12 January 2016

Lamb Spam

Things were a bit hectic here yesterday. The ewes had decided the push was on, and numbers of lambs born were approaching twenty by noon. Completely taken by surprise (lambing of this intensity usually happens in February), we had a tough time keeping up.

When ewes lamb en masse, it leads to much confusion. Mothers don't know which lambs are theirs, and so they'll mother any fresh lamb they can find. Ewes with more than one lamb often lose one. Such was the case with this little lamb. We'd put her in a pen with the ewe we'd thought was her mother, but she started hitting her around the pen, so I had to take her out.

While I worked out what to do with her, I let Ben take care of her. He's a very good foster carer.


He washes behind the ears...


And even deals with that area.



Ben made sure his charge didn't wander too far away.


Ben often wonders why I laugh at him when he's looking after a lamb.


I spotted one ewe with a lamb that looked remarkably similar, and put Ben's lamb in there. Thankfully, it was the lamb's real mother and sibling. Sorry, Ben.


Pip prefers to watch proceedings in the lambing shed from a safe height, such as the quad.



Have some lamb spam:






There's one black ewe left, and this is her lamb:


Jess is also very good in the lambing shed.


All of the dogs use the wheelbarrows as a safe refuge from the protective mothers with all those stamping feet.



Jess sat on the quad while I checked for any more babies.


And lo and behold: twins!


Mum was wary of me getting too close.


At this stage, only a few moments old, the lambs with follow anything. This one wondered if I was her mother.


But then her real mum came and rescued her.


The ewes will often give their lambs little nudges on the bottom to guide them in for a drink.


This one has just had a drink but she would like some more.


She hasn't got the hang of this quite yet...


They need a lot of milk; there's much growing to be done.

8 comments:

  1. What an amazing set of photos. I couldn't have kept my composure through all that excitement.

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  2. Glad you found the right mum for the misplaced lamb!

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  3. How sweet! And thank goodness lamb and mom were reunited!

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  4. Oh wow! All the lambs are so cute! That does sound really overwhelming, though! I'm glad you found the mother!

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  5. That is incredible! I love the little black spotted lamb.

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  6. Oh my goodness. A post full of so much adorableness. I love how nurturing and patient Ben is.

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  7. That sounds incredibly hectic but there's so much cuteness involved! I love that Ben watches out for wayward lambs. I hope that all the lambs are snuggled up with their moms now!

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  8. A very exciting thing to see! Thank you!

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