If you confine pregnant ewes or does in a shed, you can keep them closer to their offspring than they would be if they lambed or kidded in a pasture.
On the other hand, those offspring are also closer to possible deadly pathogens.
Dr. David Fernandez, University of Arkansas Extension livestock specialist at Pine Bluff, said there are benefits and disadvantages to both birth settings.
“If you’re lambing or kidding in a shed, you’ve got protection from the elements,” he pointed out. “The animals are not going to get wet, and their mothers are not likely to wander off. You’re probably keeping a closer eye on them on a regular basis because they’re right there in the shed.”
But it can get dirty inside that shed. The accumulation of manure can lead to fecal-oral transmissions of diseases like coccidiosis and coliform scours.
Navels can also become infected if they get manure on them before they can dry up, and the females will get manure on their teats when they lie down, creating more opportunity for infection when the young suckle.
There is also the potential for lambs and kids to go without nutrition. Fernandez said, “Unless you’re ‘jugging’ the animals, where you put the ewe and her offspring in a small pen individually, it’s not difficult for them to become confused about who belongs to whom, so sometimes you’ll have kids orphaned that way.”
Pastures tend to be cleaner, with less manure-borne disease likely, particularly if the pastures are larger or are being rotated. On the other hand, he said, “There are parts of the Ozarks where it can get very cold, and the weather can get very nasty. Snow is not usually a problem, but if we get freezing rain that penetrates through the hair and gets on the skin, that can get very bad for lambs and kids; they won’t survive. Sometimes they’re born and stick to the ground because ice forms before they can get up.”
There’s another problem related to pasture births, particularly with first-time mothers.
“They’ll drop that lamb or kid, and wander off,” Fernandez said. “They don’t understand what just happened to them and they’re confused, so they abandon the lamb or the kid.”
Rather than just use shed or pasture birthing, Fernandez said many people use a combination of the two.
“They’ll have the animals out on pasture, and bring them up to a shed and jug them a day or two before they expect them to lamb or kid,” he said. “They’ll leave them in there for two to three days, and let them back out again. That way you get a good mother-offspring bond; you know the offspring got colostrum, which you often don’t know if they’re out on pasture.”
Dr. Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, State Extension Small Ruminant Specialist for the Lincoln University, Missouri Extension Service, offered some tips for low-input, pasture kidding, where low cost and labor can still result in successful live kid births to weaning.
“Birthing pastures are close to the farm house and easily observed from the house, truck or yard,” she said.
Dams should be clearly marked ahead of time and offspring will be identified to match the dams.
“When processing a litter, wait several hours to ensure bonding and first nursing,” Clifford-Rathert said. “Processing at this time should include tagging or branding, weighing and navel dipping. Save the more painful procedures like castration until after kids are older and able to keep up with their dam.”
