Tuesday 18 March 2014

Ignorance is Bliss

... it is, in regards to sheep anyway.

Last Year, I had no idea what to expect.  And the first lambs came over night and surprised me in the morning, all cleaned up and perfect.  This Year, because of last year, I'm watching closely.  According to the day we got the ram, and how long a ewe's gestation is, first lambs could have started arriving on March 16.  Here we are on the 18th, and my poor sheep look like they could burst at any second: they are grunting a lot, their udders are HUGE and they seem so uncomfortable.

And last year, the ewes were all first timers, as was I, so we all learned stuff together.  Now, fortunately or unfortunately, I'm watching for certain things.  For example?  "Moo" birthed both her babies backwards.  Healthy and wonderful, but thank goodness I was around to give her a hand or it may not have ended so nicely.  So I'm watching her.  And her sister, Dulcie, birthed triplets, but after the first 2, she looked like she was done, so we let her be.  And unfortunately found #3 dead in the straw the next morning.  It could have been born dead for all I know.  But this year, I know she's fully capable of birthing more than 2, so I'm watching her too.  Stella and Sunshine both birthed beautifully on their own, so I'm not too worried about them.  And then there's Smudge - Stella's little white lamb from last year.  I think she might be preggers too, but I held her back from the ram a bit, to give her a chance to grow up a little more on this end of things, so I'm still not sure if she took.  We'll have to wait a bit to find out.

As there were no lambs in sight this evening, it'll be at least another day or 2 of watching...

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