# purplequeenvt Lambing 2016



## purplequeenvt

We bred 24 ewes this fall to 4 different rams.

4 ewes (3 registered Southdowns and 1 Border Leicester/Dorper/Friesian/Shetland) were bred to a friend's registered Southdown ram. The Southdowns have been with the ram since July/August and the crossbred ewe went to visit him on 9/3.

8 ewes (7 registered Border Leicester, 1 BL/Romney) were bred to Sebastian, our homebred 2 year old registered natural colored Border Leicester ram.




5 ewes (all registered Border Leicesters) were bred to Alfonso, a 2 year old registered Border Leicester.




Both Border Leicester rams went in on 9/5

7 ewes (all registered Shetlands) were bred to Geode, a registered Shetland ram lamb.




Geode went in on 9/24


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## OneFineAcre

Wishing you easy lambing


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## BrownSheep

Nice to see you back!


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## purplequeenvt

I'm on here off and on, just haven't had a lot of time for posting.


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## purplequeenvt

Lambing time is almost upon us! There is one ewe that could go as soon as tomorrow. 

We had the bred ewes sheared at the beginning of January. Everyone was in really good condition and they had no issues with the cold weather. 








This is Anita's udder. She's the ewe due first. This picture was taken right after shearing. Her udder is close to double that size now. She is 1/4 Friesian so she's got those good milking genes. Her lambs last year grew so well.








We had the vet out a week and a half ago to do some ultrasounds. The results were rather disappointing. Both the goats, 2 of the big ewes, and 3 of the 7 Shetlands were open.

 I think the Shetlands not getting bred was my fault. I put the ram in earlier than normal (probably before they started cycling) and I think I took him out too soon. These 3 girls were also very mean to him. I put the 3 of them back in with the ram on the 15th and he's already bred at least 2 of them. I think the 3rd was in heat the same day as the 2nd so she probably got bred too.

We got our buck back from the people that were borrowing him and he immediately bred one of the goats. I haven't seen any interest in the other yet, but I'm not out there all the time.

Anyway, looks like we will have our main lambing in February/March and then will have another group in June. So far, they are all due over a week. The cow is also due at the beginning of June.


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## purplequeenvt

Anita lambed early this morning. I did a check at 4 and found them. Twin boys. Baby #1 got too cold and died, but #2 is doing great. #1 was all white and #2 is black with a white spot on top of his head.





Our theme this year is a continuation of last year's - the periodic table. We ended with Vanadium so this guy is Chromium (Chrome for short).

Chrome is 1/2 Southdown, 1/8 Border Leicester, 1/8 Dorper, 1/8 Friesian, and 1/8 Shetland. He has it all in there - wool, hair, meat, dairy, and primitive!


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## Sweetened

He is GORGEOUS. I love themed names! Sorry for the loss.


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## luvmypets




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## Hens and Roos

What a cutie!  Sorry you lost the other one.


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## norseofcourse

Congrats on the lamb, sorry for the loss of the other one.


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## purplequeenvt

Baby #2 arrived this afternoon in the middle of a snow storm.

#502 Manganese (Mango for short) is a purebred Southdown ewe lamb.


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## Sweetened

Awh! So adorable! Congratulations!


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## BrownSheep

Look at that face!


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## purplequeenvt

#503 Iron - Southdown ram lamb born at 10:30 this morning. He's a big boy at 10lbs.




The next ewe to go will probably lamb sometime tonight.


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## Sweetened

Hah! He looks wise beyond his years!  I love baby lamb faces


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## AriesX

Thanks for the pics.  They are so cute.  We are gearing up for a busy March.  Our first due date is March 9th.  hopefully it is not as cold as last year.


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## luvmypets

Im jealous! He is a cute!


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## purplequeenvt

We finally had more lambs. I was hoping they'd be born yesterday on my birthday, but apparently the stork got lost in the snowstorm and they arrived 4 hours late. 

#504 Cobalt (ewe on right) and #505 Nickel (ram on left). They were born at 4 this morning.




I'm very proud of their mom, Hebe. She's a first time mom with twins and is being an excellent mother.


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## Sweetened

So neat lookinh! Love that colour!


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## purplequeenvt

Another set of twins today. Emily had a black ewe and ram. Unfortunately it appears that they are going to be bottle babies as their mother has absolutely no interest in them. We may try to foster at least one of them onto another ewe, but we aren't sure that it will work.


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## purplequeenvt

These are the twins from yesterday. #506 Copper (ewe, upright ears) and #507 Zinc (ram, floppy ears)












I kept their mother tied and hobbled all of yesterday and last night. She had enough slack to lay down comfortably, but she couldn't move around too much. This was so that the babies could nurse. I brought out a bottle throughout the day and they very eagerly took it, but they were also continuing to nurse on mom. This morning, Emily (the mom), seemed much calmer than yesterday so I untied her. She walked away and then stopped to let the babies nurse. She didn't kick them off or walk away from them. Ok, some progress. Still no talking or sniffing, but as long as she's letting them nurse, we're ok.

A while later, I took both babies outside to get a picture of them. She stayed quietly behind eating. BUT when I came back to her pen carrying one of the babies, she baa'd to the baby and then checked her all over and let her go nurse. She did the same thing to the 2nd baby when I brought him back. She may never be the most loving or attentive mother to them, but I think she's going to be ok.


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## Sweetened

Beauties!!


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## bonbean01

Sooooooooooooooo CUTE!!!!!!  And glad Emily is being a better mommy now!  She's a first time mom and she may just learn how this all goes and turn out to be an excellent mom next year


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## purplequeenvt

Finally some new babies! Cami had twin girls yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. 

#508 Gallium (left) and #509 Germanium (right)




Gallium weighs a whopping 13.5lbs while Germanium is only 8lbs. This picture better illustrates the massive size difference.




And for all you folks watching udders....this is Izzy. She is due any moment now (I thought for sure she'd go last week, but she's still holding on).

Taken on 1/31




2/10




2/18


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## luvmypets




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## Southern by choice

Looks like a goat udder almost! WOW! 

The lambs are adorable. So funny the size difference. Someone was hogging all the good stuff! 
How did she get that one out? OUCH!


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## Hens and Roos

So adorable! Congrats


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## purplequeenvt

Southern by choice said:


> Looks like a goat udder almost! WOW!
> 
> The lambs are adorable. So funny the size difference. Someone was hogging all the good stuff!
> How did she get that one out? OUCH!



Size of a goat udder maybe, but those teats are tiny. No fun to milk. 

They had some twin-to-twin transfusion going on. Cami didn't have too much trouble with the big one. I helped her a little, but not a lot. This is her 2nd lambing so she's already stretched out. She makes so much noise when she's in labor! Groans and wailing. Most of the sheep will grunt, but are otherwise quiet.


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## OneFineAcre

Congratulations on all of the beautiful babies.


