It has been CRAZY here! I’ve had SEVEN sets of triplets here, 3 of them yesterday. I’ve also been butchering chickens, 10 yesterday and 15 the day before, they are on ice. Going to do chores this morning, then get busy on getting them what I call “fine cleaned” cut and vacuum sealed and in the freezer. I still have 12 more to butcher, they get a stay of execution for a few more days until I get this 25 in the freezer.
I’ve got to count up how many lambs now….lets see, it is 26 lambs from 10 ewes in 9 days. I ear tag them when they hit the ground or else I wouldn’t know what lambs go to what momma.
I put all my sheep in a night pen for safety from coyotes. Right now, Sheba is the lamb and ewe guard and she is phenomenal. Trying to get new babies and their moms rounded up and in the night pen is like trying to herd brain damaged deer.
Some of them get suspicious, figure out that feed might show up soon, run to the pen, see empty pans and run back out again yelling. Some start towards the pen, this wakes up their sleeping babies, babies want to eat, ewe stops. Some babies are left in the field by their Greedy Gut Momma and cry pitiously. Momma runs back out crying for babies that she can’t find. I put feed in the pans, there is an attack of starving piranhas, tiny babies running to find Mom, trying to suck on Not Mom and Not Mom butts them away. Meanwhile Good Moms are still nursing their babies out in the field, yelling SAVE SOME FOR ME!
I go pick up 2 babies, leaving one to follow Good Mom. I carry them low so Good Mom can follow, other lamb follows. Suddenly Good Mom runs back to find her babies. I set babies down and they cry. Good Mom comes running with lamb racing to keep up. I pick up lambs, carrying low, rinse, repeat, until we get to night pen. There’s 2 cow panels in my slap together pen and lambs have figured out that Greedy Mom is on the other side and they congregate together for mass assault and entry through the cow panels. A couple more trips to the field to retrieve Good Moms and lambs, and all are up for the night. I feed again, put out more grass hay and when feed is gone, alfalfa goes in the pans.
This is my life now…….
I’m going to do a photo dump. There’s going to be lots of cute baby lamb pictures in the coming weeks.
Fancy is due tomorrow. Then I get a break, 2 are due on the 18th and one on the 20th. Then that’s all. We’ll see what the final number shakes out to be.
I’m tired, bordering on exhaustion. Got o get chickens processed today, do morning chores, check on ewes multiple times, fresh water, alfalfa and grass hay. My shelter and pen is serving well.
Oh my goodness, too funny. But sounds exhausting.
