Stories from the Farm

This week has been busy, we are up to 12 lambs!  While I was cleaning lamb pens this morning, I was thinking about the week and realized there were a bunch of firsts that happened in the barn this week.

We finally got to see what Liberty had inside that big belly of her’s!  This is a comparison I did shortly before she lambed.  Liberty is on the left and her mom, Darby, is on the right.  I took the photo of Darby shortly before she lambed and had triplets – Liberty, Chevelle, and Debonair.  I had a feeling Liberty had triplets as well…

this is what I found when I came home Thursday morning, I checked an hour earlier and she hadn’t lambed yet!

This is a big first for Liberty, she has always had singles!

When I found them, they were everywhere!  The little one was being taken care of by another ewe, the big girl was with the flock, and the boy was with Liberty.  The girls were vigorous and screaming for mom, the boy was weak and chilled.  I rubbed and dried and tried to get him up and nursing, but he preferred to lay there and whine.  He didn’t have much of a sucking reflex and this is a big concern with a newborn lamb.  I headed to the house with him to warm him up.

What’s the fastest way to warm up a lamb….

in a warm bath!  Another first for me 🙂  His whining stopped shortly after putting him in the warm water and he started perking up.  I needed to get him dry…what’s the best way to dry a lamb, you ask….

yep, a blow dryer!  Definitely a first time I have used my blow dryer on a lamb!  He seemed to enjoy the warm air and really started to get antsy.

That looks better!  He got a little fleece jacket to keep him warm and I took him back to mom.

Once we got back to the barn, I gave the girls little fleece jackets too and made sure everyone was eating.  I grabbed my scale to see just how small the little girl was – 5 pounds!  Her brother and sister each weighed 9 pounds!  No wonder she felt light.  Here she is next to Broderick, the big boy born a few days earlier.

Bellies full and sound asleep.

While I was checking on the triplets one last time before going to bed, I found first timer, Opal, lambing.  I observed from a distance and saw the first one be born.  She was very attentive and did a good job cleaning the lamb.  I was shocked to see our llama walk over to the lamb and do this…

he was actively cleaning the lamb!  Opal didn’t like me being so close, but I had to take a picture of him with the lamb.  Once I backed up, Opal went back to cleaning and seemed to appreciate the help from Magoo.

Opal had twin girls –

Pearl and

Gwyn

A good week!  Little Ruby loves snuggling with her mom 🙂

More information on our lambs can be found on our website.