SouthernWind Farm

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Tag: lamb

Lambs have arrived!

All I can say is FINALLY! I think all people anticipate the arrival of babies, human or animal. No different can be said of us here at SouthernWind Farm. I have been waiting for these little ones since about late January when I (foolishly) set up one lambing jug. Now if you have never seen a lambing jug, it is a basic pen which needs to be no bigger than about 30 square feet (depending on the size of your ewe), have a place for water, food, and mineral, and possibly, depending on the time of year, an area where a heat lamp can be placed for added warmth. Also it should be clean and well bedded to give the mothers and the lambs some cushion while resting.

Like I said I did this all at the end of January; so February through April 17, 2017 felt like FOR-EVER! (That’s a little Sandlot movie humor for ya). Now Icelandic sheep tend to lamb about 5 days sooner than other sheep breeds (140 ish days). If you have read my other blog about sheep I allowed everyone to stay together all year, so I had no idea when our ram (Stoic) decided to “get the job done” so to speak.

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Most smart shepherds keep them separated till sometime in the fall and then put a harness on the ram so they can identify when he bred the ewes, which coincidentally gives them a pretty accurate idea of when lambing will occur. Thus, they are able to make arrangements for the lambing jug, when they will need to have lambing supply kit ready, and so they can sleep at night. (haha what’s sleep?)

Now I’m not really familiar with other breeds but I would assume the ewes will be bred according to when she ovulates. My girls apparently decided to ovulate on or really close to each other because both ewes (Helga and Fiona) gave birth on the exact same day! Way to go Stoic!

I went down early on April 18 to check on everyone, for the last 3 weeks I’ve been checking on them right before bed and early morning to make sure nothing bad has happened. I mean a lot can happen in my short (5-6 hours of sleep) night. Anyway, I went down and Fiona was nowhere in the yard and Helga was stomping her foot and turning circles. So like any self sufficient farmer, I ran to the house and woke up my sleeping husband to come with me. (I know knee jerk reaction)

This is not normal behavior for Helga. I figured maybe Fiona had gotten hurt so I climbed the fence (no small feat for me) and walked into the barn slowly because Helga was determined we were robbers coming to kill them all.

And this is what I found….

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Haha..I love the suspense..I feel like I’m on a game show.

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(Sorry for the bad photo) A perfect solid moorit (brown) ewe lamb! Oh I was so excited not only because she was a ewe lamb, which means she stays right here on the farm, but also because I love her coloring. Ok, whew! I figured Helga not Fiona would lamb first but I left the barn thinking, “Well that’s done my first lambing and I didn’t have to raise a finger other than to snap a photo! I can go on with my day.”

So we got some fresh feed and water for Fiona and were just about to climb in the car, when I turned to look at Helga and she had clear mucus coming out of her backside! Wait, what! Helga decided to have her baby today as well, but I didn’t get more than one jug ready. Since, of course me being the perfect planner, I would only need one at a time.

Jump ahead from 7:00 am to 12:15 pm (lots of pacing), Helga gave birth to a black and white lamb who looked just like her.

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Ok, I got this! We helped dry off the baby, checked her over for issues, and we were about to start the leaving the barn. When…wait…hold the phone – her contractions aren’t stopping. Helga was like a house by the end of her pregnancy, but it was because she was having TWINS. About 30 min after the first, lamb number 2 entered the world.

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We gave Helga time to clean everyone, bond, and nurse before we came back out to the barn that evening. Tuesday night we weighed everyone, administered some vitamins to both lambs and ewes, and made sure everyone had a meal. It was a crazy fast paced day, but so exciting and worth it. All lambs were female this year and so everyone gets to stay together on our little farm!SAM_0737

SouthernWind Farm is pleased to announce the arrival of (respectively) Daffodil 8.5 lbs and Tulip 10 lbs.

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And Plum 6.5 lbs. I think next year we should do baby announcements and maternity photo shoots! Just kidding…

p.s. Check out our YouTube Channel as we have live footage of Helga lambing!

Countdown!

March, in like a lamb out like a lion?! Oh wait, I think that is supposed to be the other way around. But I’ll take whatever I can get. Now that it is March we are patiently (not really) waiting for lambing to begin. As you may already know we have Icelandic sheep on our farm. They are seasonal breeders beginning in October (when the day length shortens and it gets colder) till about April.  They lamb at about 145 (ish) days and they lamb small 5lb (ish) babies. As this is our first year lambing, we are hoping for babies pretty much anytime from now until May. When we purchased our sheep (2 ewes and 1 ram) they were all together and we left them that way due to lack of pens.

Now if you are like me and love to schedule everything, make lists, check things off, write things on the calendar…etc.; then you know what a foolish idea it was for me to leave everyone together. Stoic (our ram) could have bred the girls in October or November or December…I think you get the point. I have no idea when they will pop! And it is driving me mad. I  pre-purchased just about every lambing necessity, reread my sheep information book (2x), looked at pictures, spoke to my vet and the lady I purchased them from. I visit the girls often and tell them how lovely and glowing they are. Along with, “No, Helga, that wool doesn’t make your bump look bigger.” I don’t think she cares, but I remember what it was like to be pregnant and feeling like a whale.

 

So I patiently wait. We have slowly increased their alfalfa to accommodate for the growing baby or babies. Sheep often have twins and sometimes more, but as for Icelandics the normal birth is a single or a twin. Now don’t get me wrong, how wonderful would twins be; but I am more than happy with a nice single baby. If the lambs are female (ewes) they will more than likely stay right here on the farm with mom and be here forever. If they turn out to be male (ram) they will either be sold to someone who would like a nice breeding ram or wether (castrated male) or they will go to help feed our family.

Icelandics have wonderful delicate meat. And it may seem barbaric but I know this is a way I can provide food for my family and know exactly where it came from and what all went into it. I told my daughter, “They have a wonderful carefree life here and then only one bad day”. That answer made her satisfied and I know its a true statement. Everyday my children see proof of how well the animals are taken care of and it will be like that always.

For now, I will keep visiting and complimenting the girls on their good looks and wait till I see cute fuzzy lambs running around.

 

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