Thrice!

This is my third go at this post.  My last work was not saved - ugh!  Here's hoping you get to read this today!!

Tall

I plant sunflowers because I like the look of them.  They do come in some stunning colours too, not just the ordinary bright yellow petals and dark, seeded centre.  The ornamentals come in shades of rich reds, burgundy and pink petals.

And they can get tall.  In our previous abode in the big city our neighbour's elementary school aged boy planted a bright yellow sunflower and it became a monster.

I do recall that on the same day I planted sunflowers in the Potager garden close to the house and then down the centre of the veggie garden.  The veggie garden is clearly more fertile as depicted in the photo below.  This demonstrates clearly the benefits of good quality sheep manure, more of which has been deposited on the vegetable garden than the Potager garden.

Spring

Apparently on an incredibly mild day, at the end of the third week in January, the chickens thought it was spring.  Never mind that they are swimming.  That is, it had been so mild and so suddenly that the hen coop was a big soggy puddle.  It's a good thing they roost so as to get out of the muck.  The nesting room remained dry.  And rather than leave them cooped up - all puns intended - until noon, I had been letting them out a bit earlier so they could get out of the muck.  They hang around inside the small barn, but then with spring like weather they wander wherever there is lawn to explore.




And they think it is spring.  One day there were 7 eggs, while the next there were FIFTEEN!  That is excellent at this time of year from the current hen flock of seventeen.






Hides

It's been a long haul to get to a terrific year of tanned hides.  I collected hides in the first year and sent off a few.  I sent 6 and got back 4, one of which was the most desirable.  I've learned a lot...

I've learned that hides need LOTS of salt for about ten days.  And then they need to just get dry.  Laying them out on the driveway for a few days helps and turning them over allows the wool side to dry out too.  A sunny day is perfect for this.

In our second year I had many many hides as the slaughterhouse was happy to give me any and all they had.  Otherwise they are sent to the rendering plant.  But, I ended up having to discard the high majority of them.

This year, our third year, I think I've got it.  LOTS of salt and attention to drying.  I have a little salt house.  It's a metal garden shed that was here.  I don't recommend metal but it suits my needs at this time.  Now I actually salt the hides outside and at the end of the day roll them up and put them in the shed overnight.  If the weather is not good I can salt them inside the shed but prefer to work outside on this.

Hides can sometimes require some trimming.  Fortunately I spoke of this at the slaughterhouse and the butcher gave me a no longer needed, very very sharp, knife.  This has worked very well.

Unlike when I lived close to the tannery, now I mail the hides to them.  And they mail or courier the finished product back to me.  This adds to the cost but is less expensive than driving half way across the province, once to take the hides and once to retrieve them.  It takes a few months for tanning.  And now, unlike when I was a teen, they can process the hides so that they are machine washable.

They are divine.  I have received 21 now.  There is a pile of more to go to the tannery.  First though I need to sell a few of the 21.  They make a lovely gift, perhaps for a wedding, Christmas or special occasion.  There are many benefits to be gained from sheepskins and these include:
   *A benefit of importance for babies and the elderly, there is no static electric charge possible and therefore no shocking
   *Keeps you cool in summer as absorbs perspiration and then releases it seven times faster than synthetic fibre
   *Naturally resistant to holding dirt and bacteria
   *Reduces the likelihood of bed sores, since there is a reduced possibility of friction between the skin and bed linens, allowing the release of moisture from skin keeping it dry, free of chafing and irritation
   *Keeps you warm, the wool holding onto your body heat yet the hide is breathable
   *Luxurious feel and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.


On Guard

We keep the llama and the two Maremma dogs for the sole purpose of protecting the flock from coyotes.  This has been successful.  However both species have presented various challenges.  It is often difficult for persons not familiar with these animals to understand how they fit into the sheep flock.  The photo below explains this well.  These animals live right in with the sheep.