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## norseofcourse

Congrats on the lambs - what a size difference!  And Izzy has one big udder!  After milking mine last year I think I could milk her pretty easily, I've got small hands.  Bet she'll raise some nice lambs.


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## Sweetened

Congratulations!! Did she birth that 13 pounder without assistance!! Wow!


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## purplequeenvt

Sweetened said:


> Congratulations!! Did she birth that 13 pounder without assistance!! Wow!



I helped her a bit since I was there, but she would have been just fine without me. I had an older ewe (this ewe's mother in fact) that had twins, 15 lbs each,  a few years ago. They slid right out like nothing.


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## purplequeenvt

Izzy finally lambed! She had twin 12 lb boys this morning around 9 this morning.

#510 Arsenic (white) and #511 Selenium (black)




Selenium was breech so I helped him out. They are both beautiful boys! Lovely curls. They are 3/4 Border Leicester, 1/4 Romeny so they will be wethered.


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## luvmypets

Holy moly those are some big boys!


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## purplequeenvt

Selenium is a big DumDum. He still hasn't nursed. He has a combination of dumb ram plus Romney blood. Bad combo. Stubborn as all get out. 

I milked Izzy and got a several ounces in him from a bottle. He keeps trying to nurse so maybe he'll get it eventually. I'll keep bringing him the bottle until I know for sure whether he's nursed by himself.


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## purplequeenvt

Rough night in the barn. 

It all started this morning. Rebecca (a Border Leicester, 2nd lambing) had a bad vaginal prolapse. I put her back together and got her all trussed up. She continued to act like she was in early labor (baby baaing, attacking the dogs, hanging out in one spot, etc...) so I moved her into the maternity ward and fed her which seemed to distract her. She had barely any udder which made me suspect that her behavior had to do with the prolapse instead of labor.

I had to leave at 10:30 this morning so I left my dad with instructions to keep a close eye on her and Penny. He checked them multiple times and didn't notice anything going on. I got home at 6:30 and ran right out to check. She was in labor. She had pushed her spoon out (causing a lot of swelling and trauma to her vulva) and when I checked her, I found toes and a nose. It took a lot of work to get that baby out. Things were not where they were supposed to be (Rebecca's parts, not the lamb). I wasn't sure that mom or baby was going to survive the process. 

I finally got the baby out - a LIVE black GIRL, but mom didn't have much interest. I ran inside to get some stuff and when I came back, Rebecca had prolapsed most of her uterus. I attempted to get it back in, but it would just slide back out. I did eventually get it to stay, but we made the hard decision to put Rebecca down. 

It was difficult to do, but in the end we decided that putting her down was the best option. The chance of her taking her lamb were low and the risk of re-prolapsing or hemorrhaging were very high. Now Rebecca will feed us.

I gave the lamb to Izzy. We'll see if Izzy will take her. She's thinking about.


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## bonbean01




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## mysunwolf

So sorry for the loss of your ewe


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## norseofcourse

I'm so sorry about Rebecca, what a scary and difficult thing to go through.  Glad for the lamb and I hope she does well.


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## purplequeenvt

Izzy decided she didn't want another baby so baby is currently snoring on my lap.


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## Southern by choice

So sorry PQ. 
Lambing and kidding seasons always bring so much joy with each new lamb and kid born but there is the other side... loss.
The loss of a ewe or a doe is truly harder than the loss of a lamb or a kid. I know you have just done everything you could for her, and you are so loving and nurturing toward your sheep, thankful that you have the lamb.


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## Hens and Roos

Sorry to hear about the loss of you ewe


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## goats&moregoats

Sincerely sorry for your losses. Babies are beautiful.


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## purplequeenvt

I finally got a nice picture of Baby Bea that didn't involve her lounging in a chair.




A few other lamb pictures


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## Hens and Roos

very cute! thanks for sharing the pictures.


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## purplequeenvt

#513 Krypton - 12lb Border Leicester ram




He is out of my sister's ewe, River. Of course the little stinker waited until shortly AFTER my sister left for work to lamb.

The sheep are enjoying screwing with me this year. Generally, even without due dates, I can make a pretty good guess about how soon someone will lamb or who will lamb next. This year, I've given up. There were at least 4 ewes that are more "ready" than River. One of those ewes I've been keeping an eye on for almost 2 weeks.

I think they are trying to get as many lambs born as possible before I start my new job next week.


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## purplequeenvt

A better picture of Krypton




Steve had twins this morning at 2:30. #514 Rubidium (ewe on right) and #515 Strontium (ram on left)




9 ewes left to go. 4 should go any moment and the others have probably another 2-3 weeks.


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## luvmypets




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## bonbean01

All your lambies are adorable!!!!  But I must ask...why is baby Bea outside?????  The horror....she is an inside lounger baby!!!


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## purplequeenvt

New baby girl tonight. She's a black Border Leicester out of Rebecca's (the ewe that had to be put down) twin sister.


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## bonbean01

Congrats!!!!


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## purplequeenvt

#516 Yttrium (Ree)


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## luvmypets

Beautiful


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## purplequeenvt

Another black Border Leicester ewe lamb tonight. Her mom spent the last almost 2 weeks prolapsing and I was pretty sure that that the babies were dead. Penny was leaking some nasty goop this afternoon. She went into labor this evening and I pulled one very dead lamb and one very alive lamb. Altogether a much better ending than anticipated.


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## BrownSheep

Glad it some what worked out. Any idea how long the other had been dead?


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## purplequeenvt

Long enough that it was soft and squishy (felt like it was boneless), but not so long that it was losing hair and putrid. Those ones are the worst. Had a ewe years ago that lost 2 or 3 lambs (can't remember now). They got to that putrid point and I could not get the smell off of my hands. 

I had to bring the baby in a while ago because she got too cold. She's now warm and up on her feet and starting to figure out the walking. Almost ready to go back out.


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## BrownSheep

We pulled a putrid one this year....in peices. Luckily, the ewe came through it just fine....Hopefully she'll concieve again


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## purplequeenvt

Things have been a bit touch and go with the new baby. She got chilled last night. I brought her at 10:30. She hadn't nursed and her temperature was 94F. We spent a couple hours getting her warmed back up, got some milk into her, and eventually back out to mama. 

I checked her at 2:30 am and she seemed ok, but a 5:30, when my sister checked, she was cold again. Not as cold, but cold enough that she wasn't making a lot of noise or trying to nurse. She came back in until 8:30 when I brought her back out. At this point I was concerned her mom wouldn't want her. But as I was coming down the path to the barn, Penny saw me a baa'd, the lamb baa'd back, and then Penny screamed for her baby. I put them back together and Penny checked her all over.

I've been keeping a close eye on her and monitoring her temperature. At my last check she was lively and her temp was normal.

