norseofcourse's journal - spring and show update

[luvmypets]

AWW! I want mammy to lamb so bad, we know theyre are at least twins crossing our fingers for more.

 

[bonbean01]

Congrats Norse!!!! Luvmypets...I know you want your lambies to arrive soon...feel for you!

 

[luvmypets]

Ik theyre will be a new holiday when these lambs are born.....speaking of lambs we need lots pics

 

[norseofcourse]

It's been a long day. I woke up about 4:30 am and decided to go out and check the sheep. Gracie seemed restless, and was holding her tail just a little out, which isn't typical, so I stayed for awhile, and she got more restless, and by 5:30 I was sure she was going to be lambing soon - well, sometime that morning. She had her first lamb just after 7am, and the second just before 7:30 am. Nice, normal, easy deliveries, I was so glad for that. I did worry though, when she passed one 'bubble' and then a second one appeared before she'd had a lamb - so I wondered if two were going to try and come out at the same time... but they didn't, the first one soon appeared, two hooves and a nose. Then I swear there were two more bubbles before the second one was born, and I wondered how many she had! But just the two. I think the second one surprised her too, but she's being a very good mother (this is her second lambing). They are so little and so absolutely darn cute

OK, so here's some pictures. The dark lamb is hard to get a good picture of, but here's the three of them together:

I like this one, both lambs are in the picture but the dark one doesn't show up very well:

And Rose, who had her lamb last Tuesday, was very interested in Gracie's lambs. As soon as she heard them call, she was right there, wanting them. She has a very strong mothering instinct. Every time they called, she called back. So Gracie and her lambs are penned in the barn run-in area until they stick with Gracie, and don't get confused on which mom to run to! Here is Rose, doing her best to get to those babies:

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Those are the cutest things EVER!! The one with the black spot on his eye is just adorable!

 

[luvmypets]

So cute that is very interesting fleece reminds me of a collie with shaggy fur

 

[norseofcourse]

The lambs are all doing well. I put the ewes and lambs together on Monday evening, and they knew who they all belonged to by then. Rose's lamb is huge compared to the twins - she's a single and five days older, and she is growing fast! I haven't had any luck taking a picture of all the lambs together for comparison yet - they move so quickly. They are starting to play together, and it's such fun watching them race around.

I'm starting to think the little solid ram is not black, but dark brown. And I'm having suspicions about his brother, too - he may actually be brown and white. Their 'black' just doesn't look like the black of the ewe lamb. And in the sun there's a brownish tinge to it, and they're not old enough for it to be sunbleached yet. If they are brown, that means Gracie carries brown, which means Brosa may also carry brown.

Brosa still hasn't lambed yet. Her tail ligaments are pretty relaxed, I can get my fingers all the way around her first tailbone. But she doesn't have much of an udder, and she doesn't seem very loose behind yet. I'm thinking sometime between tonight, and two weeks...

 

[purplequeenvt]

What color are their eye rims? They'll be pinkish brown if your lambs are moorit (the twins look moorit) or black if the lamb is black (like the single).

 

[greenmulberry]

Icelandic lambs are THE cutest!!

 

[norseofcourse]

What color are their eye rims? They'll be pinkish brown if your lambs are moorit (the twins look moorit) or black if the lamb is black (like the single).

purplequeenvt, you are good - wow, how do you see that??? Especially in pictures of them under a day old! It wasn't till a few days later, seeing them in the sun, that I started wondering about the one with less white. And the one with more white - to me, he still looks black on his body, but in the sunlight I can see a brownish cast to the dark on his head. The pinkish brown eye rims are easy to see on one, not as easy on the other. I want to continue breeding the natural colors, so I'll have plenty of chances to get a good eye for colors like you have.

I'm still waiting on Brosa to lamb. I'm trying to keep track of three signs: her udder, tail ligaments, and vulva. Her tail ligaments are as completely relaxed as I think they can be, as of last night. Her udder is finally starting to fill and get round, but it's still small - like maybe softball sized. It doesn't feel 'tight' or hot yet. Her vulva is swelling some and getting poofy, but not as poofy yet as her mom's was last year (when she was a first-timer). I'm not sure which of those signs to put the most stock in, and it's probably different for each ewe. But I hope to learn what the signs are for mine.

The three lambs are doing well - the little ewe lamb is built like a tank, and growing fast. I've already seen her down on her knees to nurse. The twins are more leggy, but they're nursing well and growing too, and it's fun to see all three run around together and then nap in a little group.