How to Stop Ewes From Rejecting Their Lambs

There is a sound I have come to dread in the lambing shed: a thin, steady bleat from a lamb that is cold and hungry, with its mother standing a few steps away, turned to the wall. The first time I saw a ewe butt her own newborn away from her udder, I thought something was wrong with her mind. I stood there for ten minutes trying to push the lamb to the teat while she kept swinging around, and by the time I gave up and picked the lamb up, it was shivering. What I learned over the years is that rejection is rarely cruelty and almost never random. There is usually a reason behind it, and in most cases there is something you can do, especially in the first few hours.

Here is the direct answer. To stop ewes from rejecting their lambs, you reduce the things that interfere with bonding and you step in quickly when bonding fails. That means keeping ewes in good condition and well fed, giving them a quiet, uncrowded place to lamb, leaving ewe and newborn undisturbed together in a small individual pen for the first day or two, helping difficult births without exhausting the ewe, checking for pain and udder problems, handling the lamb as little as possible, and being ready with simple restraint, scent and fostering tricks when a ewe will not accept a lamb. The first few hours after birth are the critical window, so be present and ready.

The rest of this article explains why rejection happens and what to do, step by step.

How ewes bond with their lambs

Bonding is a fast, powerful process driven by hormones released during birth, and by smell, touch and sound. After the lamb is born, the ewe licks it, learns its smell, and makes low, rumbling calls to it. Within a few hours, she recognizes her own lamb by scent and will usually refuse other lambs. The lamb, in turn, learns her smell, voice and udder. This learning window is short, with the strongest bonding happening in roughly the first few hours after birth, which is why disturbance or separation in that time can be so damaging.

Because a ewe identifies her lamb by smell, anything that confuses or masks that smell, or that interrupts the licking and nuzzling, can cause trouble. Because she must be calm to bond, anything that frightens, hurts or exhausts her can also cause rejection.

Why ewes reject lambs

Several common situations cause trouble. First-time mothers, called maiden ewes, are the most likely to reject or ignore a lamb, because they are inexperienced and often frightened. Long, difficult or painful births exhaust ewes and can dull the bonding response, and ewes that have had caesarean sections or heavy assistance sometimes fail to bond because they miss the natural hormonal triggers. Twin and triplet births cause trouble because a ewe may attend to the first lamb while the second is born, and then refuse it, or become confused by two lambs. Disturbance by dogs, people, noise or other ewes interrupts bonding. Crowding is particularly bad, because ewes about to lamb may steal other lambs, and ewes who have lambed can be pushed away from their own. Illness, pain or a sore udder, such as mastitis, make a ewe snap at the lamb at the udder. Lack of milk makes a lamb frustrated and the ewe distressed. A weak lamb that cannot stand and suckle quickly may be abandoned. Poor nutrition or poor body condition leaves a ewe weak and less attentive. And some ewes simply have poor maternal ability, which is partly inherited.

What most farmers get wrong

They handle the lamb too much, too soon. Weighing, tagging, docking, dipping navels roughly and moving lambs away in the first hours can interrupt licking and bonding. Many routine tasks can wait until the bond is secure.

They crowd ewes at lambing. Keeping heavily pregnant ewes in a small yard leads to stolen lambs, mismothering and fights. A little space helps a lot.

They let strangers, dogs or noise into the lambing area. Sudden noise and movement frighten ewes and cause them to leave their lambs.

They wait too long to intervene. A ewe that refuses her lamb for hours will often refuse it for good. Waiting to see if she will come around loses valuable time, and the lamb loses colostrum and warmth.

They forget to check the ewe. A hard, hot, painful udder, a torn teat or an injury during birth can explain a ewe’s behavior. Treating the cause may fix the problem.

They do not feed the ewes properly before lambing. Ewes that are thin and exhausted have less energy to care for their lambs, and produce less milk.

They keep ewes that always reject. A ewe that rejects lamb after lamb is usually a poor mother by nature. Keeping her and her daughters spreads the problem through the flock.

