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.