Committed- Learning Lessons in Lambing

A couple of our ewes were bred late

which means we were going to lamb in July.

One of them was open so we were waiting

(not so patiently)

for our Lily to lamb.

She seemed ready FOREVER

and she was large.

On Sunday I checked her in the morning

and

she seemed as ready as ever

but 

nothing major.

We came home from church and I thought I would just run out to see how she was.

I got in the barn and she was laying down

with a lamb behind her

still in the sack.

I got into the pen and peeled the bag back

the lamb was still hot

but

not moving- not breathing.

I wiped it the best I could with my bare hands and straw.

I put a piece of straw up it's nose and tried to clear out the airways.

At this point it started twitching.

Still not breaths.

So I tipped it up side down and with my other hand went down its nasal canals.

laided it back down and gave it mouth to mouth.

It was disgusting.

I wish I was a good enough person to look past that

I am not

It will go down as one of the most disgusting things I have done to date.

BUT

that little lamb took a breath

and started to kick

She was pretty rattly for a few days and it took her 8 hours to stand and eat on her own.

The ewe was confused about the "let down" reflux

and kept kicking at her bag like flies were on her.

But my midnight everything seemed to sort itself out.

I am glad it's our last of this year.

I am extreamly thankful it's alive and healthy

and

it's a ewe!

Our First Predator- graphic warning

We have ducks.

They are a new addition this year.

We bought them after we sold our geese.

They are MUCH milder and easy to deal with

Every morning we turn them loose and they waddle themselves down to the creek.

They swim, they clean, they fluff, and then they come home for dinner.

I went out in the afternoon and noticed a duck laying too still in an odd place in the field.

Sure enough. 

Dead.

Decapitated dead.

When I first went down I could only find the body.

The girls found the head a couple hundred feet away- half up a hill...

His name was mouldy

Now to try and figure this mystery out.....

Needless to say- the rest of the ducks are in lock down until this matter is sorted out.

Butternut's Debut

A couple weeks ago I picked up this lovely Nigerian Dwarf nanny and one of her doelings. She has been such fun! Our oldest daughter is smitten with them. They are fun and a little more personable than our sheep. We haven't tried milking yet but that's in our future. I can't wait to try soaps and lotions and maybe even a taste.

She is settling in well to her new surroundings. She enjoys the walks the kids take her on. She doesn't love Bellie {our dog} but she is learning to at least tolerate her!

Learning to Listen

Last night my girls went out to do their chores. As they were finishing up with the goats, one of them felt like they needed to go and check the sheep. They went. When they arrived at the shelter one of the ewes was stuck. 4 feet in the air on her back. One stayed with the ewe and one ran to the house to get me. When I got there the ewe was upright again. My daughter felt like she needed to roll her over. The ewe was stumbling and stiff. She had been there for sometime (I check them morning and night so it must if happened shortly after morning checks) but her back was saturated with urine and fecal matter.

So glad that these two listened to that inner voice and found her. And another great lesson learned on our little homestead!