Tag: lambing

Finally!

Sheeps & Peeps12 Comments

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.

Anticipation

Sheeps & Peeps8 Comments

The air here at the farm is charged with anticipation… and a little anxiety.  The bulging bellies and swelling udders a sure sign that lambing time is nigh.  Just a little more than a week  and our little lambs will be hitting the ground.  Lambing supplies have been inventoried, reorganized and reordered.  The barn has been cleaned and there’s a little bit or reorganization going on in there too.  It is so much easier to tell what is going on now that they’ve been sheared, and all the ewes look to be in good condition.  So for a few more days, the waiting game continues… we’re just about ready.

Summing It Up

Sheeps & Peeps6 Comments

Finally… yesterday morning, the last ewe lambed – twins – a ewe and a ram.  There may be one more straggler; she shows little sign of being bred but we had the the ram lamb in with the ewes all winter so chances are she could very well be a very late lamber.  We still have a few ewes and lambs to move out in the field but the majority are out of the barn and enjoying the back paddock. 

We will probably keep the triplets in the barn for awhile longer in one of the bigger pens, just so we can keep an eye on them to make sure Hera is producing enough milk and all three are gaining weight. 

We have two patients in the barn at the moment – poor Ceres, a two-year-old ewe, had to be taken to Kingwood to Doc and have a cesarean.  She was in kind of semi-labor for about 24-hours and it turned out that she had torsion of her uterus.  It was twisted 360 degrees, and that was why she did not fully go into labor.  Her twin lambs were lost, and we are having some trouble getting her to eat.  We try to encourage her with herbs, dandelions, clover, etc.  She received quite the salad last night; it even included some violets. (Many thanks to Joe and Betsy for all their help!)

Our other patient is the yearling Poppy who somehow managed to get a 3-inch gash over and a small puncture wound under her right eye.  We haven’t quite figured out what happened, but she seems to be on the mend.

Of course, now we are looking forward to filling the blog with cute lamb pictures for the next few months.  They each really have a distinct personality, and they are so entertaining.  The back paddock is quite noisy in the mornings and evenings.   We will be watching closely to make sure they are all growing properly.  Sometime in the next couple weeks, we will bring them all back to the barn for CD+T shots, etc.  (If you are interested in statistics, please check the sidebar for some lambing season stats.)

Winding Down

Sheeps & Peeps7 Comments

Sorry for the long absence, but as you can imagine we have been pretty busy. This season’s lambing is winding down, and it has been a very stormy one.  We have had a few days of sunshine, but the most intense days looked more like this…

Easter afternoon

We were going to tell you about the hour and a half spent pulling a gigantic 16 lb lamb that had one leg bent all the way back (we lost the lamb but saved the ewe)… the heartbreak of coming into the barn early Easter morning and finding one of a set of twins that could not be revived… the fact that all 14 lambing jugs were full twice in spite of a steady rotation of ewes and lambs to the field… the hours spent making sure every ewe had hay and water and every lamb had a full belly… the triplets dramatic birth at the very bottom of the hill in the farthest corner from the barn… the fact that every birth is a miracle…but instead we will share this…

Scenes like this make it all worthwhile… there is nothing as beautiful lambs in the field…

Here it is… the birthing of the lambs of 2011 (at least the first 39…)

A Little Activity

Sheeps & Peeps3 Comments

And when we say little, we mean a little activity.  Only one more ewe gave birth yesterday.  Boy, are we hoping for more than that today, although weatherwise it is another very wet and soggy day.

Anyway… Rosey Posey blessed us with beautiful, healthy twins – a ewe weighing 11 lbs 2 ozs and a ram weighing 11 lbs 10 ozs.  They are out of our wonderful older ram, Liam.  Rosey is a veteran mama so everything went very smoothly.  They are Border Leicester – Coopworth – Wensleydale crosses.
Here’s hoping that the weather settles down this afternoon and we can get some of the older lambs out of their jugs and into the field… fingers crossed.

One More Down

Sheeps & Peeps3 Comments

Yesterday was another slow day – first-time mama, Havva, had a beautiful ewe lamb weighing 11 lbs 5 ozs.  It took us about half an hour and a lot of patience to get her and the baby into a lambing jug, but we finally did and they are doing great!  The little lamb has a lovely fleece.  She is what one might call a true farm flock breed – Coopworth x Blue-faced Leicester x Border Leicester x Wensleydale x Cotswald.  We can’t wait to see her fleece this fall!

(We will try to answer everyone’s questions from yesterday’s comments, later today.  Have to get back to the barn… there’s a little activity…)

Moving Slowly Along

Sheeps & Peeps6 Comments

Lambing is still moving along ever. so. slowly.  So slow, in fact, that Erma gave up her preaching perch

to come in the barn and see what was going on in the lambing jugs.

We are delighted, however, to welcome to the flock, Hestia’s twin black ewes out of Aragorn.  They are Border Leicester – Coopworth – Wensleydale crosses.  The first weighed 9 lbs 14 ozs and the second 7 lbs 14 ozs. 

It’s funny how things work out – last year all the lambs were white until the 28th one was born – this year 4 out of the first 8 are black.  Oh, we do so love our black sheep here on the farm!

Soggy Lambing

Sheeps & Peeps5 Comments

Yesterday… on a day that could only be described as being fit for ducks…

while everyone took refuge from the weather inside the barn…

while Larry and Jack paced the corral like nervous relatives in the waiting room…

first, Diedre gave birth to a black ram, out of Poseidon, weighing 11 lbs 14 ozs

then, maybe half an hour later, Hannah, had twin Border Leicester rams; the first weighing 12 lbs 7 ozs and the second weighing 10 lbs 4 ozs.  They are out of Aragorn.

Things are moving slowly – we are bracing ourselves for what is sure to be the
lamb-storm yet to come.