weigh about 40kg they are big enough to go to the butcher’s..

The ewes have a nice rest after their lambs have left them.

Copyright Farming and Countryside Education and Bobbie Harvey 2017 Free to use for non-commercial educational purposes. For more resources by Farming and Countryside Education see http://www.countrysideclassroom.org.uk/partners/farming-and-countryside-education-face/ www.face-online.org.uk A charity registered in England and Wales number 1108241