Breeding Time

It's the season of love on sheep farms across the hemisphere.   Just a few weeks ago, we brought our largest ram, Dodge, from the bachelor pad around the corner to be with the ladies.   He will spend the next month or so with the 2013 ewes who already had babies last spring.   If all goes well, they will all be bred and with the help of a marking crayon, we'll even know due dates.   So far, all the ewes seem to have been bred in under two weeks.  We've changed the color of the crayon so we'll know if any of them go into estrus a second time.  If none go into estrus again, that means they were all likely bred and will be having babies within a week of each other.  That's 14 deliveries in one week - we certainly will be busy.

The younger female lambs were just joined by one of the young ram lambs.  We chose number nine, now dubbed Nino, because of his East Friesian appearance and the fact that his mother was a great milker.   So far many have been "marked" by his purple crayon but not all.   He'll be switched to green in another week or so and hopefully all will be bred.    

Adventures in Soap - Making

It's been quite a few months since my last post.  Compared with the craze of lambing, summer has been quiet and uneventful.   Our lambs nursed and grew.   In May, we brought 12 new lambs from another farm to Aries Crossing. They were all bottle fed .   As a breastfeeding advocate, I'm proud to say our breastfed lambs were bigger and healthier than their formula fed friends.  One of our additions died shortly after coming to us but the rest have been fine though slow to grow.

  

Our lambs stayed with their Mammas for many months.  These lambs were lucky. Once we have milking equipment, they won't enjoy such a long nursing period as we'll be taking a lot of the milk for production.

In July we separated the males and females and were left with some engorged Mammas.



They had to be milked to prevent mastitis and the fun began.  We hand milked for a week or so before getting a hand pump.   I got pretty good at hand milking but it is very hard to keep the milk clean when milking into a bucket.  The ewes would step in it or knock it over or just drop junk off their long fleece into the milk.  We decided this milk was not fit for consumption and we froze it.  It will hopefully become milk soap.   The hand pump puts the milk directly into a bottle which keeps it a lot cleaner.  That milk is in the freezer too.   Some we plan to pasteurize and make into cheese for ourselves.

Today, I made my first batch of soap.  We will see how it went in three weeks or so after it cures.  If it works well, I'll be making lots more of it and experimenting with different scents and such.

3 more lambs

After almost two weeks off from lambing three of our other four ewes have now delivered and we are watching the fourth for signs but can't even find any teats so it may be a few more weeks.   Good Friday started off our latest round of deliveries.

Number 48 looked like her udders were about to burst so we put her in the nursery jug with another ewe and her twins.  That way, if she delivered, we wouldn't have to deal with a barn full  of sheep.  

Sure enough, after just a day or so, we found a newborn lamb there in the afternoon on April 18th.  Another ram lamb.  The other ewe and her lambs were let out so the new mama could have some time with her lamb alone.  This was another uneventful lambing as the lamb seemed a bit wobbly but did just fine with little assistance.  No interventions were necessary and both have been doing great. They joined the main flock a week later. 

Then on Wednesday the 23rd, our small ewe Lucille, who Jay thought was surely not pregnant, delivered in the field sometime in the afternoon.   Lucille has always been very small and a bit odd - she has a strange far off look in her eye and often holds her head at a strange angle.    I looked out the window in the afternoon to see a very white looking lamb being licked by a ewe and went right outside to check.  Sure enough, a new lamb was delivered out in the field with all the other sheep and lambs.   As I have with other field deliveries, I threw some hay in the field to distract the flock.  Unfortunately, Lucille got distracted too.  She had delivered an begun cleaning her baby but the sight of the hay and the other sheep running made her forget her maternal obligation and she ran to get in the mix to get some hay.  I don't know if she was particularly hungry or just got distracted but she abandoned her lamb.  I went in and tried to get her back with her lamb but that proved impossible.  Since it was fairly chilly and windy, I decided to bring the lamb indoors to protect it from the cold and hopefully extract Lucille separately.   

I carried the lamb inside the barn by the house to the lambing jug and turned on the heat lamb.  Aria, our 8 year old agreed to keep the lamb company while I tried to get the mother.  She took the lamb wrapped in a towel onto her lap under the heat lamp.   Meanwhile, I asked my neighbor to come assist with getting Lucille out of the field without the rest of the sheep but we had no luck.  She ran away from me and I couldn't get a lead on her, never mind pull her all the way up toward the house.  Michael Jackson, our punk ram didn't help either as he decided to headbutt me as much as he could.  I gave up and decided Jay could deal with getting Lucille out.  Hopefully she wouldn't reject her lamb after a long separation.  

