# Clear "Milk" (like water) coming from pregnant sheep?



## MeltingMoose (Mar 2, 2016)

Hi, I recently questioned if my ewe was pregnant or not. 
I've had dairy goats, but am new to sheep. 

She has a lightly developed udder, has a very solid abdomen and is very round.
She has not lambed yet and her udder is still very "saggy" and small. 

The liquid coming from her teats is watery and clear. Could this be the early makings of the milk?
I'm still not positive she is even pregnant, will this seal the question if she is?
Or should I be worried?

Thank you in advance for the comments. 
Very appreciated!

Kayla


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## Von Helman (May 16, 2012)

MeltingMoose said:


> Hi, I recently questioned if my ewe was pregnant or not.
> I've had dairy goats, but am new to sheep.
> 
> She has a lightly developed udder, has a very solid abdomen and is very round.
> ...


I could joke and say your ewe is producing low fat 2% milk but it doesn't seem you're in the joking mood. 

No offense intended so please don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you're already all worried and worked up. This is you second thread on the same ewe so I can sense your nervousness, you're worried, and unsure. 

My advice is to relax a little let mother nature do her job and just understand animals for the most part will be ok and everything will work out. In truth I have never checked a mothers milk prior to her birthing as even if its watery or super thick there's really not a lot I could do to change it. The milk will change naturally when she gives birth and become much richer. There are those naturally occurring changes that nature already has programed.

So again, relax a little, don't get over worries or fearful, and just enjoy nature at work. I'm sure everything will work out and it there are any major problems you'll definitely know it and thats when you post the HELP threads lol  

Good luck and continue to post updates and picture... you have to post pictures! :thumb: 

can really do relax a little. There is nothing you can do at this time and she is fine


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## BlueHen (Jul 25, 2014)

Is this liquid just dripping from her udder or are you milking this out yourself?

I would assume that if you have dairy goats you would know better than to be messing with her udder and trying to milk her before she lambed.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

For what it's worth, when our first goats were pregnant for the first time, one did this and the other did not. I'll admit there were a lot of firsts for us and I was nervous about making sure I paid attention and 'caught developing issues' early. I've learned since then to relax, but I had to go through the nervy, learning stage first. 

Your ewe is probably fine and I commend you for paying attention. It's the folks that get animals with no background, toss them out in the yard and hope for the best that I get frustrated with.


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## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

MeltingMoose said:


> Hi, I recently questioned if my ewe was pregnant or not.
> I've had dairy goats, but am new to sheep.
> 
> She has a lightly developed udder, has a very solid abdomen and is very round.
> ...


 
I always check my ewes for milk as they are getting close to lambing. If they have milk I know to be ready. As far as a clear watery liquid. This is normal and comes before the the milk many times. It is the beginning of colustrum even though the colostrum will get some color to it as it comes in and gets closer. I would say she is pregnant and that you still have some time. The bag will tighten up and get warm to the touch when she is really close. 

She will also hollow out in her sides when she is getting close. 

Like mentioned before just try to relax. I don't think you are real close. Has the ewe lambed before and when was her last lamb born and weaned? I only ask that because there is a possibility that she has already lambed this season and the lamb was weaned and her bag is slowly going back to pre-pregnancy. My ewes stay pretty round in the belly after lambing for quite awhile. The clear liquid in that scenerio I wouldn't know about for sure. If she has not lambed and you know that for sure I would say she is probably pregnant.


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## MeltingMoose (Mar 2, 2016)

grandma12703 said:


> I always check my ewes for milk as they are getting close to lambing. If they have milk I know to be ready. As far as a clear watery liquid. This is normal and comes before the milk many times. I would say she is pregnant and that you still have some time. The bag will tighten up and get warm to the touch when she is really close.
> 
> She will also hollow out in her sides when she is getting close.
> 
> Like mentioned before just try to relax. I don't think you are real close. Has the ewe lambed before and when was her last lamb born and weaned? I only ask that because there is a possibility that she has already lambed this season and the lamb was weaned and her bag is slowly going back to pre-pregnancy. My ewes stay pretty round in the belly after lambing for quite awhile. The clear liquid in that scenerio I wouldn't know about for sure. If she has not lambed and you know that for sure I would say she is probably pregnant.



I'm not aware if she has had lambs in her past, but she has been with me for almost a year now, and had no lambs on her when I bought her as she was only housed with wethers. I'm thinking this may be her first time lambing.

I'm glad to hear the watery liquid is normal. I've been questioning myself back and forth if she has been pregnant or not for months, so it's a relief to hear some positivity. I've had Nubian goats kid before, but never tested their milk beforehand as I knew they were pregnant...so this was strange to me.

The ewe has been with a ram for 7 months now, but he was younger and smaller for his age, so I'm assuming he bred her later on, and not back in September when I brought him home. Possibly bred her in January, since she is just beginning to develop her udder.

I'll keep watching her udder for any growth, I'll test her "milk" again in a couple of weeks and see if it changes any. 
I'm very excited, I pray everything goes well from here on. 

Thank you for your response, 
Kayla


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

A four month old ram can impregnate a ewe. But, the gestation is five months, so when the lambs arrive you can count back to find when he did his duty.

Keep in mind that the first milk of any mammal will be watery. This is the colostrum and is chock full of immunities. It will change to regular milk soon enough. It will change again and again as the lambs mature, always giving them what they need. Take a deep breath. Let it out. Don&#8217;t go out to the sheep when you feel anxious. Calm down.


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