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Our newest lambs

Last Wednesday our shearer came out and sheared the sheep… Well, everyone except Beatrice and Bertha because they were due to lamb any day.

Bertha ended up going into labor a couple hours after our shearer left, and gave us a beautiful, 11-3/4 lb ewe lamb.  I only helped when she looked like she was getting tired.  It was her 1st lamb so the shoulders were difficult to pass.

Bertha and ewe lamb

Beatrice lambed the next night and also gave us a ewe lamb.  She was a petite 11 lbs!

Beatrice and ewe lamb

Beatrice’s lamb scared Dave Friday morning when he checked on the girls.  She had slipped through the  slats in the lambing stall and was in with Bertha and her lamb!  Beatrice was very happy to get her baby back.  Bertha has proved to be a very attentive and protective mother…she tried to hide her lamb from us when they were in the barn by standing in front of her!

Now we have 4 ewe lambs and 2 ram lambs with 2 more girls due next month!

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Update on Rosy

Rosy is back to her usual curious, getting into trouble self!  She stayed in the barn with her twins during the week she was sick and we let her out every day to graze.  She never wandered away from the barn.  Tuesday we could tell she was feeling more like herself, though.  She and the 2 pregnant ewes found their way to the driveway and were headed for a walk after I went to work.  Needless to say, yesterday I let them graze in the main pasture!

Here are a few pictures of Rosy during treatment (warning – they are a little gross)…

This is Rosy last Thursday (the day after we started treatment).  Notice how discolored and swollen her udder is.  She didn’t lay down at until the swelling went down.

Some of Rosy’s medicine.  The yellow liquid is Aminoplex and the clear one is calcium gluconate.  All this was give subcutaneously (SQ) twice a day.  She also got 3cc Banamine once a day.  By Friday we started to give the Aminoplex orally.  She ate and drank on her own so we didn’t have to tube her like we did last year.

This photo is of Rosy’s udder yesterday (Wednesday) when she was being shorn.  The right side was most affected and is turning gangrene.  We’ll keep an eye on it to watch for fly strike since it’s raw.

Rosy went back in the field with the girls after shearing.  Her lambs stayed by her side during this whole ordeal.  I think it helped that she wasn’t stressed that her lambs were gone, too.  I think she has weaned them… every time I see them try to nurse she walks away.

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Poor Rosy

It’s been a while since I posted.  Things have been a little crazy lately…sometimes I think another crisis is right around the corner!

Last Wednesday I noticed Rosy, our ewe who had triplets, just wasn’t herself…she wasn’t walking around much and her ears were droopy.  When I took grain into the girls she didn’t come for food.  That confirmed my suspicions – she’s always the 1st to come for food.  She didn’t appear to have a fever but her udder was discolored in spots like it was bruised.  I called Dale (our vet) and he didn’t like was I described to him.  He’d be to our place in about 2 hours to check her out.

Getting Rosy from the front field to the barn wasn’t too easy…she did not want to walk and I didn’t want to push her too much because it was obvious she was in pain.  Dale examined her and, just like he thought, she had mastitis.  He gave her some fluids and medicine for the pain and shock, as well as a long-acting antibiotic.  This type of mastitis is called “blue bag” because the infection affects the blood supply to the udder, resulting in discoloration.  The affected tissue may become gangrene and eventually slough off.

Dale gave me instructions and left medication.  2 – 60 cc syringes of electrolyte/amino acid and 1 – 60 cc syringe of calcium gluconate (SQ) twice a day for 4 days.  Banamine once a day for 4 days and another shot of antibiotic to administer in 1 week.  He also left his stomach tube and pump in case I needed it.  Dale told me if Rosy was around for the 2nd antibiotic shot, she’d make it.  He also suggested that I leave her lambs with her, as long as they don’t beat her up trying to nurse.

Thursday morning I gave her all those injections and she didn’t even flinch.  Of course she has to be my favorite ewe, right?!  I had some hope because she was eating and drinking on her own, but I didn’t want to hope too much.  Every time the lambs tried to nurse Rosy would just walk away….well, more like hobble away.  I wasn’t too concerned about them – they were 3 weeks old and would be okay if they were weaned now.

