FIRST LAMBS of 2010!!!

YAY LAMBS! YAY STORY TIME!

Last night my friend Rob came and helped collect fleece samples to be sent off to Texas A&M. Yes 85 samples. Even the Texel and the Shetland-Cheviot crosses got collected. Mostly morbid curiosity as to how the medium wools micron.

I noticed no odd pre labor behavior by ANY of the sheep, and thought maybe Cross Wind Bea was in early contractions. Nope, just chewing some cud. I swear I will them to go into labor.

Since the earliest they could lamb was March 1st, I honestly didn't' think one would lamb before hand! All of my ewes that were ground bred this year, are now two year olds, and are all first time mothers. None of them were bred last year when exposed to Burma, my natural colored ram from Stephen Rouse.

I was greeted when I opened the barn door, to two distinct distress calls. Uh oh. These are lamb distress calls! I went to the BFL loafing pen, deeply bedded last night with lots of oat straw, and there were two lambs mingling with the ewes. One was loudly protesting that no ewe would stand still long enough to find a nipple. The other was laying off to the side of the pen with her back legs sticking straight out behind her. Neither were licked off, and both were very hungry. None of the ewes were fessing up to having the lambs either, so I had to do a butt check and found the one with some blood on her backside. It was Beechtree Kiloran.

Some of you may remember my post last year about my very first BFL who lambed. For a recap following this link: http://ramsayfarms.blogspot.com/2009/04/round-two-of-lambing-begins-in-earnest.html

As tradition continues here, my second BFL lambing ever and the first time mother, now a two year old is completely uninterested in her lambs. *sigh*. So to the jugs we go, lambs under each arm. I get the heat lamp installed and working, and then bring in Kiloran and halter tie her to the side of the pen. I then take baling twin and tie it around her loin area and then also another set under her armpits and around so she cannot move.

The little girl was a bit chilled so I sat under the heat lamp and wrapped her in my jacket. I then took this photo. Shortly after she fell asleep, while her brother, madly stopping his feet, was trying to find a nipple. I had tried to assist, but he seemed very stubborn (like a Brown Swiss bull calf) in finding the nipple on his own thank.you.very.much!

After a quick nap, the ewe lamb jumped out of my arms and loudly thrashing worked her way over, unsteadily to mom.

Here is the ram lamb......he's thinking "dum, de, doo....WOW this is great stuff! I can't believe this is so good!"

"If I could only eat all the.....hey! Excuse me! I was nursing on that great stuff!"

"Hey! What are you laughing about?! That was MY nipple!"
As sometimes is with our calves who are quite large, their legs are sometimes in a funny position after birth as they were crammed inside the cow. I am guessing this ewe lamb is the same way and after a day or so, will be able to stand for longer periods of time. The ram lamb is chasing his mother around the jug (I've released her to eat for a while, and will retie her again in a bit)

I think once she realized they were nursing, that it felt GOOD to let them nurse, she was ok with them and did not fuss much, but she still isn't calling to them and claiming them. Proud papa is Sheltering Pines Burma!

Since Ell my bitch is due to whelp any day, any hour, I'm going to jug a few other BFLs that look much closer to lamb than Kiloran did by the diameter of their vulva and swelling of the tail heads. I'd rather have them lamb in jugs, than in the loafing pen and having multiple births, with lambs screaming running around the pen when I arrive in between checks with Ell.

Its going to be a very busy week!