Semi-coherent Lamb update

Okay, so you need to catch up! Which, admittedly, would be infinitely easier if I would post in a more timely fashion. My bad.

So far 4 ewes have lambed, with a total of 6 lambs, 3 rams, 3 ewes, 6 more ewes left to give birth...I think, I can't do math right now because I am very, very tired.

Let's see, where did we leave off? Oh, yes, three have been born since last we conversed.

Bella, a first time mom, had a single ram lamb Saturday morning. Thank-you Bella for having him before I left for market in the morning, thus avoiding a panicked phone call from my husband saying, "I don't know nuthin' about birthin' no babies!"

He is a really nice little ram. So far, his fleece is crimpier at the shoulder and falls off toward the back, BUT, the fleece on his 'purse' ( if you don't know what that is, use your imagination...he carries his stuff in it) is very crimpy, so I am expecting that he will have lovely fleece by weaning time. Truly, I am not making that up, it is a good indicator of what adult fleece will look like.

Gah! I hate taking pictures in the barn, photos are so much better in natural lighting.

Bella's Rammy Lambie.

This morning, at 2:30 am, Luna had a matched pair of  ewe lambs. They are not as flashy as her ewe lamb Athena, that was produced from this same breeding last year, but they are both really nice girls.

The older 3 lambs went outside for the first time today. The weather had been too wicked up until now for them to go out, but the skies cleared this afternoon and although it was still very windy, the temperature was warmer, and the sun was shining. The lambs had a great time mingling with the rest of the flock.....well, that is, after the ewes stopped trying to kill each other. Very unladylike behavior for new mothers!

Here are Menemsha's lambs.

Ram on the left, ewe on the right. Both are looking really good right now. The ram definitely has a nicer birth-coat at this point, but time will tell...his purse is crimpy too-thanks for asking!

 I am really liking the looks of this little guy. He will be mioget color like his dam.

Laurel's boy really enjoyed exploring the outside world too. I added this picture for my friend Cassie who finds it hilarious that some part of Ande the llama shows up in every photo...unless I crop him out.

Run, Forrest, Run! No, his name isn't Forrest, it just seemed appropriate. C'mon, we go through this every year, you know that I take forever to think of names!

Run, Little Ram, run! Yeah, I need to think of names soon.

....and done.

Ande is super-excited about all the new lambs.

Now you are somewhat caught up...I'll see what happens tonight.

Saying good-bye to lambs

This is one of my least favorite parts of being a shepherd....when the lambs are weaned and have to leave for their new homes. Generally I am pretty OK with them leaving as long as I know that they are going to good homes and will be well cared for, but it is never an easy thing to do. This year I am having an especially difficult time with it...maybe because it has been an emotional year, maybe in part because of my daughter getting married and moving away, maybe because I just got more attached this year....Whatever the reason, it has been hard to let them go.

This morning 4 of my girls left to start a new flock of their own. I know that they are in the best hands and will have a wonderful home, but it is still sad to see them go.

Ariel, my ag/grey ewe lamb.

Phoebe-adorable flecket ewe lamb with super soft fleece.

Callisto- musket ewe lamb.
And yearling ewe, Fallon- I think I will miss her the most. She is an awesome ewe with super dense soft fleece and a dynamite personality. She is a carbon copy of her mother though and her mother is one ewe that will always stay. Apparently she is itchy in this photo.

Some of the boys, on the other hand.......I am not sure how much I will miss them! Hormones are starting to kick in and they are starting to act more like small rams than cute little lambs.
Ferdinand has been moved to the ram pasture and is not too sure that he likes being one of the "big boys" as much as he had anticipated!Titan, like most growing boys, eats...a lot....that's pretty much all he does.

Sagan spends his days (much to everyone's dismay) sniffing behinds and testing the scents.

When the ewes refused his amorous advances, he thought he would try his luck with Mama Llama.
"Hey baby, come here often?"

"Why do you have to make that face, Mama, what's with the ears?"
"Why is your mouth open, are you going to blow me a kiss........uh oh, wait, I know what that means! I am outta here!"
I guess I will even miss the antics of the ram lambs when they leave this weekend.

"Don't worry mom, we'll be OK."

Growing lambs

As promised, here is a lamb update. I am doing this mostly for Nancy, in Atlanta, who likes to watch the lambs grow from her apartment. This will be quick since I am blogging in between baking batches of cookies for Farmers' market tomorrow....let's hope I don't burn anything...I don't multi-task well anymore.
This is Magnus, Willow's ram lamb, this picture is of him as a newborn on April 20th.

And here he is just a month and a half later.

If you look very closely, you can see the hairs still attached to the tips of his horns from when they first sprouted....looks like some kind of crazy Shriner's hat with tassels. Magnus is becoming a nice solid, square ram with an awesome tiny tail. This is Callisto, one of Lovey's twin ewe lambs.
Calli growing up.
Calli is going to be musket (oatmeal color with dark legs and face). You can see how her fleece is lightening underneath.
Halley, Calli's twin sister.
Halley is a pretty gulmoget girl. I am not happy with her tail, but that will be something easily bred out in her offspring. She is staying. Below is Cassie. Cassie is, thus far, my favorite ewe lamb. She is very square, with beautiful fleece, awesome markings and a perfect tail. Cassie isn't going anywhere either!
This is Cassie's twin, Sagan.
Sagan is turning into a really nice ram lamb. Another nice, square boy with great fleece. So far his horns are looking good. His tail is decent, but it has a few long hairs at the tip that make it look longer than it is...........yes, I am a little picky, especially with rams, thank-you for noticing!Below is Titan as a newborn.

Titan wouldn't stop eating long enough to get a good picture of him, 'cause clearly he is starving!
Titan is the little tank of the flock. A bit smaller in stature than some of the other boys, but square, and solid to the extreme. Teeny tiny tail :).
Titan and Sagan...Titan is going to be grey, in case you couldn't tell.
Little baby Phoebe. Phoebs is a pretty girl and very sweet. Her fleece isn't particularly crimpy, but it is wonderfully soft and single coated. I am very glad that I found her a great home where she will be living with three other Crosswinds girls, but I will be sad to see her go.
Luna is Phoebe's twin.
Luna will be staying here :).
Below is Ariel with her dam.

Ariel was the last lamb born this season (May 6th), so she is only about a month old. Obviously she is ag/grey. She is another little tank.

Last, but most certainly not least, is Ferdinand. If you'll remember, I wasn't too sure about this guy when he was born. His ears were enormous and he was all legs, but as he has grown he is actually becoming quite a handsome boy...and has almost grown into his ears.

This guy has the most unbelievable crimpy, single coated fleece. I am still not too sure what his horns are going to do..they were small scurs when he was born that eventually fell off. Although they are now growing in and have the appearance of true horns, they are wiggly, so they are scurs as his dam carries polled genetics. Otherwise he is really well put together, he even has nice fleece on the poll. This guy has the most awesome temperament too. Not sure yet what I want to do with him...

OK, here we go with the tail again.... Ferdinand has great fluke shape to his tail, wool covering at the base and tapers to a hair covered tip......but I would like to see those hairs at the tip a little shorter! Yup, I said it before, I am picky!

The End......and I didn't even burn any cookies!