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.