Lamb photos tonight for you all. The babies are literally popping out - about 5 a day but one day there were 20 born! This usually happens the third week after the first lambs begin arriving. We put the rams in with the ewe flocks August 1st and so technically, babies should have begun arriving January 1st (gestation is 5 months). But as with any birth, some babies arrived ahead of schedule.
The cold and snow and ice has made it very difficult for The Farmer and the helpers. I particularly do not like walking on ice and the "cramp-ons" I got for my boots do not fit my super warm boots. Have not had any time to find larger ones so I wait until sand and salt has been put down to walk on the ice.
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| This lamb is part Cheviot -I can tell by the ears. |
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| Lambs frequently snuggle together to keep warm. |
These two are twins from a black mama. Aren't their markings sweet? We aren't having many black lambs this year. Color is a genetic thing so it must be that the rams we are using now do not have the colored gene.
I'll post more tomorrow if time allows. And again -- thank you for the book orders.
If you have any questions about lambing, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them.
9 comments:
I personally love the black lambs especially when they are black and white like those two! adorable. Congrats on the book!
Do you have a post on how you started raising sheep?
The mail is FAST near you and me - my book arrived today! And I love it - I had to force myself to go to sleep instead of reading it.
If you ever need another competent lambing assistant, I have a 20-year-old friend who breeds great Shetlands and is very skilled with assisting at births. She'd love the work!
Oh my goodness, those black lambs are adorable!! I am months away from lambing here, we bred late this year and now you have me excited for new lambs.
Congratulations on the book. One day, I will make it to your farm to take a class.
Between shipping books and delivering lambs (and bottle feeding) you must be exhausted. The pictures you post of the babies are beyond cute, thank you. For boots you might check out Ice Bugs. They are expensive, but have studs built into the bottom and are very effective on ice (but don't wear them in the house - they mark!).
Hang in there!
All the lambs are just precious! Congrats on your new book!!!
Just received your book last night! Have new ideas swimming through my head with some of your projects. Thanks for such a beautiful book and the inspiration.
Allison
I got mine in the mail yesterday (Wednesday 1/22), but I'm only down the road in Easthampton. It's SO gorgeous and I'm avidly reading and absorbing information.
Kristin, I received my book today and I'm having a hard time putting it down! It makes me feel excited about doing some redecorating in my home. Thank you so much !
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