Walter and an Igor update

The little dear was out taking photos and he snapped a few of Walter for me.

Igor is doing well.  He has a little buddy to run around with named Tae (as in Taekwondo).  I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was not cooperating, maybe later.

Igor

Igor has lived a blessed life so far.  He is currently living in the barn, but before that he was our "dog".  He has oddly sweet behaviors.  When he lived inside, he would curl up on the floor next to my desk.  He does not like to face you when he pees and will often find a corner.  He always makes noise when he has to pee and poo so we knew and he did not want to lay on a towel he had peed on.  He likes to be held and will nuzzle your neck.  He is still odd looking and definately not a breeder, but he is very sweet.  I gradually got him used to the barn and the other sheep, but before that he would travel with me, even to Pilates.  He has found a friend in Tae since they both get the bottle and he has learned how to hide himself from the big sheep.  Thankfully, he no longer thinks the turkey will give him food, but he is very curious about everything.  We banded his tail and his testicles yesterday.  He did not like the feeling at all, but he was not in pain.  In a few days he will need to be vaccinated.

Brand New Ones

I went out to the barn to give Tae his bottle (my oldest named him and his brother, Kwon, because she is in Taekwondo) and I found these two new ones. 

Kanga gave us a sturdy and huge boy (the brindle face white one) and a normal sized girl.  I am very pleased with this outcome because I wanted a suffolk X merino ram to breed my suffolks to.  We chose two suffolks to breed to Pee-Wee.  Kanga was chosen because I thought breeding to a merino would give her a smaller lamb since she had the problems with retracted tendons.  She had the largest lamb I have ever seen, though.  I felt bad for her and I hope the lambing was not too bad.  For her first time, she is doing fabulously.  She has a ton of milk.  We will have to check her regularly so she does not get mastitis.  So far, they will not let her get away, they are very agressive about getting food.

Igor (eye-gore, as in Young Frankenstein)

Igor was born a few days ago to Evie.  Evie was a first time mom and, although she loved her little guy, she did not know it was her responsability to feed him.  He also liked to play dead.  He did not lay like normal lambs, more like dead ones.  He was taken into our home and given the stomach tube with colostrum and electrolytes every four hours Sunday and he drank from a syringe on Monday.  He has an odd look to him, one side seems smooshed and his eyes are not even, but he is strong and curious.  He now drinks from a bottle, although, he did think the turkey might feed him milk.  The turkey just sat on his head and he was stuck.  He wiggled for a little bit, and then gave up, waiting to be rescued.  Igore likes to take naps at our feet and follow us around outside.  He is very docile.  Obviously he is not a breeder, but we still enjoy him.

Lambs

Last Tuesday the kids had to go to the "big" town to take some tests for school.  I got up early to take Dear to work, fed the sheep, and made breakfast for the kids.  Before we left I checked on the sheep and noticed there was a new lamb.  I saw she was standing and looking strong and everything was fine.  I did not have time to investigate further.  The kids' test is a requirement for the school and unless they are hospitalized they are to be there.  They could be kicked out of the school if they fail to show for these tests.  So, we left.  I got back home 6 hours ater to find a very weak ewe lamb, so weak she would not get up.  I felt terrible and responsible.  I tried to get some milk in her and finally got her to stand.  She was very weak and I did not have any colostrum at home or electrolytes.  We left so the kids could finish their last day of swim class and test.  While they were testing in swimming, I went to the vet to pick up a few things for the ewe lamb and any others that may come along.  We were home about 90 minutes later.  Dear and I put a tube down her throat and got some colostrum in her and we monitored her.  After about 30 minutes of near death, she stretched and stood up.  She was baaing forcefully so I brought her to her mother.  I gave it about 15 minutes and she did not try and nurse.  We took her back inside and made sure she got the required amount of fluids, but after 12 more hours she would no longer open her eyes.  I waited until Dear got home to take care of her and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. 
Meanwhile, another ewe, Na-Na, lambed and had twin ram lambs.  I had been watching the barn and checking ever 1-2 hours for signs of lambing, still feeling terribly guilty.  When I saw the one lamb I quick got her into a pen with the help of all of the kids who were on a vacation from school because of the testing.  She looked like she was taking good care of her little guy and she had another lamb.  The lamb still had its hindquarters in her and she looked tired and as though she was done pushing.  I tore the sack open and cleared the lambs throat, grabbed the lamb and carefull pulled him out when I could tell she was having a contraction.  The umbilical cord of a lamb gets severed when it exits the birth canal so it is important to get to them quickly and get their mouth cleaned off so they can breath.  After I got it out of her I laid it next to her other lamb and noticed he too was a boy.  It is also important to get the lamb where the ewe is focused so she accepts it right after she gives birth.  If you do not, she may not reckognize it as her own and can even try and kill it.  Our merinos have never been rough with a foreign lamb, but the Suffolks are brutes and can be quite mean.  I then iodined their navels because bacteria enters there easily, stripped the waxy plug that protects bacteria and infections from entering the ewe's teats, and attempted to show the new guys were to go.  The ewe needed some quiet, so we left her in the barn for a little while.  When we returned, we noticed that the first ram lamb (easily identified from the iodine that spilled on his leg) was not nursing.  We turned him around so he could find the food and he turned back around to her front legs.  He was quickly given colostrum through a stomach tube and we hoped he would figure it out.  Nope, he is stupid.  Even after a few days, he still goes to the front legs.  Obviously we have been feeding him, every 4 hours.   
The little girl was put to rest that evning.  It took me a while ot get over the feeling of guilt, but I decided to focus on the lives saved.  I know we will have more lambs and some will die, I have to learn to deal with that.
We also had another ram lamb two days ago, but that is another story.

