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!
Oh they're gorgeous!! I love spots! I have a couple of ewes that are ROUND and look ready to pop...The one ewe I saw get bred...doesn't look pregnant at ALL. She did this to me last year too though, and was the first to deliver twins...tiny little things...3&4 lbs. Have fun with the new babies! :)
Home to a beautiful flock of registered Icelandic Sheep in Northern Illinois. 2011 was is our ninth season of lambing. We’ve worked hard to build a flock that encompasses all the aspects we love about the Icelandic breed--hardiness, exceptional meat conformation, superb maternal instincts, prolificacy and outstanding fleeces. Please look around and feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. We offer quality breeding stock, both mill spun and hand spun yarns, roving, and raw fleeces. Welcome to Red Brick Road Farm!Questions?rbrfarm@centurylink.net
Wondering about the names of our sheep? "Most" of our sheep are named according to the year they were born, especially those born here on our farm. Our first lambs had "A" names, so this being our 6th year, our lambs all have "F" names. It makes it easy for us when looking at our flock to know the age of the sheep. The sheep that we bring in to our flock sometimes have their own names, or I'll rename them according to our flock year. On this blog, I'm trying to post the oldest ewes first, then I'll move on to rams, then 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! 
1 comment:
Oh they're gorgeous!! I love spots! I have a couple of ewes that are ROUND and look ready to pop...The one ewe I saw get bred...doesn't look pregnant at ALL. She did this to me last year too though, and was the first to deliver twins...tiny little things...3&4 lbs. Have fun with the new babies! :)
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