Mom and baby are both on antibiotics in case they got an infection from the dead lamb. I have a call in to the vet to ask his opinion on the chances of them getting sick from that, but I haven't heard from him yet. He was dealing with back to back emergencies this morning.


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## norseofcourse

Thinking good thoughts for the little lamb...


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## purplequeenvt

#517 Zirconium (Connie) is doing very well now.




Her mom, Penny, was a decent mother her first year. 2nd year, she was terrible. Killed one lamb and starved the other. We ended up pulling the starving lamb and bottle raised her. This year was Penny's 2nd chance. She blew it by prolapsing, but she has won points (not enough to save her) for her mothering skills. Apparently taking her baby away to warm her up kicked in her maternal instincts. She tries to hide her baby from me when go near the pen.


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## Hens and Roos

Good Luck


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## norseofcourse

Glad Zirconium is doing well!  Sorry about Penny, those are hard decisions to make.

On my screen they both look like they are a nice deep chocolate color - are they really?


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## purplequeenvt

norseofcourse said:


> Glad Zirconium is doing well!  Sorry about Penny, those are hard decisions to make.
> 
> On my screen they both look like they are a nice deep chocolate color - are they really?



They are both black/grey. I think it's the light from the heat lamp making them look brown.


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## purplequeenvt

Lucie gave us a 15 lb white ram lamb and an 11 lb black ewe lamb tonight. Both babies were feet-first breech. I had to pull both out. No way the ram was coming out alive by himself. He was way too fat and long. Thankfully I got him out quickly so he didn't inhale anything.


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## bonbean01

good job getting them out!  Looking forward to photos


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## Hens and Roos

Glad to hear that you saved both


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## luvmypets

Congrats on a happy ending!!! 

Cant wait to see pictures!


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## purplequeenvt

I started a new job (phlebotomist) at the hospital this week so I've been busy with training (8-4:30 every weekday). Not as much time for pictures. This is the best I could do in the dark.

#518 Niobium (white ram) and #519 Molybdenum (black ewe)




There's only 2 BL and 4 Shetlands left to go in this group. The 3 remaining Shetlands are due in June along with the goat(s) and cow.


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## OneFineAcre

Congrats on all of the beautiful lambs.
Just caught up on your thread, really sorry about losing the ewe to the prolapsed uterus.
I love kidding season, but I'm also so worried about problems and particularly that we will not be here and lose a doe.
It's always a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow with animals.


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## goats&moregoats

I have read this thread from 1st to last...sorry about the losses. Have fun with all the lively little ones and much luck with the last to delivery. Congrats on your new job!


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats on all- kids and new job!


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## purplequeenvt

The sheep have been really nice and have been waiting for me to get home from work. The Shetlands will probably be brats though and go when I'm gone. Thankfully it is warmer now and they don't usually have problems.

Cynthia lambed last night. She gave us twin rams. The first one is nothing special, but #2 is amazing! He's built really well and he has the prettiest silvery gray fleece just like his mom. This was an experimental breeding. Cynthia was bred to her 1/2 brother, Sebastian. Cynthia is silver and Sebastian is steel gray and we were hoping to lock in that silver color. It worked AND with #2, some of Cynthia's faults (little head and ears and short neck) were corrected. 

There is nothing wrong with #1, he just doesn't have that wow! factor that his brother does. He's really thick.

#520 Technetium (Techno, front) and #521 Ruthenium (Ru, back)


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## bonbean01




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## norseofcourse

Nice lambs - and so big!

@purplequeenvt - may I message you about lambskins please?  I'm having trouble with mine.


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## purplequeenvt

norseofcourse said:


> Nice lambs - and so big!
> 
> @purplequeenvt - may I message you about lambskins please?  I'm having trouble with mine.



Sure! Can't promise I'll be as to get back to you right away and I might not have an answer, but PM away!


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## purplequeenvt

Our last Border Leicester ewe lambed this morning. She had a nice black ewe lamb. The bummer is that the lamb has excessive white markings which means that she most likely will not be registered.

#522 Rhodium




Shetlands are up next! My guess is 6-8 Shetland lambs from the 4 ewes. Another 3 ewes due in June. It will be fun to have new babies born when the others are all older.

Lambs are exactly 50/50 boys/girls right now. Even including the two that we lost.


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## Hens and Roos

very cute- interesting color pattern-looks like she got into the white paint bucket!


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## AriesX

Your pictures are so cute!  Thanks.


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## purplequeenvt

Sad day today. My old Shetland ewe, Ingrid went into labor. After a long time passed and she wasn't making any progress, i checked her. Her cervix wasn't very dilated. I gave her some more time and checked again, still no progress. I spent about an hour massaging her cervix, trying to get it to open up. My sister talked to the vet and he basically told us to do what we had already been doing. He said to give her some calcium and keep working on her cervix. If after an hour, she still wasn't dilating, she most likely wouldn't. We gave her the calcium and about 30 minutes later we decided she was done. She was exhausted and was giving up.

We made the decision to put her down rather than pay big bucks to have a vet come out a Saturday. My dad shot her and I quickly cut her open and removed the lambs. The 1st was dead and was the cause of the problem. He was malpresented and at some point, his sack had ruptured leaving him really dry. #2 was alive, also a boy. 

I'm not prepared to say that he will make it either. I don't know what kind of trauma he may have suffered while still in the womb. I got him out really quickly (under 15 seconds to get both out) and had his face clear before he took his first breath. He's really slow right now, he just wants to sleep and I'm having trouble getting him to eat. It doesn't help that he's only 3.9lbs (compare that to the average 10lb BL lamb). I've never had a bottle Shetland before so I really don't know how much he should be getting and the nipple is a little big for him.


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## norseofcourse

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry   

Glad you got one lamb out alive, best thoughts that he makes it.


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## purplequeenvt

We lost him around midnight.


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## Hens and Roos

So sorry to hear


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## bonbean01




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## norseofcourse

So sorry


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## purplequeenvt

Ingrid's 2 year old daughter, Freyja, lambed this morning. She had a gorgeous black katmoget ram lamb. He is even spotted. You can't really tell due to his pattern, but he has some spotting on his ears and a nice white spot on his scrotum. 

The Shetland's have a separate name theme from the "big" lambs. I'm using instruments for them. The new baby is Tuba (because he's a fatty at 6lbs).









This is Freyja's first lambing and she is in love with Tuba!


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats! He's a cutie


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## AriesX

So sorry about your ewe and lambs.  That must be very sad.   The new baby is adorable though.


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## purplequeenvt

Fae lambed this morning right before I went to work. I had to pull them as they were trying to come out at the same time. Of course they are both boys. I NEED a couple girls. I think this is payback for the 3 years of mostly girls I've gotten from my Shetlands (seriously, the last three years I've gotten ONE boy a year and the rest were girls).

