LAMBS!!! :)

Hello, everybody! Guess what? My sheep ewe, Sarah, had twin girls yesterday around four o'clock in the afternoon! God willing, I will go home today to see them. I am so excited! Their names are Jada and Nettie. Nettie is short for Serenity. Pretty names, huh? Well, I told Sarah before I left that I was proud of her and would be praying for her. I think there were extra prayers, too, because since Jan. 18th we have had wonderful and healthy lambs. One ewe, July, had twin boys, and another ewe, Velvet, had a girl two days ago. 

I am always astonished year by year of how each mother ewe cares for her lamb or lambs. They are either angrily or scared-for-their-baby protective, or they might not care if someone holds one of her lambs. In a couple cases, we could hardly be in the pen for very long. And we have had all sorts of lamb experiences. We had an adorable blind lamb, we had the tiniest twin boys you have ever seen, we've had huge lambs, we've had one huge lamb and a tiny lamb as its brother. We have to pull at least one every once in a while, and it seems like there's one every year. There hasn't been so far, and God willing, there won't be any more. 

As the lambs grow, they get wilder so you have to tame them down and spend time with them as much as possible. When I mean wild, I mean they like to run around a lot and drive Mama crazy by wondering where they are. We've had a lamb with a very fast heartbeat, and bottle lambs galore. One year we had a ewe who had a lamb but didn't want it. We have ewes who don't have milk right away even after they've cleaned themselves. We've had ewes who have almost gotten into fights with other ewes, dogs or kitties because they're protective of their babies. Last year, one ewe had a huge baby, and she would freak out if he disappeared behind her! She had to know where he was every instant. Which is endearing, really. We often need to help the mama dry them off right after they are born, and then they're cold, so after letting them nurse a while we slip them inside your coat. This isn't the easier thing to do in the world, because their legs are so long and slip down. Once they are warm, they will find more strength to reach the utter. 

Ewes that haven't had babies yet love to stick their noses in the fence from the other side and watch the lambs. When we had our first lambs this year, the ewes were so excited. You wouldn't believe how excited dogs and even kittens get, too, at seeing the lambs. 

Lambing season is always fun. Well, we have five more ewes who are expecting soon. In a few days we will move the other ewes and their lambs, if need be for some of them, and start the process over again. Keep praying for them! And thanks so much for all your prayers! :) 

Ta! God bless! 

JMG~~