Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 8:59PM We've been busy finishing up a barn expansion which includes 4 lambing jugs, a storage area and space for chickens! It's extensive enough to deserve a post of its own!
But in the mean time, enjoy some cute lamb pics!
The little ram was popping all over the place, and was impossible to photograph, until Kat held him down.
Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 7:40AM Note: I've had to edit this whole post because I originally thought we had two boys, but apparently I shouldn't try to determine lamb sex when I'm tired! We have one ram and one ewe.
We finally have some lambs to celebrate! Last Tuesday night, at 9:37 and 9:43pm, Peridot delivered a ram and a ewe. They're both nice Katmogets that look brown-based right now, but I'm pretty sure are actually gray.
Ram: He's darker (right now, but I'm sure that'll fade) with a nice white ring around his head.
Ewe: She's lighter with traditional Kat facial coloring. She's got nice white tips on her ears, though!
Photo should read "Ewe: 1 day old . . ."
Peridot was very frustrating to watch through labor. She would come into the barn, start having contractions, then leave to hang out with the flock and eat. Not normal behavior for a ewe in labor. She didn't read the chapter that explained how a ewe will set herself apart from the group and stop eating. She was so focused on food that even during active, heavy pushing, she would stand up and nibble the hay. I never knew sheep could turn to food for stress relief!
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 7:13AM 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.
