Lambing Update

We started lambing season with Eider's triplets--all are doing well, though the two little "rejectlings" are much smaller than their brother now. They are still confined in the barn, with Eider in a stanchion to allow the little ones to at least try to nurse. She is getting antibiotic injections for an infection due to the assisted birth. Patient old girl...I let her out of the stanchion regularly when I clean her bedding, and she pops her head right back in when I put her bowl of "cookies" (what we call any livestock treats, like grain or alfalfa pellets) in front of it.

We are feeding the little ones a commercial lamb milk replacer mix in bottles right now, a time-consuming but fun chore. As soon as the replacement teats for the bucket feeder arrive, we'll get them onto the bucket, and life will be much simpler.

Then twins, and more twins--Cleo and Mary Kay. Theyare all doing well, though Mary Kay still does not like the lamb that the suffolk cross ewe tried to steal. Cleo and her twins are now out of the jug and hanging around with the ewe lambs.

Mabel and her triplets moved into Cleo's jug Sunday morning. They are colorful--two piebald ram lambs, and a coal-black ewe lamb with a dusting of white on her forehead. Mabel is black. The piebald coloring, part of their California Variegated Mutant heritage, will fade over the next few weeks, thanks to their Suffolk heritage. Hopefully someday we'll get a piebald ewe that doesn't fade!

All the lambs are starting to really jump around and play. They are so fun to watch.

The weather is warming up, and we're getting settled into our new lamb-centered routine. It's spring!