While some of the sheep breeds are ready for mating throughout the year, in our country, the breeding season occurs twice in a year, in Spring and more effectively in Autumn. Actually, considering the climate, upkeep and food conditions, the breeding is usually done in Autumn so the lambing can take place in Spring. While there might be differences in some regions, this usually takes place in September and November.
The sheep are allowed to breed when they are one and half years old. The pregnancy can be achieved by natural means or artificial insemination. If the natural method is prefered, for every thirty to thirty one sheep, a single ram is enough. A dose of sperm taken daily is enough for four or five sheep, so a single ram can impregnate up to two hundred sheep if artificial insemination is to be used.
National Geographic - Sheep
The estrus cycles of sheep lasts up to thirty hours, it is strongest in the morning hours and slowly degrades. For this reason, insemination should be done in the morning. A single ram shouldn’t naturally impregnate more than two sheep each day. Sheep that are not pregnant will be ready for breeding in seventeen days, and should be given to the rams again. The process of impregnation takes four to six weeks, the faster it is done, the smaller will be the age difference between the lambs. They will be easier to keep because their sizes and needs will be more similar.
Sheep have a high rate of pregnancy, about eighty percent. While the rate of twins are higher in some modified breeds, our native breeds have a fifteen percent ratio of lambing twins. A sheep which didn’t become pregnant for two years might be infertile, and shouldn’t be used in breeding.
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