Ukulele (right) and Guitar (left)




One ewe to go. Pray she has at least one girl (I'm not holding my breath though). I really, really want a girl from her. She's one of my favorites and she's being retired this year. I don't have any daughters of hers (although I do have a granddaughter and a great-granddaughter).


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## norseofcourse

Thinking pink for you - a girl named Flute


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## purplequeenvt

Thanks for thinking pink....I kind of already have a girl named Flute (from last year) though.


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## BrownSheep

Harp? Marimba?


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## purplequeenvt

Last lambs were born this morning! A ewe and a ram.




For anyone who understands, is interested, or just pretends to care ( ) - these two lambs are moorit (brown) katmogets (AKA badger face, pattern where the fleece is light and the underbelly is dark and the face distinct markings) AND they are spotted. Basically it's one giant spot, the ewe in particular, that was dropped on the head. They also probably both carry the gray gene which means that some of their facial markings might fade and, if the fleece wasn't already pretty much white, the wool would turn gray.

This ewe usually has really fun colored babies. She's got some nice color genetics in her. She's 9 or 10 this year though and is going to be retired. I was afraid to breed her last fall because she lost her lamb at birth last spring for unknown reasons (didn't seem to be a health problem on her part) and I was worried that age was a factor. She carried these two full term - maybe even over- baked them a bit based on the amount of front teeth poking through - with no issues. Technically, she could be bred again and she'd be fine, but I think she deserves a retirement. I'm going to try to find her a nice pet home with one of the boys wethered as a friend. She's a sweet old lady.

We are now done until June! Unless you count the cow due in April. June has 1 cow, 1-2 goats, and 3 sheep all due within a couple weeks.


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## purplequeenvt

This is the first lamb born this year, Chrome. Today he is 65 days old. I weighed him this evening and he is 70 lbs. He has a .94 ADG with minimal grain. I'm impressed. It's not like he's some fancy meat sheep either. His dad was full Southdown and his mom is a 1/4 each - Border Leicester, Dorper, Friesian, Shetland. Yes, this big growthy lamb lamb is 1/8 Shetland.

For those who don't know anything about Shetlands, they are a small primitive breed. The adults average about 80lbs full grown.


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## promiseacres

Cuties!


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## Chivoville

Congratulations! Chrome is really gorgeous.  He's so perfectly posed that he looks like a little stuffed animal!


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## purplequeenvt

Some fun numbers.....

*Lambing percentages*
Total: *163%*
Surviving: *142%*

*Sebastian* (Natural Colored Border Leicester)
Total: *200%*
Surviving: *185%*

*Alfonso* (White Border Leicester)
Total: *120%*
Surviving: *120%*

*Texas* (Southdown)
Total: *133%*
Surviving: *100%*

*Geode* (Shetland)
Total: *175%*
Surviving: *125%*

Geode's numbers will probably change some when his remaining ewes lamb in June. 

We lost 4 lambs and 2 ewes this season.


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## purplequeenvt

I found a little surprise this afternoon....I was shearing a few of my Shetlands that will be in my show flock this summer and when I sheared my yearling ewe, Eskimo (her name is actually Viola, but no one ever calls her that), I discovered a little udder. And then I put a hand on her stomach and her baby kicked me.

I'm not entirely thrilled about her being bred, but oh well. I don't know who the dad is (all the rams broke in with the ewe lambs back in December), but it should be pretty obvious if the lamb is crossbred or if Eskimo's half brother is the dad. 

Based on when I remember the rams getting (not that I can find the piece of paper that the actual date was written on), she should be due in the next 2-3 weeks. Unless she got bred later through the fence. Also a possibility, but not as likely.


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## purplequeenvt

Well. Lots of happenings today. First, Fern, one of our Jerseys, calved. She had a nice heifer calf (1/2 Red Angus). Tonight around 10 I ran out to check on Fern and child before heading to bed and I found Eskimo with a fresh lamb. 

She had a little girl who appears to be moorit (brown) with a white face, white socks, and a little white tip on her tail.




And the new calf


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## mikiz

Love the colour on that lamb! Congrats on the babies


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats!


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## norseofcourse

Congrats - they're both beautiful!


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## purplequeenvt

One more ewe down! Myrtle lambed this afternoon. She had 2 boys, a solid moorit and a moorit Gulmoget/Katmoget.




2 more ewes and the goat to go and all of them are due now. It's the goat's "due date" today. Myrtle was 2 days early and the other ewes are due on the 19th and 20th.


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats! Like the coloring


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## norseofcourse

Congrats!  I love the solid moorits.


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## purplequeenvt

And lambing is over for Spring/Summer 2015!

Eloise had her boy/girl twins yesterday evening. I found them when I got home from work.

Black (he will turn gray) spotted boy.




Gray Katmoget ewe. She will keep most of her facial markings, but her body color will fade out.




The final ewe was Signe and she lambed just a few hours after Eloise. She also had a boy and a girl.

The girl is a beautiful dark gray Katmoget




Signe's boy is solid black (most likely will NOT be gray) with white on his head.




Now we just have the goat to go. The 3 Shetlands all went 2-3 days before their "due" dates, but the goat is currently 2 days AFTER.


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## Ridgetop

Congrats on your lambing - just found and read the whole thread.  Losing 2 ewes from prolapse was rough, although you made the right decision to cull.  Sometimes we have to be tiugh to be kind.  I am not familiar with your breeds except Southdown so who sired Eskimo's lamb?  Can you tell since you identified the color pattern?  Do you use the wool for hand spinners?  Other than a show flock do you sell locker lambs?  I am interested in hearing what others do with their lambs ands wool.


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## purplequeenvt

Ridgetop said:


> Congrats on your lambing - just found and read the whole thread.  Losing 2 ewes from prolapse was rough, although you made the right decision to cull.  Sometimes we have to be tiugh to be kind.  I am not familiar with your breeds except Southdown so who sired Eskimo's lamb?  Can you tell since you identified the color pattern?  Do you use the wool for hand spinners?  Other than a show flock do you sell locker lambs?  I am interested in hearing what others do with their lambs ands wool.



It's always rough to lose any of them. I try to cull hard, but that is difficult at times due to our smaller numbers. We don't keep sheep with chronic or genetic issues.

Border Leicesters are a "dual-purpose" breed. Long wool and hardy. The rams are known for their gentle temperaments (we have found this to be very true after 15 years with the breed).

Shetlands are a small primitive breed. Adults are around 80lbs. Not good for meat due to their small size (I usually butcher the culls or extra rams to feed to the dogs). There is a lot of natural variation in build and color in the breed, but they are all supposed to have really soft fleeces. Their personalities are very different from more "commercialized" breeds. 

We've also recently added Lincolns to our flock. They are a large long-wool breed. 

I puzzled over Eskimo's baby for a long time, but every way that I looked at it, she could still be from either ram. I'm waiting for DNA results to come back. I'm not as concerned about it though. It shouldn't be hard to sell her as an unregistered ewe. At this point, I'm probably not going to keep her. I have several other choices now that I may end up liking better.

