Ohiogoatgirl's 2018 Lambing thread

[ohiogoatgirl]

Today I started doing two feedings and upped it a little more. (after midnight so I guess yesterday lol)
The white cross ewes are in the paddock and a couple days ago I moved Midget, Pigpig, blk shetland ewe, and blk cross ewe over to the barn in a pen. Hairy and the ewe lamb are with them in the pen now and the lamb is doing well.

I am off work tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. I am hoping to get chores done and take the blk ewes one at a time in one of the stalls and roo them. I believe they have a pretty good roo line going and I hope they will settle down in the stall with me to do it.
And I have the blade shears to at least clean up Midget and Pigpig's back ends when I finished that. Midget's udder seems to be getting tight like she was when she lambed last year. Pigpig seems to have gotten more full and getting firmer than yesterday even. We shall see when they go.
Also the blk cross ewe's udder is filling out more. Not as much as Pigpig's so I think she has longer. The blk shetland ewe I haven't gotten to check her in a bit but I have spotted her udder filling out in the glimpse I got.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

We got lambs!
This morning about twenty minutes before my alarm went off my papa calls and says he sees a ewe with a lamb at the top of the paddock. It was one of the older looking white cross ewes. Twins! A white ram lamb and a really neat spotty ewe lamb! The ewe is a little bigger but weighs a pinch less at 7.45# and the ram at 7.6#
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgOkiaunOUj/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgOlC_VHFAp/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgOlbLJHR2P/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgO_KV4noUJ/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

I got the ewe and twins moved to the barn and settled in a stall. Hauled up water. Fed and did the rest of the chores. I only just got done stuffing some cold leftover pizza in my face when papa calls again. Lamb. What?!
One of the younger looking white cross ewes had lambed about halfway up the paddock. Phew I did a lot of walking...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPALujniui/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
And guess what?..... More spots! Here I was worried about having all white lambs and confusing them all!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPAj4mnTzv/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
He has an odd ear on one side. One ear is regular size, same as the twins ears, but the other ear is small and kind of seems like it just stopped forming? Like the round base of the ear is there but it is covered in skin and hair/wool but I don't think it is open at all with skin inside. I will have to investigate more as he grows and determine if it is just a quirk or likely to be genetic. He is really a looker though!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPpUjsnx1q/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
Naptime after finally making sure everyone has nursed. And he certainly filled up when he figured it out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPqKrGnjF6/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

 

[Latestarter]

Grats!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

3/14
I get home from work and go out to do the evening chores. 11pm Midget was in the corner grunting and groaning with contractions. I get her into a jug and go feed the other ewes.
11:24 contractions- https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVQsQ9n772/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
11:31 the contractions were very close and she was either laying down groaning or standing up as she finished groaning. I was timing them and the contractions were longer than when she would stay standing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVRqUJnjuj/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
I got a glimpse of hooves and a few minutes later she was still straining. I went in and there wasn't any more just tip of hooves and tiny bit of nose. She gave a good push and there was enough of a leg out I could hold a little. As she gave the next push I just gave a little pull and out it came. 11:33 lamb on the ground.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVSNs1nxyJ/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
Hairy was at the gate bellowing when the lamb would cry. Nosey neighbors! https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVTVcMHqG4/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
11:51 the first lamb is cleaned and going for the teat.. Got hooves peeking out for a second lamb!
11:55 second lamb on the ground https://www.instagram.com/p/BgVUxcWHOUX/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
It's below freezing and windy so I went down to the house for a towel.. Came back out the door and nearly peed myself when I very nearly stepped on a big fat possum!
About 12:15am both were nursing and Midget kept turning in circles licking at one then the other.

