Monday, March 26, 2012

New Job and Lambing Update

I have a new job.  Beyond lambing, sheep care, dog training etc.

Presently I am working at the farm next door to our sheep.  The owner has graciously allowed us to graze the pasture and hired me to work  on the property clearing, landscaping, general up keep and what ever else needs to be done.

Between lambing and my new job I am absolutely exhausted.  I have lost just over 25 lbs this month. 

This is an example of what I am doing with the help from a chainsaw and a 'gator' or 'mule' and my trusty co-worker Brynn. 


Here is a shot of a small section of the fence-line cleared today. Trees and storm damage has fallen over fence.


Six full loads chain sawed and taken to the wood pile for chipping, later...

After



Another view of the same fence-line, other direction - Before


After


Just a mere chip off the massive iceberg of work that remains to be completed.

Onto lambs...



The lambs have been growing.  We have leveled off with 29 lambs until the next batch starts.

 

16 ewes delivered
6 more remaining with due dates beginning next week (from second ram)

33 lambs total
1 still born (disrupted attachment - dog attack)
1 death at birth (premature ram lamb)
1 death from birth complication (ewe lamb died in birth canal during pull - TOO BIG)
1 death from being smashed in jug by ewe (ram lamb).

29 surviving lambs
10 ram lambs (12 total less two ram lamb deaths)
19 ewe lambs (20 total, less one ewe lamb death)

All banded, tagged, vaccinated and growing like weeds.  We do not seem to have any bad mothers.  The cluns & romneys have really impressed me - they are fantastic moms.  Maimie has been taking excellent care of her triplets, very good mom.  Border Leicester ewes are a little more casual in their mothering skills, but still doing a good job.  All in all I am very happy with where they are.

Daisy will deliver in the next set of ewes. I am taking bets on how many lambs she is carrying.  She still has two weeks to go...already she is wider than she is tall.




I am sad that Piglet will have to be culled because she is a lovely mom to her little black ewe lamb.



I actually picked up my camera this weekend and shot a bunch of pictures.  Only processed the ones I needed for Beth's 52 Week submission. Here are a couple from that set.  

Beth shows patience for the first time in her life with the lambs. 


The ewes seem to trust her to not hurt their lambs, yet still move off of her when required. 



Fred is growing well and has become people averse.  He wants NOTHING to do with humans now.  Good lamb, fully bonded with his new mom and adopted siblings. 




Fred with his family.  You can see why we call this ewe 'baldy' she rubbed her fleece off on the fence.  She is now named "Sadie".  She earned her name by adopting Fred and nursing 2 other lambs when they need it.  She is feeding 5 lambs, thus she gets double rations of alfalfa and her very own bucket of grain.  All of the lambs are gaining weight, healthy and stick to her like glue. 



A couple cute ewe lambs munching on leaves.  



Adorable little lamb raspberry, too cute for words.

 





11 comments:

Christine said...

SOooo much squee. Some of the most adorable lamb pics--I helped get a newborn and mom into a jug just this morning. It's hard to believe that lambs are even cuter in person.

Why do you have to cull that ewe?

BCxFour said...

She has to be culled because she has an anatomical problem with the birth canal. A bizzare stricture that made delivery of her first lamb nearly impossible - it had to be pulled, died during the pull. The second lamb barely made it. We cannot take the chance of breeding her again and having the same thing happen. The ewe almost died herself - I might keep her for working dog as she is a nice ewe for that - but she will be culled from the breeding flock.

K-Koira said...

Adorable little lamb pictures. And congrats on both the job and the weight loss!

zeeFM said...

piglet's little black lamb is so cute ! and daisy is enormous !

BorderWars said...

Congratulations on all the wonderful happenings.

Ferreh Hiatt said...

I am so tickled for you that you are finding so much joy in living your passion. I could cry tears of joy for you, as I remember reading posts where you showed such dispair and struggle in so many areas of your life. But you live as an example of doing your best, keeping your head up, and good things WILL come your way! I've recently hit a small rough patch and I'm scratching my way through it... but your posts here and on FB really keep me smiling and they serve as a reminder that good things do happen to good people if we just believe. And your weight loss truly does show that once you're aligned with what you're meant to be doing, everything else falls into place as it should. Thank you for inspiring me today!

Paws on the Run said...

Congrats on the new job. I've always loved physical jobs - you are forced to exercise and never need to feel guilty about not exercising after work. And I'm so glad you felt the urge to pick up your camera again. I really enjoyed all the lamb pics. Soooo cute!

Patty in NM said...

So very glad to hear that culled means culled from the breeding flock and not killed! Lambs are just too cute.

Patty in NM said...

So very glad to hear that culled means culled from the breeding flock and not killed! Lambs are just too cute.

pam said...

Wonderful news all around. So glad you found the time to shot us some pics. :)

Monique said...

We will need to sit down and really look at the flock dynamics to make decisions.