Lambs!

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If you read the last post you know there is a contest about who will lamb first. No one is a winner yet because the choices didn't include the ewe who did actually lamb first. (Don't worry, the contest was just for the ewes in that blog post--we'll still have a winner.) I came home from town today to find Ears, a BFL-x ewe, just about ready to deliver. I didn't have a breeding date for her so no lambing date either.IMG_9083One lamb.IMG_9110Two lambs.IMG_9134Three lambs. All were up and nursing quickly. Good job, Ears!

I always look at the sheep surroundings for potential hazards. My feeders are chained to the fence or wall so they can't fall on a sheep. If I use baling twine to tie something (rarely because I have plenty of 2' lengths of chain with clips)...but if I do use baling twine I make sure that there is no loop in which a sheep could get a head or horn stuck. If I leave a ewe to lamb in the larger lambing area I make sure the gate is shut with an extra chain because I know a lamb can squeeze through the space between the gate and the wall. So I was sitting in the straw watching the first lamb move around and I planned to move this extra panel before I went to the house because...IMG_9101...I knew that, however unlikely, a lamb could get stuck between it and the wall.  IMG_9103Sure enough, that happened while I was still sitting there.

So what could be cuter than a baby lamb? (Or at least As Cute?)DSC_6011How about this foal that was just 12 hours old?DSC_6021He was born down the road at my friend's house. We have to wait 5 months for lambs to be born. This foal was due on January 29 (11 months) and was just born today on February 22! That is almost a year of gestation for the mare.