Nelina has twins!

This morning as we looked out the window, Peter started counting the lambs and realized that there were two more than last night. Therefore, at 7:10 this morning we went outside and met the newest additions to our flock. Nelina our Romney ewe, who is 4 years old had twins sometime early this morning. Nelina is known for having single lambs this was an unexpected surprise. She had one ewe lamb that weighed 8lbs. and one ram lamb that weighed 7lbs., in the past her single lambs have been 14-15lbs.The biggest dilemma is naming the lambs. Gabrielle said that she has not picked out a theme yet for naming her lambs this year. Riley's theme is cookies and candy bars for this year. So, Gabrielle won't use that theme for her lambs. If anyone has suggestions for a theme please post it below.

Twin 1 and Twin 2

Another set of twins!!!!

Tulip our other Border Leicester ewe started labor just before 6pm tonight. First, her mucus plug discharged and then about 20 minutes later she started grunting and pushing. After approximately 22 minutes the first lamb was born. Tulip immediately started to clean off and bond with her lamb. Then at about 7:50 pm she started to grunt and push again...We did not expect another lamb as Twix weighs 13lbs. That is an amazing weight for a single lamb and completely astounding for a twin. Snickers was born shortly after 8pm, he looks to be about the same size as Twix. Below, there is a short video...we will post pictures soon of the newest editions to our flock.

Tulip with Twix

(just born)

Twins!!!

Well, I was right...we did have lambs today. Just not from Nelina or any of the other one's that we thought were close. Instead it was one of the Border Leicester's Lady Slipper. She had twin ram lamb's that Riley named M&M's and Skittles. They were born at approximately 9:30pm, minutes before Peter found them in the lambing jug with their momma.
Here are a few pictures...

Lady Slipper with her lambs

M&M's drinking from Mom 

Skittles just born

Is today the day?

This morning was foggy with alittle bit of snow falling from the sky. It is still winter here in Vermont, even though we haven't had a real snowstorm since Thanksgiving. It is the perfect day for more lambs to be born on the farm.
Two years ago today Nelina, our oldest Romney ewe had her second lamb during a massive snowstorm. Sunshine, was a beautiful ewe lamb that Nelina took incredible care of....Sunshine was our only lamb that year.

Nelina in the lambing jug

Today as we went out to check on Oreo and Spitfire we noticed that Nelina might be in labor. Gabrielle is ecstatic because she would love Nelina to have her lamb on Sunshine's birthday. Nelina has been alternating between a ram lamb one year and a ewe lamb the next...if that holds true than we should have a ewe lamb from her this year.

Spitfire is an attentive momma that is taking wonderful care of Oreo. We let them out into the pasture yesterday after we weighed Oreo. He gained 2 lbs in 48 hours, bringing his weight to 11 pounds. He is a joy to watch out in the pasture with the other sheep. He is inquisitive, yet never very far from his momma.We love watching him run around jumping and kicking up his hooves. Spitfire let's the other sheep sniff and walk around Oreo but she is always ready to protect him if necessary. Spitfire even lets the girls pick up Oreo. However, she is standing right next to them making sure that Oreo is never out of her sight.

Oreo & Spitfire

More Ewe's getting ready

Oreo and Spitfire
in the lambing jug

As I sit here writing, there is a good chance that Nelina, Ella, or Emily are getting ready to lamb. Riley thinks her father is wrong and that Alice will be next. Therefore, there is a little bit of rivalry going on between the two on who is right. Last year, Alice was due on February 3 and had her twins early on January 28. Riley remembers that she didn't really "bag up" (teats milk filled) before she had her twins. We were astonished when we went out to grain that morning and Alice exited the shed with two adorable lambs trailing behind her towards the grain tray.

Spitfire is bonding well with Oreo in the lambing jug (pen). We will reintroduce them to the flock tomorrow, as Spitfire does not like to be cooped up. We are worried that she will jump out of the pen leaving Oreo behind if she doesn't get outside tomorrow morning. Before they leave the lambing jug, we will weigh Oreo
to see how much he has gained in the last 48 hours.

I hope that we will be introducing you to more lambs in the coming days

No More Waiting....First Lamb

Oreo

We are please to introduce our first lamb of the season....Oreo, he is a 9lb. ram lamb. His mother's name is Spitfire, she is a first time mother. His father's name Little Bear. Little Bear is a friend of our's ram that Spitfire went to stay with for a few months. Oreo came to us a few days earlier than anticipated so he is a lighter than expected. However, his momma is taking amazing care of him and he will be growing at an incredible rate over the coming days and weeks.

This morning when we went out to feed our sheep we had no clue that a mere 2 hours later our first lamb of the season would be born. None of the ewes were acting like they were in labor, they weren't off feed or acting restless. Yet, my husband came into the house at 8:30 and annoucned that we indeed had a lamb outside. The girls quickly donned their coats and boots to get out to the pasture with their dad.

Once out is the pasture they found Spitfire laying in the sun with Oreo right by her side. He was dried off and enjoying the sun on his back. Riley picked him up while Peter sprayed his umbilical cord with some iodine to prevent infection and help it dry up. Then Riley slowly started to back up with Oreo in her arms to bring both mom and lamb into the lambing jug (pen). The two will spend the next 24 hours bonding in this pen. We will be able to monitor Oreo's ability to eat and Spitfire's health after lambing. Another reason we are keeping them separate for the next 24 hours is to keep Oreo warm with a heat lamp (because he is little).

Spitfire and Oreo

Hope that you enjoyed the short video that Gabrielle recorded. We will keep you posted on Oreo's growth and hopefully we will have more lambs to introduce you to soon.

Waiting for lambs

It is a gorgeous morning here, the sunlight is streaming through the windows and it is a brisk 30 degrees. No new lambs yet, but there are 4 ewes due anytime. This is the time of year when my husband gets up a couple of times at night to check on the soon to be moms. During the day the girls and I keep a watchful eye over the flock. Most of the time the ewes don't need help delivering their lambs, however we like to be there just in case there are complications. It is an amazing sight to see the lamb or lambs born and the instant bond between the mother and her lamb.
The ewe and her lamb(s) spend 24 hours by themselves in a lambing jug (pen) to bond. After that they are out with the rest of the flock, as they are extremely social animals. We hope to have good news soon and pictures to post on our new additions.

Who knew?

My husband and I have two beautiful daughters that are 11 and 9. About 3 years ago my oldest wanted to switch from Girl Scouts to 4H. Being from the city I had no idea what 4H was, but my husband thought that it was a great idea. The girls had friends that had sheep and were part of 4H. We started to go to the meetings and before long bought a few sheep of our own. We started with four sheep for the girls to show at the County Fair & Field Days. Before long we bought a few more and then a few more.

As of today, we have 27 sheep, 30+ chickens, 1 bull calf, 2 dogs and a cat that all have special places in our hearts. We have lost a few very special animals along the way. We are also expecting to see between 11-12 of our ewes to begin lambing any day now.

Sweetie and Lily

Border Leicester