Step-by-step: how to prevent and fix rejection

Step 1: Feed and condition ewes well before lambing. Good nutrition in late pregnancy supports strong labor, healthy lambs, good milk and calm mothering. Aim for ewes in good body condition, not thin or fat, and feed according to the number of lambs they are carrying, using pregnancy scanning if available. Provide clean water, minerals and good forage. A strong, well-fed ewe copes better with the effort of lambing and the demands of mothering.

Step 2: Give lambing ewes a quiet, spacious place. Move ewes close to lambing to a clean, dry, sheltered area with enough space to spread out, away from dogs, noise and heavy traffic. Avoid overcrowding. Provide plenty of dry bedding. Keep the area calm, and restrict visitors. If the flock is large, split it into smaller groups. A calm ewe bonds more readily.

Step 3: Use individual pens for the first day or two. After birth, move each ewe and her lambs into a small individual pen, often called a jug or mothering pen, large enough for them to move around but small enough that the lambs stay close to the ewe, commonly around 1.5 by 1.5 meters or a little larger. Keep them there for at least 24 to 48 hours. This reduces the chance of lambs wandering or being stolen by other ewes, and gives the ewe time to learn her lambs’ scent. Make sure the pen is clean, dry and draft-free. Move ewes and lambs only after they are clearly bonded and the lambs are strong and feeding.

Step 4: Reduce disturbance and delay routine jobs. Let the ewe lick and bond with her lambs without interruption. Watch from a distance. Delay jobs such as weighing, tagging, docking and castration until the bond is secure, usually after the first day. When you must handle the lamb, such as to treat the navel with iodine, do it quickly and gently, keep the lamb close to the ewe, and return it to her immediately. Avoid washing the lamb or applying strong-smelling substances to it, since that can mask the smell the ewe uses to identify it.

Step 5: Assist difficult births carefully. Be present at lambing and help ewes that are in trouble, but avoid unnecessary interference. Check ewes that strain for long without progress, using clean hands and lubricant, and call a veterinarian if you cannot correct the problem. A ewe that has had a very long or painful birth, or a caesarean section, may need extra help with bonding. After assisted births, keep a closer eye on the ewe and lambs for the first hours.

Step 6: Make sure the lamb gets up and sucks. Healthy, active lambs encourage bonding, and a lamb that finds the udder and sucks stimulates milk flow and calms the ewe. If the lamb is weak, cold or slow, warm it, help it to stand, guide it to the teat and make sure it receives colostrum. Check that the teat is not blocked with wax. A lamb that cannot suck should be given colostrum by bottle or tube, which also keeps it strong enough to keep trying.

Step 7: Check the ewe for pain or illness. If a ewe pushes her lamb away, check her udder for heat, hardness, swelling, lumps or damaged teats. Check for injuries from the birth, retained afterbirth, fever, or signs of illness. Mastitis, retained placenta and other conditions need veterinary attention. A ewe in pain will not tolerate suckling, and treating the cause may restore normal behavior.

Step 8: Restrain the ewe so the lamb can suckle. If a ewe refuses to let a lamb suck, confine her in a small pen where she cannot move away, or use a head restraint or a stanchion that holds her head in place while allowing the lamb access to her udder. Some farmers hold the ewe gently, standing over her or having a helper hold her, while the lamb suckles, repeating several times a day. Often, once the ewe has been forced to stand and the lamb has suckled for a few days, she accepts it. Watch closely to make sure the lamb is feeding and the ewe is not harming it. This method works best when begun early.

Step 9: Use scent to help the ewe recognize the lamb. Since ewes identify lambs by smell, transferring the ewe’s own scent to the lamb can help. Rub the lamb with fluids from the birth, such as the afterbirth or fluids on the ground, if available, or rub it with some of the ewe’s milk. Placing the lamb at the ewe’s head so she can sniff and lick it helps too. Keep ewe and lamb together in a quiet pen, and avoid introducing new smells such as strong disinfectants.

