Sheeps and Peeps Farm

Thankfully, we were blessed with a beautiful spring day with temperatures rising to almost fifty degrees and a strong, very warm sunshine.  We were grateful that almost all the snow was melted by evening. 

Bertha who spent the night pacing outside the barn door finally had the great sense to seek shelter in the barn and after a long labor eventually pushed out a whopper of a ram – 13 lbs 11 ozs.  He is a beauty (out of Aragorn) and may be a strong candidate for Rebecca’s Boaz.  We’ll see how he grows out over the summer.

The afternoon was quiet, and it was nice to catch up on a little rest.  The sheperdess/s have reached the point in the lambing season already where it begins to look as if anyone could go at anytime.  Yet, we were a little surprised to find Aibreann cleaning off Border Leicester ewe lambs when we returned to the barn early evening.  Weighing 9 lbs 5 ozs and 10 lbs 1 oz, they are really nice size twins.  They are out of Aragorn,  quite beautiful, and have lovely, feminine faces.

Patience ran into the barn bawling frantically, looking for her lambs several times as Aibreann was cleaning off her twins.  Shortly after we moved the new twins into a lambing jug with mama, Patience delivered beautiful twin ewes of her own right outside the corral.  They are out of Liam and weighed 8 lbs 11 ozs and 9 lbs 9 ozs.  They also have lovely, dainty faces.  The twins needed a little assistance getting started eating as Patience has very large nipples.  They were doing better at 4:15 this morning but it is still taking them a little while to latch on.

Well, it is a beautiful spring morning.  The sun is shining… it’s about 45 degrees… the birds are singing.

Let’s go birth some babies!

Everything was quiet overnight, but bright and early this morning, Juliet gave birth to beautiful twin ewe lambs.  The first weighed 8 lbs and the second 8 lbs 8 ozs.  This moment has been anxiously anticipated.  Juliet was our dream lamb and the first bottle baby that we have bred.  She is three years old but was not bred last year because she was still so small.  We worried throughout the gestation period whether things would go well for her.  Well this morning about 5 a.m. she gave birth without any problems.  We had to clean the twins up for her, but she has been very gentle and has now settled in with them.  She is doing a wonderful job.  We’re just a little worried whether she will produce enough milk.  We’ll keep an eye on that.

Sweet Pea was considerate enough to wait until after breakfast before also having beautiful twin ewe lambs.  Being the veteran mama she is, she was also smart enough to have hers in the barn out of the fog and rain.  Her first lamb entered the world in what could only be described as a swirling swingshot.  The second little one came into the world much more quietly.  They are large girls the first weighing 11 lbs 1 oz and the second weighed 10 lbs 3 ozs. They are doing great.

Shortly after getting Sweet Pea and her girls into a lambing jug, we were treated to a wonderful surprise all the way at the bottom of the hill.  We left the barn to do a field check and could hear a lamb, there was Sweet Pea’s first daughter, Daisy with her lambs.  We literally could not believe our eyes.  What a wonderful surprise… it was..triplets!  They weighed 7 lbs 7 ozs, 7 lbs 10 ozs and 8 lbs 1 oz.  Little did we know that there was a very good reason that she was producing such a huge udder.  The triplets have already become known as ‘My Three Sons’ – Mike, Robbie and Chip, and of course, are the darlings of the barn. 

Well, lambing has finally begun here at the farm!  Miss Lucy kicked things off at about 8 a.m. with a wonderful set of twins – a ewe born first at 9 lbs 5 ozs and a ram weighing 11 lbs 8 ozs.  They are out of Aragorn.

Around 2 p.m. Hermione gave birth to a big, beautiful black ewe weighing 12 lbs 9 ozs out of Aragorn.  She is a first time mama and did a great job except for a little confusion getting out of the pasture and into the barn.  She is usually pretty flighty so we are very proud of how attentive she is to her little one.

We barely had time to catch our breath, before Maibh gave birth to a white ram… a big fellow weighing a whopping 12 lbs 12 ozs, also out of Aragorn.  Although she is a two-year-old, this is her second lamb.  You may remember her from last year.  She did a great job and behaved like a veteran.

It’s been quiet in the pasture for several hours, and we are socked in with heavy fog.  We certainly hope that any of the ewes that may give birth tonight will do so in the barn.