Back to the barn I went to focus my attention on our newest member of the flock, a little ewe lamb.  We got  fewer ewe lambs than we had hoped so I really wanted to make sure she made it.  We decided to bottle feed her to keep her going until she could be reunited with her Mama.  Thankfully, she had warmed up and was willing to take a bit of colostrum replacer from the bottle.   She was named Jackie. Aria stayed with her for over an hour while I brought Lilah to girl scouts and Jay finally got Lucille into the barn.  Thankfully, she immediately re-accepted her lamb and soon Jackie was nursing like a pro.  Another happy ending after a challenging post lambing period.  

Jackie Bottlefeeding

Finally, our most recent delivery came this past Friday, the 25th.  Once again, we put a ready looking ewe (39) in the pen with another ewe and lamb.  Sure enough, the next morning another ram lamb arrived.  He was discovered shaking and barely able to stand, covered in meconium and amniotic fluids.  The mother was caring for him but also seemed to still be in labor.  We thought perhaps a twin was on the way.  We didn't want to interfere with the two of them but the little lamb didn't look so good and she wasn't letting him nurse.  He needed an enema and after a good poop, he regained his suck reflex and we got  him latched on.  Mama took awhile delivery her placenta but no twin emerged.  After she finished laboring, she was attentive and he nursed.  He has been gaining well ever since.  

We now have only one more ewe who could deliver.  No. 54, who I thought looked pregnant weeks ago, now seems to show no signs.  I assume she is pregnant but must just be a few weeks delayed.  Hopefully she will lamb in a week or so and we will completely done with 2014 lambing.    

Double Delivery

Just when I was wondering when we would have more lambs, two more came. This morning both 77 and Giovanna delivered just hours apart.  Our last little guy has been doing great, nursing, and gaining a ton so we've had a bit of a break.  I knew it wouldn't last for long.

When I went to check the sheep this morning at about  8:30, there was a little lamb standing next to 77.  At first, I just looked at him and thought "you look small."   In my pre-coffee state, it didn't register right away that he wasn't just one of the many lambs in the main barn.  But I quickly realized what had happened.     He looked great though, standing right up with everyone else, already cleaned and dry and nursing - Good job Mama!

We got everyone else outside and let them have some time before moving them into the small lamb jug for their bonding days.  He seems to be doing fine.

77 with her ram lamb

We were finishing up with that when some friends came over to see the lambs so we took them on a tour and did the weighing rounds.  All the lambs were doing great, nursing, and frolicking with each other.

Our friends were just getting ready to leave and we were about to go in when Jay calls that Giovanna is coming!  Our guests decided to stay to see the birth and within half an hour, Giovanna had delivered another ram lam.  She has been another all-star mom and they are doing great too!  

Giovanna and her ram lam just after delivery

I think that the ewes that have seen all the other lambs nursing understand about mothering better than the ones who delivered weeks ago and had never seen a lamb before.  I think next year, we should make sure that the experienced mothers lamb first so that the younger ewes can learn from them.

It was a good morning.  Two successful deliveries without complication, a beautiful day, and a morning with friends.    There are only 4 more ewes that haven't lambed.  At first we thought one or two of them weren't pregnant but we're pretty sure they all are now.   Lambing season continues . . .

some lambs sunning themselves

On another note, Jay tried his hand at shearing yesterday. We have one shorn sheep - she was not a happy camper.  Now he just has to do the other 15!  Oh - and we need to figure out how to do something with all that wool.

Jay's first shearing job (64)

Back to the Teat

While I had almost given up on our newest little guy feeding from the teat - last night he did it for the first time!   That means we might not have to milk his mom or bottle-feed him anymor.    All day today, he has been nursing properly.  The only problem is that it seems he doesn't do it on his own.  We've been getting him up and helping him find the nipple every few hours all day.  At least it's a start.  The La Leche League leader in me is so excited for him to nurse the way he is supposed to instead of from a bottle!  The lazy shepherdess in me is just glad I don't have to do more milking and bottle feeding.  Win-win!

