Up All Night: Tricot, Pistachio, Tiffany, & Adelie

To be fair, Tricot didn't keep anyone up all night.  During the day on Friday, I noticed that Tricot was frequently pushing but not getting anywhere.   I was worried that something was wrong, maybe a malpresentation or even a dead lamb.  (Tricot delivered Spruce, one of the biggest lambs we've had in five years by herself, so I didn't worry about a large lamb.) When Scott arrived home from work, I helped him pull the lamb.  He is a big black ram lamb with a few white spots on his head.   Because he was so large, we didn't expect a twin.

Scott said, "There's another one!" and I thought he was kidding.  He was not.  Tricot's second lamb is another ram.  He's white and much smaller.  The size difference is a concern, but they are doing well.  We've named the black ram Thunder and the white ram Lightning.

Tricot cleans her lamb Lightning.

Thunder and Lightning with mom Tricot.

On Saturday morning, we built a nursery pen and ear tagged the first batch of lambs.  The older lambs and their mothers (Mimosa, Czadas, Sequoia, and Acacia) moved out of their jugs and into the nursery pen in order to make room for another group of pregnant ewes.  All FIVE of the ewes due next were bred during a couple of hours Oregano illicitly spent in the ewe pasture. During the time spent in the barn, I noticed that Pistachio and Tiffany were acting a little odd.

We ended up going to the barn in the late evening to check on Pistachio.  Like Tricot, she was laboring without any progress.  We put her in a jug and planned to check on her in ninety minutes, after the kids were in bed.  When we returned, she was cleaning her two lambs-- one black ewe with a little white spotting on her head, one white ewe with a small black spot on her back.  (These spots will likely fade.)  The white ewe is Cirrus, and the black ewe is Nimbus.

Cirrus & Nimbus with mom Pistachio

During this time, Tiffany was alternating pushing and being overly interested in Pistachio and her lambs.  Before we headed back to the house, Tiffany focused on pushing and easily (well, for me) delivered a white ewe lamb (Glacier) and a black ram lamb (Storm).  We clipped and dipped them, helped dry them, made sure they were nursing, and headed back into the house.

Glacier & Storm

Glacier is already posing.

A couple of hours later, we heard loud baaing from the monitor.  Tiffany is a vociferous mother, but I could tell it was not her.  "It's someone lambing!" I said.  "I think it's Adelie!"

Adelie is a small ewe lamb, born last spring.  I would have never intentionally bred her, but Oregano visited her on his foray over the fence.  By the time Scott arrived at the barn (with me trailing behind him). Adelie had lambed.  She had a small black ewe.  She didn't have problems with the delivery, and although both mom and lamb Tsunami seem confused at times, they are doing better than expected.

Adelie & Tsunami

Blizzard of Babies: Sequoia, Acacia, & Theresa

On Wednesday, there was even more snow, and of course, there were more lambs.

Sheep in the snow on Thursday.

Sequoia started things off late Wednesday afternoon. She had twins: a black ewe with white spots on her head and a solid black ram.  We've named them Aurora and Eclipse.

Aurora & Eclipse

Eclipse & mom Sequoia

Acacia really annoyed Sequoia when she was lambing, and we soon found out why.  About an hour later, we were headed back out to the barn.  Acacia had twin ewes.  Both are black gulmoget.  Dusk is a little bigger and has a few more white spots on her head.  Evening is a little smaller.

Evening, enjoying her blow dry

Dusk

Dusk, Evening, & mom Acacia

Thursday afternoon, Theresa lambed.  She's an experienced mom and has always had easy lambings.  She struggled for awhile to push her lambs out, but managed it without any extra help from me.  Theresa's lambs are two big white ram lambs.  We've named them Blizzard and Avalanche. So far, I'm having issues telling them apart!  (Ear tags will solve that problem.)

Theresa cleaning lamb number one.

Theresa, Blizzard, & Avalanche

Czadas' Spring Lambs

It might be officially spring, but it looks like this:

Lambing hasn't stopped despite the weather.  It has slowed down, though.  There are a lot of overdue ewes in the barn.  If they are waiting for sunny days and warm temperatures, I am afraid they are out of luck.

Around dinnertime last night, I saw Czadas pushing, already with a lamb on the way out.  I was surprised.  Despite her due date, Czadas didn't look due to me.  I assumed she didn't get bred when she was marked but on her following cycle.  I was wrong!

By the time I trudged through the snow, Czadas's lamb was born.  After the lamb was born, she kept digging.  Usually, that means another lamb is on the way.  I thought there was no way-- Czadas's belly was relatively small and her lamb relatively large--but once again I was wrong. 

Czadas's first lamb is a solid black ewe.  Because yesterday was the Spring Equinox, we named her Equinox.   Her second lamb is another ewe, but she is white.  She has a few spots, but it is likely they will fade.  We named her Solstice. 

Mimosa is First (Again)

It was really cold this morning when we heard the first lamb baas from the barn.  After arriving at the barn, we were shocked to find tiny Mimosa with TWO lambs.

Looking for milk in all the wrong places.

Mimosa licked the first lamb dry and it was up and nursing.  The other lamb was struggling, and after many attempts to get her dry, up, and nursing, we brought her in the house.  We dried her with a hair dryer (very carefully!) and fed her a bottle of colostrum.  She was able to return to the barn, and Mimosa accepted her without any pause.  She is doing much better, but we are still concerned about the cold temperatures predicted for the next few days.

Back in the barn with Mom and big sister

Both lambs are white ewes.  We named the first one Flurry, and her little sister is Frost.

Enjoying the afternoon sun.  (Frost is standing.)

Enormous Elsie

Elsie looks enormous compared to the other bred ewes.  I doubt it means anything....

Elsie is the huge white one.

2013.  Twins Pistachio & Pecan

2014. Single ram lamb Zircon

2015 Twins Sassy & Sycamore

2016 Twins Vanilla & Cinnamon

Shearing Day 2018

Once again, I managed to make it through shearing day without getting any good pictures.  I took a few pictures today, although many of the sheep weren't in the mood for posing.

Yesterday was really cold.  It's not too much warmer today, but the sheep don't seem to mind it.

The boys

There were a lot of pregnant bellies revealed...four more than we expected.  When Oregano jumped the fence in November, we thought he bred one sheep.  He bred FIVE ewes.

Czadas

Tiffany

Elsie and Cayenne

Elsie again

Marble