Lambing season has begun!
Lambing is an exciting time of year, and is very new to both Ben and I. We have experience delivering piglets and a lot of experience delivering calves, but have so far only delivered a couple of lambs. The good news is that mammals are mammals and have some similarities across species.
When calves are born, they need to have both front feet in the birth canal, followed by their nose and then the rest of their body. As long as the calf is a normal size, and has all body parts in the right position, mother should be able to deliver the baby without any help from us.
Piglets are shaped (and sized) very much like a russet potato with tiny legs poking out. When a piglet is born, as long as it is facing either forward or backward, mother should be fine to deliver it on her own.
Colostrum (the first milk produced by the mother) is full of essential nutrients, antibodies and TONS of other good stuff to give the baby a good start in life. Making sure that the baby gets colostrum in a timely fashion is essential. Most of the time Mom can handle this part too. This part is a "mammal thing" and doesn't really matter what species it is. Colostrum is very important.
So far, we have decided that lambs are knobby and long legged like calves, and thus should be oriented appropriately like a calf should be in order to be born. They are a little bit more temperature sensitive than a calf though, and need an external heat source (at least for the first few days during the cold months) like a piglet does. Lambs need adequate colostrum in a timely fashion in order to develop appropriate immunity, just like any other mammal. So far, like our sows and our beef cattle, our ewes have been good mothers. They feed their lambs without protest and keep tabs on their lambs' activities.
Ben and I are always on the lookout for signs that someone may need assistance, but that's nothing new since we maintain that same vigilance with each of our expectant mothers regardless of species. The scenarios I listed above are how birth would happen every time in a perfect world. Unfortunately, this world is not a perfect one, so Ben and I are always on the lookout for complications, and are prepared to intervene if necessary. There are TONS of scenarios that require intervention, and all vary based on the individual. Luckily nature does fine most of the time, so we mostly end up watching more than helping which is generally better for both mom and baby anyway. We only help when the health/safety of either party is in jeopardy.
There is no denying that new lambs are incredibly cute. So far there seems to be little rhyme or reason regarding what color the lambs are either. 3 ewes have lambed so far, and there could be 7 more to go!
The ewe lamb is white with brown patches, the ram lamb is white with black patches. The twins in the bottom picture are both ewes. I have no idea how we ended up with a solid brown one, but she is wicked cute regardless of how she got here!
Lambing is an exciting time of year, and is very new to both Ben and I. We have experience delivering piglets and a lot of experience delivering calves, but have so far only delivered a couple of lambs. The good news is that mammals are mammals and have some similarities across species.
When calves are born, they need to have both front feet in the birth canal, followed by their nose and then the rest of their body. As long as the calf is a normal size, and has all body parts in the right position, mother should be able to deliver the baby without any help from us.
Piglets are shaped (and sized) very much like a russet potato with tiny legs poking out. When a piglet is born, as long as it is facing either forward or backward, mother should be fine to deliver it on her own.
Colostrum (the first milk produced by the mother) is full of essential nutrients, antibodies and TONS of other good stuff to give the baby a good start in life. Making sure that the baby gets colostrum in a timely fashion is essential. Most of the time Mom can handle this part too. This part is a "mammal thing" and doesn't really matter what species it is. Colostrum is very important.
So far, we have decided that lambs are knobby and long legged like calves, and thus should be oriented appropriately like a calf should be in order to be born. They are a little bit more temperature sensitive than a calf though, and need an external heat source (at least for the first few days during the cold months) like a piglet does. Lambs need adequate colostrum in a timely fashion in order to develop appropriate immunity, just like any other mammal. So far, like our sows and our beef cattle, our ewes have been good mothers. They feed their lambs without protest and keep tabs on their lambs' activities.
Ben and I are always on the lookout for signs that someone may need assistance, but that's nothing new since we maintain that same vigilance with each of our expectant mothers regardless of species. The scenarios I listed above are how birth would happen every time in a perfect world. Unfortunately, this world is not a perfect one, so Ben and I are always on the lookout for complications, and are prepared to intervene if necessary. There are TONS of scenarios that require intervention, and all vary based on the individual. Luckily nature does fine most of the time, so we mostly end up watching more than helping which is generally better for both mom and baby anyway. We only help when the health/safety of either party is in jeopardy.
There is no denying that new lambs are incredibly cute. So far there seems to be little rhyme or reason regarding what color the lambs are either. 3 ewes have lambed so far, and there could be 7 more to go!
The ewe lamb is white with brown patches, the ram lamb is white with black patches. The twins in the bottom picture are both ewes. I have no idea how we ended up with a solid brown one, but she is wicked cute regardless of how she got here!