We sell our sheep as pets, breeding stock, and meat lambs. In the past, we've grown out all the extras and gotten the butchered in the fall. Problem is, we end up putting a lot more time and money into them and we start running short on grass before we are wanting to bring them into the barn for the winter. 

This year we decided to sell most of the lambs early in the year. Assuming everyone shows up when they are supposed to, I've sold all of the lambs (except the Shetlands, haven't advertised them yet) plus an aged ewe.

Our wool is either junked (depending on the quality/condition/time of shearing), sold as a raw fleece, or saved to be made into wool blankets. Sometimes we will clean, card, and spin a fleece ourselves.


----------



## Ridgetop

Wow - that's very interesting - you must have a lot of pasture acreage.  How do you make the wool into blankets? 

We have no grass pasture, just brush forage.  We keep a _tiny _herd of Dorsets - 1 ram, 6 ewes, and 4 lambs (3 due to go to slaughter, 1 ewe lamb we will keep) on 5 acres.  They are used to clear all the brush since we are in a bad fire area in southern CA and have to maintain clearance of 200 feet around all buildings, fences and roads.  Not a problem on a tractor, but since we are perched on extremely steep hillsides we can't use a tractor or mower.  We are older and retired and also can't get up and down easily anymore.  Our kids are grown and grandchildren are too young to clear for us.  It became cheaper to feed hay half the year, have lamb in the freezer and for sale, than hire a crew to cut every year. We are going to try the fleeces with commercial processing and then spinning.  If they turn out well, we may have a small market for them.  I made my husband take the spinning class with me and he loved it - he is better than I am!  LOL  I was surprised you sheared in the winter in Vermont.  I used to shear several times a year when I was young and we didn't want the fleece.  Those sheep were 4-H sheep and tame.  These sheep are not tame, although they are trained and pretty docile.  I have had Hamps that lived to kill you!  I also get lambs every 7-8 months year round which is nice, since I don't have to find meat buyers (or freezer space) for a lot of lambs at once. 

Peta is alive and well here in the area and just shut down a youth livestock auction at a local FFA high school program.  What they expect those poor kids to do with the animals they bought and fed for 3 or 4 months I don't know.  But I am sure the Peta members were celebrating as they gobbled their hamburgers at the local fast food place!


----------



## purplequeenvt

Ridgetop said:


> Wow - that's very interesting - you must have a lot of pasture acreage.  How do you make the wool into blankets?
> 
> We have no grass pasture, just brush forage.  We keep a _tiny _herd of Dorsets - 1 ram, 6 ewes, and 4 lambs (3 due to go to slaughter, 1 ewe lamb we will keep) on 5 acres.  They are used to clear all the brush since we are in a bad fire area in southern CA and have to maintain clearance of 200 feet around all buildings, fences and roads.  Not a problem on a tractor, but since we are perched on extremely steep hillsides we can't use a tractor or mower.  We are older and retired and also can't get up and down easily anymore.  Our kids are grown and grandchildren are too young to clear for us.  It became cheaper to feed hay half the year, have lamb in the freezer and for sale, than hire a crew to cut every year. We are going to try the fleeces with commercial processing and then spinning.  If they turn out well, we may have a small market for them.  I made my husband take the spinning class with me and he loved it - he is better than I am!  LOL  I was surprised you sheared in the winter in Vermont.  I used to shear several times a year when I was young and we didn't want the fleece.  Those sheep were 4-H sheep and tame.  These sheep are not tame, although they are trained and pretty docile.  I have had Hamps that lived to kill you!  I also get lambs every 7-8 months year round which is nice, since I don't have to find meat buyers (or freezer space) for a lot of lambs at once.
> 
> Peta is alive and well here in the area and just shut down a youth livestock auction at a local FFA high school program.  What they expect those poor kids to do with the animals they bought and fed for 3 or 4 months I don't know.  But I am sure the Peta members were celebrating as they gobbled their hamburgers at the local fast food place!



We participate in a wool pool that collects wool from breeders with the same breeds (Border Leicesters, Romneys, Coopworths, and crosses of those breeds). We get it washed and deliver the clean wool to the mill that spins the yarn. From there, the yarn gets sent to the mill that does the weaving. We pay a certain amount and put in a certain amount of wool per blanket that we want. We have throw size all the way up to king.


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## purplequeenvt

Hetty, the goat, finally kidded on the 19th. She had 3 little hooligans. #1 and 2 got pulled right away because they have a home as bottle babies. #3 was left on her.

#1 - buck




#2 - doe




#3 - doe (Nora)


----------



## Hens and Roos

Congrats! What cuties!  Those blankets look so soft and great for snuggling under


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## Ridgetop

The blankets look fabulous.  I always keep a couple of wool throws on the back of the sofa for watching TV.  Much better than cranking up the heat.  I carry a couple of wool throws in each car too for emergencies.  (Like when my husband cranks the AC up high to stay awake on a long trip and I am wearing a jacket and shivering. LOL!)

Cute goat kids, I really miss our bottle kids.  Mama raised babies are not the same, although as I get older, I like mama doing the work!  I just miss the loving I used to get from my little dairy kids.


----------



## purplequeenvt

The first of the fall 2015 lambs was born this morning. A gorgeous black Border Leicester ewe lamb too! 




This is her mother's 2nd lambing THIS YEAR. She lambed in the spring with a nice ewe lamb and we bred her early summer for this lamb. 

We only bred a few (5) for fall babies as an experiment. We've never tried for fall lambs before and we are interested to see how they grow compared to spring lambs.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Congrats!  What a cutie


----------



## Baymule

I'm in love!  What a beauty! Will she stay black or turn gray?


----------



## purplequeenvt

Baymule said:


> I'm in love!  What a beauty! Will she stay black or turn gray?



She'll be gray.


----------



## purplequeenvt

4 more lambs born tonight. Twin rams (1 white, 1 black) from the other Border Leicester and ram/ewe twins from one of the Southdowns.


----------



## Ridgetop

With the amount of work lambing season brings why are we so excited about it?!  LOL  They are so darn cute!


----------



## HomesteaderWife

I saw this thread over in the recent posts and read over it from start to finish here. I really appreciate the time you take not only in showing photos, but describing the ups and downs of these breedings. I look forward to hearing more about your Fall babies, and wish you the best. I've never had anything other than goats, but this interests me a great deal. Thank you for this thread!


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations on the new lambs!!


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## purplequeenvt

We finished fall lambing in just over 24 hours. 7 lambs out of 5 ewes, 4 girls, 3 boys. I've been slow about posting about them since I've been busy dying from pneumonia. I'm on the mend and back at work now.

