Busy Day on the Farm

We had EmmyLou lamb this morning and then this afternoon, Rose decided to join in the fun.

I settled into the barn to watch her progress, and June couldn't get enough attention.

She even started critiquing my work.

When Rose started pushing, all I could see were hooves, but no nose. And labor wasn't progressing at all. For the first time ever, I had to help! The lamb's nose was being pushed up instead of pointing between the hooves, so I had to use a finger to hold the nose down in position while I grabbed hooves with the other hand to pull. It took some work, but Rose and I got her out with no problems. She's a beautiful, dark gray katmoget. My fingers are crossed that she doesn't lighten too much.

I was also able to get some nice photos of EmmyLou's ram for a birth announcement collage.

I thought at first he was gray, but once in the light, he's definitely a brown-based little guy, so we'll call it fawn.

And the clowns of the barn couldn't be ignored. June is so patient with her "neice and nephew."

Buttercup Gives Us a Ram!

This morning, Buttercup delivered an absolutely beautiful gray Katmoget ram! He's got the best wool I've ever seen on one of our lambs; I'm so excited!

This year, we've decided to keep all the ram lambs as fiber animals by making them wethers. That'll put our flock right at 20 animals, and we'll take a break from breeding. That'll be my final fiber flock!

Take a look at these curls and bright color!

He's a sweet little thing, too. He came to me and let me scratch him for a while before settling down for a nap.

We've also decided on names for Peridot's kiddos. Our theme this year is our family's favorite TV show characters, so we're starting the naming off with characters from Psych.

Juliet:

And Lassiter (Lassie for short):

 

The Games Continue with No Winner Yet!

The girls are getting bigger and bigger and have all been going to the beauty shop for their annual haircut, but no babies yet!

In the past, the rams have lived with the girls and I didn't know exactly when things happened, so due dates were hard to estimate. I thought I'd be smart this year and separate the ram out in August and put him back in at the end of November. Lambs are due April 21. That was easy enough. 

Apparently, our ram took his sweet time getting to everyone though. Peridot looks to go any moment now; seriously, I don't think she'll make it to tomorrow without babies. June seems to be about a week or so out. EmmyLou, Rose and Buttercup all seem to be even with smaller bags starting to develop--two weeks? Sparkles, though huge, doesn't have a bag at all! All that said, bagging up isn't an exact science, so they could be fooling me. But Sparkles is usually engorged just before she delivers. 

I'm throwing my hands up in the air in defeat . . . . it seems I have no idea when they're coming, and we'll be in lamb-watch mode for the next two weeks at least.

Here's an update of the "business" end of things:

The rump in the middle is Sparkles, with no udder at all, but she may be the widest ewe at the moment.

Here's June getting started. This is about where Peridot was 7 days ago.

EmmyLou is starting to "show." Side note: she was the easiest to shear; can you tell?!

Rose is hard to see because of her coloring, but by feel, she and EmmyLou are close. The part hanging down that you want to think is an udder is really just her belly.

And I've saved the best for last:

THAT's what a ready-to-deliver ewe should look like! Full bag, swollen girly bits and indentations on either side of her tail as the babies move into position. Any moment now, Peridot!

Buttercup is also due around the same time, but without a haircut yet, you really can't see anything. She's about equal to EmmyLou right now.

Violet and Lily were held back for another month before breeding, so they really don't have anything to show. They're due around May 18.

The Third Annual Lambing Games

It's that time of year, and I'm just about to kick off our third annual lambing games on Ravelry! If you're a member, make sure you check out my group and get in on the fun (there are prizes!!).

Take a look at who's pregnant this year! We're going to be blessed with a lot of lambs soon!

50 degrees!!

I've never been so excited about a forecast! It's been such a long and hard winter that a 50-degree day calls for opening the windows! At least for a few minutes.

We have a way to go before this weather really sticks, but I'm ready. I'm ready for capri's, chicks, rainboots, umbrellas, grass, flowers, and especially . . . lambs!

This is why I can't stand winter (and taking photos of my sheep during it!):
 

Everyone and everything is such a mess. It just looks so dingy and shabby.

But Rose seems happy none-the-less!!

Happy Spring everyone!