So far

Lambing is past the halfway point. There are 41 lambs. It's been the usual ups and downs and emotional roller coaster. Close to two thirds of the lambs are female. There's only two with color. Miss Piggy had triplets: one white ram lamb, one red ram lamb, and a brown ewe lamb. The two black ewes had three white (ewe) lambs among them. I guess I won't get to add another black ewe to the flock this year. There are still three red ewes to lamb, so perhaps there will be some more colored lambs.

Only two with color

Today was a warm day, close to 70. The lambs were sleeping lazily.  Little "Ivanka" has emerged as the favorite. She's a triplet out of a 2 year old ewe. I didn't think she was getting enough milk at the beginning, so I offered her a bottle. She's been taking one ever since, drinking 3-4 ounces most of the time.  She insists on jumping up onto the bale of hay I sit on to get her bottle . . .  and attention.

I also offer a bottle to two ewe lambs whose mother has mastitis. I aggressively treated the ewe with drugs. She must be producing milk because the twins don't generally drink that much. It might change as they get older. They are very nice lambs, 8 percent Lacaune. I suspect the cause of the ewe's mastitis is the fact that she only had one lamb last year and produced too much milk for him.

Ivanka

One of the triplet moms (153) was sick for a few days. She acted like she had some sort of obstruction. Her udder didn't look very full. Her lambs seemed hungry so I offered them a bottle. The ram lamb, who I named "Molasses" because I splattered homemade nutri-drench all over his head, takes some milk. I couldn't get his siblings to take any milk. The ewe seems better now, has a voracious appetite, and her bag appears fuller. I'm hoping she'll go back to producing enough milk for her three lambs and that whatever was wrong with her doesn't come back.

A lazy spring day

Boone is the sole protector now. I appreciate him more since McComb's passing. I miss McComb. He was euthanized four days ago. It seems so odd without him. I remember his first lambing season. I remember so much about him. RIP McComb. The sheep miss you. Boone misses you.

Boone, the sole protector