Our First BFL Lamb of 2009

Well I had my first day of training for the 2010 Census job today. I'm in training all week from 8-4:30. Thankfully we had an hour lunch today so I ran home to check on Delia (a Shetland mule). She looked dropped to me this morning and her bag is pretty full.

Everyone looked fine, so I tossed in some hay and topped off their water before heading back to training about 12:45. When I got home at 4:45 I went out to feed the ewes their grain. Things get really chaotic when I dish up the grain and distribute it -- certainly no place for a newborn lamb to be.
As I brought grain outside for 10-year-old Cordelia and the two bred ewe lambs, I thought to myself that Derra's lambs sounded really upset. Then I saw Derra's lambs quietly frolicking outside. That's when I realized we had a newborn lamb.

I raced back inside and saw a little black lamb standing there bawling, quite a set of lungs on that one! He was dry, but he hadn't been licked clean. I looked for Delia. Oh-oh, her bum was clean, it wasn't hers. Then I saw Rhyn turn around to talk to the lamb and sure enough, it was hers.
Unfortunately she was way too occupied with the food and didn't follow me as I put the poor little fellow in the jug.

He's a little guy only 8.5 pounds. I thought there had to be a twin around somewhere. I searched outside but only found the placenta out in the paddock.

His mouth was cold, so I knew he hadn't nursed yet. I tried to strip her teats, but she's very sensitive and I had to get Stan to hold her. We let the lamb nurse for a bit, and I gave him 4 ounces of a lamb supplement too. She's definitely claiming him, that's good. But she's not ready to let him nurse yet. I checked his teeth for sharp points, none that I could feel. She's not engorged at all, so that shouldn't the problem. I'm going to give him some colostrum from the freezer tonight before I go to bed and hope that by morning, she's letting him nurse.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Derra's black lamb is very laid back. He doesn't get too excited when mom gets lost in the shuffle.
Derra's twins have been out enjoying the sunny afternoons...We've been getting lots of visitors lately...here's a shot from this morning-
Elsie and Emmy, our yearling Shetland Mules, are always the first to greet visitors. Below is a shot from Thursday,
I'm sorry to say I didn't get a photo of Tom and Debbie who visited the flock yesterday (Friday). It's been so fun to meet prospective shepherds and see the flock enjoying all the attention.

On the wool front, our latest shipment of combed top came back from Zeilinger's on Thursday. I had a batch of black with shaela done and a batch of long, silky moorit with fawn. I can't say enough good things about the turn around time for Zeilinger's and the quality of work they do. There is NO VM in the combed top, it's really nice! I got in on the 25% prepaid discount too.
Rhyn is definitely looking pregnant these days. I had her marked on the calendar to deliver today, but there's no telling when she and Lanora will lamb, except that it has to be by around April 25th.
Mabeline (on the right below) is marked down for tomorrow, but I'm sure she'll keep me guessing again this year too.

Our First Lambs of 2009

Yesterday was Derra's due date. In the morning I noticed she had a bit of discharge and she looked smaller - not so much like a hot air balloon. I headed off to work thinking for sure there would be lambs when I got home. Nope.

This afternoon she hung back and didn't get up when I went out there. I noticed a little more mucous discharge. But when I fed the flock she got right in there to eat.

After supper I checked the barn cam and noticed her digging in the corner of the barn - finally! She didn't lay down though, she went back outside. So I gathered the lambing bucket supplies: the scissors, iodine, towel, camera and sheep book.

Then the door bell rang. It was Jeannine, a gal I used to work with at the orthodontist office. She was out on her evening walk and decided to stop in and see if we had any lambs yet - her granddaughter has been talking about seeing lambs when she comes to Mora for Easter.

Talk about perfect timing! Sure enough, by the time we got out there, a white ram lamb was being licked off. We watched as ram lamb number two arrived, this one was black (English Blue pattern) and smaller than the first. Derra was pretty focused on the white one and Hattie came along to lick off the black one. It was time for me to set up the jug and move the family inside the barn.
Thankfully Jeannine stuck around to help me weigh the newborns after clipping and dipping and stripping. The white one was 9 pounds, and the black one was 6 pounds. They are 3/4 BFL, 1/4 Shetland.
I would say Jeannine would make a fine shepherdess, the sheep really liked her!

April Additions

No, they're not the wooly kind, but they are pretty cool anyway. Somehow I feel better having waterfowl on the place again. Notice the pond in the background of the photo above? Once they get used to being here, I'll let them go down there.

