Tess is the middle black mama with the horns (white stripe on her face). Rachel, her mother, is to her left (our right) (grey with white stripe). Our dearest friends owned the ewes before we did and this picture was taken at their famr on our wedding day (durng the reception). We inherited Rachel, Tess and Uma (who passed away last year after a difficult birth).
Our first year of breeding Tess delivered healthy twin ewe lambs. Above is Tess's daughter, Velveeta (09), who is now due any day with her own lambs. Uma delivered a singleton ram lamb (shown below on the left) and Rachel delivered a singleton ewe lamb, Velma (below on the right).
Velma just gave birth on Monday to two ram lambs. One is thriving, but the other died on day 4.
After our first successful year of breeding the ewes, 2010 brought along some significant difficulties. Uma needed much assistance delivering two very large lambs (and she was early). We had the vet, her former owner and a plastic surgeon (I know, I know, but he was the husband of the vet) all present, but she eventually succumbed. We tried to bottle feed the lambs, but both ended up dying in the first three days.
Luckily, Tess pulled through a week later with Wanda and Wilma, without any difficulty. While we had thought that Rachel was bred as well, she ended up not having lambs. At the time we weren't sure how old she was, but it turns out she was 9 at the time, probably well past her fertile years.
After last year's issues, my darling husband and I ordered all sorts of lambing supplies through Premier so that we were sure to be ready in the event of any emergency. The earliest possible due date was Saturday March 26th and my parents were actually watching Bud and the farm while my darling husband and I were both on business trips. They were a bit concerned about how to handle a pending birth, but we assured them Mother Nature usually took care of it. All they had to do was set up the jug, towel off the babies, bring mom a warm bucket of water with molasses, snip the umbilical cords,...and..and..and..
Luckily, the lambs weren't born until 12 hours after my parents had left. I had decided to take the day off from school as Velma looked like she might be sick and I had a vet call planned. It turns out Velma was just in labor! The lambs looked pretty good from the start, but by Wednesday morning, we found the little one was suffering from hypothermia (he probably wasn't getting enough to eat). We brought him inside and tubed him (thank goodness for YouTube videos) so that he would get the required nutrition. Tubing is a daunting experience for someone who has never put a stomach tube in before, but it was actually quite simple and painless for the lamb. We kept the lamb in the bathroom for the day with a heat lamp on him and by midafternoon he was jumping around. Thinking all was okay, we reintroduced him to mom. He seemed fine, but was having trouble nursing. I bottle fed him every four hours, but he suddenly died sometime between 6 and 9am on Wednesday. The other lamb seems to be thriving.
Now, we are waiting for Tess and Velveeta. Hopefully, all will go smoothly. Through conversations with many shepards both in person and on Homesteading Today, it seems that Mother Nature will go ahead and do what she may, and perhaps that is for the better. Often times, a lamb is not meant to survive, and interfering may only prolong the pain and suffering. Taking Velma as an example, it may be that as a first time mom she was not producing enough milk. She also may have had some
"issues" coping with twins her first time around. Now, she is able to devote all of his time to her one lamb, and is doing a fine job of it.
When Death finds its way to a farm, it is often difficult to not blame oneself or to think "What could I have done differently to prevent this?" It often makes me feel as if I'm doing an inadequate job. But we have to remember that Birth, Life and Death, are much more powerful than a single farmer is. All are part of the Great Circle of Life, and all need to be respected, even admired.
