Another New Life

This lambing business is not all easy, as we are finding out with our new flock. All are first time ewes, so seem to be only producing one lamb, which is probably better for we amateurs.

The first one came easily, but we were terrified of foxes and bedded them both down in the house yard for one night.

The second one died in the cold, because mum was cast up against a bank and couldn't get up. That made me pretty sad, because it was a waste of new life and a good ewe's gestation time.

This morning I checked the remaining three and one was up but looking a bit odd .... a bit 'mumsy' and watchful. She turned around and there was a bundle of white hanging out.

Next she was down on the ground and straining, but nothing more for quite a while, so we bundled her into a corner to have a look. There was a poor little head stuck with its tongue out, with one foot alongside. We weren't sure how long she had been like that, so I got my one good arm and pulled. Baby came out onto the ground, and stirred a bit, so it was alive. We stepped back to let mum have a go, and she licked it a bit, but no action. We left her for 5 minutes and it still hadn't stirred. It was in a very cold windy place, so we moved him up to shelter, built a lean-to with some straw bales and toweled him off a bit. Mum came along, but bubby just couldn't get up, and he was getting shivery cold.

So, a phone call to our trusty sheep farmer friends again, and a read up on the internet gave us more info.

A next door neighbour was rearing orphaned lambs and had some milk and a bottle, so we gave him a small amount to warm him up, dried him off as much as we could, put my small poodle coat on him and piled some warm water bottles and more towels around.


He's up and feeding now four hours later. She is a lovely patient mum and stood quietly for a long time before he found which end was which. He still has his little yellow poodle coat on and looks so cute, but if it warms up later and I'm happy with his progress, I'll take it off.


They'll spend the night in the house yard, because we found one of our doggie biscuits down in the paddock. A fox must have picked it up and dropped it there.

Our baby deserves to spend his first night in safety. Once he's stronger and more mobile they can spend the nights with the others.

We're getting better at this!

"We are born wet, naked, and hungry. Then things get worse. "

... Author Unknown