Tag: first time mamas

A rough entrance to the world

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Monday afternoon Sissy was sheering some of the girls after I finished chores. It was fortunate she was in the barn when Brandy went into labor. Little Brittani was a breech. Sissy had to give Brandy a hand to deliver backwards Brittani. Not only did she come out arse-first, she also had an umbilical hernia. Sissy had to call the vet out to put Brittani’s guts back where they belong and put in a suture to keep them there. Brittani sailed through with with flying colors. She is doing great and Brandy is a great mama.

by farmerkeen

Welcome Franz

First time mama, Frilly, gave birth to a 10 lb healthy boy today. Frilly did a great job cleaning little Franz and bonding with him. When it comes to letting him suckle, she needs some convincing. Some first-timers just don’t react well to the sensation. Sissy and I have to hold her still for now. Hopefully she will get used to the idea quickly.

Another baby was born this evening after I left for work. Will get photos tomorrow.

by farmerkeen

Three new Mamas Today

Fawn and Frank
Frank
Marty and Marge
Peek-a-Boo, Marge!
Barb with Babs
Babs

Found three new babies in the barn this morning. Fawn’s lamb, Frank, was the driest of the three so must have been born first. He weighed in at a whopping 14 lb.!

Marty’s girl, Marge, was still somewhat damp. She weighed in at 11 lb..

Barb’s lamb, Babs, dropped minutes after I walked in the barn. This is Barb’s first time being a mama. She did a great job cleaning Babs off and bonding with her. They seemed to be doing fine when I finished up with chores. Sissy checked on the new lambs when she got out of work. She texted me to say that Barb would not allow Babs to nurse. This happens sometimes with new mamas. They just don’t like the sensation of the lamb touching their udder. Usually if we hold the ewe still while the lamb nurses a few times the mamas get used to it and don’t have further problems. Sissy held Barb this afternoon. Apparently she was really freaking out about it. When I got home later that evening I did the same. Maybe because Barb is more comfortable with me, maybe because it was the sheep’s drowsy time, maybe because I just used the light from the 24-hour night light rather than turning on the barn lights, Barb was quite a bit calmer for me. Babs did not seem ravenous for me. I’m thinking Barb just needed to get used to the idea. I’ll see how they are doing in the morning.

by farmerkeen

Welcome To The World, Little Edith!

Our newest baby, Edith, was born this afternoon. The girls were out in the pasture when I noticed that Eve was in labor. Eve is another first time mama and it was raining out. I thought she would feel more secure giving birth in the barn. I started heading her toward the barn, got as far as the first gate when she turned around and ran back to the spot where her water broke. We repeated this 3 times. She just wasn’t having it. She was determined to stay in that spot. She kept nosing around in the grass, looking for a lamb. This is common of so many sheep in labor. They have a little contraction and have to examine the ground behind themselves, hoping that’s all there is to it, there MUST be a lamb back here somewhere. So, Eve gave birth for the very first time out in the rain. I gave them about 20 minutes to bond then went out to bring them inside. Little Edith is a healthy, floofy 9 lb. girl. Eve is taking to motherhood like she has done it all her life.

by farmerkeen

Welcome Floyd

Another new baby today. Flower became a first time mama today. Floyd weighed in at 11 lb, big for a yearling’s lamb. Being a first-timer, Flower has to learn a few things. She did well cleaning him off and letting him nurse. But, she needs to learn that she can’t head out of the barn at a run with the rest of the herd. Poor Floyd didn’t even know what happened. One minute his mama was there, the next minute she was gone. I carried him out to pasture with him bleating the whole way. A soon as Flower heard him she remembered she had a baby. She started running around frantically, calling for him. She couldn’t seem to understand that he was with me. I finally made her understand where he was and, using the lamb to coax her, got her back into the barn. I felt she needed some more practice at being a mama before being outside with him.

In the meantime Lily, Cora, and their respective babies seem to have sorted everything out. The correct babies are bonded with the correct mamas.

by farmerkeen