A Big Emergency

Well. Macy was in labor all. day. long.

Here you can just barely see hooves poking out of her.

I waited patiently. After a long time I could see a little mouth and nose poking out too. Then I could see that Macy was getting very tired. So my Mr. grabbed her by the horns and I went in to get the lamb.

It was totally stuck! I pulled as hard as I could. Macy yelled at me. Loudly! I lubed up the baby with oil and pulled again! No movement at all! The baby was totally stuck. (Did I mention it was stuck?) I started to panic. I called the vet. I tried again. The vet didn't call back. I thought for sure that the lamb was dead. Suddenly the vet was there! He didn't call, he just came! I almost cried with relief!

So, we went to her. My Mr. held Macy by the horns and the Dr. pulled. And Pulled. AND PULLED! Out came the lamb! Alive! We were all surprised. A girl! She put her head up, tried to stand, and Macy started to clean her.

I paid the vet and named the lamb after his daughter. This is Macy and her new daughter, Emily.

All's well that ends well!

Lambing has Started

We bred 7 ewes last fall. Our rams were wildly successful it seems because they all fell pregnant quickly. Two of our ewes have already given birth and one other is in labor as I write.

Introductions. This is Kelly. She gave us one lamb on Saturday, April 14th. She was bred to our bad boy, Fudge. It's most common for sheep to have twins, but this was Kelly's first lambing and it's common for first-timers to have just one lamb. It's a girl! Which is fantastic since we're working on increasing our flock.

And here is Willow. She gave us a boy and a girl! She was in labor for awhile. That ram lamb has a big head! It was a very difficult birth. For me. Lots of angst. I'm still not over it. Willow, however, is just fine.

There are five ewes left to deliver. I'm not sleeping well. I wake every few hours thinking about sheep. Counting sheep is not conducive to sleep for me! I've gotten up early for the past few days, pulled my jeans on with my nightgown and wandered outside without even combing my hair. (It's okay. I live in the country.) I count the sheep. I look at their rears to see if anyone is in labor. Then I stumble back to the house to make coffee. Thank goodness for coffee!

This is Gabriel. He sired Willow's lambs. He looks tough, but he's really sweet.