Rosy’s udder was so swollen it was difficult for her to walk and she wouldn’t lie down at all.  From Wednesday afternoon until Saturday I didn’t see her lie down once.  Each day I let her out of the barn to graze with her babies and I’d see her lean against the barn occasionally to sleep.

By Saturday her udder wasn’t as swollen and she started lying down again.  We also started giving her the electrolytes orally instead of subcutaneously.  Some of the skin on her udder is rubbing off, like Dale said it would; and parts of her fleece are falling out – a condition called wool break caused by sever stress.

Yesterday Rosy trotted to me for food… I think she’s going to be okay.  No more babies for her, though.

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Hannah’s Birthday

Wow, have we been busy!  It’s already been 2 weeks since Hannah’s birthday and I’m just now posting this.  

We celebrated Hannah’s 2nd birthday with our family on March 27th.  It was a chilly but beautiful day for a party.  Hannah and Noah had 5 other children to play with, plus 2 babies.    Everyone enjoyed the company and the food.  I loved spending time with everyone even though I didn’t get to talk with everyone for very long.  As always, I had a blast making the food.  Here’s my menu for the day:

 Snacks & Appetizers 

Pretzels & Potato Chips, Tortilla Chips and Salsa, Spinach Dip, Veggies and Dip, Cheese tray with Brie and Montchevre Cheeses (herb, fig and cranberry cinnamon), Wilted Greens and Sheep Cheese Bruschetta 

Dinner 

Pomegranate Glazed Rotisserie Chicken, Spinach Quiche, Artichoke Quiche, Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Salad 

Dessert 

Chocolate/Vanilla Swirled Cake and Cupcakes, Fruit Tart, Ice Cream 

 Hannah had so much fun opening her presents and Noah was right there to help her when she got stuck!  She got so many pretty dresses and she loves wearing them all.  

Opening Presents

By the time we were ready for cake and cupcakes Hannah was so tired and glassy-eyed, but that wasn’t going to keep her from her Mickey Mouse cupcake. 

Sleepy Hannah eating her Cupcake

  

I didn’t get too many pictures that day, but hopefully some of our guests will email me some of theirs!  (hint, hint)  😉

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Dreary, Rainy Monday

What a sad day Monday was.  Dave stayed home because we both had doctor appointment…our colds were just not going away.  When I got back from dropping Noah at pre-school, Dave met me with bad news.  He’d found Abigail’s single lamb strangled in a rope hay feeder.  He was a week old.  We both felt so guilty.  It was my brilliant idea to make the feeder and re-use baling twine; and we had turned off the baby monitor in the barn since we weren’t expecting any more ewes to go into labor. 

Later, at the doctor’s, we learned we both have sinus infections and I have bronchitus.  At least we’re now on antibiotics and getting better.  🙂 

I worked that night.  Dave called me around 8pm because Noah got sick.  He continued to get sick every hour until 4:30am.  Poor kid!  Every time he got up again I had just fallen asleep.

What a dreary, depressing Monday.  I’m glad Tuesday brought a sunny day.

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You know it’s spring when…

…you hear spring peepers at night.

…dandelions start blooming.

…you see the 1st eastern phoebe of the season.

…you have to weave around the toads in the driveway when you come home on a rainy night.

…the maple trees have beautiful red flowers.

…the pastures look green.

…lambs are bouncing around the field.

…groundhogs are emerging from hibernation.

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Nothing Dramatic

Hannah woke up at 6 this morning… the 1st time since we changed the clocks that she hasn’t slept in.  I got up with her but I really wanted to go out to the barn.  I heard lambs baa-ing over the baby monitor and wanted to see what was happening out there.  I didn’t want to bring Hannah out in pj’s so I waited till Grandma woke up.  Abigail and her lamb were fine, Rosy and her twins were fine.I put Annie in her lambing stall yesterday because I thought she looked ready to go and, sure enough, she  had twin lambs cuddled up to her.  They were mostly dry so I gave all 3 moms some hay and went in the house for breakfast.  I weighed and checked them out afterwards.  The ewe lamb was 9.75 lbs and the ram lamb was 11 lbs.  We already have more ewe lambs than we did last year!

