In the early hours of Sunday morning I filled the remaining empty lamb pens with ewes and their newborns. By 5:35 a. m. we were officially "lambed out" with our last ewe, Pansy, delivering a perfect pair of Cormo ewe lambs – a perfect ending to the season. Pansy’s twins arrived just an hour after Star had delivered a large, single ram lamb. I had been an "lamb alert" since 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, when Star began rearranging straw and talking softly to invisible babies. I monitored her restless pacing throughout the night and was relieved when her bellowing at 4 .am. announced that she was finally in active labor. Out came this cute little guy, "Osh Kosh":
While I was taking a much needed nap on Saturday afternoon, friends Lee and Lisa had stopped by the barn and happened to notice that Tansy was in labor. The timing of their visit was just right as they were able to rouse me and watch the delivery a rather large and wrinkley (but very pretty) Cormo ewe lamb.
Tansy with her new daughter:
I haven’t even named her yet, nor I have I named Pansy’s ewes. A sure sign of waning energy. We’ve had 40 lambs in 19 days. I’m fried. Will have to give some thought to those names, since those gals will definitely be "keepers". In case you haven’t noticed, every lamb receives a name and our theme this year is US towns and cities.
The ’07 lamb roster reads: Arcadia, Aspen, Denver, Nashville, Memphis, Augusta, Jackson, Leucadia, Savannah, Chester, Duluth, Bismarck, Florence, Galveston, Barnstead, Quincy, Shelburne, Colrain, Troy, Lansing, Boise, Orlando, Helena, Paonia, Flint, Sedona, Reno, Vegas, Nome, Laguna, Casper, Boulder, Topeka, Topanga, Pheonix, Tupelo and Osh Kosh. Finding names for ewes has been a little more challenging than naming the rams. So I will let you know what I decide for the last group of Cormo ewe-lings. Any ideas?
"Lambing out" brings a tremendous feeling of relief and satisfaction. Assisting the ewes with birthing is labor intensive. Each arrival means an additional pen to feed, water, clean, monitor, etc. Countless barn hours at unpredictable times really add to the fatigue factor. I’ve been really lucky to have such great back-up from my husband Mike and so many supportive friends who have stopped in to help, bring coffee, food, good company.
The work doesn’t end here – it morphs into the process of caretaking for a tender, young flock. The lambs change daily and watching them explore the barn (and hopefully the pastures soon, weather permitting) is fun. And fascinating.
Since we are expecting another round of Cormo lambs in June, we’re not really done for the year, just for now. When those lambs come, I’ll be ready. . .
The "lamb cam".
