Spring

When birth is imminent, contractions begin to take place, and the fitful behavior of the ewe may increase. A normal labor may take one to several hours, depending on how many lambs are present, the age of the ewe, and her physical and nutritional condition prior to the birth. Though some breeds may regularly produce larger litters of lambs (records stand around nine lambs at once), most produce either single or twin lambs. At some point, usually at the beginning of labor or soon after the births have occurred, ewes and lambs may be confined to small lambing jugs. These pens, which are generally two to eight feet in length and width, are designed to aid both careful observation of ewes and to cement the bond between them and their lambs.[