Twin Border Leicester ram lambs. We had a little trouble with mom. She was really sore after lambing and wasn't letting them nurse. They got bottle fed for a bit, but mom came around and is doing fine now. This is her 2nd lambing in 9 months. She had twin rams this spring as well.








Boy/Girl Southdown twins. This is their mom's 2nd lambing this year as well. She is an excellent mother.

Ram




Ewe - she looks a lot like her 9 month old sister




Single Southdown ewe lamb. Her mother did not lamb this spring and she's an old girl. This poor baby got stepped on yesterday afternoon and broke her right front leg. I set and splinted the leg and she should heal just fine.




Single Crossbred ewe lamb (50% Southdown 12.5%  Border Leicester, 12.5% Dorper, 12.5% Friesian, and 12.5% Shetland.




And just cause she's super cute (and gorgeous!), Baby SweetPea, the first lamb.


----------



## mikiz

Gosh those Border Leicester lambs are just adorable!


----------



## purplequeenvt

I completely forgot to post this picture. Mira loves the babies and I often find her cuddled up with one.


----------



## norseofcourse

Wow!  Congrats, and all within 24 hours, did you know it was all going to happen that fast?  And glad you are feeling better...


----------



## purplequeenvt

We used CIDRs and PG600 to bring them into heat out of season. So yes, we knew that they would be lambing over a short period of time.


----------



## Baymule

Does this beat having lambing strung out over weeks time? Is it easier like this? Maybe not when you are sick.....but who knew that months ago?


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations on your new flock members!! Glad you are feeling better, sorry you were sick! 
Aww, good girl Mira!


----------



## purplequeenvt

Baymule said:


> Does this beat having lambing strung out over weeks time? Is it easier like this? Maybe not when you are sick.....but who knew that months ago?



Yes and no. This was a small number of ewes lambing so it was alright, but I think with a lot more ewes it could get messy (confused ewes and lambs) and stressful. But it was nice to get them all finished quickly. We knew exactly when they were due and could plan accordingly. It would have been nice if I didn't feel like I was dying though. 

We used CIDRs on the fall bred ewes too. They will be lambing in two groups. There are a few ewes that settled their first cycle with the ram and a larger group that is due 17 days later.

We shall see how it goes.


----------



## purplequeenvt

The lambs have discovered the joys of the manure pile.








Even Montana's broken leg baby was climbing around. I re-did her splint today and her leg is looking good. No swelling and the bones feel well-aligned.


----------



## Baymule

Manure Mountain!! I wish i had that manure mountain! I would spread it out over out place. We have sand, they call it sugar sand, think beach without the ocean. At least your lambs are having a good time.


----------



## bonbean01

All adorable!  Love the pics!!!!


----------



## Ridgetop

congrats on the lambing!  Difficult when you can hardly breath, move, etc. with pneumonia.  Hope you are recovering ok.


----------



## purplequeenvt

Continuing this thread on from last year rather than starting a new one.

Lambing is due to start in about 2 weeks. We used CIDRs to get all the ewes cycling together. A few settled the first go round, but a large number recycled and got rebred a cycle later. Hopefully they don't all decide to lamb at once.

20 ewes put in with the rams. We had them all scanned a couple weeks ago. 16 were obviously bred. The vet wasn't able to see anything with the other 4, but he always tells us that he can tell for sure that they are bred, but it's not 100% if they are open. 1 I knew wasn't bred. The ram never marked her. Another I was pretty sure wasn't. The other 2 I was surprised about since they were looking bred and are ewes in their prime that have had no issues getting bred before. Turns out, those 2 ARE bred. Their udders are growing. 

So that's 18 out of 20 that are bred. 

3 of those I'm trying to sell. I am cutting back on the Shetlands. We are stretched too thin between my dad's job, my job, my youngest sister in school (especially since the car accident back in December - my mom is still not back on her feet) and we need to refocus the farm. I'm keeping 4 of my favorite Shetlands (one is bred) and selling the rest.


----------



## luvmypets

So exciting, can't wait to follow this thread!


----------



## Baymule

You and your family farm is an inspiration to me. I learn so much from your postings. I love all the lamb pictures you post, the ups and downs of lambing, bottle feeding and the joys of baby lambs. Looking forward to lamb pics!


----------



## Ridgetop

Sad to have to cut back but it is important to keep the workload in hand.  At least the 2 that didn't get bred make it easier to cull, unless they are important bloodlines for your herd. 

Sorry to hear about your mom, I hope she recovers soon. 

We have just one on the ground so far, a ewe lamb.  This would be cause for much rejoicing but we switched out rams last year and since getting our LGD 2 years ago we have had no predator problems.  (Rika works hard and we are getting her some back up in the form of a male Anatolian puppy this spring or summer since the cougars are back.)  We replaced 3 of the killed ewes last year so this is their first season.  We have buyers for all our freezer lambs this year so we are sure that this year all our lambs will be really nice ewes!  LOL  We had mostly ram lambs from our old ram for the past 3 years when we wanted to build our flock.  Isn't that just the way of life?  Our lambs were due 3 weeks ago according to the marking harness BUT he was probably shooting blanks since he was locked away from the ewes for a month and then marked all of them in 2 days after being turned in with his girls.  Naturally I was overjoyed, but now I think he was just VERY HAPPY to see them again and I have readjusted my lambing calendar forward. 

I don't envy you having to lamb in the cold back there.  We had a lot of rain (El Nino) and then temperatures in the 90's with Santa Ana winds.  Real earthquake weather.  it should go back to normal soon.  Lambing in freezing weather sucks, but hot weather brings flies.

Good luck on lambing safely this year.  Hope your mom feels better soon.


----------



## Latestarter

Sorry your mom hasn't completely recovered. Hope she does soon. Too bad you have to scale back, but you have to do what's best for all involved. Wishing all the best for your upcoming lambing . Look fwd to pics (as always).


----------



## purplequeenvt

Ridgetop said:


> Sad to have to cut back but it is important to keep the workload in hand.  At least the 2 that didn't get bred make it easier to cull, unless they are important bloodlines for your herd.
> 
> Sorry to hear about your mom, I hope she recovers soon.
> 
> We have just one on the ground so far, a ewe lamb.  This would be cause for much rejoicing but we switched out rams last year and since getting our LGD 2 years ago we have had no predator problems.  (Rika works hard and we are getting her some back up in the form of a male Anatolian puppy this spring or summer since the cougars are back.)  We replaced 3 of the killed ewes last year so this is their first season.  We have buyers for all our freezer lambs this year so we are sure that this year all our lambs will be really nice ewes!  LOL  We had mostly ram lambs from our old ram for the past 3 years when we wanted to build our flock.  Isn't that just the way of life?  Our lambs were due 3 weeks ago according to the marking harness BUT he was probably shooting blanks since he was locked away from the ewes for a month and then marked all of them in 2 days after being turned in with his girls.  Naturally I was overjoyed, but now I think he was just VERY HAPPY to see them again and I have readjusted my lambing calendar forward.
> 
> I don't envy you having to lamb in the cold back there.  We had a lot of rain (El Nino) and then temperatures in the 90's with Santa Ana winds.  Real earthquake weather.  it should go back to normal soon.  Lambing in freezing weather sucks, but hot weather brings flies.
> 
> Good luck on lambing safely this year.  Hope your mom feels better soon.



