20 Hours Later

I checked on the lambs and Amelia off and on all day, and they seemed fine.

The weather forecast was for rain, so I made sure that the shelter was fortified, and around 7 p.m. gave one last check and headed in for the night.

Within a half hour a hellacious downpour complete with high winds hit and wreaked havoc for about 15 minutes. It was the closest thing to a tornado I've seen, and I was glad to see it pass.

I can attest to the fact that here on our little mountain, the weather is turbulent to say the least. I've seen drops in temperatures as much as 50 degrees in 12 hours or less, as well as rises of the same amount, snow, ice, sun, wind,hail, freezing rain, calm,sun and snow again all in a matter of an hour, and then the cycle repeated itself. I would not be the least surprised to see snow in July here one day.

This morning's feed/water/ check-in revealed three wide awake and active lambs, and their dam seemed to be fine as well. Momentarily. I thought about letting them out but the ground is wet and rain is immanent and I didn't want to risk it just yet. They are cozy and dry so I'll leave well enough alone for the time being.

Sadly, tonight the temps will drop to 20 or lower and snow is on the menu. I'm debating lamb coats as the temps won't go about 35 during the day and will stay low for the next three nights before climbing up again.
Currently I'm leaning away from the coats for a variety of reasons but we'll see as the day unfolds .

The next ewe due to lamb is Caden on the 21st. She also looks like triplets this year and I hope to shear her before the blessed event. Demi will be close on her heels, followed by the others in succession over a period of weeks.

As much as I love lambs, lambing can be exhausting.

More pics this evening.

Regards,
Kathryn

Amelia - Holding

Amelia is enjoying the milder temperatures, her new space and the company of her companion, Lana.

She gets rations twice a day of whole corn/ soy meal / minerals and some choice second cut hay to provide the nutrients both she and the lambs need.

Plenty of water and fresh air are also available and she rests or moves about as she feels inclined.

She is in good health and fine spirits, with a hefty appetite.

Positioned in a small area behind the house it is ideal for me to keep a regular watch for any signs of deviation from the regular behavior. As I go about the chores of housekeeping, weaving, and fiber business, I can look up and quickly get a visual on her. This all but ensures I will know when she is in labor and be present as the lambs are born.

Unless she decides to have them in the middle of the night. Not to jinx myself, but she has had all of her lambs so far, during the daytime, and so hopefully this will be no different.

Can't wait, can't wait!!!   Its like Christmas, birthday, Valentines Day and Anniversary all rolled into one.  Woo Hoo......hope the weather holds :-).

Regards,
Kathryn

Amelia - 10 days left to lambing time.

 Today as I walked out to greet the girls, they were all at the hay feeder, but came running when they saw me. Amelia however, had been laying down. The best she could do was get up. She was content to stay put while the others checked out the prospect of food rations.

Yesterday was a pleasant enough day, weather wise. Sunny, but cool enough still to be comfortable working outdoors.

Today is going to rain. Not something I look forward to because of the mud and generally yuckiness of a mess it makes, nor the flooding in the streams and brook, but 'tis the season of April showers and such, so what must be must be.

Amelia has been bred to Corrigan this year, and I am curious to see what we get in terms of colors from her lambs. The last two years she was bred to Panda, a spotted ram, and she produced spotted lambs both times. Corrigan is white but I suspect he carries for spotting, and this breeding is a test to see whether we might get spots from him.

Amelia herself is black. When bred previously to Corrigans' father Clef, she gave white lambs each time. Clef is white, but I don't think he carries the spotting gene, Corrigan on the other hand, has one solitary spot, so that would suggest he does carry the gene. We will see in about 10 days!

Shortly after Amelia has her lambs, her daughter Caden will lamb. Caden gave us five lambs last year. Four white and a black. It doesn't appear to me that either Amelia or Caden will have as many this year. I'm guessing triplets for both. 

Amelia with last years' lambs. Annie is curious and looks on.
 

 

Corrigan

Let's keep fingers crossed that the weather gets warm and stays that way long enough for the new lambs to get acclimated. Makes life soooo much easier :-)

 

Regards,

Kathryn 



 

 



Sheep - Mothers and Daughters

Just a hopeful reminder that Spring will come again!
 

As I've stated in previous posts, I am fortunate enough to be able to spend a good deal of time just observing the sheep in our flock.

We maintain two separate groups based on gender - a ewe flock and a ram flock, for most of the year.
This differs at breeding time and lambing time. For breeding purposes, select rams are given access to the ewes and at lambing time the ram lambs stay with their dams until weaning time.

One of the observations I've made repeatedly is the bond between ewes and their lambs. Call me crazy, but I have had occasion to part with a lamb, only to regain possession of it at some future date well after it has matured.

What I have seen is both consistent and bears out the idea of familial bonds that last a good long time.