R to L:  Henrietta the llama, Ruby and Millie - and a sheep I do not recognize from this angle

 Millie remains the queen of all.  She gets first dibs on everything, including food, compost leavings, greeting guests, etc.  Ruby and Henrietta are actually buddies.  We have observed Henrietta initiating play with Ruby.

The Maremmas are busy at night, woofing up a storm, often under our bedroom window.  Ear protection is provided to visitors to assist them is sleeping through the night.  The bark to maintain territorial boundaries with the coyotes.  The bark in response the coyote vocals, scents and sightings.  And the dogs sleep a lot during the day.

Million Dollar Millie

Despite their original purpose, we have, of course, become attached to the livestock guardian animals - especially the dogs.  It's a good thing because they have not been a cost effective purchase.  That is, it would have cost less to allow the coyotes to steal the lambs.  Millie has been very expensive, while Ruby has been 'normal'

Millie awaiting the arrival of dinner with Fleur the bottle baby adorned with bells on a blue string, also awaiting dinner

Millie arrived in June 2014.  By fall we had her vetted for the first time in her life and learned she had Lyme Disease.  Then we had her spayed.  In December 2015 Millie underwent surgery to replace the cruciate ligament in her left hind leg.  In the photo above she still has a bare spot near her left shoulder where the pain patch had been applied following her surgery.  In January 2017 Millie underwent surgery to replace the cruciate ligament in her right hind leg.  She is recovering well.  She is now worth just under a million dollars - or so it seems.

Thievery and Treasures

I was leash walking Millie on the front lawn on a mild day and a neighbour stopped to chat.  He asked if I had eggs, paid me, and said he'd pick them up later from on top of the generator.  So, I carried on.  I place the dozen eggs on top of the generator.  I tie the carton snuggly but lightly with a bit of handspun or a ribbon to keep it closed.  The eggs are so large the carton often does not close up.

I was off to work and left hubby a note about the eggs on top of the generator.  He read the note.  He saw the eggs.  

The neighbour arrived.  He and hubby noted that there were no eggs on top of the generator.  Hubby found another dozen eggs in the fridge for the neighbour.

When I arrived home from work later in the evening all of this was reported to me.  There was light snow overnight.  While doing chores I had a look around.  There, just inside the gate, was an empty egg carton.  There was not a speck of shell to be found, the carton was smeared in egg and it was still tied with a bow.

Our in-house thief has a very shiny coat!

The thief also brings home treasures.  I now take photos of what she brings home which I will not post here as my readers will not enjoy these.  As happened last year, there has been a collection of calf body parts arrive across several weeks.  We are pretty certain of a particular neighbour that butchers a calf for home use and plunks the leavings out behind his barn.  The dogs smell these and investigate and eat and bring home bits and pieces.  This is a dog thing, for sure, but moreso for a guardian animal they are cleaning up to dissuade coyote traffic.

The treasures have diminished quite a bit and we are glad for that. 

Thanks Mom

I know it's been awhile since I wrote here but I didn't realize just how much time has passed.  Thanks Mom for alerting me to this.

The end of the beginning

Butterscotch started us off with our first lambing in April 2014.  She had twins then and each year after.  I kept her first female lamb from 2014, and another one in 2015.  The first female I named Bella after Isabella, one of the women from whom I learned about sheep as a teen.  Bella is a lovely sheep, bigger than her small mother, and also a good mother.  And Bella bellows; she has a big voice.  She likes pats on the head.

This year Butterscotch had twin boys. She had some udder issues which I think I wrote about before.  The udder got better.  The bottle supplementing of the boys became unnecessary.  Butterscotch however remained thin.  So, in July I pulled her out of the flock along with Marmalade.  Marmalade has no teeth so she is much older than I realized.  Butterscotch still has her teeth, and one set of baby teeth which indicates she is likely about four years of age.  Good mothers that consistently have twins each year, I wanted to give them some TLC and get some weight back on them.  So, these ewes and their lambs became my TLC group.

