What Happened Overnight?

At some point overnight, Flicker decided to reject the grey and white doeling, even with temptation of grain present in the morning. I got a good amount of milk replacer in the little girl and put her back out but no luck throughout most of the morning with mom or the replacer so kept her in most of the time due to rain.

Finally after washing her up, and making sure she was dry, Flicker all of a sudden let her nurse a little bit. But then back to rejection and favoring the multi girl.

The little gal understandably isn't really interested in the milk replacer and wants to nurse anything moving.

So back out to the field at near midnight with her but no luck finding the multi girl who was hidden somewhere really really well. Back to the shed to get grain and finally, with all the sheep and other goats huddled around the fence for grain, she had an opportunity to nurse mom who was pigging out and didn't seem to mind. Hopefully she got enough to last until morning. We'll let her be out there with everyone unless there is a rain or she starts to get noisy.

Celebration

After fireworks and putting the boys down for the night, went out to check Flicker and found that she had a new multi-colored kid at her side. Looked closer and saw a grey and white kid lying about 6-8 feet away down the hill so trekked out to see what was going on. Happily, it was doing just fine, lying on a nice warm mostly buried rock. And...it's a GIRL! Of course I just had to know the sex of the multi; it's a GIRL, too! Too bad we're out of fireworks. Birth time estimated at 10 pm EST. Grey one looks like her sire, Jack. Multi looks just like her dam.

Gave them some goat drench which really got them screaming for mom. Made sure she realized they were both hers. She was actively cleaning both. Saw the grey one nurse and the multi may have nursed. Will be checking on them frequently. Mom still looks slightly plump but has expelled the afterbirth.

I'm sure the coyotes were intently listening to all the commotion as Cocoa was hollering for her little boy the whole time...he prefers to run with the sheep. So I had to call the sheep up so she'd know her little guy was present and accounted for. But then had to run them off so they'd stay away from the new gals and give them some space.

Jack is the perfect gentleman with the little ones so far.

Fuzzy Wuzzy

The sheep were finally released from their sweaters by the shearer on Thursday, June 18 between and in bouts of rain. I've pulled off the worse of the farm relics and bagged them up. We still have last year's 3 fleeces (Andes Mint, Eve, and Kayla) that were lightly washed.

The 2009 Shetland fleeces in order are Andes Mint, Eve, Kayla, Martina and Valentino. Click for closeups.

I also organized the raw cashmere combed out this year, weighed, bagged, and labeled it so that it doesn't get confused with the Samoyed down from last year! The small sandwich size ziploc of oat colored cashmere is 1/8 oz sample. The larger gallon sized ziploc of white is 1 oz. We ended up with 3 and 3/8 oz off of Jack and 5 and 5/8 oz off of Milly and Molly with a bit from Jack.

Unfolding of the Shetland Colors

I've always had a fascination with color and pattern (former graphic designer) so Shetlands were an obvious choice for the pasture. I absolutely adore their spunky personality, easy to handle size, and all the mystery and intrique of their genetics. Having a Swedish and Scots-Irish background sealed the deal. Learning to felt , spin and weave (maybe even knit and crochet with ease someday) will just be icing on the cake.

These photos were taken a while back but this is the first chance I've had to post them. All the babes are doing fine and getting nice and fat on grass. The little white ram lamb is quite the cutie and has a big personality to match, just like dad.

The little black buckling goat is probably wondering why he can't manage to baa like all the other little kids! If his grandma would hurry up and have her babies he wouln't feel so left out. It has just GOT to be any day now.

It's What's Underneath That Counts

Hot Cocoa started talking loudly about 7:30 on the morning of May 21 so I was sure to watch her carefully that day. I was starting to get worried when I had seen her have a contraction here and there, vocalizing and pacing, but nothing steady.

