This document provides guidance on preparing for lambing and kidding during the last 4-6 weeks of gestation. Proper nutrition is critical to support fetal growth and mammary development. Energy is the most important nutrient and grain may need to be supplemented. Other important aspects are calcium, selenium, vitamins, and parasite management. Facilities and supplies should be prepared, including medications. Colostrum is vital and the dam is the best source. Overall husbandry should minimize stress during late gestation.

1. Ready, set, go . . .
Getting ready for lambing and kidding
. . . the last 4-6 weeks (late gestation)
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
sschoen@umd.edu – www.sheepandgoat.com
We’re
coming out
. . . soon!

2. What’s happening during late gestation?
▪ Roughly 70 percent of fetal
growth is occurring.
▪ Mammary (udder)
development is accelerating;
most mammary development
occurs during pregnancy,
especially with sheep (78%).
▪ Rumen capacity is decreasing
due to growth of fetuses.

3. Extra nutrition is usually needed.
▪ To ensure adequate intake of nutrients.
▪ To support fetal growth
▪ To support mammary development.
▪ To prevent pregnancy toxemia and milk
fever.
▪ To ensure birth of strong, healthy
offspring of moderate birth size.

4. Birth weight is the single most important
predictor of offspring survival.
0 4.4 8.8 13.2 17.6
Birth weight (lbs.)

5. Nutrition during late gestation
▪ Late gestation is not a time for low quality feed.
▪ Energy (TDN, ME, kcal) is the nutrient most likely to be
deficient.
▪ Nutrient requirements vary by species, age, size (weight),
and fetal numbers. Also, by weather and activity.
▪ To meet increased requirements for energy, it is usually
necessary to feed some grain, especially in flocks and
herds with a high percentage of multiple births.
▪ If forage quality is low, it may also be necessary to
supplement the forage diet with a source of protein (CP,
MP) and/or calcium (Ca).

6. Do not underfeed during late gestation.
Can result in . . .
▪ Pregnancy toxemia
▪ Small and weak offspring
▪ Higher offspring mortality
▪ Reduced quantity and quality of colostrum.
▪ Poor milk yield, resulting in lower weaning weights.
▪ Increased ewe and doe mortality.
▪ Reduced wool production (in offspring), due to fewer
secondary follicles in offspring.

7. Do not overfeed during late gestation.
Increased risk of . . .
▪ Dystocia (difficult birthing)
▪ Vaginal prolapse
▪ Uterine prolapse
▪ Due to . . .
▪ Increased intra-abdominal fat
▪ Oversized fetuses
▪ Malpresentation of fetuses

8. Proper nutrition includes proper feeding management.
▪ Weigh feed to make sure livestock are getting what you think they
are getting.
▪ Minimize feed wastage: check wastage, cleanout troughs
▪ Adequate feeder space: make sure all females can eat at the
same time.
▪ If necessary, separate old timid animals from aggressive dominant
animals.
▪ Feed pregnant ewe lambs and doelings separate from mature
females.
▪ Separate males from females after breeding season.
▪ Do not feed on ground.
▪ Separate feed and water to encourage exercise.

9. Water is the most important nutrient.
▪ Water requirements increase during pregnancy and are
virtually doubled during the last month of pregnancy (as
compared to maintenance requirements)
▪ Sheep/goats get water from many sources including
digestion (metabolic water), feed, snow, dew, and drinking
water.
▪ Water should be clean, high quality, and ice-free to ensure
adequate intake.
▪ Failure to meet requirements during late gestation can
reduce dry matter intake, predisposing females to
pregnancy toxemia.

10. Selenium (Se) and vitamin E are important
nutrients during late gestation.
▪ Mid-Atlantic soils (thus feedstuffs) are generally deficient in
selenium.
▪ A selenium and/or vitamin E deficiency can cause white
muscle disease in lambs and kids
▪ Other symptoms of selenium deficiency are non-specific and
similar to other mineral and nutritional deficiencies.
▪ Selenium is passed from the placenta to the fetuses during
late gestation.
▪ There is a narrow margin between selenium requirements
and selenium toxicity.

11. Selenium and vitamin E in late gestation diets.
▪ Commercial mineral mixes usually provide
adequate selenium, assuming mineral is
consumed at labeled amount.
▪ Adding a selenium-fortified mineral mix to the
grain will ensure adequate selenium intake.
▪ Feed supplementation of selenium is preferred to
giving injections [Rx].
▪ Besides feed, there are oral preparations of
selenium and vitamin E (gels).
▪ Farm with a diagnosed history of white muscle
disease may need to give selenium injections [Rx].

