Effective shelter protects lambs from wind, rain and conductive heat loss, as well as enabling exposure to the sun. Shelter should be familiar and well dispersed to encourage use by ewes isolated from the mob at lambing.
High rainfall and high winds combined with temperatures below normal will cause mortalities in young animals, especially newly shorn sheep without shelter. The impact of the cold weather will depend on its duration, rainfall, wind speed and temperature—the 'wind chill' factor can double heat loss.
Luckily, sheep secrete an oily substance from their skin called lanolin, which lubricates the wool and prevents the fibres from tangling when they get wet, so their fleece stays nice and full in the rain. When woolly jumpers shrink, they don't stretch again when they dry out.
Turn out ewes and lambs to pasture early in the morning; Move ewes and lambs out to small paddocks, with sufficient shelter; Supplement ewes with concentrates or good-quality silage; Rehouse ewes and lambs if poor weather conditions persist.
If the weather is good, most sheep prefer sleeping outside. But bad weather with strong winds causes them to seek a sheltered spot under trees or in a building like a barn.
Night-penning sheep
Electromesh Fencing: May be effective, and often a good option for small numbers of livestock and/or small acreages or pens. Types of fencing vary and may include multiple-strand electric or electric mesh, woven wire mesh, panels, or other hard barriers.
Sheep tend to handle cold weather and the elements much better than goats, but the exceptions to this are hair sheep or wool sheep that have been sheared late in the year. Animals utilize more calories to maintain body temperature in cold weather to stay warm.
They are very timid. A sheet of paper blown by the wind will frighten them. A thunderstorm may throw them into a panic. They may drown without a struggle if they are scared while crossing a stream.
The lower critical temperature for freshly shorn sheep is 50 degrees. Sheep with 2.5 inches of fleece have a LCT of 28 degrees. Goats are generally considered to have a LCT of 32 degrees.
Sheep in full wool can become water-logged and succumb to exhaustion more quickly than those with little wool. Fleeces with a green tinge indicate wetting for longer than 7 days. Neurological signs often indicate metabolic disease. Animals showing neurological signs (eg paddling) have a poor prognosis.
In many cases, trees or a windbreak is all the shelter (or shade) that sheep need. In open fields without sufficient tree coverage, simple run-in sheds or shade structures can be constructed or purchased.
Dermatophilosis, also known as rain rot, rain scald, lumpy wool disease, and streptotrichosis, is a skin infection caused by the Gram-positive bacteria Dermatophilus congolensis. The bacterium has two morphologic forms (zoospores and hyphae) in a life cycle that resembles that of a fungus.
5-7 days before shearing
Keep sheep out of the rain. Sheep should be dry for shearing day. This is very important.
Wet sheep need to be left to dry out before shearing. Shearing wet sheep increases the risk of infections and other physical ailments for shearers.
Sheep drenching is the practice of administering a preventative treatment to your sheep and lambs to control internal parasites such as worms.
Hypothermia can set in quickly during these cold wet conditions, making lambs and shorn or low body condition ewes particularly vulnerable. Prioritise shelter for the most vulnerable. A lamb with hypothermia will appear weak, gaunt, or hunched up and have a cold mouth and ears.
“Sheep are most comfortable at temperatures between 45-70 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Dr. Barry Whitworth, OSU Extension veterinarian and food animal quality and health specialist. “It doesn't have to be an arctic blast to negatively affect lambs. Low temperatures combined with wet weather are always a concern.”
Disadvantages of Producing Sheep
Sheep are subject to predation by coyotes, eagles, bobcats, lions, bears, domestic dogs, etc. Sheep require better fencing than do cattle. Internal parasites can create health problems when sheep are intensively grazed on irrigated pastures.
Environmental stressors such as accidents during transport cause sheep to react differently than normal. When faced with such situations, docile sheep can become agitated and may even rush people who are trying to work with them.
Sheep are frightened by sudden loud noises, such as yelling or barking. In response to loud noises and other unnatural sounds, sheep become nervous and more difficult to handle. This is due to the release of stress-related hormones.
Sheep do sleep, either standing up or lying down. As they are animals that others like to eat, they sleep lightly by taking short naps rather than one big sleep. When they suffer insomnia, they count people.
In winter the water needs are much lower than in summer. A mature sheep on dry feed in summer might use 8 to 10 L per day whilst the same animal on dry feed in winter might use less than 4L per day.
Ewes lambing on pasture have their feed at their feet so it does not need to be brought to them. Barns are not a necessity because pasture lambing is best done when temperatures are above 45°F. Natural shelter is usually sufficient for newborn lambs, but a contingency for foul weather is helpful.