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2/7/2006 5:21:34 PM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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Our lambing season has begun.... and with a bang. Ewe Who, my ewe who doesn`t know how to mother had FOUR (4) lambs this morning!!!! First time we have ever had 4.
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2/7/2006 6:05:28 PM
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Guest
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Oh wow--4! What a morning! You all must be exhausted.
Congrats on the little ones,
Bri
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2/7/2006 7:08:22 PM
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CatBookMom
Posts 6264
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Oh, how adorable they must be! If, as you say, the ewe doesn`t know how to mother, how do you deal with the lambs? Bottle feeding? Another ewe? (`Scuse my total ignorance of sheep and the raising thereof, just all these questions come up)
Years ago a friend had a young cat who got pregnant her first estrus, and she was a bit too young to be a very good mother, so the kittens needed a lot of help from my friend. I helped sometimes, but mostly with the births, and with 2 being breech, it was a memorable experience!!
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2/7/2006 8:56:44 PM
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bets
Posts 18976
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Oh my!
Can we see lamby pics?
B
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2/7/2006 9:19:27 PM
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suzann
Posts 2711
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second Bets, lamby pics please :)
Suzann
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2/7/2006 9:55:47 PM
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emily3cat
Posts 900
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Yes, yes, lamb pics. Or send me a bottle-feeder lamb. I`m up for it.
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2/7/2006 10:01:01 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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Wow, Cheryl! Four lambs!!! I`ve seen triplets but never quads. That is amazing. Are you going to bottlefeed them? What a task that would be, you really may need to get Emily to help you with that. I want to see pics too. Maybe I can show them to Thom and convince him I need lambs. ;-}
Benne
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2/7/2006 10:01:11 PM
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emily3cat
Posts 900
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Just email me at emily_3cat at yahoo dot com and I`m there for any lambies. (to be returned to you).
Four is a lot for a mama sheep!
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2/8/2006 5:24:04 AM
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Libby
Posts 7209
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Wow, that is amazing. I think that you need to get your rest for the rest so you can help deliver the rest of the lambs. I`m with everyone else. I want to see pics!!
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2/8/2006 7:49:31 AM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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Lambing time is exciting and busy. We do suppliment the lambs with milk replacer - Everyone takes turns with a feeding time -
There are breeds of sheep that routinely have 4,5, even 6 lambs like the Finn sheep. This one is a Suffolk bred to my Border Leicester. The first year we had her, we watcher her, and stayed up with her till 3am and she didn`t have any. I decided to go to sleep till sunrise, and when I got up at 6, she had dropped them in the hay, and didn`t know what to do, so they had died. Last year, we watched her closely again, and we delivered them. But then, she refused to feed them!!!! We bottle fed the babies, and continued to work with her. She eventually got the hang of it. She is doing good so far this year....
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2/8/2006 7:58:39 AM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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I could tell you some stories about the birthing experiences!!!!!! The vets in our area wont treat sheep, so we have had to learn and do ourselves. I have done things I never thought I would be doing - even an emergency C-section.
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2/8/2006 9:30:34 AM
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benne
Posts 19258
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Cheryl, I had no idea ewes could drop that many lambs at a time. I think the breeds raised here might be different. Why won`t vets treat your sheep? Is it because of scrappie or other sheep borne illnesses possibly infecting cattle herds? I`ve just gotta say, you are one brave woman, a C-section!!!
Benne
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2/8/2006 9:47:01 AM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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We have had triplets on occasion, but never four - and I did have a ewe that was 1/4th Finn. Sheep just aren`t raised here, so they don`t treat them! There is a place in the Mid-West that specializes in Sheep. They have vets available to answer questions and walk you through whatever and can overnight you anything you might need. The c-section was on my dear sheep, Fuzzy Wuzzy, who was very pregnant, was old and ill, and died in my arms. We made a last ditch emergency effort to save the lambs. I had heard of shepherds doing this, never thought I would need to or be able to do this, but... I thought that Fuzzy Wuzzy would want me to save the lambs if I could. YOu only have seconds to do it though - can`t think about it.. She had triplets that time.
The cutest part of yesterdays event, was when we brought one of the new born lambs into my kitchen. It couldn`t stand due to a leg that just wasn`t right (I think maybe he was too crowded, and the foot was turned up under itself)- anyway, my dog Dixie took over the mothering, licking and cleaning it off. She became very possesive of it.
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2/8/2006 5:30:48 PM
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Les
Posts 4243
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A friend of mine has breeding lambs and has a baby monitor set up in the barn and also a closed circuit video monitor for the times she is not in the barn. Her barn is down a hill and it sure helps..
LEs
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2/8/2006 5:44:20 PM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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That would be nice - I only have a few sheep, so... in fact, I am at the point that I need to get rid of them because of my health. I have friends that raise sheep in WV and during lambing they just totally move into the barn!!
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2/8/2006 6:00:44 PM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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Oh Benne, you would love to have sheep/lambs. I love mine, hate the thought of getting rid of them. Even my rams have been lovable, gentle creatures. And the babies?!?!?!?!? My goodness, lambing is always exciting!!!!
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2/8/2006 6:03:32 PM
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thechartreuseshepherd
Posts 1913
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Wouldn`t you like a small flock????
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2/9/2006 10:11:50 AM
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benne
Posts 19258
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I would love to have a flock but Thom is not thrilled with the idea and it would involve a lot of work for him clearing land, planting pasture, etc. so I`ll have to love your lambies for now. :-}
B2
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