51 with her ram-lamb

Our first bottle baby

Well we were wrong about Giovanna.  She still hasn't lambed but 51 did.  I got very lucky once again yesterday.  Maybe St. Germaine really is looking out for me.   I was out for the afternoon and when I went out to check the sheep, one was just starting to show a hoof coming out.  She was in the barn with the rest of the sheep since the weather was crappy and we'd kept them all in for the day.  One of the other sheep was seemingly trying to kick the baby as it emerged so I cleared all the other sheep out of the barn.  The baby was born soon after.  I had to clear his face of mucous as its mother didn't do so right away but then she started licking him.  He was soon up and trying to nurse but she was walking away.

We let them stay in the barn to bond for about an hour before moving them to the lamb jug by the house.  51 is a very skittish sheep and really didn't like us being so close to her.  Once she was in the other pen, she continued to shy away from her lamb whenever he got near the teat.   Unlike some of the others that did the same thing, she flipped out whenever we got close to her so we couldn't help the lamb latch on like we had.

After a bit of this, we decided to just milk her and give the lamb some milk in a bottle.  Jay pinned her against the wall as she ate and I milked as much as I could.  It is not easy to milk a sheep that really doesn't want you near her.  We did get a good bit of milk though and thankfully, the lamb sucked on the bottle and drank a good bit.  At least we didn't have to tube feed him.   We fed him a bit more a few hours later using the rest of the milk along with a bit of the powdered colostrum replacer.  Then we milked her again.

Today, we tried to get him to latch on himself several more times but he didn't seem interested so again we milked and bottle-fed.   He got plenty from the bottle but would only take a few ounces at a time so we had to feed him often.  After a longer stretch without eating, he was very hungry this evening.  We gave her some grain and he actually latched on with help and suckled from the teat!    Hopefully we can get him to do that a few more times and the two of them might actually get the hang of it.

Otherwise, he has to be bottle-fed and she has to be milked to relieve pressure in the udders so she doesn't get mastitis.  Without proper equipment, milking is a real PITA so I really hope they get the hang of nursing as Nature intended.

No one else had a baby today so far and I really have no idea who will be next.  Giovanna, 77, and 54 all look ready to go and have for days so we'll see.  That may be it for spring lambing.

Could be another late night

Jay is out in the barn.  Giovanna, our black sheep is not interested in eating which is very unusual for her.    She has looked ready to go for at least a week now.   He says she has her tail up too.   If we're lucky she'll show us for sure and we can move her to the lamb jug by the house before she gives birth.  This will make our life a lot easier after she lambs.

Another set of twins

Last night, Jay went to check the flock at about 10:30 and found a lamb already up and trying to nurse in the main barn with the flock.  It was pouring.  All our lambing jugs were full so he just took the ewe and her lamb out into a section of the barn where we store things, next to the main pen and one of the lambing jugs.   When I got outside, the ewe was on her side straining.  She was obviously still in labor and unable to really care for her firstborn ram lamb at the same time.  We watched concerned and checked the clock -11:06.  She had been straining for awhile with no progress so Jay put on gloves and lube just in case.  Thankfully she stood up and after a few pushes we saw hooves.  We decided to give her more time since she was making progress albeit slow.   By 11:15 the breech lamb was delivered without intervention but the ewe was exhausted.  

She wouldn't stand up to feed her lambs.   We toweled off the second lamb a bit since Mama couldn't reach to lick her without moving and then placed the lamb near the ewe's nose.  She went to work licking both lambs but wouldn't get up.  Soon both lambs were crying.  Jay gave her some nurtri-drench and I brought her a bucket of warm water with molasses and put it right next to her head and she drank almost a gallon I'd say.    As we were discussing what we should do and whether or not to start bottle feeding the lambs, she finally perked up a bit and we got her on her feet.  I checked the teats for milk and then ran in the house to get a container, a funnel, and a bottle.  After trying to get the lambs to nurse, I milked a couple of ounces out and put it in the bottle just in case.   

The ram lamb was more vigorous - he may have gotten his first feeding before his sister was born and he got the hang of nursing easier.  The ewe lamb was much weaker from the long delivery and the lack of immediate mama love.  She was interested in nursing but didn't seem to understand about latching onto the teat.  It didn't help that the mother has double nipples on each side - only one of which has milk.  I didn't want to take any chances so I took her aside and tried to bottle-feed her.   I put my finger in her mouth to check her suck reflex and then put the teat in.   I tried to be careful not to pour the milk into her mouth too quick but also tilted it enough so she could get some.  She drank about an ounce and then she seemed to want to be closer to mom so I brought her back to the teat.  Meanwhile, Jay took out the clippers to trim some of the long locks around the ewe's udders so we could see better.   Somehow during all this we also managed to put a little fleece jacket on each one to help keep them warm.  