Wait, wait, wait

Our ewes are overdue.  Well, not all of them, but a few of them have gone past the 154 day mark and bagged up over a week ago.  2 of our ewes have dropped significantly and they all grunt and roll back their top lip when they sit.  Last night we even had 2 restless ewes licking their lips.  So, with all of the signs, where are the lambs?  I am getting alittle impatient, especially when everyone asks, "Any lambs yet?"  Oh well, they will come when they are ready, hopefully I will be here because it is the first time for 5 of them.

I had a dream last night that they all lambed at the same time and the 2 neighbor dogs were guarding pigs in the woods next to us (there are no pigs there in awake life).  One of hte dogs jumped the fence and took a lamb back to his side and ate it, I could hear the bones crunching.  I freaked out.  Then, I saw the neighbors walking towards me and I told them about it and told him how much it would cost them and he seemed OK about it and hugged me.  Then he asked if my husband was ready to give him his hir cut?  (I have had some really weird dreams lately)  I said he was up until 2AM with me observing and caring for the sheep (that part is true) and he said he would get his hair cut later when Dear was rested.  Then, I went to check on the sheep and their lambs.  The sheep were the size of rabbits and their lambs were the size of newborn bunnies.  I had to keep picking up the bunny sheep and move them closer to their moms because the moms were stupid.  After all of that, I woke up.

Fiona

Fiona had her first night in the barn last night. Dear fixed her a pen and put Princess and Mary, our two gentlest merinos, in with her so she would not be lonely. She is a little confused and wants to hang out with her "real" flock but this is better for her. She needs to learn how to be a sheep. Mary and Princess are being pretty nice to her. Mary is the ewe who let any lamb nurse from her, a great ewe to have.

More bands

Osip, Button and Kodiak's little one, has also shown a fleecy sensativity to feed changes. You can see there is a grey-brown section at the tip. That was fleece from when he was eating hay in the barn after he was born, about 4 months. Then there is a creamy section that is when he was on pasture, about 6 months, then there is a new grey section from now, in the barn, eating hay again. Strange sheep I have!

Merry Christmas From the Barn

Merry Christmas says the poofy head (Silver laced polish)

Merry Christmas from the Auracanna (blue egg layer) and all of her little friends.

Merry Christmas from Kanga, the rescued lamb.

Merry Christmas from 27

Princess kind of says Merry Christmas. But Na-Na (right) wants to know where her food is.

Merry Christmas from 64, our very first mama ever on the farm and a great mother she is. 27 is her little girl.

Merry Christmas from Meadow, the most adorable girl. She love us even more than her sheepy friends and follows us everywhere.

Merry Christmas from Bam Bam, the fleecy winner of the Lamb and Wool festival. (We need to clip around his eyes so he can see better.

Baaaaaaaaaa, where is our food?

Not all of the critters are pictured.

Just some of the boys

This is Pee-Wee
My 7 year old boy neamed these two. The one on the left got a bottle for a little bit and is friendly so Friendly is his name. The one on the right (not the brother of the left) is Cutie-Pie. After hearing the names, my husband turned to the boy and said, "Are you a boy?" He giggled and said, "Yah!" Dear appreciates the gentleness of the boy, he was just teasing him.

Meet Pee Wee

Pee Wee is a Merino Ram. He is with his little lady, Mary. As you can see, Mary's bottom is colored pink. For those who do not know, when you breed sheep they wear a harness with a crayon (a special one) in it. When the ram mounts the ewe he leaves a mark from the crayon. Some breeders use a paint on the ram's chest that rubs off, but the crayons are less messy. You can see the harness on Pee Wee. It is a little large for him, but it's the smallest harness we could find. He is pretty gentle and timid. He was sheared about a month ago.