After awhile I removed the lambs from them.  It was time to wean them and Butterscotch was not gaining.  Marmalade had gained and was ready to return to the flock, however I kept her with Butterscotch for company.

At this point there were some other symptoms of illness in Butterscotch.  I won't gross you out with all of the details, however, working with the vet, test results indicated a coccidiosis infection.  We treated her twice with two different prescriptions and the test results showed a worsening.  This took place over several months and by now Butterscotch was on her own, inside, thinner and weaker.  A decision had to be made and we made it.  We euthanized her. It wasn't what I expected to be using my rifle for.  I felt very positive about this as Butterscotch needed help to move on to her next journey - this expression shared with me by the vet staff really helped.

Mucking out

Some times I wear my orange hat while riding Oz the orange tractor.  I know, it's Halloween too.....  Well, Oz has been getting a good workout as we muck out the Big Barn.  In the past I do this in summer but summer was so incredible hot that many things did not get done.  Now that it's cooler - way cooler some days, cool enough to wear that bright orange hat - the job is getting done.

As of this morning I am also completely finished.  I'm working on the corners where Oz cannot get to.  So, I get the bucket about half full, manipulating the bucket to loosen the layers in the corner, then I back up a bit and pick at it and fill the bucket by hand.

I have found most of this task rather boring.  Riding the tractor one morning I became very chillled as there was a sharp north wind and even with that orange hat I was not moving my body enough to keep warm.  Oz did all the work.  So, as much as I felt bored I thought through the enormity of what I was completing.  That Oz was picking up in a few minutes what would take me twenty minutes to toss into a numerous wheelbarrows and dump into the garden.

Yes, this is great garden fodder.  Putting it on now it will decompose and get tilled into the soil in the spring.

The two box stalls in the small barn are done by hand.  I have completed one.  The other, larger stall I am hoping to utilize Oz for completion.  I can get the bucket inside the large doorway of the barn and fill it by hand.  I may have to use the wheelbarrow to get it from deep in the stall to the bucket.  It's still a short distance to push the wheelbarrow.  Oz's help is appreciated.

Fruits

There have been many fruits to harvest this year, despite the drought conditions of the summer.  Yet, we did have many things that did not do well or did not produce at all.  What we did have kept me busy enough.

Squash once again did super well.  When I bought some heritage tomato plants the man gave me two started squash plants.   He thought they were spaghetti squash or some other kind.  I kept referring to them as spaghetti squash until I finally realized they are delicata.  They are very lovely to eat and I continue to serve them like spaghetti squash.  There were lots of delicata and butternut squash.

Although production was down I still managed to get enough zucchini to make several double batches of relish.

I grew corn this year for the first time.  I'll grow it another year and hope for a much improved product.  What we had was quite tasty.  I grew it in patches among the squash in a very large expanded section just for these vine crops.

Last year's melon crop consisted of ONE.  This year, since the squashy section was much improved and larger and the melon was not usurped by other vine types of plants, we had lots of delicious cantelope.  We ate the last, fist sized one at Thanksgiving.  I cut it into 8 slices and we each got a nibble.

We found apple trees we did not know we had.  It was a bumper crop.  Sister and I made several batches of apple sauce.  I made more.  I put some in the beet - apple chutney I made - with store bought beets.  Hubby has trimmed up the young apple tree so as to nurture it along.  The most tasty tree did not have apples in the past.  And we could not reach the fruit but gathered windfalls from underneath where the pond had dried up.  Who knows what next year will bring.

I have yet to finish harvesting the potatoes.  And I must get the garlic in.

Happy Birthday Mom

So, thanks again Mom for the reminder to get to my blog.  And, Mom, Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday!!

Way behind....

I'm still here.  Just way behind on keeping the blog updated. 

I guess most people think summer is quiet and relaxing.  It is.  But, it can be busy too.  Before summer is spring and it is very busy on a farm.   Lambing took us from March to April.  Then in May and June we were dealing with the veggie garden and its challenges.  Now it is the end of July.  And it has been very very hot.  Yes, it's a drought and any farmer will tell you so.

