How Ewes Nurture and Teach Their Lambs

It’s a beautiful thing to watch a ewe teach their lambs. There is so much more going on than just letting them nurse. From the moment their lambs are born, ewes take on the role of nurturing, training, feeding, socializing, and teaching them about the world outside of the womb.

Though “kitchen lambs” are cute, I have a hard fast rule that lambs belong in the barn with their mums and flock mates. I know how important the early weeks are in providing the lamb with information which helps them thrive within the flock and I don’t want them to miss a minute of it. The only time I have made an exception is when a lamb is struggling due to weakness, hypothermia, or insufficient sucking reflex. Those lambs may spend a night or two in the house until they get their feet under them but during the day, they go back to the barn to snuggle with flock mates under heat lamps.

Ofelia was the smallest of triplets. Her brothers kept pushing her away from the nipple and she quickly became weak. It took me 7 days of tube feeding before she would take a bottle. Because of this she spent the night in the house so all her energy went into growing rather than keeping warm on the subzero degree nights. During the day, she snuggled and played with her brothers in the barn.

What do ewes teach their lambs?

• How to communicate-Moments before a lamb is born the mum is vocalizing to them. She knickers to them softly those final moments of birth and following. She continues to knicker and baa to them in those early days, weeks, and months. Her vocalizations are a source of safety, comfort, correction, and of calling them to herself. Often, lambs will begin to baa or knicker in response.
• Flock order and hierarchy-Every flock has a hierarchy, there is a head ewe and everyone else falls in line below her. Ewes teach her lambs not only about flock order but also protects their lambs from older ewes who want to defend their position and challenge them.
• Appropriate sheep behavior-As with groups of people, there are general rules of acceptable conduct within a flock. They are just like a large family and the little ones need to understand the rules. Ewes will help the lambs learn when it is appropriate to play, to sleep, and to eat and when it is not.
• Foraging and eating-Ewes not only provide milk for their young but they also teach them what to eat and plants to avoid.
• Predators and danger-Ewes teach their lambs how to recognize danger and what to do when danger is detected. In my flock we have guardian llamas. The sheep learn to come to the llamas when they sense danger. This is a learned behavior they pass on to their young. When strangers enter the barn or field, the sheep know to stand back until I signal they are safe. All of these nuances in position of ears, stance, distance, and behavior are passed from mums to their lambs.
• Navigating their environment-Ewes offer guidance to their lambs in handling stress, moving from one place to another, how to be level headed (or not 😂), how to seek shelter, food, and water, and how to survive in their world.

Young lamb calls back to mum.

Learning to eat with the flock.

Learning how to move with the help of a border collie

Learning to trust the shepherd.

Ewes teach their young lambs about the world around them, their place in it, and how to survive in that world. From what to eat, flock hierarchy, sheep behavior, foraging, and sensing danger, the ewe teaches her lamb from the moment of birth. An attentive, level headed ewe is worth her weight in gold as she will set the tone of the flock through her offspring and provide all her lambs need to navigate their environment.