It’s fun for girl or a boy | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

Thalia's triplets are still the only three lambs in the barn, so they're getting all kinds of attention. Thalia deserves a gold star for taking excellent care of her little ones, who are all alert, on their feet, nursing, and checking out the rest of the flock through the slats in their lambing jug.

I'm hoping Thalia's milk supply will be adequate to feed them all without bottle intervention. Although bottle lambs are cute – they're also a ton of work. It's much easier and healthier to supplement momma's diet and let her do the work.

We're checking their weight so we can be sure they're gaining, using the fishing scale (below) with a special sling attached. This little minnow weighs 5# 6 oz. – the smallest of the three. She is Saffron and was the last born. The biggest lamb is Cobalt 8# 8 oz followed by Crimson (my first arrival) who weighs 5# 9 oz.

Thalia's udder is perfect and her milk has come in (hooray!), and in good supply. With three lambs, someone always has to weight her/his turn.

As I said, they're getting lots of attention. The first time ewes have been poking their noses into Thalia's pen for a sniff. And Crackerjack has looked into the pen many times to scope things out.

And while it's easy to become mesmerized by a pen of adorable newborns, I'm keeping an eye on the rest of the flock and watching for who might be next.

I see three potential candidates for next in line. What do I look for? Well, the most obvious physical change is a distended udder and swelling in other parts. Right before lambing, there's a contour change in the mother's midriff, a slight hollowing above the pelvis as the lambs descend toward the birthing canal. This change is the hardest one to see, since the girls where jackets.

Then there are the tell-tale behaviour signs: standing apart from the flock, head down in a corner with a far-away look . . . .

Tell me who you think it will be. Join my lamb a-long contest. All commenters are entered into the pool for our grand prize – 2 skeins of Wool & Alpaca Twist and a copy of Lisa Lloyd's Thistle & Fox Socks booklet, drawing to take place after the last lambs have touched down.