Rainy Day – Lambing Q & A | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

Dreariness! Rain and wind and no new lambs today. Actually, that's not so bad since we're all pretty bushed. Our bright moments were in the barn enjoying the six little ones who arrived over the weekend. Arial and Bodoni had the right idea, napping in the straw. "Bodo" has a cough. He's had a slight chest rattle since birth. After taking his temp (which was slightly elevated) and consulting with Andy and my vet, I gave him some antibiotics. Don't worry, we'll be watching him closely. Hopefully he'll rally by morning.

Since it's a quiet day, I thought I'd take moment today to respond to a few questions from commenters:

In no particular order:

Q: Do you know about how many lambs you're expecting total? I don't know anything about lambing- here on your blog is the first time I'm seeing it- do you always get twins or sometimes just one? And if they can have one single lamb do you know before hand if they will have twins or not?

A: We never know exactly what each year will bring. If everyone is bred and everyone twins (two is most common and most desirable birth number), we'd have forty lambs. But I'm not sure that two of the twenty bred ewes "took"'. One looks like her udder is starting to swell. The other, not so much. The only way to tell how many each mom is carrying is with an ultrasound and even that is not always reliable. I expect we'll have singles from the first time moms. It's fun to see what happens.

Q: Is that a little knitted sweater on that cute lamb you're holding??

A: Our lamb sweaters are recycled from the sleeves from discarded wool sweaters. With a few alterations, they make great jammies for lambies. Last year some very kind readers sent me boxes of sweater sleeves – re-purposed for the cause. But if you'd like to knit for the flock, I'll pass round the sign up sheet!

Q: How long do the mommy ewes get to be un-coated? and how do you keep their fleece from getting dirty?

A: I pull coats from the moms while they're distracted with their newborns (they don't seem to mind me fussing with them, so enthralled with their little ones) since the leg straps dangle at about the same height as a lamb's head when it's looking to nurse; it would be terrible if one were to get wrapped around a lamb's neck. Once they've figured out nursing, mother's coat go back on. Lambs love monkeying around on their mother's backs and do a number on fleeces!

Q: What is the pattern for the adorable knitted hens ???

A: The colorful hand-knit hens are made by a local crafter, Elizabeth Radysh. She makes beautiful hand-made toys, all sold locally. Aren't they great? I'll be sure to let her know how much you all liked them!

Q: Tell Tupelo her new lambs are gorgeous! So happy they're healthy and strong. Since they arrived during the photo shoot, do they get to be in the book?

A: Well, they are rather photogenic. You'll have to stay tuned!

That's about all for now. I'm off to grab a bite then to catch some rest in case I'm called to the barn this evening. You have until Friday to enter this week's drawing for the "New Arrivals giveaway, then we start a new giveaway for the coming week.

Thanks for stopping by, always good to hear from you.