Lambing 2012: The Hunger Games

Lambing 2012 began late last Sunday night with Northwestern (1/2 Jacobs, 1/4 Shetland, 1/4 Suffolk) giving birth to an all white ewe.
Our naming theme for this year is The Hunger Games.  I read the book with the sixth graders this year and we all loved it so much that I figured it was a good theme.
So, meet Clove.   

On Tuesday morning Time greeted me with a moorit/krunet ewe (who unfortunately I don't have a picture uploaded of yet)  named Foxface.

Nate text me right before lunch that a "small brown one with

a metal ear tag was in labor.  Tyrconnel, one of last year's lambs, gave birth to this sweet, very small ewe lamb.  We named her Rue. Despite her size she is doing well.  When I checked her teeth yesterday morning they still hadn't erupted through her gums (she was definitely early.)

 On Thursday morning I did barn check to find J.J cleaning off a gorgeous black ewe lamb.  This lamb is 3/4 shetland, 1/4 icelandic, a mix that we are really appreciating.  She has the easy temperament of both her mom and grandmom, Fiona.  We named her Prim.

If you are keeping track, at this point four lambs, all ewes, with no crazy coloring or markings, and all singles, which had Nate stressing a bit.  Our market for lamb meat continues to grow and we've been taking lots of deposits for lamb come fall.  We have never butchered a ewe lamb.  They are always retained for the growth of our flock or sold to others. 

Darla finally broke the pattern on Friday morning (4/27).  She was cleaning off this ram lamb at 5:30 in the morning.  Again another single.  At this point I'm not complaining about singles because all of the lambs have been healthy, vigorous and with the exception of Rue, bigger than lambs we've had in the past.  Because of his flashy markings he is named Cinna.

Saturday morning I spend quite a bit of time with the sheep, Moving all the moms and babies except Darla out of the jugs since it was a warm, sunny day.  Everybody was getting along well, Daisy was curious of the new little arrivals, but was being well mannered and protective.  I should have taken a picture yesterday morning of her meeting little Rue for the first time, Nate and I were both on guard because she could have taken out the little lamb with one blow.  She sniffed her, watched her carefully and then went on eating. 

No one looked like they were doing anything exciting so I continued with the variety of other farm chores: transplanting seedlings, planting seeds, feeding baby pigs, entertaining two boys with a picnic....

At 2pm I checked the barn and Jacobs was just cleaning off a colorful ram lamb.  Jacobs has been with us since the beginning of my shepherding, given us ten lambs (twins each year) with Northwestern being the sole girl in all those lambs. I could tell that Jacobs was going to twin, but she took her time about it.  My mom came out to see the new lambs and was able to witness the birth of the second lamb, a beautiful HST ewe. 

Peeta                                                                  Katniss

So current lamb count is at seven, five ewes and two rams.  Six ewes have lambed, with ten to go.  I sure hope we get more twins and more rams.  We are very pleased with the quality of lambs this year.  All look very healthy, though I have to admit that my ewes all look very well fed, even after giving birth. 

In other farm news, baby pigs are being weaned, and getting ready to head to their new homes.  We have sold all of them as feeders this year.  The baby ducks are doing well, having been moved to the garage.  We also have 12 chicks that made the move to the garage yesterday.  I am expecting a hatch of turkey poults in the hayloft in the next three days.  The rest of the turkey hens have become experts at hiding their eggs, so we have not incubated any.  No new calves to report and we have 1 1/2 months or more until baby goats.

Come Visit Us at Earthfest!

We are gearing up for Saturday, and the fourth annual Iron Range Earthfest. This is a local event that has grown to include three venues and over 80 exhibitors and speakers. Visit here to get the details. This is our third time having a booth, and this year we have lots of pork to sell along with a limited supply of goat milk soap, some fleece, and some great birdhouses built by Kohen. We are also going to be taking deposits on fall lamb. So if you are in the area, please stop by. Nate and I will be at our booth or right next booth at the Cook Area Farmers Market booth. Should be a good time.
In farm news, we now have 15 magpie ducklings residing in the back porch, along with 15 chicks that have hatched in the incubator the last few days. It's a noisy room! Still no lambs, though that is ok. We had our first snowday of the year for school, on Monday, April 16! It rained all day Sunday and then turned over to snow late Sunday night. By the time all the phones in the house began ringing at 5:45 am (school alert system proclaiming school was closed) we had ten inches of heavy, wet, snow. The boys thought it was great, and I won't complain about the day off. It did make the school week a bit rougher with rescheduling state testing and the like.
As of today most of our snow has again melted, raising the river and lake levels considerably. This is a good thing considering we had very dry conditions before it. Now hoping for green grass, warmer temps, and lots of lambs!!!

5 MInute Update

Yes, I actually set the timer for five minutes and am typing a quick update post.

Calves- still only Choice. Not sure what the rest of the girls are waiting for. The bulls are not happy about their separation, but it will last for a few more months at least.

Pigs- Would you believe Gertie and Gwennie both went into labor at the same time? On a Monday morning, of course. Between the two we have 16 beautiful baby red wattle piglets, over half of them are already spoken for. We haven't decided if we will be raising any feeders this summer or not, we'll see what the demand looks like after Earthfest. A new pasture area for the pigs is in the works, as soon as Nate and I get time to fence.

Sheep- Shearing went well, our assistants all oohed and aaahhed over the wool, there may have been some wheeling and dealing, and plenty of claiming, but at the end of the night 10 of the 20 fleeces had new owners! Sandy C. has already begun working with Darla's fleece, and claimed it for next year! She even sent a skein of it over for me. My poor spinning wheel hasn't seen any action since last summer.

Boys- The boys are both doing well, getting anxious for summer and more time at home with their animals. Isaiah's having a rough day of it today- his ear tube (place two years ago) is coming out, and causing him some pain. They spent time this morning at the local easter basket extravaganza, and both came home happy.

Growing things- I have heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and peppers under lights in the back porch, my seeds and potatoes should get here next week. Now for more warmth in the soil so things can begin to grow outside.

My five minutes is up, More to come!

Hi Don M!!!