The two open ewes actually won't get culled. One of them is a Shetland that I'm keeping, pregnant or not. She is wicked friendly and goes to events where I need friendly farm ambassadors. I also think that the ram was at fault with her not getting breed. He's not the brightest sheep in the world. The other ewe belongs to my sister and is only a first time ewe. She will be given a 2nd chance in the fall or we might try to breed her for fall lambs.

We've actually had a very mild winter. Today was one of the first really cold days all winter. With the last 2 nasty winters, we are prepared with heat lamps and jackets if needed.


----------



## Ridgetop

It is saying a lot that the ram is even stupider than other sheep!  LOL Definitely give her a second chance!  If she is super friendly and can go to events she should definitely be a keeper.  We have had sheep for years and any one of them that is really a "people" sheep is rare and super valuable for me in a small flock.  Our previous sheep were 4H sheep and my kids halter trained them which made it so much easier to shear, doctor them etc.  None of them were as tame as our dairy goats but that is because we bottle fed the goats and milked 2x daily for 10 months.  The sheep we have now have not been trained (our kids are grown) and I have to hire a pro shearer who can wrestle them.  I am not physically able to do it any more.  Warning:  don't get old!!!  I am waiting for the day when my grandchildren will be old enough to halter break our keeper ewe lambs.  Unfortunately, when they go back into the flock they seem to forget we are their friends.  You would think that they would worship (or at least appreciate) the bringers of hay and grain - but no.


----------



## purplequeenvt

Lambing has started!

I rushed home from work yesterday and got there just in time to pull a goat kid that had it's head turned back. My sister's goat had just one (really surprised at that given that she was as big as when she had triplets last year) doeling.

"Addie"








In the middle of the kidding, we looked over and saw that Izzy was in labor. Izzy is a Border Leicester Romney cross. She was bred to a Southdown. She is one of the ewes that the vet didn't see babies when he did the ultrasound. She was also re-marked when we put the cleanup ram in so we didn't think she was due for another couple weeks. Surprise!!

She also had a single girl. A 14.5 lb girl!

"Iodine" AKA Dina








There are 2 more ewes that should go at any moment, but there are a few other ewes that might have been bred first round like Izzy that might go. It could be a busy weekend.


----------



## norseofcourse

Congrats on a good start to lambing/kidding!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Congrats!  Both are cute looking babies!


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Aww! Congratulations!!


----------



## purplequeenvt

Addie 




Dina




The next ewe, Lil, is in labor, but she is a first-timer and is taking her sweet time. 

Lil is on the left, Arizona on the right. Both are due NOW.


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Aww! Dina is soo cute!!


----------



## Latestarter

Congrats on the new babies! Glad you got home to help the doe in distress! The kid is a beauty! Hope you can get in  a little rest over the weekend. Hoping for no emergencies and smooth birthings!


----------



## purplequeenvt

Lil had an 11.6 lb girl. 1/2 Southdown, 3/8 Border Leicester, 1/8 Romney. 

So much for a restful weekend.


----------



## luvmypets

Congrats!


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Congrats!!


----------



## purplequeenvt

Lil's baby #1609 Xenon "Noni"








Minnie (a first time BL) is thinking about lambing today.


----------



## norseofcourse

Very nice!  I am at least five weeks away from lambs, so getting to see all the cute pictures helps!


----------



## purplequeenvt

No new babies since Saturday, but there is one ewe that's acting "suspicious" today. She's a 2nd generation bottle baby (grandma didn't have milk so my sister bought the lambs from a friend, mother got sick during her late pregnancy and barely had the strength to give birth and she died the next day) so I'd really like her to lamb while I'm around in case of problems. 

------

Goat on a Shelf. Similar to Elf on a Shelf but much better. Why? Because the goat moves itself! No more forgetting to move the elf every night.


----------



## Latestarter

So cute!


----------



## purplequeenvt

After a week long wait, we finally have new lambs. The first of the Shetland lambs were born last night around 10 pm. Right on their due date too! Mom, Signe, had been acting strange all day, but at 8:30 she was laying outside chewing her cud so I decided to go to bed. An hour later, my sister texted me to say that she was in labor, water bag and toes!

Signe had our first set of twins and our first ram lamb for the 2016 lambing season.

Twin #1 - gray katmoget ewe




Twin #2 - black (will be gray) ram with small white spots


----------



## norseofcourse

Congrats on the twins!


----------



## Poka_Doodle

X2


----------



## Baymule

What a bunch of cutie pie babies!!


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## Latestarter

That's awesome! I love baby season. They're beautiful.


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## purplequeenvt

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that Signe's girl is actually brown/fawn instead of gray (black based). Nice surprise.


----------



## purplequeenvt

Oh, I forgot one other thing....

My sister wanted to get a buckling to keep her one little doeling company. The plan being to castrate the buckling and butcher him in the fall. When she called the farm she was getting him from, she was told that they had just had a set of triplets from a FF (they don't keep FF kids) and it was a 2 for 1 deal. Ok, fine. 2 bucklings to eat. Well....when she got there to pick them up, one of the "bucklings" was missing his testicles. That's right, it was a doe. So she got 2 LaMancha kids, 1 buck and 1 doe, for $15.

"Martha" is cream and white




"Ralph" is the brown and black (he has white on his belly) at the back.




"Addie" is the black and white in the middle.


----------



## norseofcourse

purplequeenvt said:


> So she got 2 LaMancha kids, 1 buck and 1 doe, for $15.


You sure you didn't leave a zero off that number?  $15 wow!

Curious, why don't they keep FF kids?


----------



## purplequeenvt

norseofcourse said:


> You sure you didn't leave a zero off that number?  $15 wow!
> 
> Curious, why don't they keep FF kids?



The does aren't proven yet. They may have an idea of what their production will be based off their dam's record, but they have to make a name from themselves so to speak. 

This dairy has 400 goats in milk and about 800 goats on the farm. They are CL and Johnes free and, although they don't test annually for CAE (can you imagine the cost?!?), the original herd was CAE clean and they pull all kids. Super bio-secure farm.


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## Latestarter

Man... that was an absolute steal. Gotta hate it when you buy an animal expecting boy bits only to discover there are none... It might be worth the gas cost for me to go buy a bunch of FF kids to start my herd.


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## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations on the new lambs and kids!!


----------



## Ridgetop

Been out of town and just found this posting on my e-mails.