By 12:30 both lambs seemed OK and had at least nursed a little plus the little one had some from the bottle.   We moved another ewe and her lamb (born Friday evening) into the nursery pen with two other ewes and their lambs and put the newest mama into the lambing jug - gave her some more water and some nice fresh hay and left them alone for an hour or so.  

At 1:30 we went to check on them.  We weighed them, clipped their umbilical cords, dipped in iodine and helped them both to eat one more time before going to bed.   The ram lamb weighed 8.4 lbs and the ewe lamb 7.3 lbs.  We hoped that they would gain over the night and thankfully they did.   

By noon today they had both gained nearly half a pound.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture yet.  

I now have no idea which ewe will be next to lamb.  There are several that look ready but several have completely surprised us so it could be anyone?  

Just in the nick of time!

I am not a religious person but today I really do feel as if a God of Shepherds smiled down on me.   Wikipedia lists several patron saints of shepherds, but only two of shepherdesses, St. Bernadette and St. Germaine.  The Roman believed both Pan and Pales looked after shepherds and I'm sure countless other people throughout history have prayed to various deities for divine assistance with their flock.
Whatever power may be out there certainly looked after us today.

 I was out all day and got home just in time to catch a birth.  After arriving home,  I went down to check on the flock and what do you know, there is a sheep laying on her side straining.   It was warmer today but drizzling and I can't have a  lamb getting all wet and chilled. Thankfully a scan of the area shows no other lambs.

All our lamb jugs are full and the ewe is near the gate to go into the barn.  I have to get the other sheep away from her to leave her in peace so I yell for Aria to throw them some hay, which she does.  They take the bait and run down to the other side of the field to eat.  The ewe in labor gets up and delivers her baby a few minutes later.  She gets right to work licking it and it doesn't seem she will have another just yet.  I want to get the lamb out of the rain but also don't want the mother to abandon it by getting in the way too early.  I let her lick it for a few minutes and then slowly approach the ewe and undo the electric fence.  Using a towel, I pick up the lamb and slowly walk to the gate, keeping it near its mother's nose.  She follows me right in and none of the other sheep seem to notice and come storming the gate - whew!  I bring them right into the main barn and then leave them alone.  It isn't too cold so I want to give them some time.

Meanwhile, Jay arrives and moves the other sheep so that there is an available lamb jug.   I keep watch to see if the lamb will nurse on its own or will need some help.  It soon seems as the though the ewe doesn't understand about feeding the lamb.  Like many of the other ewes, she loves her lamb, licks it, sniffs its butt, but moves away when it tries to latch on to eat.  This is not good when the lambs aren't that good at getting to the teat in the first place.   After a few minutes of this, we decide it best to intervene.  I swear its a miracle any lambs survive without human help.  I strip the teats to check that the milk is flowing and then we bring some grain for the ewe.  Soon she is still enough that I can assist the hungry lamb in finding the nipple.  After a few tries, he gets the idea and has a good long suck.  We repeat the process three times right away.  I am so relieved that he is getting his first colostrum within the recommended hour after birth.   Hopefully this will prevent him from becoming constipated and weak - a bad combination.  

After a few good feedings, we move them into the adjoining lamb jug.  It is our smallest jug and isn't attached to the house where we've had all our other newborns.  64 and her sickly ram lam are still by the house and we want to keep them there.  It won't be too cold so hopefully our newest mama Number 63 and her ram lamb will be fine out in the barn in their own private space.   After awhile, Jason weighs the lamb.  He is our biggest yet, weighing in at 11.4 lbs 1.5 hours after birth.  

63 with her ram lamb just after birth

I just can't believe how lucky we were.  If I hadn't gone to check on the sheep right when I did, we could easily have had a dead lamb out in the mud and rain.   Without our help, the mother wouldn't have nursed and the lamb would have gotten cold and weak outside.   At a minimum, we'd be tube feeding the lamb hours later because it didn't get its first feeding early enough.   It scares me to think how much of the time we are not really watching the sheep.  Checking on them every few hours just isn't enough.  We should probably be out there every hour.  We probably won't be.  I just hope that St. Germaine keeps watch for us.