So, here are some stories about what's been going on....

The Landing

She landed on my head.  It's good that I am usually wearing a hat.  It was morning and perhaps she was not quite awake.  I was putting out feed for the hens.  She - a hen - was on the roost to my right while I was pouring out feed on my left and ahead of me.  And she flew through the air and landed on my head.

No gifts were left behind, thankfully.  I shook a bit.  Or, maybe I knocked my hat off.  Or, maybe she took my hat with her as she fell to the ground.  In stride, I righted my hat and continued with my morning chores, thinking, "that's never happened before."

Maremma Update

 My friend ED dubbed Millie the "reluctant sheepdog" and this does fit - although I am reluctant to apply it so.  Yet, truly it fits.  However, finally, Millie is becoming the sheepdog we expected her to be when she arrived three years ago.

With consistency she is now happy and expects to return to the sheep flock area when she arrives from an outing.  Recently, Millie and Ruby had returned to sleeping the day away under the house verandah.  I put up electric fence around the house and this immediately stopped.  It's hot and the dogs do find it cool during the day to sleep under the verandah.  However, they are barn dogs and there are cool places near the barn, and they have found those cool places.

Ruby pushes the limits a bit further as she can jump out and into the barnyard as she desires.  Yet, she knows I want her back in the barnyard.  Lately when she gets out she avoids me, as if I don't see her there. 

If I tell them to "Git with your sheep", they know what that means.  Ruby will usually "git" by jumping over the fence, or going in through the gate I open.  Millie knows now that the verandah is off limits.  Yep, back in with the sheep is the place to be, and she heads straight there.

Coyotes we hear many evenings.  The dogs bark a lot.  They are not carrying on and getting out a lot.  Ruby can and will jump out and in.  Millie finally discovered the doggie door we made for her in the fence.  She has learned to get out, safely, through this opening.  This is much easier on her hips.  She has not, however, learned about returning to the barnyard that way.  Yet, often Millie will just stay in where she should be.

Usually, the dogs go out to the pasture with the sheep in the morning.  About a half hour to one and a half hours later, the dogs return via the front of the house.  They sleep all day.  After five o'clock dinner they are more alert.  After 7:30 / 8:00 o'clock snacks the dogs are awake and wary.  Ruby will usually stay out in the pasture with the sheep.  The sheep come in by nine.  At night the dogs bark to ward off coyotes, etc.  In the morning the dogs are waiting for me to feed them at eight.  Millie leads the sheep out.  Ruby goes out with Millie or follows the sheep.  Henrietta the llama is very last.  The dogs explore fields, follow scents and tracks, etc., and return at about 9:30.  Then they sleep.


Lambskin Rugs

As we evolve so does our production.  The first lamb skin rugs have been received from the tannery.  This has been a learning experience.  I had forgotten how much salt it takes to prep a skin.  As a result, many have been discarded.  I had a huge number as the butcher let me take as many as I wanted last year.  Now I mostly have a pile of useless skins.

However the first lot back from the tannery is lovely.  I sent six and they had to discard two.  I received back four, with only one machine washable.  There was "slippage" on several where the wool fell out - from insufficient salt in the preparation. 

Another batch of six has been sent off for tanning.  The process takes a minimum of four months.  So, perhaps they will be back in time for Christmas sales.

Wool

The first spinning fleece ewes were clipped this spring.  That is the ewes sired by the Birch the spinning ram. The income from their wool is about double that of the nicer non-spinning fleeced ewes I have.  Still, spinners don't like to get dirty.  It is a lot of work to prepare an entire fleece for spinning.  There are small woollen mills around where I can get wool processed.  Like the rugs though, this all takes some cash up front for processing.  With each processing step the sale price goes up.