Congratulations on saving the lamb with its head backwards.  I hate to lose ones I could have saved if I had been there.  Nothing worse than showing up after the fact to find a dead or damaged kid or lamb, let alone a dead ewe.  SOOO glad you happened to get there in time to pull it.  Also congrats on the other lamb - sometimes I think they mark and remark to confuse us. LOL   All but one of our ewes finally lambed.  Only 1 set of twins which really surprised me since 2 ewes were enormous.  The last ewe to lamb is a young first timer so may not lamb for another couple weeks.  We changed out rams last year after 3 breeding seasons.  The old ram produced 95% ram lambs so of course you know that this year we have 100% ewe lambs!  We can't keep them all since we don't have pasture for a flock of 14 or more sheep (southern California drought area and limited pasture).  We will be culling heavily as to who goes into the freezer and whether we keep any replacement ewes.  As a former dairy person, it really seems wasteful to eat ewes but as my son says, they all taste the same!  Anyone wanting to bet on what the last ewe produces?  LOL


----------



## purplequeenvt

Esme, first time mom AND 2nd generation bottle baby, finally had her lambs today! I got home from work and found them up and nursing. Esme is being a super mom.

A ram and a ewe. "Elwyn" and "Edwina"


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## norseofcourse

Congrats! They look so big!


----------



## purplequeenvt

It was beginning to look like we were going to have a 2 lambs per weekend thing going on, but we finally had a breakthrough yesterday. 

Flute, a Shetland, had twins at 1 pm. A gray katmoget ram and a black gulmoget ewe. They weighed 5.6 and 4.6 lbs.

We left for church at 3:30, got home around 6 and Anita lambed at 6:30! So happy she's done! She's the prolapsing ewe and I was so worried she was going to lamb while no one was around to help her. Her ram was 11.7 and her ewe was 11.6 lbs!! I left the stitch in for now, but I'll take it out in the next couple days. She didn't show any signs of prolapsing during labor so I think she'll be fine.

Flute's boy




Her girl




Anita's babies


----------



## purplequeenvt

I think the lamb storm is arriving!

Fae lambed this afternoon (kindly waited for me to get home from work) with 2 moorit katmoget rams. Probably a good thing they were both boys otherwise I'd be seriously tempted to keep one.

Since today is Pi day, I am thinking they should get pie names. Still to be decided.

#1 weighed a whopping 7 lbs and has a more open, wavy fleece.




#2 was only 4.6 lbs and has a tighter, finer fleece (this is the one I wish were a girl)




Side by side you can see the difference in size and fleece type.




There is a BL in labor right now.


----------



## luvmypets




----------



## purplequeenvt

Things did not go well on Monday night. We lost our Stevie Girl and her lamb. We are all heartbroken. Steve was a one in a million animal. 





I ended up taking a half day at work on Tuesday (I work 5 am to 1:30 pm) as I was too upset. Pulled in the driveway just as my dad texted me to say that Minnie (2 year old 1st timer BL) had just had a black ram lamb. Minnie is Steve's granddaughter.

#1614 Lanthanum




Wednesday is my day off and we started the day off early with a single white Lincoln ewe out of Niki at 6:15 am.

#1615 Rakel 




At 10 am River (BL) had ram/ewe twins

#1616 Creek and #1617 Brook




At 4:30 pm, Arizona (Southdown) had ram/ewe twins




5 ewes left to go.


----------



## Latestarter

So sorry you lost Stevie and her lamb. Always hard to lose any. Congrats on the follow up births. 5 more to go isn't so bad... Hope they're all successful


----------



## Ferguson K

So sorry to hear about Stevie. 

At least you've got lamb's popping out all I bet the place.


----------



## Poka_Doodle

So sorry but congrats on the lambs.


----------



## samssimonsays

So sorry for the loss.


----------



## norseofcourse

I'm so sorry about Steve and her lamb       She was always one of my favorites when you shared stories and pictures.


----------



## purplequeenvt

Twin Lincoln ram lambs this morning.





4 more ewes to go.


----------



## norseofcourse

purplequeenvt said:


> Twin Lincoln ram lambs this mornng.


They look big!  How much did they weigh?


----------



## purplequeenvt

norseofcourse said:


> They look big!  How much did they weigh?



They were 11.9 and 13.3.


----------



## purplequeenvt

Cami had ewe/ram twins this afternoon

Ewe




Ram




Cami is a good mamma


----------



## purplequeenvt

2 first-timers lambed this afternoon. They waited for me to get home from work and they both had single white girls. 

Rain and her baby, Breeze




April and Sammi Mae




ONE ewe left to go!


----------



## promiseacres

So precious


----------



## purplequeenvt

The final ewe lambed this afternoon. She is also a first-timer and, unlike the other first-timers that we had this year, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with her baby. We left them together for a bit, but she went from ignoring him to actually butting him so he got pulled and is now a bottle baby. 

#1626 Europium "Uri"




Snuggling 




Lambing is now officially over. Including the fall lambs, there were 32 lambs born - 16 boys and 16 girls. Exactly 50/50.


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## purplequeenvt

Lambing is done, but now comes the challenge of keeping everyone healthy. We've had some weird up and down weather the last week or so and as a result we've got some sheep that aren't feeling great.

Rain has been droopy for several weeks, but nothing that we could really put our finger on as the cause. She stopped wanting to feed her baby the day after she was born (still loved her, but wouldn't let her nurse). Then Esme developed mastitis and April started to strain (despite passing the placenta as usual) several days after lambing and then began to prolapse a couple days ago. The vet was out yesterday to take a look at everyone.

Rain has walking pneumonia. Esme has mastitis, but it's already on the mend since it was caught and treatment begun so early. April has somehow managed to twist and invert her cervix with all her straining and will never be able to be bred again. She is stitched up to prevent her from prolapsing. The vet wasn't sure why she was straining. I'm considering pulling her lamb because every time her baby nurses, she starts straining again (oxytocin releases when the udder is milked/nursed). A couple of the lambs have the beginnings of pneumonia (again, I think it's walking pneumonia as opposed to full blown pneumonia). Frustrating, but everyone is on the mend and should recover. Except for April. She will either be sold as a fiber pet or mutton.

Uri the bottle baby got moved out to the barn a lot faster than we normally transition BB, but he was the most annoying BB ever! He never. shut. up. He was warm, he was fed (he ate the cow too!), but he wasn't all soft and snuggly like out usual babies. He's much better out in the barn, but he is a bit lonely. He's not part of any of the lamb groups and the goatlings are snobby and "don't associate with lowly sheep!" so he has to wait until they are napping before he can snuggle with them.


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## Latestarter

Sorry about the bad stuff. Glad they seem to be on the mend. Cute pile of lambs


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## norseofcourse

Wow, I'm so sorry about the problems you've been having    Spring weather has been crazy here, too.  Sounds like you are on top of treatments, I hope everyone recovers soon, although it's too bad about April


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