Lambing
at Cottonwood Farm occurred during the February snowstorm when it was very cold
and wet. We lost a few lambs because of
the cold and if we were unable to catch mum in time to get her into the barn
where it was dry. When sheep lamb, they
have the first lamb which they turn to clean.
The second lamb usually comes from five to twenty minutes later. If the second lamb arrives too quickly, the
sheep will leave the first to turn and clean the second. This leaves the first lamb vulnerable to
predators (ravens are the worst at recognizing opportunity) and often, when it
is cold the first lamb does not get the attention it needs to be nudged into
life. If it becomes too cold the sheep
will abandon it because it likely will not survive.
This
is what happened to Betty. Although we
were able to get her and mum and brother into the barn, Betty was very cold and
no amount of coaxing would make mum pay attention to her. So, into a warm shower she went followed by a
warm up in front of the fire. From a
limp little body with barely a heartbeat, Betty struggled back to life and
accepted some colostrum (first milk) from a bottle. The colostrum was provided by one of the
local cows about to calf and is essential for the antibodies it contains.
Our
new ram is Elvis, a black Romney so all our lambs are black this year (one of
the few advantages in a snowstorm). He
gets to stand by and watch these little dramas for which he is largely
responsible. Another ewe produced one
of our four sets of triplets in the barn.
Lisa Marie was the smallest of these triplets and, although they were
all pretty tough little lambs and appeared to be doing well, she was the one of
the three most likely to fail. In the
‘good things to know’ department, sheep only have two docking stations. A sheep rarely raises three lambs without a
lot of help. The smallest lamb usually
gets pushed aside and eventually fails so is removed and bottle fed. So after 24 hours Lisa Marie was removed from
her mum (the hardest thing I ever have to do) to provide company for Betty.
Feeding time
Lisa
Marie and Betty now live with us and are being raised by my daughter, Deb who
is their new mum. Sadly, they will
never integrate with their flock but always think they are human and wonder why
they are no longer allowed to lie by the fire or on the couch. We have walked them through the flock and
Lisa Marie’s mum recognizes her cry and runs over to check her out – but will
not let her nurse because she does not smell right. Betty does not even know she is a sheep.
Lisa Marie on
Grandpa John’s chair
A
month after rescue, they were eating my rosebushes, the heads of my daffodils,
any flower stem or stalk that stuck its head above ground – and they were still
being fed milk four times a day around the clock. Weaning happened slowly and at 8 weeks. At three months, they are fat and healthy and
have full range of the property; but they still do not do anything useful, like
mow the lawn.
Betty and Lisa Marie at 3 months.
Four
others of our lambs are being raised on Windsor farm by Brittany in a flock of
foundlings from all over the islands.
This
is a new version of an old rhyme revised by granddaughter Emily and myself.
Deborah
had two little lambs
Their
fleece was black a soot,
And
everywhere that Deborah went
The
lambs were underfoot.
They
followed her around the house
and
all around the yard.
They
ate the heads off daffodils
and finished off the chard.
They
scared the cat into the bush
and
chased the dogs around a tree.
But
we all loved them anyway,
Our
Betty and Lisa Marie.
Walkies means everyone goes
