As we go through our normal day to day late winter chores, this year we're busy getting ready for some early arrivals. Nine of the ewes were bred early by two 'bad boy' fence jumping rams and are due, not in April with the rest of the flock, but in the next couple weeks. It is a challenge to adjust our usual spring lambing and feeding routine to a winter one, but we're working hard on the logistics.
We're also working with Tilly, the family milk cow (wow, it feels really great saying that) who will be having her first calf in March. We're so excited about this addition to our family and our daily routine. So wish us luck for the next month or so, it's been a long time since we've milked a cow. Oh, and be sure to stay tuned for the baby pictures ☺
Saturday dawned with sleet, hail and strong winds... not the best way to begin shearing day. Joe and Melvin made short work of our 37 ewes as we ooohed and aaawed over each beautiful fleece as it came off and was bagged. We vaccinated with CDT, checked FAMACHA scores and checked body condition. By the time we moved the ewes back out to pasture, the skies were blue and the sun was shining. What perfect timing!
Lambing will begin in the next couple weeks. And of course we can't wait to get our hands on all those gorgeous fleeces!
February said farewell in a lovely way... cold temperatures but lots of sunshine. It seemed as if suddenly the birds truly believed that spring would soon arrive and began their songs in earnest. March 1st definitely roared in like a lion, but oh, on that last day of February, we all enjoyed the sunshine and had a renewed sense of hope.
Coltsfoot, daffodils, maple tree blooms, bulging bellies and finally...
Little Mister 1401 - born on Saturday, out of Maire (my+ra), one of the yearlings, and an unidentified suitor. He is small, weighing 7 lbs 8 ozs but really just the right size as Maire is a yearling and not yet producing much milk. We were a little worried, but he is gaining weight so we'll let him continue to 'encourage' her to produce more.
The remainder of the lamb arrivals will be pretty spread out as it took as several weeks to get all the breeding groups in place last fall. The timing should be pretty good as the pastures are just beginning to green-up after the long, harsh winter.
Today is the big day! Everyone is tucked inside the barn to stay dry. We're so excited to see the beautiful fleeces coming off the sheep! We're sure that the girls are pretty excited to be rid of their heavy winter coats. The best thing is that we will be able to check the condition of the expectant mamas.
We've been playing a lot of "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" for the last week or so. With the heavy snowfalls and the apparently inherent 'es-capability' of hoggets, there has been an on-going game of musical pastures. Each morning at feeding time everyone is moved back to their appointed pasture, and the next morning everyone is back in the barn paddock. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing except for the varying nutritional needs of the different groups. We didn't really have the time or energy to discover and repair the escape routes before the next round of snow began. So for now... musical pastures it is :)
Saturday afternoon was spent breaking up the breeding groups and moving all the ewes back to the barn paddock. Despite the snow and the bitterly cold wind, it went much better than we expected. Usually we put up a moving lane to facilitate the moving process, but we didn't this time because of the weather. Instead we opened the paddocks one at a time and led each ram back to the barn. All the ladies followed their guy... success! We kept our old guy, Liam, and young Fury at the barn with the ewes. Hopefully that will work out as well as it did last year with Strider.
And so, with a hearty round of the song "We're all together again... We're here... We're here" everyone is settling in nicely.
Despite the full moon, there were no lambs born yesterday. The ewes spent most of the day in the pasture in a seemingly meditative state soaking up the sun, and of course eating... there's a lot of eating going on.
We moved three groups of lambs and their mamas out to the nursery paddock, where they enjoyed getting to know their older cousins, running, jumping and exploring.
All this lack of cooperation inactivity on the ewe's part, gave us the opportunity to clean out the barn, move some things around and set up additonal lambing jugs. So in answer to Boo's Mom's question yesterday, here's a little more about jugs. A lambing jug is a small pen where the ewe and lambs are moved shortly after birth. Unless there is a problem or really bad weather, we usually wait until after the lambs are up and have eaten. This short confinement (usually two or three days) promotes bonding and gives us the opportunity to watch for any problems the ewe or lamb may experience in those first few days. After using old wooden pallets and assorted other recycled items, we have slowly invested in this system of welded wire panels and connector hinges. They are very sturdy and easy to climb in and out of. They allow us to use our barn space more efficiently as they can be quickly put up, taken down, moved or reconfigured..