Poor 64

On Tuesday afternoon, we had another arrival.  I had been checking on the sheep through the window and saw that several were laying down but didn't think much of it.  A few minutes later, Jason looked out the window and saw a new lamb nursing!  We completely missed the ewe in labor while we were in the house. The lamb looked to be doing well and the Mama seemed to be letting it nurse and taking care of it.

We had lambs in all our "jugs" so we had to do some rearranging.  We moved 45 from the attached barn into the shed in the pen with Big Wooly and her two lambs and left Lanabelle with her one lamb in the smallest little pen in the big barn.  Thankfully, Big Wooly, 45, and their three lambs got on well and we didn't have to worry about them hurting each other's babies.  Jason worked to clean out the newborn jug near the house and I went down to check on the baby.  I didn't want the other sheep to go near it and bother it and was afraid if I went over the fence, they would swarm me and I wouldn't really be able to help.

We gave the flock some extra hay to keep them occupied and I went in.  Sadly, there was another lamb, laying dead in the hay.  She may have gotten too cold.  Perhaps 64 forgot her while giving birth to the other or just couldn't keep her warm enough.  She was still in her amniotic sac.  Maybe she couldn't breathe?  We'll never know exactly what happened.  I handed the dead lamb over the fence to Jay and he ran up to the barn to try to revive it - bless his heart.  He tried rubbing it all over, hanging it upside down, clearing its nose, and even injected it with dextrose to give it some energy.    But nothing worked.  It was limp and non-responsive.  If only we had been able to help it when it was first born!  It's hard knowing that we were right in the house the whole time.

Meanwhile, the other lamb seemed to be doing great.  I kept an eye on them in the field but of course they had to be moved too.  Finally Jay gave up on the little lamb and wrapped the little body up and put it aside so we could focus on the the mama and her living ram lamb.

We brought them in the barn and we remarked at how well the little guy seemed to be doing.  I think we jinxed ourselves.  Within an hour of being in the barn, the little guy was obviously not well.  He had no energy and didn't seem to want to eat.    We didn't know what had happened.  He had seemed so strong.   But they say the bigger lambs sometimes have the hardest time once they run out of their initial fat reserve that they are born with which doesn't last long.   He must have been out in the wind and cold a bit too long even for a strong little guy.    We started worrying about him.

I went to check that 64 had milk flowing and was shocked that the milk that came out was BROWN!  Milk is not supposed to be brown.  Jason stayed with the sheep while I ran inside to seek the infinite wisdom of the googles.  After more searching than expected, I finally found out that this can happen as a result of mastitis and that it is still OK for the lamb to nurse.  Hopefully if he suckles enough, the infection will clear on its own but just in case Jay picked up some antibiotic.  The ewe seems to be doing OK so we haven't given it to her yet.

But the lamb still wasn't doing well.  We brought him in the house after he refused the bottle.  We used some colostrum we had saved from another ewe and tubed him.  We gave him four ounces or so and hoped that would give him the energy to get back to nursing.

He is surviving but has no energy.  He is always curled up in a corner fast asleep.  At least he can be roused. We go out every few hours and wake him up and literally force him to nurse.  He just doesn't seem to have the energy to get up but once he is in the right spot, he'll suckle if we tickle his but with straw.  (This induces his sucking reflex).   He has newborn scours (diarrhea) so we tried giving him Pepto-Bismol as well as electrolytes.  We couldn't get any of it into him so we just keep bringing him to the teat and hoping he'll get better.   He has gained some weight but just doesn't ever want to get up to eat.   It's like he doesn't have the will to live - poor little guy.  

The poor ewe! She lost a lamb, her living lamb isn't eating much and she has mastitis.  The poor thing.  She yells at me most times when I go in the barn.  I feel bad for her but we hope that he little guy will make it and they'll live happily ever after.   But we're not there yet.  

I am looking forward to warmer weather so we won't have to worry so much about newborns.  I hope the other ewes wait for a few days so we can focus on 64 and her little guy.  I have a feeling that either Giovanna, our black sheep or 54 will be next.   I have a feeling about 54 but we'll see if I'm right.

