Mara's Black Triplets - More Love Lambs
After Eeva had her lamb so early -- 138 days gestation which was a new farm record -- you can bet I was on the lookout for Mara's lambs. By that time, the ewes were all in the barn and the adjoining pen and I had a "jug" (small pen for mom and lambs) all set up and waiting for her. If Mara had her babies between 143 and 145 days gestation, as is normal for Finnsheep, then they were to be born between March 23 and 25th. Because these are "love lambs" I know exactly when they were conceived. See: Love Lambs and Regular Lambs
A lot of times it is harder than you think to tell if a ewe is going to have her babies anytime soon. Supposedly her belly drops and her hip bones become more prominent along her back about 24 hours before she gives birth. Supposedly it is from the ligaments in her rear end relaxing. But honestly I don't think it is very obvious with any of my ewes. Sometimes it seems like their hip bones become more prominent a few days before they give birth. And frankly when a ewe's belly is that big, their body has to look different all over. I have also been told they lose their appetite on the day they give birth. My ewes lose their appetite about 1 hour before they give birth. My ewes aren't going to walk away from a good meal, no matter what!
With Mara, I did have a lot of clues this year. On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 24th, Mara started look at her rear end occasionally as if aliens might fly out of it at any moment. (Well, there was some truth to that... but not aliens exactly.) So I knew she was having some small contractions. Then she started walking around the barn and calling to her lambs, like she was looking for them. (Pssst! Mara! They're still inside you.) Sometimes the ewes do call to their lambs while they're in labor. I've never had one actually search for them before. And Mara has had lambs twice before, so she knows what it is all about.
Unfortunately, we don't have a barn cam and our barn is too far from the house to use a baby monitor. So normally, I walk out and check the barn every 2 to 3 hours (on the days I am expecting lambs) and then if it looks like something is happening, I will either shorten it up to every hour or else just take a thermos of coffee to the barn and sit in a lawn chair. Mara is a more nervous, aloof ewe who does not like human company all that much. She is also an experienced and excellent mother. So I just left her alone in hopes that I would stress her less, but quietly peeped in the door every hour.
After many hikes out to the barn, cursing the former owners of this farm for building the barn so far from the house with each step, I went out at about 5:30 to do the evening feeding. When I went into the barn, a little black lamb had just been born and Mara was cleaning it off. I used the nasal syringe, a.k.a. "the booger sucker", to clean out its nose and mouth (which is supposed to decrease the chance of pneumonia by 50%) and helped Mara dry it off while still letting her lick it off. Then I walked backwards carrying the lamb into the jug (maternity pen) and so Mara would follow me in there. I stuck the lamb under the heat lamp as it was becoming clear that lamb #2 was on the way.
In the end, there were 3 lambs born in less than 1 hour. The main concern is making sure that they all get dried off and get colostrum in their bellies. It is really good if you can get something in their stomach within the first 30 minutes and definitely within an hour. When I have been able to do this, I have had NO cases of lambs getting hypothermia and needing to be rewarmed. Usually I can help them get on the teat to nurse that first time. Some time during all of this hubbub, I weigh the lamb, strip the waxy pugs from the ewe's udder, snip the umbillical cord down to about 1 1/2 inches in length and dip it in strong iodine. The rhyme is strip-snip-dip-sip. (Sip means making sure the lambs nurse.)
Here are Mara's beautiful triplets shortly after birth:
Top the bottom, they are ram, ram, and ewe. I have since wethered (neutered) the two boys since I didn't have any orders for black ram lambs this year. I hope a handspinner will buy the middle one with the big white blaze as a fiber pet. He has nice wool and a lot of personality.
Note: the vet just came today to take blood so I can do DNA testing and find out who the sires of these lambs are for sure. I am 99% certain that the white lamb is sired by Martti and these black lambs are sired by Usko. We'll see if I win that bet!
