We have our first ever lambs on the farm! Meadow gave birth to healthy brown twins the first week in February. Little Danny named them Maple and Alfalfa (I was pushing for Maple and Pecan but he was set on his choice.) Thankfully they came without any hiccup, and we walked into the barn to a very calm mama with a squirming baby already trying to stand. The other three ewes we’re curiously observing from a distance, anxiously looking from us back to Meadow and wondering what on earth was happening. Oh how I wish I snapped a picture of their faces. What was supposed to be a quick barn check turned into a good hour with bundled boys playing in the barn, while we made sure the lambs got nursing. Of course Meaadow picked a day when my husband had a big bid going out and could not come home from work, so it was up to me to be the sheep doula. I had left the boys watching Mighty Machines with their castor oil packs tied on (a weird thing we’re trying for belly issues) and ran across the street. Benjy had napped late so I was late on my regular checks, which we were doing every 3 hours because we never found a barn camera that worked. Of course, that’s when she decided to have babies, when it’s frigid, my kids aren’t clothed, and my husband can’t come home. I rushed home and told the boys to bundle quick. Much to my chagrin, I discovered my phone on 5% battery and was barely able to make a call to Danny for advice. By the time we drove over to the barn the second lamb had arrived, and Benjy was crying for snacks. After a bit in the barn, worrying a little about one lamb acting cold, and realizing Benjy was stressing the sheep out with his screaming, we got back in the car and drove across the street so I could get a charger, snacks, and toys. We sat in the car a bit trying to get my phone to turn on and finally plugged it into the extension cord in the barn. It seemed like forever for my phone to get a charge enough to turn on, but I was finally able to FaceTime Danny for some advice and it began to go a little more smoothly. Benjy got some snacks, little Danny was ready to help, Meadow was calm, and I found the booster syringe I was looking for. Little Danny was so helpful, bringing fresh hay, drying lambs, collecting dirty towels. I couldn’t have herded the lambs into the lambing jug without his help. I was worried that the boys would be really freaked out by the whole birthing process but they didn’t even blink an eye. They know nothing else, so to them this was normal, and it didn’t even cross their mind that mom might be a little freaked out by it all. They thought it was great fun, although little Danny was a bit miffed Meadow didn’t eat her “polenta” (aka placenta), but he got quite the kick out of the cats doing the job. Farm life is always a combo of cute and gross. There is never just cute all on its own. It must walk hand in hand with filth. I’ll spare the details, but I thought life in the country introduced me to a whole new level of dirt. Now experiencing two little kids helping with lambing pushed us to a whole new level of germ exposure. Let’s just say my book I read last winer called, “Let Them Eat Dirt,” was preparing me way more for this day than I knew. We can’t believe how fast the little lambs grow! Maple has a little white spot on her tail and leg and Alfalfa has a little white spot on his head. They are so cute hopping around and enjoy venturing outside. Benjy has been concerned about “cydeeodees” (coyotes) but they’re locked up every night in the barn safe and sound. Unfortunately, we’re pretty confident all the other ewes aren’t bred. Why? We have no idea, but we’re thankful for two happy healthy lambs with no intervention necessary. We’re all itching for the grass to green up so they can be out on pasture, but thankfully the signs of spring are here and the ewes are already beginning to shed their winter coats. (This breed sheds so no shearing needed.) Nothing beats happy little frolicking lambs. Hopefully this is the beginning to some wonderful lambing seasons to come.
0 Comments
By the way...we have sheep. With two littles, farm life, and an old persnickety computer, I tend to not blog as much as I’d like, and the sheep thing fell through the cracks. We currently have four Katahdin sheep, hopefully all giving us a few lambs here in the next month or so. We had a ram for two months and now he’s in the freezer, supplying us with some tasty dinners. Lamb Kafka is the boys favorite meal, and so far, owning sheep have been pretty easy. Our four ewes all of course have names, Meadow, Posey, Daisy, and Clover. Meadow is a moron, skittish, gets stuck on the wrong side of the fence, and we’ve given up all hope on winning her trust. Daisy on the other hand is the favorite, the first we won over, now letting us scratch and pet her. She will be the first to explore, following us into areas where she’s not supposed to be, and stand up on us to get our attention if we’ve dared ignore her. Clover is slowly coming around, just beginning to take hay from our hand and Posey just stays with Meadow watching from afar. Meadow is the only one other people can identify. She’s a whole year older than the others and is much larger, but I can tell them all apart now from their small markings. Posey has a speckled brown nose and a small brown spot on her rump, Daisy had black freckles on her ears and Clover is all white. We got them all at a discount from Old Slate Farm as they all were not up to perfect standards, but a great option for us newbies hoping to start a flock with no idea what we’re doing. Danny says there’s a reason God says goats go to hell, and owning goats first make sheep seem like angels. I love our goats, but they’re basically ornery teenagers with extreme separation anxiety who take great offense we don’t accept them as dogs. The goats would prefer to live in the house and sit on our laps than frolic in the fields like normal goats. Sheep are content, fairly quiet, pleasant, not demanding, and don’t care to escape. They must be with their friends and can’t fend for themselves, but unlike what we’ve been told, I don’t seem them as overall dumb, just simple and helpless, kind of like a small baby. The boys love the “maaas” as Benjy calls them, Daisy being perfectly comfortable around little Danny now. They’re all still a bit hesitant toward Benjy, but he has much less predictable sounds and movements so it’s understandable. In in the fall we had them on a pasture rotation, but now they’re in the barn eating hay for winter. Little Danny has been helpful plenty of times herding the sheep and is a much better sheepdog than Harvey. Hopefully we’ll have healthy lambs soon and we’re praying for easy lambing. Little Danny has loved every bit of owning sheep, helping with fencing, herding, walking them to pasture, and cleaning the barn. He really loves scooping poop and gets irked if there isn’t a lot to clean. The boys love playing in the pastures and I’m already looking forward to summer where they can play in the grass. (Don’t worry about ticks. I keep a close watch, don’t let them in the grass in the spring, and we use a bug spray as well.) We have no idea what we’re doing but we’re doing our best to educate ourselves and learn as we go. I keep reminding myself that at some point I have to jump in and give it a go. So lambs it is.
|
About The KelleysThe Choosing Home PodcastCategories
All
Archives
September 2022
|