How Many Babies Do Sheep Have on Your Homestead?
As a homesteader, I’m always looking for low-maintenance livestock to add to our small farm. Sheep seem like a great option; they provide wool and meat and don’t require as much space or feed as some other animals. But before adding sheep to your homestead, it’s important to understand their reproductive cycle so you’re prepared for new arrivals each spring. So for all you homesteaders wondering, here’s how many babies sheep have…
The technical term is lambs (baby sheep are called lambs). On average, each ewe (female sheep) will have one lamb per pregnancy. Sometimes you may get lucky and she’ll have twins, but singles are most common. A sheep’s gestation period is about 5 months, so lambing season on our homestead is usually late winter/early spring.
We’ve found our sheep to be very low-maintenance through lambing. The ewes know exactly what to do, and it’s amazing how quickly the lambs can stand and nurse. We don’t usually have issues, but it’s still a good idea to check on new mothers periodically at first just to make sure everyone is healthy and nursing well.
In those first few months, the lambs will nurse frequently from mom. By fall, they’ll be weaned and ready to be on their own. Our ewes typically lamb annually, which provides a sustainable source of meat for our homestead. The lambs grow quickly on our pastures and are butchered in late summer or fall.
Adding sheep is a low-effort way to gain some agricultural independence on your homestead. Just be prepared for the possibility of one or more new lambs each spring! Let me know if you have any other questions about raising sheep sustainably on your small farm.