Lambing

Tammy and I have spent most of our time in the lambing barn lately.  The weather goes from windy and cold to warm and nice and back again.  A few days ago we had below zero wind chills and the ewes (mothers to be) ate a while outside and run back into the barn and huddled together, then run outside and ate fast and run back in the barn and huddled together and chewed their cud.  Sheep are a ruminant animal and they have four stomachs. The sheep eat mouthfulls of hay or grass then swallow.  These mouthfuls are called cuds.  When they are resting they bring up the cuds and re-chew them.  We call this chewing their cud.  These well chewn cuds then go into the next stomach where they are further digested.  Then pass through the other two stomachs.  Yesterday, Tuesday the temperature got to 74 degrees, so the ewes, laid down and slept and enjoyed the sunshine.

Our grandkids came for the morning while their parents kept appointments.  I had Logan the two year old, he was helping me.  I needed to check on a ewe and needed to put Logan somewhere so I put him in the tractor cab.

He did not know he was in jail.  He thought he was in heaven.  But I got the ewes checked and he was entertained.

Here is a picture of some lambs sleeping under a feed trough.  We put about ten ewes and their lambs in a big pen and now we have about six pens with pairs.  Each pen has pairs that are about the same age.  So the ones that are oldest are now going outside and soon will be followed by the next oldest ones.

We number our ewes with a paint number and number the lamb with the same number.  That way each ewe and her lambs have the same number and we can keep track of everyone.