It's a lot of work to organize these processing steps.  I'd rather just sell the whole fleece as it comes off of the sheep.  Right now my house is full of fibre, mostly that I kept for myself.  I don't know when I will ever spin all of this wool.  And then there is this year's wool I am storing in the freezer.  But soon I have to move it for the meat....

Heat

There's been a lot of that this year.  It is a drought.  Many areas around the farm are quite parched.  Neighbours tell me their pasture is done.  We are very fortunate that we have so much land that we have not used yet.  That is, we are not grazing to capacity, so we have lots of eating left here.

The sheep are bothered by the heat too.  They go out to pasture around eight in the morning.  Recall that many coyote attacks occurred here in the morning, so I wait.  I enjoy my morning coffee before taking the sheep out.  The Maremmas go first and check the field.  Henrietta comes up last.  The sheep return to the barn about 9:30.  They drink lots of water and if it's really hot they will rest in the shade in and around the barn.

Some of their best grazing time is in the evening when it cools down.  I stopped going out and gathering them at eight in the evening as they were eating well.  They bring themselves in by nine.  After snacks at 7:30 or so, I take Ruby out to check the flock and she usually stays out with them.  This gives me confidence in letting them come back in on their own.

Visitors

We have enjoyed many visitors so far over the summer.  Whether here for a weekend or an afternoon, I stop and enjoy the verandah.  I don't get under the verandah like the Maremmas do.  I sit up top in a comfy chair.  And sometimes, as in the photo above, we enjoy an amazing sunset.  Many hours too have I spent this summer sitting at my spinning wheel on the verandah.  It is just lovely!

Creative work

Innovation

I love to re-purpose things; to figure out a problem or challenge; to make something work.  Here are some examples.

• the hose reel

Re-purposed, the hose reel has been an amazing time saver for putting up and taking down strands of electric fence.  No masses of knots that take hours to unravel.  Set up and take down is a pleasant experience.

• the pool ladder

We found the first pool ladder at the dump at the "treasure table".  Hubby's first thought was we could use it to traverse the strands of electric fence behind the house to get the bridge to go for a hike.  Then we realized it 'fits' over the electric netting.  And so I have recently acquired another pool ladder and put it to work behind the barn.

• futon

I like the barn but I don't sleep there.  Sister had a small futon that she no longer used and it had previously belonged to Brother.  Down to the farm it travelled.  I found this idea on-line and I built it into a hay feeder.  It doesn't get much use now since we switched to the large bales, however I still use it sometimes.

Fauna

Turtle activity this year so far has been limited, unlike a great deal of activity and many sightings in our first spring here.  This snapping turtle walked through the barnyard one morning.  From the house it was a cat with an odd gait. 

Later in the day I was sitting in the front room and observed a relative walking up the driveway.  He seemed to be on a mission with a determination to his stride.

This frog was found one morning in the barnyard.  He is perched on a concrete block that holds the hen house door ajar.  If you look closely the grey colour on his underside matches the block well.  He stayed there for a good part of the day.

 

Shearing

We grow fluff here and the amount is ever increasing.  I must say that the quality of this year's yearling fleeces is just wonderful.  The goal of "prettying up the fleece" is working.  The spinners who helped on shearing day "ooo-ed" and "awed" more than the previous year.

It was a very long day to shear 30 sheep and one llama.  The guy is careful with the animals but not known for speed.

Chiquita getting her first hair cut.  She had not yet had her baby.

 Interestingly nature also re-purposes as needed.

A bird's nest made mostly from sheep's wool.

More creative uses for sheep wool.

Babies

They're everywhere.  There are now forty babies. 



In the quiet of dusk I count sheep.  For real.  At the end of the day, before it gets too dark, I count.  First I count the twenty-eight ewes.  Then I count the forty babies.  Usually I have to count several times to get my desired number.  Often when babies lie together in a heap it's hard to count actual critters.  Add the two rams and we have SEVENTY.