I was surfing through Craiglist the other night and found an ad for Brown Chinese geese. They were 4-H projects last summer and won purple. When I found out I could take a trio rather than two pairs, I was pretty happy. They have been laying already, but I suspect the change of location will set them back for while.
I wonder if they have some African blood in them, notice the dewlap on the gander. And one of the geese looks like a Pomeranian cross. I don't care, I'm just looking forward to them hatching out some goslings and having Christmas goose next year.

The rams and chickens were taken aback by these newcomers and their hissing when they arrived yesterday, but all are getting along fine now.

Here is a shot of Derra's bag three days ago, I swear she is ready to pop!

What!? It's April?

I just can't believe it is APRIL already. I need to get my lambing bucket ready to go! The first possible lambs could be here on Friday - yikes! FRIDAY???

Actually, the first ewes I have marked on the calendar are Dot and Derra, on April 7th. That's almost a week away. Dot doesn't look all that big, so that date could be way off for her. I'm pretty sure it was her getting bred back on Nov. 11, but I also put a Derra down with a question mark. Well, Derra is pretty huge, and her bag is getting tight. This morning I noticed some clear discharge on her. I recall that her mother often had a clear discharge up to a week before lambs arrived and her mother also averaged 149 days, so maybe I still have a week to go.Never the less, it's time to get my lambing supplies ready to go. Iodine, a scissors, a towel, scale, camera, and my sheep book, just in case. I do have a lamb puller, a feeding tube, and the EZ Milker, but I'll leave them in the house along with all the meds, like banamine, antibiotics, vitamin B, oxytocin, dexamethasone. Hopefully we won't need those.
Oh and I'll need more wormer. I think I'll go with Valbazen for wormer this year. Last year we used Prohibit. I don't like using injectable Ivomec because those shots really sting.

I've got some hog panels that I will tie up inside the barn for a jug or two. I've already got the barn cam operating, and it comes in really handy.

The wet, sticky snow was so beautiful this morning, I got out and took these photos before I got called in to work. The photos don't do justice to the beauty of a morning like this...

The afternoon was cloudy and dreary, I was ready for a nap after work. But then the phone rang.

Woo-hoo! I'm so excited. I got a call from Jeanne Carbonetti and we're on for a three-day watercolor workshop with her in May, 2011. I know, 2011 seems like a long way off, but it will be here soon enough. Time just flies as you get older, and I've got lots to do to get this workshop organized.

I hate to admit this, but...

I was shocked at shearing to see how thin my sheep were. I immediately started them on corn and alfalfa pellets once a day. They are also getting good alfalfa hay at both feedings.

I really should have had our hay tested to see what the nutrient level was.

The Bluefaced Leicester ewes should be due in 2-3 weeks, if they are pregnant. They hardly even look pregnant except for their developing bags which are about grapefruit size. Here's Lanora...

Of course, we do have some easy keepers who are already pretty big, like Hattie...who isn't even due until after April 25th.

And Mabeline....I have her due date on the calendar for April 12th. She is our only ewe bred to produce Shetland Mule lambs this year.

Whew! I got the grant and shearing's done!

It has been a busy spring! Back on Feb. 1st, I applied for an artist's grant so I could attend the Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison, WI this summer. Last night I was invited to give a 10 minute presentation to the Arts Council prior to their scoring of the applications. Man, that 10 minutes flew by like two seconds! This morning after the shearer left I worked up the courage to call and find out the verdict. Woo-hoo! Madison, here I come!

I'll be taking advantage of the "All You Can Felt" special tuition rate. Two days of resist dyeing techniques with Chad Alice Hagen of North Carolina, and a day of wool painting with Andrea Graham of Ontario Canada, and a day of needle felted dog sculpture with SINCO of Japan, and a day of embroidered felted jewelry with Annemie Koenen of the Netherlands. I will be so tired after all that. But what a great variety of classes, huh?

Okay, back to the sheep, there were no major cuts, just some nicks. They had their hooves trimmed and got their CDT shots. I've decided I am going to start graining them, they look thin to me. The BFLs and Mules who are due in April will get up to about a 1 pound daily. And the Shetlands will get 1/2 pound daily. Our 10 year old Shetland, Cordelia looks the thinnest - I may put her in with the BFL amd mule group.

And now I have twentyone bags of wool to skirt! I skirted and washed three fleeces on Sunday too. I bought them from a gal who bought three modified ram lambs from me last fall. If I can get the new ones washed and shipped out to Zeilinger's this month I can still get in on that 25% off deal. Lots to do!
This is McIntyre's fleece sample, neck sample on the left, mid-side, and then britch sample. I'm having a hard time deciding if he's shaela or dark brown.