I am a little tired...a little....somehow 2 1/2 hours of sleep is just not cutting it...I don't understand.
OK, so my flock has grown since we last chatted. Friday night, Mira, my black gulmoget ewe (for my non-sheepy friends-that means she has markings like a doberman pincher), started acting like she was thinking about going into labor. Usually if the girls are getting close to being in labor before I go to bed I put them in a lambing jug, that way I don't have to try to herd them into it during the middle of the night-while fighting off worried llamas that think that I am chasing pregnant sheep for no good reason. Mira is a first-time mom so I wanted to make sure that she was in the jug overnight-just in case she started active labor while I wasn't out there. I got the rest of the girls out of the barn and ushered Mira toward the pen. She thought about whether or not she liked this arrangement and she opted for-not so much. I had her nearly in the pen when she decided to go for broke, rushing past me and jumping, yes jumping a 3 1/2 foot fence, clearing it, pregnant belly and all.....which ironically is how she got herself into this mess in the first place. If you recall, she was the ewe that I never intended to breed last fall because she was so little. During breeding season last fall I successfully placed the little darling into a pen to protect her virtue from the ram, but she saw things differently and let her hormones get the best of her, scaled two fences-on two separate occasions to rendezvous with said ram, hence the now-pregnant belly. After her repeat performance of her high-flying acrobatic stunt on Friday night I decided that rather than risking her jumping again and injuring herself-or the unborn lamb-I left her out with the rest of the flock.....while I worried. I got up 3 times at night to check her. Her udder was huge and she was digging a hole to China, but no actual labor yet. I reminded her that she should probably think about producing the offspring by morning since I was signed up for a craft show in Iowa City that I would have to leave for at 7am. Complicating matters, when I told my dear husband that he may have to play midwife while I was away, he got the old 'deer in the headlights' look and exclaimed, "I don't know nothin' bout birthin' no babies!" Oddly enough he volunteered to go to the craft show in my stead with my sister, Marie, if it came down to that....the lesser of two evils?
After trying to sleep between barn checks all night I got up at 5am to see what my poor husband's fate would be for the day and discovered that Mira was starting actual labor. She delivered her beautiful black gulmoget ewe lamb at 6:45. I checked her bag....not like at the airport-I don't charge...I should say that I made sure her colostrum was flowing. I made sure the baby nursing, headed for the shower and only missed my targeted departure time by a few minutes....as I left I reminded my husband that he was off the hook on both counts, for now, but there were 3 other ewes that were looking a little suspicious....again I got the deer in the headlights look.
Upon my arrival home my husband was happy to report that none of the other girls had any signs of labor in my absence, but I still checked them all and none looked close....yet.
At 9 pm (my pre-bedtime barn check) Edrea started dig, dig, circle, figure 8, circle.....lay down for a while and chew some cud, circle, circle. Hmm, I thought, I might as well just hang out here in the barn and wait for her to lamb rather than get in and out of bed all night. So wait I did.....and I waited....and waited while I watched repeat performances of the dig/circle/figure 8 show. FINALLY at 1:45 there was pushing, and by 2:40 a gorgeous katmoget ewe lamb with incredible fleece was born.
Drool on this, my fiber addicted friends!
Oh, yeah, this little girl is staying right here.
Nice straight legs for a newborn!
" I just don't see what all the fuss is about those girls!"
Awww, you boys are still very handsome.
For those keeping track-2 rams, 2 ewes. 6 more ewes left to lamb.....I think, I better go out and check what's going on out there! Also names are coming soon, I am going with a Cape Cod theme since that is where my people came from.....and you thought that I was from a galaxy far far away, didn't you?
This morning at three AM Lilly gave birth to black flecket twins-one ram, one ewe, which brings the count to 5 girls, three boys-go girls! This is the little ewe, her birth coat has very soft crimpy fleece.
And this is her super-hero twin brother complete with mask and cape (not an actual caped-flecket)....everything a boy needs to be a crime-fighting stud muffin...even a flashy smile. He also has very large horn buds, great fleece (so far), and he will have striped horns.
This ram lamb will definitely be for sale. My waiting list is filling fast and I don't have as many lambs as I had anticipated so if you are interested in anything please let me know so that I can match up lambies with new owners.
"I am so tired of all this lamb business!!!"
"Woo Hoo, it's good to stretch these legs!"
So, Marie and I went off to the craft show in Iowa City and finished up there at 4 o'clock. 
Little bro is more heavily spotted (moorit also) and has a shorter, crimpier fleece : ).
I will post more later, but let's face it, you didn't really want to hear what I had to say, you just wanted to see cute lambies :).
Edrea, the ewe, has been catching up on all of the latest gossip from the chicken coop while she is waiting for her lambs to arrive.
Oh, the stories that those hens tell could just make your hair....errrr, feathers stand on end!
Edrea has also been taking some time to pamper herself so that she will be rested and refreshed when her new babies make their appearance. She has been spending time snacking with friends,
as well as taking time for that all-important back massage.
" That Edrea has certainly gotten to be quite a diva!"
Stalking me!