Finally, about 3 or so in the afternoon while the boys were down I snuck out to check on her, AGAIN. Woo hoo...she was laying down but when she got up I saw that she had a nice softball sized amniotic bag exposed. She was going to move from her chosen spot so I walked on down the rest of the drive to get the mail, hoping that when I came back up she might have delivered. No luck.

Half an hour later I checked again after one of our sons was up from his nap. As we approached, she stood up and delivered a single black buckling. By the time we got down to her, she was working dillegently to clean him up and he was anxiously trying to stand, walk, flop, whatever it took to get to her teats! After sucking on her neck for a bit he finally found them and did that happy little tail wag.

So now the question is...will he have white cashmere like his sire or light brown like his dam? Oh, further patience be granted, please! As if waiting for birthing wasn't enough.

Both are doing well as we await our last arrival(s) of the year...Flicker's kid(s).

Later in the week, the new red bull calf was sluggish and found to have fly strike on his back. Hot Shot had been bellyaching over him that day. After getting a bath, a picking over for creepie crawlies, and a fly spray he's doing just fine but we'll be checking him closely. He has learned to keep moving, swat his tail and not lay down on a brown pillow so hopefully there won't be a recurrence. Other than a missing patch of hair or two on the top of his back for the time being, he's a beauty.

Here We Go Again

The lamb whisperers say "pssst...did you see the new gal?"

A traditional dark red heifer calf was born 5 pm the 12th to Lil Hot Shot. She is nursing and getting along quite well. Her blonde half-sister looks on as if to say "are you ready to play with me yet?"

They are now in our back wooded pasture for a bit.

Now we await Hot Cocoa who was supposedly due yesterday, and her mother Flicker who has also developed an udder. They were bred to Jack Frost who had a heck of a time getting any time with them due to Andes Mint, our Shetland ram, cozying up to them. Apparently he prefers the company of the goats to his own ladies! We were worried that Flicker wasn't going to get bred as she had an early miscarriage (Andes' or Jack's???), the season was getting late, and Andes kept pestering her. Obviously Jack was cunning enough. Being that Milly lost 2 boys and Molly had a boy...we are SO hoping for some little cashmere does.

Supposed to be a cold night down to about 33 degrees...where in the world did that come from? I'll have to run down to the garden and cover any perishables before dark! We've had a few lettuce and spinach salads with fresh radishes, several small pots of mixed greens, and a handful each of snow peas and snap peas. I'm anxious for the fresh beets! I've just repotted all the veggies I've been unable to plant due to all the rain. After tonight I'll get them set out when the boys allow me a few minutes.

Latest Member of the Singles Club

Finally, photos of the new little fella. He's doing just fine but we're in for some rain so he and Kayla will have the shelter all to themselves. As long as everything goes well, they can join the rest of the flock late tomorrow. Below you'll see Kayla with last year's grey katmoget boy in the background.

Lambing Finale - Singles Only

Kayla has been hanging out solo all week and begging for extra rations. Finally, today while the boys were napping and I was working, about 3:45 pm, I heard one of our white does bleating and went to go check on her. Well, she was talking to someone. It was Kayla in the adjoining pasture!

She went to the shelter and was in labor. All the Highlands were standing around watching her...no pressure, right!? Right as I walked up, she delivered a white or very light grey ram lamb with a black spot on his hip, a medium grey ring around his neck, and silver flecking on his head. He was already trying to nurse but Kayla was more interested in cleaning him up.

Pictures tomorrow when all are settled. So I got all interested parties out of the way, put 2 closing panels on the entry and exit, and got her personal water, hay and a bit of grain. He's beautiful and already a sweetie. I'll visit later tonight after our boys are asleep to give him a couple of squirts of drench to help keep him perky through the night.

Our next to deliver is Hot Cocoa, our black doe, in mid-May and then Hot Shot, the highland cow, should have a new calf come late summer. Cocoa is starting to shed her light brown cashmere and Flicker is shedding her white cashmere so I'm anxious to have a chance to comb them.

