Daughter Maddie, with our first lamb of the 2010 season! He's here! Our first lamb of the season! Faith had a huge single, a black spotted ram. He had a rough start to life. At our first barn check this morning, I saw Faith with one rear leg sticking out. I knew he would drown if we didn't get him out quickly. I found the other leg and pulled, but he was stuck tight. My husband, Randy, took over and we had him out, looking limp and lifeless. I swung him, breathed air into his lungs, and rubbed him down good. Finally he gave a little kick and came to life. It was chilly out, so I brought him into the house and worked on him longer. Randy stayed in the barn to milk out colostrum. Little by little, the ram perked up. He had a good sucking reflex, and drank a couple ounces of the colostrum.
My son had friends over, so it was fun for them to see a newborn lamb.
Meanwhile, in the barn, Faith was standing in a corner wondering happened. I never did hear her do the nickering mother sounds. We put her in the jug and tried to introduce her to her baby, but she pushed him away. I'm sure he had lost her scent, so I tried another trick. I rubbed afterbirth on him, and draped some over him. She started sniffing him, then licking and nickering! The mothering instinct is there! Now, we just need to get him nursing. I don't want to start the season with a bottle lamb.
This is our eighth season of lambing, so all lambs will have H names. My son and his friends picked the name Hrothgar, King of the Danes, and father figure to Beowulf. The first lamb of the season is the king. His sire is Finn.
2 comments:
Congratulaions!!! He is huge!! Hopefully all the rest will come with out any problem. Love the name!
Love the color :) Goodness gracious - look at those horn buds, poor mama. Hopefully she accepts him and all is well.
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