Swallow Lane Farm Blog

Lambing wrap-up

2009-03-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's been another crazy week since my last post. We've wrapping up lambing with 2 more additions and an unfortunate reminder that all lambing doesn't go smoothly. Laffy Taffy lambed Saturday the 28th with one nice ewe lamb but one DOA. She was very delayed delivering the second, who doesn't appear to have ever breathed, so we assume he died in early labor.

Sunday, Magenta started laboring, and late that night, presented her first lamb in an awkward position, with a foreleg back. Cathie played obstetrician and got the lamb out with minimal complications. The second lamb also presented poorly and came out with a good bit of assistance. He struggled from the beginning - apparently from oxygen. We got him out and with heroics, we got him breathing. He was barely alive, and Mark worked with him until 2:00 AM. He made it through the night. By morning, he was a bit more alive, but couldn’t stand to nurse. He clearly had neurological problems - probably from oxygen deprivation during labor. We fed him by hand for several days, but by Wednesday night, he was gone.

The last ewe we expected to lamb doesn't appear to be pregnant after all, so we think we're done with lambing for 2009. There's a chance somebody will surprise us later, though, so we're still watching everybody, just in case.

Lamb and goat pictures and video

2009-02-27T14:24:00.000-08:00

I've got more pictures than I can efficiently include here. Instead, I've set up a Kodak Gallery page at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=w8k7dzp.2tpjwmw9&x=0&y=-wq4iva&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

We've had some fun with the new video camera too. Come see lambs and goats at play:
Goat kids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uailbqSpcwo
Lambs playing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfinRqyCrSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCMBgpQ2z18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sriV2gznT3A

What a weekend...

2009-02-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a mess. Saturday went normally and we did a lot of work around the farm. Saturday night the chaos started. First we Alana, then Cindi lambed in succession, with Ethel not far behind. Six lambs in 12 hours - whew.

In the midst of the craziness, a door was left open and Sophia (Emily's indoor cat) got out. We hunted in the evening with no success. Sunday, Sophia remained in hiding in the woods, the furnace died, and the kids' robot caught fire. Sophie returned Sunday night, but by then we were all exhausted.

Monday and Wednesday saw Alissa and Wilma lamb - both had twins.

It's now Friday and we have 14 lambs on the ground. Photos and video are now hosted elsewhere. See my separate blog post.

Lamb-a-paloosa

2009-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Saturday night brought 6 lambs in a span of 12 hours. Alana started things off with a flashy pair - one male, one female. As Cathie cleaned them up, she heard the telltale sounds of Cindi under way. Like everybody else this year, Cindi had a one-of-each-sex pair. Not to be outdone by her friends, Ethel dropped a pair of lambs in the middle of the night. Again, one of each sex.

Goats galore!

2009-02-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday afternoon, Cherry Blossom gave us an explanation of why she was so big. She had 3 kids - all boys. They were quickly up and about and ready to party, as goats usually are. Mom is milking well after a slow start, so the dairy cycle has begun. We keep a milking goat among the flock to provide a food source in case we get bummer lambs, and because the (human) girls like goats.

Lambs on the run

2009-02-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Snowflake and lambs are out and about, and happy to be free from the lambing pens. They've been busy checking out the old ewes and playing with Tourmaline, our yearling ewe who still thinks she's a lamb.

Cherry Blossom is big as a house, and ready to kid any day now.

Lambs for Valentines Day

2009-02-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

Round 2 of "the sheep don't pay attention to the calendar". We're still at least 5 days away from the first possible lambing day, but guess what we find when we get home from an afternoon out? Aurora has twins - a large, dark girl and a tiny boy who looks like he could be a premature lamb from some other mother. He's been struggling since he's weak and underdeveloped. With some help, he's up and nursing and seems to be hanging in there. The ewe lamb is up, alert, and ready to party.

First lambs of 2009

2009-02-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Lambing was supposed to start next week, based on what we recorded back in September. That gave us a long weekend to get ready. But the sheep had other plans...

Snowflake kept the family tradition of lambing during one of our rare snow episodes in February. Wednesday afternoon, Mark walked out at lunch to find twins. Thankfully, lambing was uneventful and everybody is doing well.

Welcome to the Swallow Lane Blog

2009-02-12T17:54:00.001-08:00

Welcome to our blog. Check here regularly for the latest news from the flock.