Three Different Lambs, a Summer Surprise

Last fall, in October, three of our ewes gave birth to lambs.  We knew that two of them had been rebred and they had their lambs in April, but it did not look like the third ewe had been rebred.  Sheep are pregnant for 5 months and we had been told the ewes of most breeds only come into heat in the fall, so the fact that we had October lambs was already a surprise.

At any rate, we thought we were in the clear with the other ewe and as such were just getting on with the summer.  We have had rain almost non-stop and the pasture has grown so tall we almost do not see the sheep at all.

We went away for four days and when we came back I noticed Girlie sheep suddenly looked different.  While she did not look pregnant, her udder seemed fuller.  The next day I was out filling  up the water and she was missing.  I found her in the old barn, she had three little lambs with her.

I went to get my husband to help me get them into the barn, I also wanted to grab the camera!  My husband picked up the lambs and carried them towards our larger barn, which I thought would be a better place for them to spend their first night.

Girlie has had triplets in the past but never produced enough milk for all and we have always had to supplement one by bottle feeding.  As such it was a good idea to get her into the barn so we could check that too, and give her a bit of oats.

She has a black ewe lamb, a brown ewe lamb (the smallest lamb) and a larger white and brown ram lamb.

Well that was all just over a week ago.  She is so far doing great with the three lambs.  I did have a bit of an awkward moment though...

On the second day I noticed a bit of her placenta was still hanging out of her (and covered in feces too).  I called the veterinarian.  It was July 1, which is Canada Day here (a holiday).  He suggested I could fix this myself, I just had to wash my hands really well, cover one hand with vegetable oil, and go insider her to gently remove it, and to feel just in case she had another lamb still inside.  He said since she was still eating and acting normal it was not an emergency in which he needed to come.  So... ya, I did that, while my husband held her, and thankfully there was no fourth lamb and I got the placenta out okay. 

Triplet Lambs Being Born

I knew Blackie as pregnant but didn't think she was due for another week or so, so I was rather surprised when I found her in the pasture with a newborn lamb.

The cool thing was that I had my camera with me because I was going to be taking some pictures of the other sheep, and as it happened Blackie lay down and had two more lambs while I was outside with her.

She had separated herself from the flock and was in a nice sheltered area of the pasture, I had seen her alone in the old barn earlier in the day so knew something was up.  How thoughtful of her to go out into the sun!

Within a short time of me being out there, a minute or so really, she lay down to have her second lamb.

Blackie started to lick it off, and before I knew it she laid down again.  Triplets I thought.  In the past Blackie has had triplets twice before but always lost one each time.  She did not strain with this lamb as much as the earlier one.  And was busy licking the first too at the same time.  I saw the third lamb come out most of the way (keep in mind they are born in a clear sack so you see the sack and lamb within it and fluid. 

This lamb was black so it was hard to see well, and there was no movement.  As long as the umbilical cord is still attached it is okay that the sack is not open because the lamb gets the oxygen from the blood in the umbilical cord. This usually breaks when the mom gets up or the lamb moves around.

 I was waiting for Blackie to get up and check the third lamb but she just lay there licking the first two. I am sure she was tired but I grew concerned.  I could only detect small movements from the third lamb from inside the sack.  I moved my position just a bit to go around to check closer, and in an instant the third lamb broke open its sack and started to breathe on its own.

Blackie was not really noticing so I moved this lamb closer to her nose and she did start licking it right away.

 

At that point I left her for a short time, I wanted to make sure I had a stall prepared for them.  It was warm and sunny outside, but it is best to allow small family groups to bond in the safety of a stall for a while, especially in the case of triplets - not to mention the fear of predators attracted by the smell of blood from the process of lambing.

See other pictures and read more at my original post, here.

For the record these lambs were born April 27, 2013.  I have Diamond sheep on my radar too, she is huge and expecting lambs now as well.

Girlie Sheep has Leap Year Triplets

February 29, 2012 is a bonus day, a leap year day. People that are born on leap years only have one birthday every four years. What about sheep?

In the morning to feed our pet sheep and let them out of the barn where they are kept at night during the winter. We put the ram, a dorper x katahdin, with the ewes on October 4^th last year, the earliest due date would be March 4^th, but it is not uncommon for ewes to give birth a bit sooner, and so I have been expecting lambs for about a week now.

This morning Girlie sheep (yes her name is Girlie) was not interested in her breakfast. I went out later at about noon to check on the sheep. It is nearly the end of winter, but we just had 6 inches of snow over the weekend, three days earlier. All the sheep, the donkey, and llama, were in the shed. Or where they? I counted, and counted again, one was missing. Who was missing? Girlie!

I knew where she would be. The sheep like the shed in the day it is roomy and interesting – lots to look at, but they also have access to an older barn, one that is dark, but secure, they often go there alone when having their lambs, if lambing in the day (it is more common for sheep to lamb at night). I spoke softly as I entered the old barn. There she was with two... no, three, lambs. Two white ones and a black one. One of the white lambs was larger than the other two lambs.

I was alone so I picked up all three lambs at once and Girlie sheep followed, she is one of the more friendly ewes, not prone to panic, but naturally concerned. I had to carry the lambs so she would follow me to the other barn. Naturally this got the attention of the other sheep, donkey and ultra curious llama (she just loves lambs). I got them into the barn and set them up in a stall that had been prepared earlier in anticipation.

Taking pictures did not go so well. I took about 12 and all but one were blurry; I need a better quality camera! My husband went out and tried to get some pictures too but it was hard to get all 3 lambs and mom together.

By the time my husband loaded my pictures on to the computer and I could see only one was not blurry, her placenta had come out, you can see the white lamb standing on it. 

The biggest white one is a ram lamb, the other two are ewe lambs. Triplets are not as common as twins but not especially rare in sheep. Congratulations to Girlie on having leap year triplet lambs.