12. The importance of calcium to the pregnant female
▪ Needed for bone development (in offspring) and milk production.
▪ Greatest demand for Ca in non-dairy animals is late gestation; Ca
requirements virtually double during late gestation.
▪ Doe’s (especially dairy) highest requirements are during lactation.
▪ Incorrect feeding of calcium in late gestation can result in milk fever (low
blood calcium, < 4-5 ml/dl)
▪ Low Ca may be a contributing factor to prolapses [?].
When? Who? Why? Prevention
Before parturition Meat and fiber animals Inadequate Ca in diet Sufficient dietary Ca
After parturition
High-producing dairy
animals
Inadequate mobilization of
Ca from bones
Excessive Ca in diet
Diet low in Ca
Low cation: anion ratio
Alfalfa

13. Calcium in the late gestation diet
▪ Don’t over or underfeed calcium.
▪ If low quality forage is fed, calcium will probably
need to be added to the concentrate diet.
▪ Free choice minerals do not guarantee adequate
consumption.
▪ Ratio of Ca to P should be between 2:1 and 1:1
for pregnant and lactating females.
▪ Save alfalfa hay for lactation diet.
Sources of calcium
Corn Poor 0.02%
Orchardgrass hay Low 0.32%
Alfalfa hay Moderate 1.2-1.4%
Kelp Better 2.7%
Ground limestone
Dicalcium phosphate
Bone meal
Best
34%
22%
31%

14. Periparturient egg rise (PPER)
▪ Ewes and does suffer a temporary loss of immunity to
parasites (GI worms) at the time of parturition.
▪ Nutrients are partitioned to meet the animals’ needs for
maintenance and reproduction -- before immunity;
healthy animals, especially adults, mount an immune
response to parasites.
▪ The PPER begins approximately 2 weeks before
parturition and can last for up to 8 weeks after.
▪ With spring lambing/kidding, the PPER coincides with
hypobiotic larvae resuming their life cycle, resulting in
the “spring rise” of worm eggs.
▪ The spring rise is the primary source of infection for
lambs and kids that graze later in the season. J F M A M J J A S O N D
FECs

15. Countering the periparturient egg rise
▪ Deworm females during late pregnancy -- but leave a few
untreated to maintain refugia on pasture; refugia are worms
that have not been exposed to drug(s).
▪ Use the FAMACHA© system and Five Point Check© to
determine which females require deworming during late
gestation and early lactation.
▪ Increase the level of protein in the late gestation ration;
rumen by-pass protein has been proven to be especially
beneficial.
▪ Lamb/kid in winter or fall when parasites are less active.
▪ Maintain females in pen or dry lot (zero grazing) during
periparturient period.

16. Vaccinations during late gestation
▪ Ewes and does should be vaccinated for clostridial
diseases (CDT or Covexin®-8) during late gestation,
approximately one month prior.
▪ Late gestation vaccinations are the only way to protect
offspring against clostridium perfringins type C
(enterotoxemia).
▪ If dams were not vaccinated for tetanus, the tetanus
antitoxin should be given to lambs and kids at the time
of docking, castrating, and/or disbudding.
▪ Females that have never been vaccinated for clostridial
diseases require two vaccinations, 3-4 weeks apart @
approximately 8 and 4 weeks prior to parturition.

17. Feed a coccidiostat during pregnancy,
especially late pregnancy
▪ In feed or mineral
1. Bovatec® (lasalocid)
2. Rumensin® (monensin)
3. Deccox® (decoquinate)
▪ To reduce level of coccidia in lambing and
kidding environment.
▪ As an aid in the prevention of abortions
caused by toxoplasmosis [Rumensin®]
 Ionophores (Bovatec® and Rumensin®)
are toxic to equines.

18. It may be wise to administer antibiotics
during late gestation.
▪ In feed to prevent abortions caused
by Chlamydia spp. (Enzootic) and
Campylobacter spp. (Vibrio).
▪ Chlortextracycline (aureomycin) is
approved for this use in sheep @ 80
mg/head/day. [Rx for goats].
▪ Give injections of oxytetracycline
(LA-200®) in the event of an
abortion storm [Rx].

19. It’s a good idea to shear prior to lambing
(30-45 days).
▪ Shearing creates a cleaner environment for newborn
lambs and helps lambs nurse sooner.
▪ Shearing may improve blood flow to lamb.
▪ It is easier to spot ewes that are close to lambing or have
udder problems.
▪ Shearing will stimulate ewes to seek shelter for lambing.
▪ Shearing increases ewe feed intake.
▪ Shorn ewes are less likely to lie on their lambs.
▪ Shorn ewes take up less space in barn and around
feeders.
▪ The barn is drier; less bedding is required.
▪ Shearing improves the quality of the wool clip.

20. Considerations for late gestation shearing
In winter
▪ A good building is necessary to prevent
losses due to exposure.
▪ Additional feed is required during cold
weather for the first week or two after
shearing.
▪ Extremely cold weather may be too
stressful for thin and/or old ewes.
▪ Rough handling at shearing could
result in stillborn lambs.