Hebe, Patience and their twins are the only occupants at the moment. They're getting lonely... come on girls, let's get moving.
It was another quiet day on the lambing front. Hebe had a wonderful set of twins, a ram weighing 9 lbs 14 ozs and a ewe weighing 10 lbs. The old pro that she is, Hebe had the little ewe standing up while her first born was beginning to nurse. She is a great mama.
A large storm front moved through late afternoon with fierce winds, thunder, lightning and a lot of rain. By that time Hebe and the twins were settled quite nicely in the barn, snug in their lambing jug.
Just as we waited on the storm yesterday, we feel we're waiting on another... a lamb storm. As we keep watch over the bulging bellies and swelling udders, the number of ewes that could go anytime keeps mounting. Here's hoping all those lambs don't decide to come at once.
This post has been in the works all week, and we've really struggled to get it done. We had one almost spring-like day, but much of the week has looked like this. Much like Bella, we've been plodding along. The bred ewes are devouring 200 - 250 pounds of hay a day, cleaning up every last, little bit. The hogget ewes are growing out and have been very entertaining of late when we arrive to feed. Running through the snow, jumping up and down, they bring a smile and sometimes we can't help but laugh out loud. And, of course that brings us to the barn cats. They are always eager to provide entertainment. The latest toy has been a discarded box that has received so much cat love, we're reluctant to throw it away.
Hope you're having a wonderful morning, and not digging out from under too much snow.
With apologies to both the reader and our wonderful breeding ewes, we are sharing these days of the lambing season in a slide show. We still have one straggler. Hebe has not yet lambed, but here are the rest of the 2012 lambs. Each ewe and their lambs are very different... some ewes won't eat for hours, others get up and eat between every contraction... really every birth has its own story... here are just a few...
Julie and Jill each had their second twin almost two hours after the first; Julie having her first at 10 p.m. and her second at 11:55 p.m., coming within 5 minutes of being our first ewe to have lambs born on two different days.
Rosey and Princess had their lambs right beside each other in the barn, each continuing to try to take the other's lamb because that was the first one seen after that final push.
Athena's second-born whose sack did not open at all, hit the ground fully enclosed and had to have it torn open; had taken a breath inside, had to be worked on for nearly an hour; but is doing great after spending days under the heat lamp.
Meara pushed out her first water bag at 12:30 a.m. but did not get her first twin pushed out until 5:15 a.m.; allowing the shepherdess to enjoy both the gigantic full moon and a beautiful foggy, pink dawn. Her lambs were perhaps our most vigorous, loudly baaing before their back legs were fully pushed out.
Hera, our mother of several sets of twins and two sets of triplets, had a big, single ram this year; all the way at the bottom of the hill... again.
For the shepherdess/s, each birth is a miracle... when the lamb hits the ground, takes that first breath, lifts its little head and shakes it, then that first baa... oh my... sometimes we see it, sometimes we only hear it if the lambing field is really busy, but each time it is a tug at your heartstrings... a miracle.
We are oh so very close... the expectant mamas are spending their time eating and resting. Everyone gets up and down a little gingerly, a little more slowly. Second cutting hay and a little corn and oats have been added to their feed schedule. We've been adding apple cider vinegar to their water on these unusually warm April days.
Bets are on...
who will have twins... almost all of them look like they are carrying twins
will Hera have triplets or maybe Athena will this year... Julie looks awfully big, maybe she will have triplets...
who will go first... will it be Daisy, whose udder is gigantic... or will it be Maibh or Sweet Pea
So go the days leading up to the first lamb hitting the ground... questions swirling around inside the shepherdess/s heads.... conversations held in the pasture and in the barn. Anticipation... yes... great anticipation.
