Friday, March 6, 2009

First lambs!





We got home this Friday just before our half-term break, to discover a little surprise in the barn!

Maggie, our new mom, and a three-year old, gave birth to twin lambs while we were at work. It was a warm day (40 degrees F), so no difficulties, at least that we saw. Both lambs have been observed feeding. Both are warm.

We think we have a ewe-lamb and a ram-lamb. I tried to find out, but Maggie turns out to be a good mom. She charged me pretty solidly, and repeatedly, as I tried to pick up the one we think is a girl.

The other is definitely male.

It was silly to continue with this, as the lambs might easily have been trampled by their own rather irate mom in the process of her quite sturdy defense of their welfare.

Defeated by a sheep! But, discretion the better part of valor.

This year is the P-year. All lamb names are alphabetical in order of year. Last year we had Oscar, Othello, and Oliver. The year before was Nellie, Nugget, and Neeps. My sister has already sent us a long list of P-names she and the girls at her work (a department of the Welsh Blood Service) came up with. So, two P-names from the list or elsewhere. Aimee generally picks the names.

Night checks tonight.

1 comment:

Welcome to our Farm Blog.
The purpose of this blog is for Aimee and I to communicate with friends and family, with those of our students, and other folks in general who are interested in homesteading and farming activities.

The earliest posts, at the very end of the blog, tell the story of the Great Farm, our purchase of a fragment of that farm, the renovation of the homestead and its populating with people and animals. Go all the way to the last post in the archive and read backwards from there to get it in chronological order.

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