Step 10: Foster the lamb onto another ewe if needed. If a ewe will not accept her lamb, you may be able to place it with a ewe that has lost her own lamb, or with a ewe that has a single lamb and plenty of milk. The best time to foster is within a day or two of birth. A traditional method is to skin a dead lamb and fit the skin like a coat on the orphan, so the foster ewe smells her own lamb, then remove the skin after a couple of days once she accepts it. Another method is to rub the orphan with the foster ewe’s birth fluids, or place the ewe and the lamb in a small pen together and keep her confined for several days. Fostering takes patience and supervision. Always check that the lamb is getting enough milk.

Step 11: Bottle feed if all else fails. Sometimes a lamb cannot be fostered or the ewe cannot be persuaded, and bottle feeding is the answer. Make sure the lamb receives colostrum in the first hours, from its mother, another ewe, frozen stored colostrum or a good replacer. After that, feed a suitable lamb milk replacer, not cow’s milk, at the correct concentration, in small amounts many times a day for newborns, gradually reducing the frequency as the lamb grows. Keep bottles and teats scrupulously clean, keep the lamb warm and dry, and provide fresh water and solid feed as it grows. Bottle feeding takes time and care, but healthy orphans can grow well.

Step 12: Handle multiple births with care. For twins and triplets, watch that the ewe attends to every lamb, especially when she is giving birth to the later ones. Keep the first lamb with her during the birth of the next, and move all lambs together to the pen. Do not remove one lamb to make things easier, unless necessary. If a ewe has more lambs than she can feed, consider fostering extras. Mark ewes and lambs with matching numbers so you can quickly identify mismatches.

Step 13: Keep records and cull poor mothers. Note which ewes reject or neglect lambs, and the circumstances. Maternal ability is partly inherited, so ewes that repeatedly reject lambs and their daughters should not be kept for breeding. Choose replacement ewes from good mothers that bond quickly, raise strong lambs and have good milk. Over several seasons, this improves the temperament of the flock.

Warning signs to act on at once

Watch for a ewe that walks away from her lamb after birth, ignores it, butts or kicks it, refuses to stand for it to suck, or does not lick it. Look for a lamb that follows other ewes, calls constantly, looks hunched and hollow, or is cold, and for a ewe that bleats at the wrong lamb or searches for lambs she has lost. A ewe with a swollen, hot, hard udder, or with an injury, needs help right away. If a lamb has not suckled within the first few hours, step in at once.

What I would do differently if I were starting again today

I would plan the lambing pens, the supplies and the night checks long before the first ewe was due. I would give every ewe space and quiet, and I would resist the urge to fuss over newborns that were doing fine. I would keep a small restraint pen ready, learn to foster properly, and keep frozen colostrum in the freezer for emergencies. I would watch maiden ewes more closely than any others. And I would cull the ewes that reject their lambs, however good their wool or build, rather than keep them for sentimental reasons.

Rejection is not a mystery. It is a signal. The shepherd who reads it quickly, and has a plan ready, saves most of the lambs that would otherwise be lost.

FAQ

Why do ewes reject their lambs?
Common reasons include inexperience in first-time mothers, difficult births, pain or udder problems, twin or triplet confusion, disturbance and crowding, weak lambs, poor condition and poor maternal ability. Fast action in the first hours makes a big difference.

How long do I have to get a ewe to accept her lamb?
The strongest bonding happens in the first few hours after birth, so act quickly. If a ewe refuses her lamb, restrain her and let the lamb suckle, and use scent or fostering methods without delay.

Can I make a ewe adopt another lamb?
Often, yes. Fostering works best within the first day or two, using methods such as scent transfer, skinning a dead lamb to cover the orphan, and confining the ewe and lamb together in a small pen. It requires patience and supervision.

Should I handle newborn lambs immediately after birth?
Keep handling to a minimum in the first hours. Do essential tasks such as treating the navel and ensuring colostrum quickly and gently, return the lamb to the ewe immediately, and delay tagging and other jobs until the bond is secure.

What do I do if a ewe has no milk or has mastitis?
Call a veterinarian. Meanwhile, make sure the lamb gets colostrum and milk by bottle or tube, foster it onto another ewe if possible, and treat the ewe as advised.

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A ewe decides within hours whether a lamb is hers, so give her quiet, space and time, and be ready with a plan when she doesn’t.