Last night Clover's udder was so large I thought for sure she was going to lamb. I moved her to her own stall, much to her dismay, and was prepared to greet little lambs this morning at chores. Clover was agitated and her whole body was fluttering; I was sure there would be lambs this morning. Alas, no lambs when I ran into the barn at 5 am!
All day I thought about Clover and the lambs that would greet me when I got home. Just after 4 I drove into the barnyard to meet the little fluffies, and still no lambs! Clover was up walking in circles, and as she turned I could see a lamb emerging. Within minutes the first one was out and Clover quickly turned to clean up the little brown lamb's face.
As the first lamb was being born I heard a rustling in the back stall, and there was Crystal with a large pile next to her. As I got closer I could see a very LARGE lamb motionless and spread out. Crystal was licking and calling to it, but it didn't look good. I ran into the stall to try and help, but the lamb was limp. I picked it up and swung it back and forth in an arc to clear its lungs and mucous came pouring out, but still no sign of movement. I laid the large ram lamb down in the hay and his eye slowly opened and then closed. I picked him up again, I thought I felt a pulse, and again more mucous came out. This time when I put the lamb down I couldn't feel any life. He was already getting cold and yet Crystal was trying her hardest to get the lamb to respond. No luck. She was calling and calling, licking and licking, but the solid black lamb would not move. If only she could have waited an hour until I had gotten home, or if only he hadn't been 8 lbs, maybe one of us could have helped him make it. Crystal would not leave the lamb. For what seemed like an hour or more she licked and licked; she wouldn't give up. Finally, she laid down and prepared for the next lamb. (I was starting to worry there was just one.) The next lamb came out easily, and as she was cleaning off the second the next bubble emerged. Hooves! There were hooves in that bubble. The bubble sunk back in, and Crystal continued to clean the second lamb. A few more minutes passed and I started to wonder if she was done. Then a quick push. One more. And out popped another lamb! A peanut lamb. I could see horn buds as it was getting cleaned off, but it was so little - at least half the size of the large lamb that didn't make it. A ewe and a ram. Twins from triplets.
Wait! I forgot! While all of the drama was happening in Crystal's stall Clover was still lambing. Actually, Clover and Crystal both laid down to push for the second time together. How could I possibly watch two ewes lamb simultaneously? Clover's second brown lamb came out just as easily as the first, and it was also cleaned and cleared without complications. A little larger than the first, this lamb clearly had horn buds; again we had a ram and a ewe. 
Two sisters snuggled in straw. Both have the tiniest white tip on their tails. The ewe on the right is much larger and is solid black except for her large star, a white freckle on the side of her muzzle, and the teeniest little white tipped tail. The ewe on the left has two hind white socks, youglet eye markings, and a half white tail.
I guess in addition to HST genetics, this year I get to investigate polled versus horned genetics. I have one semi-horned ewe and one semi-horned ram (Maggie's). What a strange year!
Clover's lambs are all dried off and like to curl up in the hay. They are identical, solid brown lambs. I'm not sure how I'm going to tell them apart or how I'm going to tell this ewe from Maggie's ewe (other than size). I guess those ear tags may have to go in sooner than I thought!
Four more ewes to lamb. Next post will be the next lambs. I knew we'd have lots of lambs by Easter! I'm just surprised that Wynona's holding them in as long as she has. Maybe she'll be next?
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