ALL DONE!
Mood:  happy

All lambs are now born - without further mishap!  We have one ewe that doesn't appear to have gotten bred, as she is now 2 weeks overdue! So, unless Murphy got her after we removed the harness ...She is fat, but I guess it is really just fat - and is pretty bummed at being removed from the group of mom's eating a high protein diet! 

Here are some pics of the tiny ewe lamb - she is the cutest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some of the others... I have a video of them all outside playing the "lambie games", but don't have time to upload it this morning!

2007 lambs are arriving!

Well, after many years problem free, 2007 is proving to be a more challenging lambing season.  Last fall, we sent many of our older, experienced ewes to the market (some were getting quite on in age and we needed to downsize our flock in preparation for sparse grazing in spring).  Our new ram, "Murphy", a purebred Border Cheviot arrived as an unproven 7 month old lamb.  Our old ram, "Gulliver" produced beautiful lambs and our experienced mother ewes added to the problem free years.

So.....This year - first lamb arrived when nobody at home - John at work, I was traveling back form a dog trial during the big storm of April 16th.  It was ewe #1664, a small 2 year old that hadn't ever lambed before.  When John arrived home at after midnight - the lamb's head was out, but it was obviously dead.  It was a huge lamb and the first time mom just couldn't get him out by herself. So first lamb dead and a ewe with an udder full of milk.  Not off to a good start!

At the same time, "Dots" gave birth to twins, but seemed to be favoring one lamb over the other. So John quickly covered the "rejected" lamb with the dead lamb's scent and stuck her with #1664, who readily accepted him as her own. Whew!

Next, another first timer, nicknamed "Retard" because of an old injury that causes her head to be held a little askew, birthed her ram lamb, cleaned it, allowed it it's first drink, then proceded to bash it repeatedly against the wall.  Yikes!  Off to the "Nursery" pen to be tethered on a short rope.

After a few days, it still didn't look like "Retard" would accept her lamb, so we decided she was not worth keeping, so will be shipped to the abbatoir this week.  Hoping that her lamb was stong enough to "steal" from the other mothers who had lambed, we put him in with them. Lo and behold, #1664 took him in right away!  So, #1664 is now fostering 2 lambs from 2 different mothers, who were born days apart!  Strange but great - no bottle lambs!

Below is a photo of #1664 with her 2 lambs plus Dots' other lamb.  She is like the favorite Aunt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other difficult lambing was #1670, another 2 year old first time mother - also a small ewe.  We watched as she entered her 3rd hour of stage 2 labour, after having tried to feel around for a leg or something to pull on...No luck.  We ended up calling longtime friend and ex sheep / Jersey farmer, Derwynn McKinven for help.  Of course this was late at night!

He said it was one of the worst cases of a stuck lamb that he had ever seen - the lamb was breach, with it's legs all askew and tangled forward.  After ages of trying to secure something to hold on to, Derwynn was sure the lamb was dead and he would just "get it out" to save the ewe.  He was sure he would break one or both of the lamb's legs in the process - everything was so tightly jammed.  He pushed it all the way back in, then managed to untangle the legs and pull it out.  The lamb, a big ram, was completely limp and the sac had broken while he was still inside. Derwynn tried reviving it..Nothing....Then a very slight, wheezing gasp, and we felt a heartbeat!  Derwynn used all the tricks of the trade to get the fluid out of its lungs as I held it upside down. The poor ewe was paralyzed from exhaustion and pain, and had no energy left for her lamb, so we cleaned it up and put it on its mom for its all important first drink.  He had very little energy and both ewe and lamb were shivering violently.  We did all we could, set up the heat lamps and went to bed, thinking that one or both might be dead by morning.

Well, next day - both lamb and ewe were still alive - not standing yet, but the lamb seemed to be getting milk as his mom lay in the corner, recovering.  One leg was dragging uselessly behind him - broken or dislocated from the birth.  I fashioned a splint from 2 sticks and some handly vetwrap, gave everyone a shot of vitamin tonic and gave the ewe some feed, which she did nibble at - a good sign.  She also drank a ton of water. Also good.  We watched her closely that day and both seemed on the mend and several days later, both the ewe and lamb have gained strength and vitality and by the end of the week, should be able to leave the Nursery and mingle with the other new moms and their lambs!

Below is a picture of "Stix" with his green vetwrap splint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's Stix's mom, up and lively this morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning, we have another ewe lamb (twins seem to be non existent this year - except for Dots).  This ewe is experienced (this is her 2nd lambing) and had no troubles and is a super mom. She cleaned her baby until she was sparkling white and is very very protective of her.  I moved them in with the other moms and lambs this morning.  All is well in that pen.  Two more ewes expected today, but no signs of labour this morning at feeding time.

Below is a picture of Dots' ewe lamb (I think!) enjoying the sunshine yesterday.