If the white ewe lamb is out of Martti, then I will keep her for my own flock. I had not planned to keep any white lambs this year, as I already have too many white sheep. But... I only have 2 other daughters out of Martti and he is getting old and very arthritic so he will be leaving our farm soon. He seems to be in discomfort all of the time and as much as I will be sad to see him go, I will not keep an animal suffering that way. Sometimes this farm stuff can be really hard when you know what must be done.
A lot of times it is harder than you think to tell if a ewe is going to have her babies anytime soon. Supposedly her belly drops and her hip bones become more prominent along her back about 24 hours before she gives birth. Supposedly it is from the ligaments in her rear end relaxing. But honestly I don't think it is very obvious with any of my ewes. Sometimes it seems like their hip bones become more prominent a few days before they give birth. And frankly when a ewe's belly is that big, their body has to look different all over. I have also been told they lose their appetite on the day they give birth. My ewes lose their appetite about 1 hour before they give birth. My ewes aren't going to walk away from a good meal, no matter what!
With Mara, I did have a lot of clues this year. On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 24th, Mara started look at her rear end occasionally as if aliens might fly out of it at any moment. (Well, there was some truth to that... but not aliens exactly.) So I knew she was having some small contractions. Then she started walking around the barn and calling to her lambs, like she was looking for them. (Pssst! Mara! They're still inside you.) Sometimes the ewes do call to their lambs while they're in labor. I've never had one actually search for them before. And Mara has had lambs twice before, so she knows what it is all about.
Unfortunately, we don't have a barn cam and our barn is too far from the house to use a baby monitor. So normally, I walk out and check the barn every 2 to 3 hours (on the days I am expecting lambs) and then if it looks like something is happening, I will either shorten it up to every hour or else just take a thermos of coffee to the barn and sit in a lawn chair. Mara is a more nervous, aloof ewe who does not like human company all that much. She is also an experienced and excellent mother. So I just left her alone in hopes that I would stress her less, but quietly peeped in the door every hour.
After many hikes out to the barn, cursing the former owners of this farm for building the barn so far from the house with each step, I went out at about 5:30 to do the evening feeding. When I went into the barn, a little black lamb had just been born and Mara was cleaning it off. I used the nasal syringe, a.k.a. "the booger sucker", to clean out its nose and mouth (which is supposed to decrease the chance of pneumonia by 50%) and helped Mara dry it off while still letting her lick it off. Then I walked backwards carrying the lamb into the jug (maternity pen) and so Mara would follow me in there. I stuck the lamb under the heat lamp as it was becoming clear that lamb #2 was on the way.
In the end, there were 3 lambs born in less than 1 hour. The main concern is making sure that they all get dried off and get colostrum in their bellies. It is really good if you can get something in their stomach within the first 30 minutes and definitely within an hour. When I have been able to do this, I have had NO cases of lambs getting hypothermia and needing to be rewarmed. Usually I can help them get on the teat to nurse that first time. Some time during all of this hubbub, I weigh the lamb, strip the waxy pugs from the ewe's udder, snip the umbillical cord down to about 1 1/2 inches in length and dip it in strong iodine. The rhyme is strip-snip-dip-sip. (Sip means making sure the lambs nurse.)
Here are Mara's beautiful triplets shortly after birth:
Top the bottom, they are ram, ram, and ewe. I have since wethered (neutered) the two boys since I didn't have any orders for black ram lambs this year. I hope a handspinner will buy the middle one with the big white blaze as a fiber pet. He has nice wool and a lot of personality.
Note: the vet just came today to take blood so I can do DNA testing and find out who the sires of these lambs are for sure. I am 99% certain that the white lamb is sired by Martti and these black lambs are sired by Usko. We'll see if I win that bet!
If the white ewe lamb is out of Martti, then I will keep her for my own flock. I had not planned to keep any white lambs this year, as I already have too many white sheep. But... I only have 2 other daughters out of Martti and he is getting old and very arthritic so he will be leaving our farm soon. He seems to be in discomfort all of the time and as much as I will be sad to see him go, I will not keep an animal suffering that way. Sometimes this farm stuff can be really hard when you know what must be done.
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