Monday, April 3, 2017

In full swing...

We are now almost half way through lambing. Doris was the fourth ewe to lamb on Sunday morning. She had visibly dropped overnight and, after sending Claire and her ram outside, I brought her into a jug. By noon there was a very petite ewe lamb.

Doris's ewe was 5.7 lbs at birth, a full pound smaller than the smallest twin this year. She is moorit (may be fawn) with a small krunet marking like her grand-dam. She's very correct with a skinny tail and tightly crimped fleece from head to tail. I'm excited to see how this lamb turns out, especially since she's so mellow and already coming for scratches!


With today being the last sunny day for the foreseeable future, the other new lambs were all sent out to the paddock. There was the typical head banging and frantic lamb calls, but nothing unusual. After a short bit of confusion and introductions, the ladies and their lambs seem to be settled back into the flock.

The young ewes weren't quite sure what to make of the lambs. They seemed to avoid them for the most part, opting instead for an occasional sniff, keeping their distance from the competing new mamas.
Daphne (right) seemed to want to say hello. She looks like she'll lamb any day and seemed the most interested in lambs.

The lambs did a great job staying close to their mothers. They seemed quite comfortable with the big girls, even letting me approach them up close for photos.


 Ella and her twins. The ewe is very friendly and soft. Her brother is very careful to stay next to mom.
Myra's little ewe is so feminine. She's a wonderful little white ewe.
Her brother has a much wider face. His fleece is fantastic - if only they could swap fleeces!

Claire's ram has really filled out. He's very curious and a nicely put-together boy.










As for the ladies waiting to lamb...

Maggie is filling and dropping. Maybe by the end of the week?

Mary looks quite wide and her udder is slowly filling. Daphne looks like her udder is about to burst. Hopefully she'll lamb before that udder gets any larger! Maybe these two will also go before the weekend?
Lucy still has a ways. She's holding steady and rarely lets me get close enough to get a good shot.

Jeanne is most likely open.

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