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| A little Cheviot cross-bred lamb |
Most of our mamas deliver their lambs without any help at all. We only intervene if the mama is in labor for an extra long time or if there seems to be a problem with how the lamb is coming out. Our experience has told us that it is best to let nature take over and not interfere with the bonding process of mama and baby. (I used to help clean off the lambs with a towel but have since decided that is a bad idea.) The only thing we do is clear the sack from the lamb's mouth and then let the mama clean the baby off. Then we move them into a bonding pen if it seems necessary. Usually sets of twins get moved and put into a pen - because it is harder for a mama to keep track of them although they do.
Big news. Remember Olympia?
She is the bottle lamb who modeled and had "Olympia's Knit and Crochet Flowers" named after her. You can see and buy the flower pattern here or on Ravelry here. Olympia is two now and she had her first set of twins. She did good although it was a cold day and we put the twin girls under some heat lamps. It's always fun when a bottle lamb has a baby and when they turn out to be great mamas.
Got an email from a photographer friend who spent 10 months at Hallmark Photography School in nearby Turners Falls. She photographed sheep at our farm last year. Check out all her gorgeous photos of lambs taken last spring and summer here. Thanks Sarah for posting them. All that green grass! Seems so far away.
She is the bottle lamb who modeled and had "Olympia's Knit and Crochet Flowers" named after her. You can see and buy the flower pattern here or on Ravelry here. Olympia is two now and she had her first set of twins. She did good although it was a cold day and we put the twin girls under some heat lamps. It's always fun when a bottle lamb has a baby and when they turn out to be great mamas.
Got an email from a photographer friend who spent 10 months at Hallmark Photography School in nearby Turners Falls. She photographed sheep at our farm last year. Check out all her gorgeous photos of lambs taken last spring and summer here. Thanks Sarah for posting them. All that green grass! Seems so far away.
10 comments:
Welcome back, Kristin. How was New York? Or are you too tired to think about it?
The lambs (and ewes) are gorgeous - you're doing a terrific job. I'm just curious: what do you do with your fleece? Perhaps you've said in another blog entry - I've been out of touch for a while. Most of the flocks I know well, I know because I get my handspinning fleeces from them. I've often wondered if they didn't have that extra income from the premium fleeces, how they would do with wool pool prices. I'm just curious, and you've been really helpful in other blog posts about educating us non-farmers.
Hope all lambing continues smoothly and that you and The Farmer actually get to sleep before the flood is done.
Your photos of the sheep, lambs, the birth process, the dogs, the donkey and llama have real life to them and evoke such emotion. Probably because of your true tie/bond to them. Thank you for sharing your ongoing experiences with us all. Blessings and success to you and the Farmer. Margaret
Oops, I posted the first comment as "anonymous" and didn't mean to. It's me, Kristin, Meg. We corresponded last week about yarn and patterns at the Farmer's Market in Amherst.
Technically challeneged, me.
Keep up the good work.
Meg
Oh Kristin, I just love the little video! The tiny little 'baaa's' are so precious!
And such wonderful news about Olympia! She had such good teachers!
Thank you so much for sharing your life with us during this incredibly busy time. I hope you and the Farmer are able to get a little rest here and there.
Didn't mean for the last to be "anonymous'!
Very cool. I had 6 does kid today with 13 kids. My students got to watch a lot of the births. Such a good experience. I even grafted a kid to a doe whose kid was stillborn. First time I have done that.
Love your stories and pictures.
Beth
I love your lambing stories and pictures. The little faces are so precious...
Kristin, I keep trying the link to the "gorgeous photos of lambs" only to get a 1/2 second look and then a blank page appears. is there some problems with the links?
Thank you so much for the Olympia update! Congratulations Olympia!
Oh my, I wandered over from Adaliza's page and have to say, this was wonderful, love the sound of the sheep and lambs. Thank you for sharing that!
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