Late Day Lamb

Wild Rose Farm Evening Pasture Scene

Look closely at the picture above ... see anything?  Yes, that's a newborn lamb peeking out of the group. We went out to check the pasture & bring the ewes back to the Loafing Shed for the evening.  As we walked up, we spotted a ewe & lamb headed up to join the main group.   These little lambs can cover some ground following the ewe!

Leading Ewes Back To The Loafing Shed

As the sun was setting, we made it back to the barn where X-bred Ewe #135 is happily munching hay with her ewe lamb ...

Wild Rose Farm #135 & Ewe Lamb

Or, should we say, "sharing her hay" with another ewe poaching through the pen?  :)

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Munching Alfalfa Hay

Twins + Twins

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #422 Heads For The Barn!

We've had 2 sets of twins since our last post - a ram lamb & a ewe lamb on Monday morning and a set of twin ewe lambs this morning around 6AM.  So far, early morning is the preferred lambing time this year.
This time, our Rambouillet ewe walked ahead of us to the barn with her feisty lambs following along.  Of course, they get a couple of squirts of their baby lamb energy & vitamin mix and now they're resting.
As we brought them around the back through the paddock, llama Snow White couldn't believe her eyes ... the first lambs that she's seen this season!   WOW!

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White Greets Her New Friend!

A Set Of Twins!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #328 With Twin Ram Lambs!

A set of twins were delivered early this morning in the Loafing Shed.  Rambouillet Ewe #328 was just cleaning off the second ram lamb when we found them.  Here they are an hour or so later in the barn.  The first thing the ewe usually wants is water & then we follow with some nice feed for a little energy.  Whew!

1st Lamb At Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm #419 & Ewe Lamb

We found our first lamb of the season at the 7AM pasture check.  Rambouillet Ewe #419 was in the Loafing Shed with a single ewe lamb.  The lamb was cleaned off, dry, & had a full belly, so it had been born a couple of hours earlier.  Here she is taking a rest while coming over to the barn.  We carry the lamb & the ewe just followed right along.

Ewe Enjoys Some Grain!

Once they were penned up, the ewe munched on some feed and we dipped the lamb's navel in iodine & gave it a couple of squirts of a baby lamb oral supplement - a booster with energy from fat & a mixture of vitamins.  It has a nice sweet molasses smell.  Later in the day we milked out one side of the ewe's udder and got 8 ounces of colostrum.  Single lambs start nursing on one side, so it's a good time to get in and get some colostrum (the first milk with all of the antibodies) to freeze in case it's needed for an orphaned lamb ...

Sheep Shearing Done ... Finally!

What Is Going On In Here?

Snow White can't believe what she's seeing!   Not only was she intently observing the sheep shearing, she had to sniff the sheep to figure out what happened.   We had to postpone the original shearing date a week ago.  Our shearer Don injured his knee and called at 7:30 AM Sunday morning to cancel the appointment.  We weren't sure when we could reschedule, so it was "pins & needles" for most of the week.  We ended up shearing the first 26 ewes on Sunday and finishing the last 20 ewes on Tuesday.   It's great to be finished for another year.

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Waiting In Full Fleece

Our shearer has around 200 sheep of his own, so he arrives mid-morning after completing chores on his own farm.  Right before we start shearing, the ewes are crowded close together to make it easier to catch them.

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #129 Being Sheared

As the ewes are sheared, we bag the fleeces individually and make notes on fleece quality for every ewe.  In the case of the yearling ewes being sheared for the first time, we also take a 2" square wool sample, label it, and pack it to be sent to a testing lab for micron testing.

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #129 - A Nice Fleece!

Last but not least, we even got Snow White a "barrel clip" ... meaning that she got the traditional llama clipping pattern.  Kudos again to RA-DAR Farm where Snow White was raised & shown.  She stood quietly in the paddock held by her halter & lead rope and was no trouble to clip.  Yea!  

Sheep Shearing Tomorrow!

Wild Rose Farm Bred Ewes

Do we look like we're READY to be sheared?   Finally, the weather is cooperating and our shearer plans to be here tomorrow.   He called a couple of hours ago.  We moved the ewes off of their round bale hay feeders and they're on the way to the barn.  No sense trying to lead them through the new green grass, so we "pause" them on one of the paddocks for half a day.  Once they're satisfied, they'll follow up to the barn! Then it's no hay or water overnight.  That way, they are more comfortable being manipulated during shearing on an empty stomach.

Fleeces Look Pretty Clean ... Ewe Lamb In Front

We're thinking that the fleeces look pretty clean this spring ...yea!  Well, it's time to go out and get the barn set up for tomorrow.   Enjoy the sun!

Scampering Past Daffodils!