Waiting 'til April?

The girls are getting big, but udders are still a few days away from lambs. A few of the girls have started bagging up in the last day, and things have progressed more than these photos suggest - they are all from last Friday. There are more grunts and exhausted expressions, slow stand ups and spacey stares. Everyone has an appetite and even the most timid is coming around to nibble grain from my hand. The lambing jugs are prepped, and now it's just time to wait...until April?

The First Four?
Madeleine (x Allante) is clearly going to triplet again. She is enormous, much larger than the rest, and she is our biggest ewe. Based on last year's photos, she's probably a week to 10 days from lambing. It's hard to imagine her waiting that much longer, but her udder is no where near what it should be for lambs this week. Maybe she'll surprise me, but I'm not placing any bets that she'll be first.






Ella (x Allante) is due Wednesday. My guess is she'll wait until closer to the weekend. Today she was looking a little out of sorts and lethargic, but as soon as the grain came out she was practically in my lap. I'm not sure she'll be first, but she may be waiting for April.



Of all the ewes, Cali (x Deane) looks like she's filled to capacity. Her sides just look so stretched and uncomfortable. Her bulges are quite lumpy and she has to have at least two in there. Her udder has come in over the weekend, but it could very well be a few more days. She's always at the hay manger and doesn't seem the least bit bothered by her sides. I rarely see her laying down.




This photo is a bit deceiving of Myra (x Deane). In person she looks very much like she'll twin, although this picture is making me second guess that prediction. She is much larger around the barrel and her udder has also swelled over the weekend. She seems irritated: ears back and glares with each grunt. She's often laying down and seems to be ready to get this stage over with.

The Later Ladies
Mary (x Deane) and Lucy (x Allante) will still be awhile. They are both clearly bred and could each wait another month before lambing. Lucy is still acting like a lamb: bouncing around the paddock and fleeing from the stall when I walk in. Mary is starting to come around and even ate grain from my hand this afternoon. I'm hoping she calms down this year and will be more manageable. She's probably the nicest ewe of the flock and I'm hoping to keep her in our breeding group for several more seasons.

Jeanne and Shelly are still mysteries. I go back and forth on these two every time I step into the paddock. Jeanne does not look bred at all in this photo, yet today I swear I saw very pronounced movement from her side. She is just too shy to get close enough to. She is slowly getting curious and did sniff my hand today, which is a huge step for this girl.

Hopefully the next post will include lambs...