Now we can focus on watching all the young 'uns grow, attempting to get a garden in without the boys trampling it all, building a run-in shed, and doing some more fencing. In between all the appraisal work created by everyone refinancing, that is!

Highland Hoop Time

After escorting Eve and her lamb to the shelter on day 2, bringing the lamb back in 3 times, and staying for about 15 minutes with the goats and ram present, she decided it was safe and they have visited there frequently for shade and naps. Little heifer calf was napping in there Tuesday morning which totally alarmed our Vizsla and Samoyed. She's about their size.

Weather is pleasant so haven't had to escort Martina and her new ewe lamb to the hut yet. At last check, lambs were laying on the back side of moms from any cool breezes.

Eve's lamb goes airborne when leaping on our hills and is a blaze running already. Tried to get a photo but Eve cunningly blocked me every time.

Sprinkles

Checked the front pasture about 8 am this morning and no new arrivals. Took the boys out to put hay out about 8:30 and noticed the new bull calf was taking advantage of the shelter while mom was off eating. I went down about 8:45 to introduce myself and upon exiting, saw that Martina had a little black lamb at her side. So then I spotted Eve and yes, she had her black lamb at her side, too.

Went over to check it out. Yay! It's another girl! She's already nursing and still a tad bit damp but mom's still doing her job. She is more of a dark chocolate, especially around the face. She has white pepper sprinkles on her head like Eve's lamb but they are very faint and small. Went and got a grain snack for Martina and a little drench for the lamb. Finally, we'll have a couple of babes the same age to play together. Guess Andes was in a dark mood this fall! Checked Kayla for udder development; I'm guessing she's about 3 weeks out as there is some development but nothing major yet.

Photos later.

Good Timing

Finally, a well-timed birth! After dinner yesterday, I went out with the boys to let them have one last romp before bedtime. The rain had let up and it was very pleasant weather. Merry Kate was pacing the field, getting up and lying down, obviously in labor. So I let the boys occupy themselves in the rock firepit for mom turned sandbox-wannabe for boys, but currently occupied with homemade potting soil mix leftovers instead of sand.

I was able to observe the birth from a distance. She delivered a white heifer calf at 5:45 pm and it was up standing at exactly one hour later. It's a very light blonde and is the friskiest calf we've had to date. Right after she delivered, Munro and Hot Shot came over to welcome the new bundle as if they'd been waiting the whole time in the lobby. They were suprised when it wiggled and jumped back a bit.

Andes' ram shield from Premier arrived also and he seems much happier with it than the sun visor. As long as it doesn't cause any problems, we'll keep him in it until the lambs are old enough to stay out of the way.

After Midnight -- Ba Ba Black Sheep

One of our twins joined us at 4 am, and about 5 am I woke up to the sound of rain. Got the strong urge to go check the animals but needed to wait until our fussy toddler was sound asleep so I wouldn't risk waking the entire household with his wails if he saw me escaping. I was out the door by 6 am.

Sometime between midnight and me getting out there this morning, Eve gave birth to a single black ewe lamb with white marbling highlights on her head. She looks as if she stuck her head in a paint bucket or went and had her hair fashionably streaked! She was already cleaned off and lively. I brought her in against Eve's protests. Jeff looked a little suprised when I brought her into the bedroom at 6:30 baaing for her mama. Our little toddler who was crying before I came in was even more suprised than Jeff but he did quit throwing his fit, temporarily. I made sure she was dry and warm and doing well then took her back to mom -- who was very glad to receive her back. I'm so content to finally have a dark colored sheep. We all got a little more sleep before the little boss decided he'd had enough of this boring sleep thing and it was time to get up. Our other little guy slept through the whole ordeal, even with the baaing sheep temporarily in the bathroom next to his room. In fact, he actually got to sleep in and seemed glad that Mr. Early wasn't sharing his room this morning.

