What a day! I went to the sheep barn at 10 pm, just to check on expectant moms, and everything was quiet. But the next morning…wow!
First Ewe – Cocoa
Cocoa lambed over night, unattended, and greeted us with two beautiful ewe lambs. She’s a first time mom, but both lambs were clean, on their hooves, and well fed. We named the all-over brown girl Cinnamon, and her sister (who is light on the top and darker underneath) Cappuccino.
Second Ewe – Bonbon
Bonbon is the kind of first time mom that Katahdins are famous for.
At 9:35 a.m. she produced Meringue, a 9-pound ram lamb. Within 30 minutes Meringue was on his feet and nursing—and that was after mom passed the afterbirth and had her other ram lamb, Macaroon! Macaroon weighed in at 7 pounds.
Bonbon didn’t make a peep, just set to work cleaning each lamb in turn, and doing her motherly duties.
Both little rams are vigorous and lively. I’m so proud of Bonbon (and her precious boys).
Third Ewe – Nimbus
Nimbus surprised us! Her due date was 5 days away, so she was still out in the pasture with the other ewes, but she didn’t care, and went ahead and had a ram lamb and a ewe lamb all on her own, protected by our oldest guard dog, Boo. Mom and lambs are all doing great! Cirrus (ram) and Stratus (ewe) are happy and healthy, as you can see in the photo.
Fourth Ewe – Praline
Praline was last in line, and also delivered a fine set of twins! Praline has gorgeous coloration, and her first lamb, a ewe, is her match. We named her Ceecee (from CC: carbon copy). Praline’s second lamb, a mostly-white ram lamb we dubbed Nutty, followed in less than five minutes—I think he couldn’t wait to see the world. As with their birthday buddies, these lambs are healthy and vigorous, not to mention beautiful.
So in one very busy less-than-twelve-hour period, four first time moms delivered eight lovely lambs, four ewe lambs and four ram lambs.
It made for a hectic morning for the human farmers, but a very satisfying and happy one.
P.S. If you think that Cappuccino and Ceecee look a lot alike, they do! They are sired by the same sire, Red Demand, so they are half-sisters.
This must have been a really stressful day, but what pretty lambs!
Thank you! We are proud of our ewes and their lambs. Thanks for your comment.
You have wonderful pictures and notes along with fun names for all the lambs.
The dogs will be active keeping all the new lamb in their places.
Thank you for sharing! Mary
Thanks! There’s always much to do. Our guardian dogs are so helpful, as are the Border collies. We appreciate your comments.
What an exciting day for the human farmers and first time moms. Terrific photos and clever names.
Haha,thanks! Naming is a challenge (as we don’t want duplicates), but it’s also fun. Thank you for commenting!