TurtleCrossingRanch
Exploring the pasture
We got our flock of Barbados Blackbellies of 6 in early August and our girls must have already been pregnant, because I found a nice pair of surprises when I went out to them today: one of my ewes had twins! The gentleman we got them from said the two ewes were likely pregnant when we got them, but we expected lambs much earlier in the year because of how large the girls were. After a while of them not lambing, we just assumed they were fat and happy sheep.
Momma has bonded to both babies exceptionally well. There is just one problem:
The next 3 days are supposed to be the worst of the winter weather for our area- rain, wind, and possible snow until Tuesday. Temps are supposed to hover around 30s to 40s.
This particular ewe refuses to utilize the shed/barn that has dry bedding. She actually can't and won't stand anything to do with humans. We tried making little jackets to try to keep the twins dry, but she won't have anything to do with the lambs while they are wearing them. So far, I have been going out every couple hours and rubbing them up with towels to dry them.
This is my first flock and my first lambing, so I am unsure of what to do.
The only way to really protect them is to take them into the garage, but the ewe would never follow me and I am afraid that would break her bond with them. I don't want to stress the ewe or the lambs any more than I have to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! I may just be panicking, but I really want to give these two the best chance.
Momma has bonded to both babies exceptionally well. There is just one problem:
The next 3 days are supposed to be the worst of the winter weather for our area- rain, wind, and possible snow until Tuesday. Temps are supposed to hover around 30s to 40s.
This particular ewe refuses to utilize the shed/barn that has dry bedding. She actually can't and won't stand anything to do with humans. We tried making little jackets to try to keep the twins dry, but she won't have anything to do with the lambs while they are wearing them. So far, I have been going out every couple hours and rubbing them up with towels to dry them.
This is my first flock and my first lambing, so I am unsure of what to do.
The only way to really protect them is to take them into the garage, but the ewe would never follow me and I am afraid that would break her bond with them. I don't want to stress the ewe or the lambs any more than I have to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! I may just be panicking, but I really want to give these two the best chance.