I count before it gets too dark in case I have to search the field for a missing sheep.  Usually if someone is missing there are other signs and counting just confirms that one is missing.  Mother's blat for a missing baby and babies blat for a missing mother.

I am routinely mobbed, several times a day.  This is the reward for healthy bottle babies.  Bottle feeding is necessary for survival and for ensuring that babies get a good start.  In the case of the quads I chose to supplement all four.  In the case of Olive's triplets, I chose to supplement the smallest one who looked hungry.  So, now I have five bottle babies.  Yet, these are all getting supplemental bottles in that they are being raised by their respective mothers.  This is important since their mothers teach them how to be sheep.  Otherwise they want to be humans and move into the big house.

There is now an orphaned bottle lamb, given to me by my neighbour.  I named her Fleur as I will try to name ewes after flowers this year.  Zinnia is a flower.  Freckle is not.  Sometimes the theme doesn't fit.

Back to Fleur.  She is a triplet.  The problem my neighbour has with multiple births is she is convinced they cannot all do well.  This is mostly true, but they don't all do badly.  At any rate, she removes multiples, leaving two only, one for each teat.  The other reason she does this is because she crosses the highway with her sheep daily and a bottle baby running the wrong way is very dangerous.  I understand but choose not to to it that way.  I am grateful for a new ewe lamb for my flock.  Fleur has settled in very very nicely.  Really, though, I am her mother.  Yet, because she was almost three weeks of age before she left her mother, she knows she is a sheep and this is good.

This morning I was late.  It's Sunday.  We were up late.  I woke up at 6:30 and rolled over and went back to sleep.  Usually I don't sleep but this morning I did and the next time I looked at the clock it was 8:14.  That's a huge sleeping in morning for me.  Up I got.

I was juggling two dishes of dog food and a bag of baby bottles.  Millie was behind me going in the gate.  Before me was Ruby jumping on the gate looking for breakfast and under her were the quads.  Somehow this all worked.  I opened the gate and just let it go.  Millie went in, Ruby backed up, the babies scattered for a moment.  Ruby jumped up and knocked some of her food out of the bowl.  I put hers down and quickly moved away to move Millie away - they need some distance between them.  And then moved away at right angles to get the babies out of dog breakfast eating range.

I whipped out bottles.  I clamped one between my knees and somebody grabbed on to it.  I then had one in each hand.  Now three were occupied and the forth jumped on the others, on me, and I used my elbows whenever possible to push it away.  Then the older triplet arrived looking for his breakfast snack.  All five were mobbing me.

I watched as the bottles' contents quickly went down.  Each was allowed a half bottle.  I guestimated and then pulled - hard - to get the bottle out of their mouth to check the volume and decide whether to return it to the guzzler or find a waiting guzzler to finish it off.

It's all over pretty quickly.

Quadruplets in the dog house

And then I move on as I have one more bottle.  Butterscotch, a lovely older ewe who always twins and is a great mother, has had some udder challenges.  The base of the teat had become infected.  This was likely due to an injury from a hungry lamb with sharp teeth.  I should have checked her out sooner.  I kept her in the mixing pen as the lambs looked hungry and I wanted them looking perkier before I put them in the flock.  By the time I checked her there was quite an infection.

Butterscotch's boys basking in the sunshine.

To take some pressure off of Butterscotch's udder and to get these lambs going I offered a bottle.  They took it without much convincing - they were hungry.  So, this morning I took my last bottle to Butterscotch's boys.  I had moved her back to the mixing pen yesterday.  The smaller twin came to me and I scooped him up and sat down on a milk crate.  He slowly and quietly took the bottle.  What a calm and relaxing time we both had while he slowly topped up his tummy.  Butterscotch had continued to feed both lambs but would push them away when that teat got really sore.

The second lamb required catching and he was not that hungry.  Only two thirds of their full bottle was consumed.  Butterscotch was feeding them well.  I managed to feel her udder and it was good.  I would look more closely later in the day.  She was baaing a lot and pacing: she wanted out onto the grass with the flock.