Sunday Dinner

Haven't had a chance to post about our newest lambs.    I was right and 45 was the next to give birth.  On Sunday afternoon, I happened to look out the window and noticed one of the ewes standing up and then laying down, then standing up and laying down, over and over.  It didn't seem right so I ran out to have a closer look. Sure enough, there was a hoof visible.    I ran in to change clothes and called Jay.

The lamb was born within half an hour I'd say and I was actually able to catch it on video.

Michael Jackson is one of our rams.  I didn't want anybody trampling the baby.   After a few minutes of Mama licking her lamb, I grabbed it with a towel and we started the process of moving 45 and her lamb into the barn.  All went fairly well and after a few hours, we were satisfied and went to have our Sunday Dinner at my in-laws.

The ram-lamb was named Timothy by Lilah and he has been doing well.

Morning Suprise

Now that the weather is a bit warmer, we've been less worried about lambs freezing and we've been less vigilant about checking the animals in the middle of the night.  By less vigilant, I mean we haven't been checking onthe animals in the middle of the night.  We may have to rethink that.  This morning, Jason found a newborn lamb on its feet in the barn.  Our last named Ewe, LanaBelle had a single ewe lamb.    The lamb seemed strong and when weighed, was the biggest so far.

The two were moved into the shed where Woolamina and Una had been staying.  By afternoon, it seemed like the lamb wasn't doing well and wasn't feeding.    She had no interest in sucking on the nipple or the bottle so we started to fret.   After some discussion, we decided to try the enema that we did with Bunny.  Two hits of that and she seems much recovered.  I was just outside and saw her have a good long nurse.  Whew!

Confirmed nursing

LanaBelle and baby

Meanwhile, Woolamina and Una had their first full day with the flock out in the field.  Una has gotten so big!  She has been gaining about 1lb per day and now looks quite substantial.  She seems to be getting along just fine out with the others. It is funny to watch her do what everyone else is doing, running from place to place in the group and even trying to eat some grain and hay.      

Now we'll just have to see who will be next.  Both Number 64 and Number 45 look ready to go.  I've got my money on 45 but we'll have to wait and see.   We had no idea LanaBelle would be coming so who knows?

3 lambs doing well

Thankfully, it has been an uneventful weekend.  No new lambs were born so we've caught up on sleep.   All three lambs are doing very well.  Our first lamb Una is outside with her mama in a private pen.  They had some company a few days but Woolamina has since decided she doesn't want to be with anyone else for now.  Una is growing nearly a pound a day!  No worries there.

Little Una with Woolamina

 In the other barn, closer to the house, Big Wooly and her two lambs are still enjoying their privacy as well.   Bunny was the smaller of the two and had a rough start.  I worried about her all day Thursday and by Thurs evening, we brought her in the house for some warmth and a better feeding.  She wouldn't suck the bottle and had no energy at all so we had to tube feed her.

Bunny in a laundry basket

Bunny after being tube fed

Tube feeding is a scary process.  If you don't feed the lamb, it will die BUT if you insert the tube wrong and it goes into the lungs instead of the stomach, you will drown it and it will DIE.  This is terrifying to us newbies.  With no other options we insert the tube and hope we've got it right.   She doesn't drown instantly so we must have done it right and we give her several ounces of colostrum replacer.   It was only 9 degrees and there was no way she was gonna make it through the night so we kept her in our tub and fed her every few hours.  She never did take the bottle but was tube fed each time.  

By morning, she seemed much improved and was brought back out to her mama. Thankfully,  her mama took her back and they lived happily ever after (at least so far).  Both she and her sister, Cute (I know that is a ridiculous name but that's what you get when a five year old does the naming) are in the barn with their mom and gaining weight.  They haven't gained as fast as Una but they seem to be doing alright.

Bunny on the left, Cute on the right

Bunny and Big Wooly

Bunny and Cute

Outside in the field, the rest of sheep are doing fine.  Several are being watched for signs of lambing but nothing has happened yet.  Jason had good instincts on the other two so hopefully that will continue and we'll catch them so we can help them. Hopefully the weather warms up so we won't have to worry so much about the lambs when they do arrive.

first twins

After a brief respite from winter, the cold has returned.  Thankfully Woolamina and her lamb Una have been doing just fine in the barn by the house.    The last few nights, we've segregated Big Wooly our other heavily pregnant ewe with a friend in another small shed so she'll have more room and is easier to monitor in case she gives birth.  This morning we brought her into the barn with Woolamina and Una.

