Why is my ewe not bred?

Do you have a ewe that isn't bred and you can't figure out why? In this post, I'll tell you a reason that you might not have thought of yet.

Recently, I added a new ewe to my flock. Her previous owner told me that she had been exposed to a ram but she wasn’t believed to be bred. The rationale behind this was that the ewe is very large and very woolly and the ram trying to cover her was just a small, yearling Dorper. The conclusion then was simply logistics. That little just couldn’t reach to get the job done!

This sounded reasonable enough to me, so after negotiating her price to a point that I felt comfortable, we loaded her up and brought her home.

The next day after bringing her home my husband was visiting our neighbors to measure their sheep working alley. They have raised sheep their whole lives. Jayce mentioned to them that we brought a new ewe home, she was likely open (not pregnant) and that she appeared to not have been shorn in a couple years. Her wool was extra long and matted in some places.

Our neighbors looked at each other immediately after Jayce made this comment. “Well that’s why she isn’t bred!” They exclaimed. “She won’t breed if she hasn’t been shorn!”

Insert my mind being blown here! Apparently the shearing process can have an effect on a ewes reproduction. If she hasn’t been shorn, she won’t cycle. It could be linked to body temperature, as shearing has a cooling effect on sheep (think removing a very warm sweater) that induces estrus in ewes and spermatogenesis in rams.

Now I am sure that after I post this I will get all the stories that tell me otherwise, that people have ewes that haven’t been shorn get bred… and that very well may be the case – there is always an exception to the rule!

Whether or not a ewe CAN get bred if she hasn’t been shorn is not what I am debating here. I am simply offering another suggestion as to why a ewe MIGHT be open.

Now most people do shear their sheep every year, so this isn’t even an issue. The only reason I brought it up is because of my own experience with this ewe. Also, I know finding shearers is getting tougher and tougher each year, especially for those of us with small flocks so that’s why I thought it was worthwhile to mention.

I hope you learned something new or at least interesting today. If you have any experience with this I would love to hear about it! The ewe in the picture above has since been shorn and put in with a larger Finn ram. I plan to leave her in for two cycles, or about 34 days so we will see if she gets bred. Here’s hoping! I will keep you guys posted in five months, thanks for reading!

-Sari