As Day 11 approaches for Grace and Clara's little lamb life, a lot has happened. I left off where Eve had her sweet twins, and settled in for the night. I will say that a big part of the reason David and I are both "worried" about the lambs is mainly because we struggled to get Belle through her first 2 weeks of life, getting her to feed with a bottle, and felt the responsibility of her life on our shoulders. Now, with two lambs at once, we were relieved that Eve was such a good mama to them.
Then, it happened. We noticed it the following day after the twins were born. The twins were only able to get milk out of one of Eve's udders/nipples. It became more and more profound, and the twins were fighting for one teat. I googled how to help this situation, but quickly realized I would need Dr Shelton to come check things out. And he did. Dr Shelton came back to the farm and evaluated Eve. He said, sure enough, that Eve was likely to only be able to give milk from one teat. He catheterized the "bad" teat, he gave antibiotics, he gave her a steroid shot (to be given again for two more days as well). But the udder would not produce milk. It was swollen by now, hard to the touch, and painful. Likely mastitis, or a nonfunctioning udder. This began making it harder for the lambs to suckle, because they would accidentally knock or hit the "bad" udder when they were nursing, and it would cause Eve to move away from her lambs due to the pain. The lambs would run towards her, still wanting to be fed. Dr Shelton had told us we were likely to have to bottle feed or supplement Eve's milk with bottles. He did shed some light onto the situation by saying that the one remaining udder/teat may start developing more milk. Only time would tell. It never did, so the twins would be left to nurse off of one teat and one udder of milk.
Grace and Clara were still doing well, acclimating to their surroundings. At Day 4, we let them move around on their own free will. Out of the barn, into the pasture if they wanted. They could always go back into the barn anytime. Our guard dogs, Levi and Whisper immediately took to protecting the lambs. They did not want any other dogs, chicken or such to get close. What good LGD's they are. The lambs were drinking from the only milk available, and sharing the teat/udder. Dr Shelton had warned us to watch for Eve to "kick one of the lambs off" because sheep will do that, esp with her current udder situation. But Eve kept on, letting both her babies nurse and take turns.
I did make a trip to The Dollar Store, because they have everything and it's close, and bought a couple of baby bottles. I dropped by the feed store to buy Lamb Milk Replacer. It's just like baby formula, but for lambs. I was set to begin the process of acclimating the lambs to the possibility of taking a bottle, in addition to nursing. Dr Shelton says when they get hungry enough, they will take the bottle, and that Eve will ultimately not be able to keep up with the lambs nutritional needs. It's only a matter of time, really. Good news? The lambs will most likely start nibbling alfalfa, grains and grass earlier than usual, due to this situation.
Day 6 arrives, and I go to the barn to check on everyone. Grace and Clara are thriving, and each day I'm pleasantly surprised. I have begun offering them a bottle morning and evening. Today is no different, and they reject it at first each time. But Clara will normally take a ounce or two, as Grace gets a taste and nurses while Clara takes the bottle. They both continue to nurse during the day on Eve, and nibble on whatever their mama nibbles on. They literally do whatever she does. They never get far from her, and the three of them talk to each other constantly. Sheep language is interesting. You can tell by their tone what they are saying. I'm lost! I need to be snuggled. I'm hungry. Where did you go? Night night. It's all very sweet.
This will be Eve's only lambing. Her udder malfunction is the #1 reason for culling. When a ewe cannot nurse appropriately, they typically should not lamb again. It's too risky. In the real sheep world, she would be sent to the freezer. But we are certainly far from that. So she will enjoy her life with her two babies, by her side, in the pasture for as long as she desires. They will wean with time, and in no hurry.
As the days pass, Eve and her lambs venture out further and further. The other day, they were down at the pond. I was so worried they might fall in the pond. What if!? Or it might be too far of a walk for those little lambs. Not to worry, they are doing real lambs things. When we compare them to Belle at that age, she didn't have a mama, and lived in the house with a diaper on. She stood on the dishwasher while I loaded it, she marched around the house in her little high heels (their hooves are thick and tall from the beginning of life), and she imprinted with David and I as her caregivers. She did not eat grain, grass or hay, even if we offered it. After all, we were not eating it. Only bottles. And she asked for them all the time. It wasn't until we bought Belle a couple of lambs friends, that she figured out she was to go out into the pasture and graze. It was quite a shock to her, but she did it. She learned how to be more sheep-like. But even today, she would rather be around us, very much like a dog would.
These new lambs will be nothing like that. They have eyes only for Eve. They are tough and thriving well. It's fun watching them grow up so differently. I certainly have learned a lot! And with that said, along comes Belle, following right behind Eve in the lambing department. Belle has grown significantly over the last week or so. Her udders are slowly growing, and it's hard to comprehend she will have babies too. We weren't sure, for so long, if she was pregnant. It's only been in the last week that we are seeing the real signs. The same ones we saw with Eve. Isolating themselves, nesting, resting more, seemingly uncomfortable, actually eating less. The last month of their 5 month pregnancy is when it all shows up. I somehow seem convinced she's going to have triplets. I just do. If I'm wrong, that's okay. After all, we've only picked out names for twins, so far. I picked out Poppy, and Lauren picked out LuLu. Granted, this is all assuming they will be girls, and it will be "they". Sam has done a fabulous job of helping us grow our flock. He's onto helping another family now, and will do the very same thing there. He sure throws pretty babies.
We saw Belle nesting in the barn area we made for Eve to give birth in. It's like she knows that's where she's supposed to be. She will have her day there. I don't know if it will be as smooth for Belle, as it was for Eve. Labor and delivery with no problems are certainly a blessing and it was not taken for granted. We hope the same is true for Belle, when the time comes. Maybe Eve and Belle talk about it in their sheep language.
The one thing I have failed to mention is their relationship. Throughout Eve's delivery and raising of the lambs, has been her best friend, Belle. They have been side by side through this. Belle would sit by the fenced area in the barn when Eve and the lambs were isolated for the first few days. She waited patiently. Eve has allowed her to be as close to her lambs as Belle desires to be. There is no competition. Just love between them.
As we wait and watch, living our life in fascination of these animals, I feel overly blessed at times that I have been entrusted to be their caretakers. I've read many blogs and sites on the internet of people just like us. Doing this hobby farm thing because it's what we love to do. Unsure, learning, hoping, guessing and loving every minute. To be outside, with no other people around and do exactly as you wish with no judgement. Only love and trust from the animals all around. It's my place in life. The one place that is therapeutic and peaceful. Literally, no other place I would rather be. Barn Sweet Barn.
Eve continues to amaze us with her motherly skills. She's doing a great job, and we love watching the new lambs grow and learn. I hurry home so fast after work these days. I can't wait to see everyone and how they are doing. And how everyone is doing. Speaking of, Whisper has surgery scheduled for 11/13 for her leg. She will be out of commission for 2-4 months recovering. The new LGD puppies will step up to the plate and be Levi's side kicks. That will be a circus in itself. Things continue to evolve and change. Everything is the same, yet nothing is the same. Another lambing event is coming......SOON. Belle will have her turn.
Soon.
Cyndi
2 comments:
Soon...... ahhh, Soon.....
our newest ‘key word’ in life with subtle nuances in meaning. Dr. Shelton said Eve would have her lamb “soon” and it turned out to be the next day!
Cyndi said, our first beautiful lamb Belle would have her baby ‘soon’, and within 12 hours waalaaah, little LuLu has arrived!
While I love the anticdotally-verifiable assumption that ‘SOON’ means something we don’t have to wait for and can, indeed, be counted on to happen quickly, it is disturbing that signs stating “The world will end SOON” have taken on a new importance!
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