A very happy Millie the Maremma, snoozing in the shade with her sheep

 What a year for bottle feeding.  We have had none of this in the past two years.  Oh well.  The bottle feeding has paid off and all are thriving.

Numbers

Twenty-four; thirty-seven; two; one...  I've been crunching some numbers now that we are almost through with lambing.  It's been a whirlwind event.  It is so good to know that there is an end in sight....  I will sleep again.

I actually began to draft a posting at the halfway mark.  I never got back to it.  And, I found a draft for "Calm" from before lambing that I did not publish.  It's a crazy time!


The Stats

2 rams put to 24 ewes:  Abe was put to Birch's daughters and Birch got the rest.  My neighbour warned me that I could have double trouble using two rams at the same time, that there would be a double tide of lambs born at the same time.  It wasn't too bad.

14 of 17 days:  The lambing period - thus far, without the 3 stragglers that remain - was 17 days long and lambs were born on 14 of those days.

21 ewes have produced 37 lambs for an average of 1.8 each:  Excellent outcome since one would like a 150% lamb crop and we have 176% - yes I rounded up to 1.8 each.

Multiples:

• 1 set of quadruplets
• 2 sets of triplets
• 18 sets of twins
• 9 singles

This is great as last year there were many more singles.  The high majority of the singles this year are large and long legged, looking for a hamburger at birth.  The twins are pretty evenly sized, as are the multiples.  There is one set of twins for which there is concern that the younger one is much smaller.  I'm keeping an eye on him and keeping them in longer before they meet up with the entire flock.

8 lambs receiving supplemental bottle:  No "bottle babies" or "orphans", just supplemental bottles.  Each receives about 8 ounces three times a day.  They have mothers that feed them and mother them and teach them how to be sheep.  The supplemental bottle is to ensure they get a good kick start in life.  Still, I am popular and as they get older they get better at mobbing me.

A re-purposed bag for toting baby bottles to the barn.

I am supplementing all four quads.  Three assault me when I walk in the door of the pen.  The fourth, Floppy, needs to be caught and once perched on my lap gobbles down her share.  All four are looking pudgy and more like piglets.  Floppy keeps up with the rest, whereas there were concerns for her at birth.  She is pretty laid back and very happy.

I have been offering a bottle to Spot's largest triplet.  He needs to be caught and sometimes he'll take a few ounces and sometimes not.

MayBell has only half an udder that is working.  Her female comes running for a bottle now.  The male will sometimes take some and does best if held.

Olive's male triplet often gets left out and he now runs to me for his bottle.  His belly is rounded so he is getting enough.

Oh, and one more interesting stat:  one black and white set of twins, care of Lucy!

Lucy birthed them in the field on a nice sunny day.  Thankfully it was not too cold.  The startling white female was followed by the more startling black male.  What better way to carry them in from the field than in a milk crate.  Here I'm having a rest - me, not her - and hubby has met us with the camera.

The black male is a bit smaller and less active so I watched him closely to ensure he was managing.

Thank you EA for this lovely photo!  Blackie has turned out to be more like an appaloosa.  As the two became stronger it was time to put them in a mixing pen with another ewe.  I try to match the ewes, and put singles with singles and twins with twins - when possible.  It depends how fast I need which pens.  And numerous days all my pens were full.

At first I put Lucy and twins with Bella and twins.  On the second day when hubby commented that the little guy is always in the corner, a change was necessary.  I put Lucy back into a lambing pen for a few more days.  Then I put Lucy in with a younger ewe and her single.  This has worked well.  What we observed is that the sheep are racist and bashed the black lamb!

At this point Lucy and twins are in a mixing pen with two other ewes and their lambs and has access to outside.  They are ready now to go out to the flock.  The Appy guy is stronger and quicker in getting out of the way.  He bounces and plays with everyone, so he should be just fine now.  The lambs do not display the same racist behaviours as their mothers.