When a ewe lamb now matured is reintroduced into our flock, the ewe lamb almost immediately recognizes its dam and makes quick attempts to greet and acknowledge her dam. The reactions on the part of the young ewe have ranged from approaching the dam and interacting to actual jubilant jumping and leaping about at the reunion. These young lambs are just about 12 - 18 months old at the time of the reacquainting, and the separation could be as little as two weeks, to over a year.

My first experience with this was after I purchased three ewes, who were dam, daughter and dams' sister.
Circumstances allowed me to take one ewe initially and she was not a happy girl when introduced to her new flock. Two weeks later her dam and aunt arrived and the joy expressed by the young ewe was very interesting to watch. This exuberant leaping and cavorting carried on all afternoon.

Any other reintroductions are much the same on the part of the young ewe.

My second observation has been the reaction of the dam - while signs of recognition on her part are clear, she is less enthused and maintains an air of indifference. "Oh, its you." Yet they tend to band together none the less, within the flock itself.

I cannot testify to ram lambs and their dams as I make a pointed effort NOT to reintroduce them, EVER.  My experience with the young rams is that they are happy to meet any ladies at all regardless of familial connection. My impression is that greetings between ewe and ram are minimal and whether or not a ewe is the dam of a particular ram is of no interest to the young ram.

This is just one more thing that makes shepherding animals that most folk refer to as "stupid" quite interesting. In my experience they are far, far from stupid.

Regards,
Kathryn

For Sale Until Wednesday, November 13, 2013

These are some of the lambs available for sale. I am happy to take deposits and also to arrange for board if the buyer cannot pick them up for some time, and....we accept Paypal!






Panda

Freda
Amelia FBA # 24203
Panda FBA # 24329
Contact for price and further info.


Freda is a quadruplet from a black dam and a black piebald sire.
She carries for spotting.
DOB - June 24, 2013

 

Frankie ( yes, he's peeing ) But it was suuuch a good shot! :-)

Frankie -ram lamb
Frankie is litter mate to Freda
Frankie displays both large spots and small Dalmatian ticking pattern

Amelia with 2013 litter


 

Prolificacy

Registered Finnsheep Ewe - Amelia

This is our 6th year raising sheep and our 3rd year raising Finnsheep exclusively. Amelia, shown in the photo at right, had quads this year after having given triplets last year, twins the year before that and a singleton the year before that.
She and her daughter Caden, born here at Fossil Creek Farm, lambed at exactly the same time and caused this shepherd to be hustling a bit trying to keep up.
Caden had quintuplets, so in a brief period of about 30 minutes, the flock grew by 9.

We've had quads before but quints was a new one for our farm, and this was Caden's second lambing. She had twins last year, so to go from twins to quints was a big leap for her, and I wonder what next lambing season will hold.

Both Caden and Amelia are exceptional dams, caring for their offspring with a devotion that deserves admiration. Attentive, protective and ample supply of milk for their lambs.

One thing about breeding Finnsheep is that you cannot really predict how many lambs will be born from any particular ewe though I make myself crazy at lambing time trying to.
It's a wait and see situation, and for about a month prior to the actual lambing date I start watching the sheep in hopes that they will go early and give me a surprise.

Needless to say, I love lambing time though it is stressful trying to be vigilant, observant and unobtrusive as the girls pass their days waiting, and I anxious and excited try to contain myself until such time as it is obvious there are lambs about to be born.

Sometimes the girls fool my best attempts and manage to have lambs without me, which is both a relief and an insult/disappointment. Finding lambs up and nursing, all dry and happy is pleasing in that I no longer have to agonize over whether things will go well and the lambs will make the first few hours of life without obstacles to overcome.

During lambing time I try not to go anywhere, ANYWHERE ( for days and days ) and make sure I check on sheeple regularly in case they need my help for some reason, and I love being present when the lambs are born as it's much like Christmas, waiting for a package to be unwrapped with the anticipation of what might be inside.

Because Finnsheep can have as many as seven, yes, seven lambs at once, I feel a responsibility to do all I can to be present at lambing time to offer assistance where needed. Personally I am a big fan of not interfering with a natural process, but since these are domestically bred animals, who have been bred to have many lambs, I see my role as protector and facilitator.  And it's in the farms'  best interest to assure a positive outcome for dam and lambs, both financially and in the time invested.

This year we had 30 lambs from 11 ewes with two stillborns that couldn't have been predicted.

I feel this is a successful outcome, and am happy with the lessons I've learned and their application to this years' lambing time.

But what I've come to appreciate is ...no matter how well I managed this year and what valuable lessons I've learned, the outcome is not due to my skill or experience and you can never have enough of either. No where in my life is God more evident than in this little band of creatures I am fortunate to watch over. If the flock prospers, it is more likely in spite of my efforts rather than due to them and what the next lambing season will hold is anyones' guess.

Regards,
Kathryn