Lambs

 This is Mary Ann holding Beatrix.  Beatrix and her brother Bixby were born to Trixie last Saturday afternoon in the Pole Barn.

Lambing time is an exciting and challenging time.  It is amazing that ewes know what to do.  In most cases there is no midwife assistance required, though it can be difficult to stand back and wait for nature to do its work.

A mother about to have her lamb has a very pink butt, which is a bit swollen.  Her sides are bulging and she spends a lot of time lying down.

Often the first signs that labor is coming soon is that the ewe is not interested in grain and hay.  Within hours of that you may begin to see the ewe frequently lying down and alternately standing up, like she can not quite get comfortable. She paws the ground, picking a spot to have her lambs, which hopefully is a clean area in the barn. You eventually see a bubble of liquid hanging off her rear end, and within the hour you may see two little feet and a nose, indicating the position of the lamb is good for an easy birth.  Within 10 minutes or so the lamb is born.

Most first time mothers have only one lamb.  Subsequent years they might have twins, except for Finnsheep, which can have up to six babies.  This year for some reason we have had two first time mothers with twins.  Willow is an example.  Her babies were born just before I went to the barn for early morning rounds, around 5am.  As I approached the barn I heard frantic bleating, as if Willow was saying "Help,  Help!"  Apparently she had Bessie first, who was lying down, all cleaned off.  She was trying to clean up Betty, who stood there very wet.  I think she was overwhelmed with the task of taking care of two, having never given birth before.


With Mary Ann's help we moved them into a lambing jug, which is a stall with straw bedding, a feed tray, and a water bucket.  This is where they stay for about 48 hours while they get acquainted with each other and feeding is well established.

 Within 24 hours we give them an ID tag on one ear. This is for positive identification for things like vaccination.

At the same time we dock their tails using a tight rubber band that cuts of the circulation to the tail so that in a few weeks it falls off.







When they are a few days old, often when the lambing jug is needed for a new mother and baby, they are moved to the nursery and given the opportunity to mix with others lambs of similar age.  In the nursery they will learn to recognize their own mothers, since if a lamb approaches a ewe that is not her mother she will be swiftly butted away. 

Lambs in the Nursery

After a few days there they will go out to behind the barn where they are introduced to the electric fence.  Being curious creatures they nose up to the wire and quickly learn the fence is not to be touched.  By this time it is fun to watch them jumping around on their springy legs and play king of the mountain on the manure piles.  We try to handle them daily so they will grow up to be friendly and come to us when we go to the pasture.

This is "Boo", Bea's sister.  Naming is a fun part of the season, often beginning with a list from the grandchildren.  We started naming with plants and flowers the first year.  Then we went to "M"'s , when the first lamb of the season was born on Marty's birthday.  Then we discovered it was easy to tell when a lamb was born if we followed the alphabet in order.  The next year after  'z'  we began at the beginning.  This year is the "B" year.  So far we have Bee, Boo, Bernard, Barbara, Bessie, Betty, Beatrix, Bixby, Bob, Bubbie, and Bellamena.  Sometimes we name a baby in relation to it's mother, for example we have Amena, her daughter Willamena, and her granddaughter Bellamena.

We hope you will visit the farm in person when you can.  We will try let you watch the lambs grow. on the web site too.

Warmly, Marty and Mary Ann