Annie and Twin Lambs

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The Lord Will Provide (a lambing story)

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives….that God will provide all we need.  He tells about the birds of the sky.  They don’t plant or harvest, or have barns or storehouses to put away food for winter, yet they have enough food to last until spring.  He also tells us about the lilies of the field.  They can’t work or spin fiber, but God has clothed them in beauty.

In conclusion of this parable, Jesus asks us this: if God care for the birds of the sky and the grass of the field, doesn’t He care for us even more?  “Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt 6:26)

I can’t tell you how much I worry.  Especially this time of year when we’re expecting lambs.  I constantly think about the “What if’s”.  But the Lord will provide.  This is such a certainty that one of the names of the Lord is “The LORD Will Provide”, Jehovah-jireh.  And every time He is faithful, I am in awe.

Yesterday our ewe, Rosy, lambed.  I took Hannah and Noah outside after lunch to tidy-up a bit for the field-trip this afternoon.  We were also waiting for our friends to come over.  I let the girls out of the barn to eat some of the nice green grass that’s now growing.  The new little lamb even came outside for the first time…that’s always a joy to see!

When Jen arrived with her daughters Rosy went into the barn and laid in the stall.  Very unusual – Rosy loves to eat.   Jen and I talked while the kids played together, but I kept an eye on Rosy.  After a little while she began labor and we got her into a lambing stall.  We watched her and soon it was apparent that she needed assistance.  The lambs head was emerging, but no feet were in sight.  I checked things out and found another head and feet but couldn’t find the feet from the 1st lamb.  And I couldn’t push the lamb back in far enough to find them.  In my mind I was flipping through all the birthing diagrams and instructions I’ve studied, but was still perplexed.  I called and left a voicemail for out vet to “Please call ASAP and talk me through this!”

When he called back I had found the legs and was attaching my lambing cord…or trying, at least.  The lamb kept pulling her feet out of my hands!  We delivered her fine and let Rosy clean her up while we waited for #2.  Soon all 4 children were gathered around Jen and were watching with amazement.

The 2nd lamb was delivered quickly but it was much smaller.  It was very still and its nose was cool.  I cleared the nose and rubbed its chest, then tried “swinging” it to clear its lungs.  Still nothing so I tried mouth-to-mouth.  Nothing.  I wrapped him in a towel and moved him aside so Rosy could keep cleaning her little girl.

While we were watching the little lamb try to stand Genna said, “I think she’s having another lamb!”  I told her it was probably just the afterbirth, but when Rosy laid down and started pushing again we all looked at each other!  She was having another lamb!  This one was a normal presentation (head and 2 feet).  Rosy was obviously tired so I helped the lamb out.  This ram lamb was huge!  I wiped his nose and brought him around so Rosy could clean him.

Rosy with twin lambs

The ewe lamb weighed 9.75 lbs, the ram lamb weighed 12.5 lbs and the stillborn lamb weighed 5.5 lbs.

I am so thankful that Jen was here to watch over the kids while I helped Rosy deliver her lambs.  And I’m thankful that Rosy went into labor when I was home.

The Lord will provide.

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Corned Beef and Cupcakes

We had a St. Patty’s Day dinner tonight since I have to work on Wednesday and Dave’s parents were here today.  I made corned beef for the 1st time…I never knew it was so easy to cook!  I didn’t make cabbage (it probably wouldn’t go over well with the picky eaters) but I made roasted potatoes, “Aunt Jack Carrots” (glazed carrots with butter and brown sugar that my sister makes) and asparagus to go with it.  Nice spring veggies!

Anyway while the corned beef was cooking Noah spied the cupcakes I had bought for dessert.  I told him they were our dessert and the green “jimmies” on them were for St. Patty’s Day.  OK – he went back to playing. 

Later, after Dave brought him and Hannah out to the barn to show Pop-Pop how big the ducklings were getting, Noah showed Daddy the cupcakes.  Dave acted surprised and asked him what they were for.  He proudly said, “For Aunt Patti’s Day!”  I hope my Aunt Patti smiles at that!  🙂