Early Lambs

Doing chores I was surprised and dismayed to see that Kashmir had given birth this morning to two beautiful black lambs. Surprised because her due date is April 2nd, and dismayed because it was cold and snowing and windy. The smallest lamb I feared was dead, but when I picked her up she stirred a bit. I hastily tucked her under my shirt and Will, who is home from a nine day trip to NH, finished chores and blocked Kashmir and her larger ram lamb in the lambing jug.

I first gave the lamb to Duncan to hold while I readied a heating pad and they sat together for 20 minutes with just a faint stirring from the wee ewe lamb. I checked her mouth; ice cold and her flanks were still cold. Decided to run a sinkful of warm water and immerse her in it. I held her head out of the water and she soaked for a good 20 minutes until she started trying to get her legs under her. I hauled her out of the sink and into a towel and finally she started bleating. Ten minutes with a warm blow dryer she was looking for food! I mixed up a wee bit of colostrum powder with warm water and she took and ounce of that but was busy butting my chest looking for something better. Outside then to her mum who welcomed her with those sweet nickering noises ewes make for their lambs.

I will monitor her progress every couple of hours to make sure all is well, but she is up and nursing now so hopefully she will make it on her own.

Granny Aching would be proud of me. (If by some bizarre oversight you don't know who Granny Aching is, pick yourself up a copy of Terry Pratchett's "The Wee Free Men")

It must be spring.....lambs are arriving!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy