This season we have been running the pregnant ewes through the corrals every few days, assessing how close to delivery they are by referring to the ultrasound results, which gave due-date predictions, and also by looking at the tell-tale physical signs, which include an udder starting to fill with milk and a general softening of the tissues in their rear-ends. We separate out the ewes who seem imminent, keep them in a paddock where we can watch them during the day, and bring them into the barn at night. The rest of the ewes who don’t appear ready to deliver stay out at night, in the fresh air and with the freedom to graze. It is much better for them, and keeps the barn from getting too crowded. This system has been working really well, but we knew we were bound to have a surprise one of these mornings.
That surprise came today, when Lolo and Melinda found Daisy out in the pasture at dawn with twins! Both lambs were all licked off and dried, and both had nursed, so Daisy had done a good job taking care of them, and of course our dogs Oakley and Owen protected the newborns from any predators that may have been lurking about.
Lolo used our handy lamb-slings to bring them in from the pasture, with Daisy following attentively.