Lambs are so silly.   With Big Wooly in the barn with her, little Una got confused and tried to suckle the wrong ewe.   Big Wooly didn't seem too keen about that but within an hour was in labor.  I have to wonder if the teat stimulation brought on labor?    Anyway, at about 11 am, my daughter reported that she had a water bag hanging out of her and by the time I got to the barn, a foot had appeared.  I went upstairs to get on different pants and by the time I got back, the lamb was delivered and a second was on the way.  The second was born quickly too and soon we were hard at work trying to warm them up.  Big Wooly paid more attention to the first one but both had to be toweled off and warmed under the heat lamp.  Soon we had the second one on a heating pad on a towel in a laundry basket and a hair dryer going back and forth between the two.   It's hard to dry off a newborn lamb as they are covered in a mucous that is thick and doesn't get absorbed by a towel.  It's so cold, our biggest concern is making sure they don't get hypothermic right off the bat.  Jason gave them each some Nutridrench to give added nutrition and we set up an electric heater outside the pen in the hopes of warming the whole area.    

The second lamb is weaker than the first but both are doing OK.  The weaker one got our only blanket to wear.  Little Una is wearing the other and I hesitate to take it off her since she is out in the cold without any heating lamps and is still vulnerable herself.  

Big Wooly is paying attention to both lambs but not always letting them nurse.  The stronger one is definetely getting some milk but I'm not so sure about the other.  Both seem to have some energy and aren't shivering but we're still keeping a close eye on them.   

And there goes my day!  I had planned to get many other things done but with focusing all my energy on two newborn lambs, I've little else accomplished.  Oh well!

OMG - Our first lambing!

11 pm - Jason went out to check the sheep before we go to bed ourselves.  I hear the phone ring and know something is up .  He is calling from the barn to ask me to bring out the lube and other supplies.  Woolamina, our favorite, is delivering her lamb.   The head is presenting with only one foot so Jason makes a weak attempt to find the other foot.  It is too crowded in the barn with all the sheep so we put them out in the field, much to their loud displeasure.   By around 11:30, the lamb is delivered unassisted - whew!  Woolamina goes about licking off the lamb as it squirms around.  We try to decide when and how to move them to our "lambing jug" in the barn attached to the house.  After some deliberation, we carry the lamb in the carrier next to Woolamina's nose and are soon in the barn.  The lamb seems cold but Mama keeps licking her but won't seem to let her nurse.   Jason has to hold Mama still while I help the baby find the teat before she gets a few minutes of sucking (at least we hope).  We are praying that Mama and baby will figure this out on their own soon.

Expecting Lambs - oh the anticipation

With 10 (or more) of our ewes pregnant and no certain conception or due date, you could say that we are a little anxious.  We've been reading lambing FAQs online and watching youtube videos of lambing.    We've searched the interwebs for some answer to the question - How to tell when a ewe is going to lamb?

We have come up with as many answers to this question as we have questions about lambing.  As brand new shepherds with no experience with any animal deliveries, we are nervous and excited, and of course a bit scared.

Every morning we go out to the barn wondering if any lambs are there or any of our flock is obviously in labor.  Every few hours during the day, someone goes out to check on the sheep.  I find myself staring at them looking for some sign that would indicate they need to be moved to our other barn where we have a makeshift lambing jug.  I stare at their hind quarters, try to examine their bulging utters and generally stare in the hopes of divining that they are fine or need help.   Jason has gone as far as searching the field with a flashlight in fear of finding an abandoned lamb waiting to be saved.  Thankfully, he has not found any.

Last night I even dreamed of holding a slimy newborn lamb coaxing its mother to recognize it and care for it. Two or three of our ewes, Big Wooly, Woolamina, and Number 64 (as yet unnamed) all look about to burst.  They have large bellies, swollen lady parts, and bulging udders with increasingly long teats.  They are also some of our friendliest sheep so they are easy to check on.   Every night we consider if they should be brought to our other barn just in case to be away from the crowded quarters in the main barn.   So far, we haven't moved them but we keep waiting, fingers crossed.

Part of me hopes to see the ewe straining in time to move her to our lambing pen before the birth so we can help if needed.  Part of me hopes that one morning I'll just find a lamb or two happily suckling - the scary part done and the mother caring for her lambs without assistance.    Perhaps we'll have it both ways by the time the season is done.