Calm

I WROTE THIS BEFORE LAMBING & FAILED TO PUBLISH - ENJOY!

The Calm, that is.  The one before the storm.  It starts soon, the lambing storm.

At night, all is calm.  Just like the Christmas song, Away In A Manger.  It's very true.  A barn at night is a lovely and calm place.  Even the nocturnal creatures know to be quiet in a barn.  Mind you that is their way anyhow as they try to not disturb as they find their own food in their own way.

It is a lovely day, with crisp cool air and brilliant sunshine.  Excellent conditions to go outside for the first time.

I'm a triplet.  My Mom is Olive.  This is my first day outside - ever!

Earlier in the week I had set up some electric netting in such a way as to create a small outside enclosure at the front of the barn.  This area gets sunshine all day and I knew that I could easily create a small pen or nursery at that end of the barn.  This area does receive the weather as it faces West but I can monitor that.  Besides these babies are now two weeks old and strong.  It was time to see sunshine!

I put Olive and her triplets out first.

Olive and her triplets

 It is their pen I have opened up to create a larger pen.  A short time later I put Chloe and her big boy out there.

Chloe and her boy

Last year Olive did not like to share her space and that was how Cookie's leg got broken.  I watched carefully.  And this time they are all outside.  Chloe's lamb is big and quick and the space is larger.  Whereas Cookie was her mother's first lamb, this is Chloe's third.  Chloe is pushing back and they are working it out.

The photo waiting to happen however is Ruby.  Hubby helped me to tag the lambs after I put the four babies and two mommies in the larger pen.  I managed to catch the babies and Hubby inserted the appropriate tag in each ear.  We can now tell them apart; that is, Olive's two females have specific numbers with which to identify them since otherwise they are alike.  And so it is with all lambs, they get their ears pierced with a plastic tag that has their own number on it.  This year we are continuing with red tags for girls and white tags for boys.

I wandered off topic.  While Hubby and I were working on this, Ruby jumped into the pen with me.  She scrounged around sniffing at things.  Before I left the barn Ruby was lying in the big doorway in the sunshine while lambs were coming up to check her out.  Unlike last year when Ruby would bound up and lick them, she is remaining calm.  As the lamb comes close to her she might sniff it or not.  I did see her half lick one that was very close to her.  I expect we may find Ruby keeping them warm on a cool night, with the calm of her mature, almost two years.

MILLIE

We've come a long way since surgery in early December.  Millie is now back on duty, 24/7.  She usually stays in with the flock, taking off much less frequently.  At first she kept taking off and she'd be gone for hours.  Sometimes Ruby would return long before Millie.  Interestingly, Ruby rarely went off for any longer than twenty minutes while Millie was penned up for her recovery.

One morning I gave the dogs very large bones to chaw on and they stayed put.  All day.  At evening I decided to leave Millie out and not put her into the barn for the night.  In the morning she was with the flock where she'd been left.

A few nights she has gotten out.  We've heard the dogs barking at something, mostly behind the house, rather than across the road.  They come back.  Millie cannot get back in with the flock when she gets herself out.  Ruby can soar over a fence and return to the flock.  This morning, both dogs were "out".  We'd heard them barking madly probably around 5:30.  They showed up for breakfast while I was feeding the hens.  They followed me - okay, they followed the food - back into the flock, had breakfast and began to nap.

Millie wearing her new pink collar

Millie is calm with the sheep.  Everyone is wary of her but it is becoming less so.  Millie is happy.  She was even wearing a bit of a snarly smile the other morning, something we frequently see on Ruby.

I have noted to a few people as of late how the sheep are all calm.  We have more sheep in the flock now that were born here, than were purchased elsewhere.  Many sheep allow me to touch them at random.  Few of them move away from me and none scamper away from me.  They are very comfortable in their surroundings, with their people and their dogs and - heaven forgive me should I forget - even their llama.

I will enjoy the calm for as long as possible - all of it!