Black ram lamb.. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgWcmP6nm4w/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
and reddish moorit ewe lamb (possibly spotting).. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgWcOt1nSH_/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Them this morning.. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgeG-bxHKWk/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

3/18
Last night I got home at 1am from my sister's birthday dinner (1.5hrs away) and go up to find the black shetland ewe had lambed. All cleaned up and not all dry yet so guessing about 12:45am birth. Healthy happy black ewe lamb, has some white hairs on top her head. Sired by Fitzwilliam. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgeFmvLHb6M/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

 

[luvmypets]

I love watching the videos you post on insta, I especially love the coloring a bunch of the ewe lambs got

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

3/18
I set up to try some shearing.. Go in the barn to grab the first (*cough* victim *cough*) sheep.. And Pigpig is in labor after having a bit of discharge and really ready looking back end for about four days now. So apparently I have to put on a brand new shirt for a ewe to lamb..
https://www.instagram.com/p/BggjisGnKPH/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
Single white ewe lamb. Huge! 12.34# birth weight!

And Midget's ewe lamb is such a silly little sweet thing. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bggg02nHgwX/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

The saga of the black cross ewe lambing.. 3.20.18 I am tired. Two ewes left to lamb! The end is in sight!! (Swipe/click over to see all the clips) Ignore my haggard and frazzled talking well, more than usual..
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgks8dwnU_H/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
So Fitz managed 3 for 3 ewe lambs. Two black and one moorit. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgkt6MpnOOV/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgl2sPBn9oo/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Nibble nibble!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgtg9ycnnqv/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Sniff sniff, nibble nibble...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgthFtsn5Zu/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

The lambs are doing alot of tasting. The hay. The feed. My boots. My pants....
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgthX27n5vj/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Well it took me 45 minutes for the older ewe and 30 minutes for the younger ewe.. But they are both still holding out.. And managed to finally get them both over to the barn and into stalls. The older ewe has had slight discharge for several days now and her back end looks ready. The younger ewe has a good udder for a while but her back end isn't screamin baby time. Though the others didn't always so I am just waiting now.

With this weird spread out lambing I am seriously thinking to invest in CDIRs for breeding this fall. They are vaginal inserts with a hormone that halts the ewes cycling. Then you remove them and the ewes should all start to cycle at the same time. They come in a bag of 20 and are fairly pricey. But I'm thinking it averages about $7 per ewe and it will greatly save my sanity... What precious little of it may be left...

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

I am seriously behind on.. everything! But FINALLY finished lambing! If I had ANY RESERVATIONS about investing in the CDIRs they are out the window!

4.6.18
The white cross ewe (older ewe which I have found out is from the same farm as Butthead and is also 50/50 cross) had white twins. Ram and ewe. Sired by Butthead. Doing great.

5.3.18
The last ewe! FINALLY! The last white cross ewe had a single black spotty ewe lamb. It looks just like #3 and also has the weirdly formed ear, same side, but she does not appear to have any slant to her mouth. Assuming with the spots and the same ear thing that the sire is also Butthead.
She was born around 8am. I moved mom and baby to a stall. Feed and water and do all the chores. Run off to the mill because I was already running late. (I volunteer with the historical society.) I get home about 3pm and check on her and she looks very not good. Laid flat on her side splayed out. I had to go in the stall and be right next to her before I could tell she was breathing. Limp as a wet noodle. More limp than a fresh lambed baby. Oh, did I mention we jumped straight from 50*F days to 80s* days?! Right away I know she can't have nursed yet because she wasn't this weak when I put them in the stall. Plus she just has a sunken look to her. Guessing dehydration as well as not having nursed yet.
Managed to get a tiny bit of colostrum into her. By 8pm I managed to get a few ounces in her and she had really perked up. I went out to do evening chores and put her with mom and she was spunky enough to go after and try to nurse. Managed to keep the ewe from being a complete idiot and jumping around like a rodeo clown... And she nursed! Huzzah! She got quite the guzzle on before the ewe got flighty again.
Today she took a tiny bit from the bottle but had more spunk. This afternoon she was alert and didn't want anything to do with the bottle and didn't want to nurse when I was trying to assist her but she has a little belly now so I will be keeping a close eye on her that she is nursing.