Claire lambs!

I don't do regular barn checks at night during lambing season. I am an insomniac, though, so when I wake up, I often go out for a quick peak into the barn to make sure all is quiet. I woke at 4 am and decided to check the barn. We have so many ewes that could go any day. Claire was overdue by 3-4 days. She is one of the few ewes that I saw bred. Most I never see. It has been colder than normal, and that makes me worry, too.So, Claire was laboring away, so I went back into the house to change and make a cup of tea. Still no progress in 30 minutes, so I checked her out, and she had a very large head and one leg stuck. I helped ease out the ram, a 9 lb. spotted moorit with huge horn buds, quite a stocky boy! Claire got him cleaned up, but then decided that she was famished and dove into the manger. Since it was so chilly, I brought the ram lamb into the house to warm him up and gave him a few sips of colostrum from the freezer in a bottle, just in case. Meanwhile, Claire got back to business and delivered an 8 lb. black grey spotted ewe lamb. Once they had bonded, I brought the ram out and he set about getting a good drink from momma. Sire is our new Tongue River ram Thunder SRX 917T. He will be 4 this spring and still has the sweetest, calmest disposition. Though neither Claire nor Thunder are spotted, they both carry the spotted gene, so voila! Spotted lambs!