The rain has turned into a light sprinkle but we're due for rain through Saturday. Hopefully every pregnant animal won't decide to give birth NOW...but... chances are!!! Think we'll call her "After Midnight" or "Storm".

After a spinach manicotti lunch and putting the boys down for a nap, I ran out the door to make sure and see her nurse as all the other animals were down the front hill grazing the newly green grass and wouldn't catch wind of me out with her. Went out onto the snotty muck of a hillside and gave Eve a snack so the little gal would have a shot at nursing. Sure enough, she got her milk mustache.

Snapped these shots. Our lcd on the handycam doesn't work anymore so I'm shooting in the dark with no viewfinder. If I get another crack at getting out there I'll give little black sheep some drench to keep her perky. Eve doesn't seem to want to take her into the shelter yet. Ande has had a tattered golf visor (with the inside support removed) tied on for a couple of days now and hasn't posed a problem. It suddenly humbled him.

After Merry Kate the cow, we expect Martina to be the next to deliver, followed by Hot Cocoa the goat, and finally Kayla.

Standing By

Our smaller Highland cow, Merry Kate, is finally developing her udder so we'll be expecting a little Highland soon.

Also, Eve is developing her udder and has begun to distance herself from the flock of sheep so we're watching her closely.

We hope to sell the white cashmere buck intact and also his white son (a wether) by this fall.

Camped Out

Hot Milk on a Cold Morning

10 am this morning, went up to the goat cave to check on the young 'un. He was all cleaned up and catnapping. Mom was up and out of the cave. I pulled him out and put him under her to make sure he was nursing. He took several good swigs of mama's milk from both sides so I put him back and headed back down. She had eaten some of the hay bedding so I will take some more up this evening or bring them down to the quonset hoop house.

We've received a winter weather advisory for 4-8-10-12 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow with windchill temps at 10-15 below with up to 30mph winds. YIKES!!! More than usual here. She couldn't have kept him in for a couple of more days?

The cave may actually be warmer as it's small, the boulder retains heat, blocks north winds, and is just the right size. She lays in front of him and he's snugged up to her in the very back. They usually prefer to be up there on high instead of the hoop house down below so I'll probably leave them where she is most comfortable. I'll use the other two goats back there as a guage. If they head for the hoop house I'll get mama and baby down.

Our boys are both sick with something they caught at the mall after their 2nd birthday photos were taken...so we can't even go out and take advantage of the snow. First one slept all morning on the sofa (he always gets croupy and won't sleep well tonight with trying to breath, so I'm glad for him to sleep ahead of time) and now the other is sleeping in his room. That doesn't often happen so there has actually been far less crying, fighting and whining today and I've been able to pay attention to each of their needs individually.

Going to be an interesting night. May need to add some kahlua to the coffee this evening.

New Arrival

1 pm Molly just delivered as I watched with binoculars. 1:15 pm our boys went down for a nap. 1:30 pm it's a single white/tan buckling and is standing. He took 2 squirts of goat drench and then I showed him Molly's teats and took them both to the goat cave as it's been sprinkling on and off. Will take hay up for bedding when our guard bull decides to take a nap.

Babe Watch

Molly, the smaller of the white does who gave us two bucklings last year, developed a full udder about 5 days ago and had full teats for at least a week or so prior. Today Rocky Top was chasing Milly around before they all came down to steal yesterday's leftover cow hay. Then Molly didn't come down when fresh was put out...which they normally do. Rocky and Milly were calling her to no avail. Even Jeff called for her.

So I went out as they always think it's snack time and haul tail when I call. No show. So up the mountain I went (11:30 am). There she was up at the very top looking bewildered that it took me so long to get up there. She came over for a pet but wasn't interested in coming down and didn't follow.

Our boys had a big birthday weekend, turning 2 years old. When they go down for an afternoon nap around 2 I'll head up the mountain again and check Molly. No signs of Milly coming due anytime soon but with Rocky chasing her this morning I'm wondering if she's just late to come into heat.