21. If you don’t shear – crutch.
▪ Crutching is a less risky alternative to shearing.
▪ Crutching is the removal of wool around the vulva and udder
(sometimes belly).
▪ Excessive wool can also be removed from around eyes and
face.
▪ Much like shearing, crutching creates a cleaner environment for
newborn lambs and helps lambs nurse sooner.
▪ Crutching minimizes risk of flystrike by removing tags.
▪ Some wooled sheep are naturally devoid of wool around their
hindquarters.
▪ There is generally no need or benefit to shearing or crutching
hair sheep ewes (hair x wool crosses - ?).
Image by Kelly Cole

22. Avoid stress in late pregnancy
Sources of stress
▪ Trucking
▪ Handling
▪ Dog worry
▪ Visitors
▪ Mixing
▪ Declining nutrition
▪ Change in nutrition
▪ Weather

23. Encourage exercise
Why?
▪ Health of ewe
▪ Produce strong offspring
How?
▪ Drive sheep at a moderate pace
▪ Feed away from shed, barn
▪ Scatter feeders
▪ Scatter dry roughage (on frozen ground)
▪ Separate feed and water
▪ In snow – plow a path
▪ Extreme exercise and crowding

24. Know when to expect arrival of the first lambs/kids.
▪ Write down breeding and/or exposure dates.
▪ Sheep and goats have similar gestation
lengths.
▪ Gestation length varies from 138-159 days
and is affected by breed, sex and number of
offspring.
▪ Average is 145-150 days (147 d).
▪ Gestation is shorter for early maturing and
prolific sheep breeds.
▪ Females carrying multiple births have shorter
gestations.

25. Prepare facilities
Inside or shed lambing/kidding
▪ Shed or barn
Clean, dry, and well-ventilated
Easy access to feed and water
▪ Drop area or pen
▪ Jugs (pens): 1 per 7-10 ewes or does
Hay rack, feed bucket, and water bucket
▪ Nursery pens for small number of
females/offspring
▪ Mixing pens for larger number of
females/offspring
▪ Creep area
▪ Isolation area
▪ Hospitalization area

26. Prepare facilities
Outside or pasture lambing/kidding
▪ Clean, well-rested pasture
▪ Well-drained soils
▪ Multi-species sod
▪ Natural break from wind
▪ Natural shade, shelter
▪ Easy observation and access
▪ Drift vs. set-stocking
▪ Have a plan for inclement weather,
mothering issues, and predators.

27. Organize supplies ahead of time
▪ Clostridial vaccines
▪ Colostrum*
▪ Disinfectant
▪ Docking, castrating, and/or
disbudding equipment and supplies.
▪ Ear tags and tagging equipment.
▪ Esophageal feeding tube
▪ Ewe and/or doe milk replacer
▪ Feeding bottles and teats or lamb bar
▪ Halter
▪ Lamb/kid pullers, snare, or rope
▪ Medications*
▪ Navel disinfectant (e.g. iodine)
▪ Needles and syringes of various sizes
▪ OB gloves and lubricant
▪ Prolapse harness and/or retainer
▪ Quick ID (spray or crayon marker)
▪ Record keeping notebook or device
▪ Scale and sling (or cradle) for weighing
(and carrying) newborns.
▪ Scissors, scalpel blade
▪ Syringes and needles of different sizes
▪ Thermometer
▪ Towels

28. Recommended medications to have on hand for
lambing and kidding
Should have
▪ Anthelmintics (dewormers) [ELDU, goats]
▪ CDT antitoxin [OTC]
▪ Dextrose [OTC]
▪ Electrolytes [OTC]
▪ Injectable antibiotics
Penicillin [ELDU, goats]
Oxytetracycline, e.g. LA-200® [ELDU]
▪ Iodine or betadine [OTC]
▪ Oral and injectable calcium [OTC]
▪ Propylene glycol [OTC]
▪ Scour-halt® (spectinomycin) [ELDU, OTC]
▪ Vitamin B-complex [OTC]
Nice to have
▪ Epinephrine [Rx]
▪ Injectable selenium (BoSe®) [Rx]
▪ Lidocaine [Rx]
▪ Mineral oil [OTC]
▪ Nutridrench [OTC]
▪ Oral selenium and vitamin E [OTC]
▪ Oxytocin [Rx]
▪ Probiotics [OTC]
▪ Red Cell [OTC]
▪ Today® (cephapirin sodium) [ELDU, OTC]

29. Colostrum sources
Best sources
 The best source of colostrum is from the
dam of the kid or lamb.
 The next best source of colostrum is from
an older female in the same flock or
herd.
 Land O’Lakes makes a colostrum
replacer for lambs and kids which
contains immunoglobulins (igG).
 Other farms
There is some disease risk (OPP, CAE, and/or JD) in
getting cow colostrum from another farm.
Because cow milk is lower in fat, you need to feed 2x
as much of it to lambs (colored cows colostrum).
Less desirable sources
 Colostrum
supplements
Good nutrition, but
no igG
 Homemade
colostrum
 Lamb or kid milk
replacer
 Multi-species milk
replacer

30. Happy Lambing
and Kidding!
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu