Lambs at Play on a Wintery Day

With winter underway (although technically it is still fall), the lambs are out in the snow, growing and having fun.  I am bringing them in the barn only at night so the moms can get extra oats and the little lambs are safe.

We did have a horrid cold snap a week ago along with a good amount of snow, but this week temperatures have been warmer - I even got out with the camera.

Here we see Girlie and her triplets that were born in October on Canadian Thanksgiving.  At first I had been worried that the black lambs might not be getting enough milk to drink because at first they were smaller than the white ewe lamb but after a few weeks it seemed the tables turned and one day I had to bring the white ewe lamb into the house and bottle feed her.

 I returned her to the barn that night and over the next couple of days I continued to bottle feed her, then I noticed one of the black lambs was also not looking good.  For a few days I was bottle feeding two of them.  Then suddenly the white lamb started refusing the bottle, for days I tried to feed her and she refused - the black lamb was fine and insisting on his bottle.  I was quite concerned about the white one so started putting her in a stall by herself with lamb starter crumble so she could eat it without being pushed out of the way by the larger lambs (we have 2 sets of twins born after her but they are larger).

As it is now I am just bottle feeding the black lamb twice a day, the other black lamb is fine on his own, and the white one simply refuses the bottle but is eating lamb starter twice a day.  She is now the smallest of the triplet lambs but is otherwise looking healthy overall.

To note - you can tell if a lamb is doing poorly and needs bottle feeding because it will often stand humped up.   If you think your lamb (or any pet) needs veterinarian attention  you can ask a veterinarian for free help by clicking the logo above.

Surprise Triplets Born on Canadian Thanksgiving

In my last blog post I mentioned we just got a ram for the fall breeding season and had suspected some of our ewes were already pregnant... well as it turns out we were right!

Canadian Thanksgiving was October 8, 2012. Thankfully I had the day off work. Just days before we had got our new ram as normally sheep come into heat in the fall and mate to produce lambs in the spring. In the last month though I have been observing that three of our ewes appeared pregnant. I suspected they had been bred in the spring before our last ram was sold, while they still had their lambs with them.

Sure enough on Thanksgiving day one of the ewes gave birth, not just to one or two lambs, she had triplets. Earlier in the day I had seen the sheep and was just about to go looking for her as it appeared she was not with them, but she was there, just a bit behind everyone else, so I gave it no more thought. Then later that day I went out to check the sheep and noted her missing. I saw all the others, so went to the barn to look for the missing ewe (her name is Girlie). I found Girlie in the old barn with two lambs (one black, one white) standing at her side and a third one (black) laying down. 

 Even though it is fall and the weather is okay (breezy but not as cold as winter) I did not want to leave them in that barn overnight. Small lambs are an easy target for coyotes and some have been coming around to get our crab apples (and possibly even killed a cat a week earlier). The old barn is small, leans to one side and does not have a door. Instead I picked them up and their momma followed me to the newer barn (which is still old, but at least it has a door, and proper stalls). I put them into a stall that as coincidence had it I had just prepared the day earlier in expectation of fall lambs.

My daughter came out to help dry the lambs off (in the top photo) and make sure all were doing well. We gave them water, hay, and then came back inside where my husband had our Thanksgiving dinner ready and waiting.

Further reading

Supplies needed for Lambing

How to Care for Newborn Lambs

One down.. two more to go.. and today it is snowing (lightly - but windy).

Diamond has Triplet Lambs

This morning I went out to the barn to find another set of triplets.  Diamond had given birth over night and was standing at the back of the barn when I entered.  I had hoped to put the other moms and their lambs outside today, but it had snowed over night, at least 20 cm (8 inches) and more falling - and blowing!  As such I put the sheep outside that did not have lambs and left everyone else in the barn.  Diamond did not even try to get out.

I spent most of the day shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling.

I have had to bottle feed one of the triplets born a few days earlier, but with Diamond I doubt this will be a concern, she is a great mom with a large udder and has had triplets in the past and always had plenty of milk for all.

My biggest concern is that one of the lambs (pictured in the lower left) seems to have curled fetlocks on the front legs.

I have been reading up on this and it is very likely related to being one of many lambs, kept tightly inside the ewe.  They should straighten out, but I will keep an eye on her. 

Tomorrow is expected to be cold again, hopefully warmer the next day. 

To keep track so far 5 ewes have had their lambs, only 3 more to go.  We have 2 sets of triplets and 3 sets of twins, for a total of 12 lambs.  Plus the ram of course!

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.