Sheep Shearing the Next Olympic Event?

I stumbled across this article and thought it was quite interesting. While shearing is not what I would call a competitive spectator sport, it is more of an necessary occupation (although most top level athletes can claim that their sport is their profession too) that involves some very physically fit people.
Link to Article

Cold Weather and Lambs

When you're lambing in cold weather you have to pay extra attention to newborn lambs to make sure that they are getting a good start. Some things to watch for are :

• newborn lambs can get cold very quickly because they will be wet, make sure they get well dried off or they can get pneumonia, frost bite or frozen ears and legs. We bring lambs born in cold weather into the house and use hair dryers to dry them completely.
• lambs baaing frequently may be hungry, they might need help drinking or their mom might be blocked so they can't get milk.
• lambs laying down for long time may be weak because they are just trying to stay warm rather than getting up to drink.
• lambs that get their legs wet from going through snow banks or stepping and water pails should be dried off so they don't freeze.

To avoid lamb deaths or illness during cold weather:

• check your herd frequently during lambing time.
• have lots of straw and bedding for both expecting ewes and ewes with lambs.
• invest in some heat lamps for newborn and small lambs, sleeping under the heat lamp will give them a little extra warmth. Just make sure they have cages on the outside so ewes can't get close enough to burn themselves and hang them a fair distance away from any straw or flammable material.
• when checking on lambs in pens with their mothers wake any ones that are sleeping up and watch to make sure they have a drink.
• get newborn lambs to drink as soon as possible the colostrum that they drink contains valuable antibodies.

Lambing started without me

Today we finally got our first lambs which is always exciting except for the fact I won't be able to see them until the weekend. Last year we started lambing during warm weather but this year the exact opposite seems true. The barn got ready just in time for the set of twins and the two sets of triplets that were born today; it was cleaned out with a bobcat, filled with straw and pens were set up. Since it is so cold each pen with lambs in it will also get a heat lamp that they can sleep under for some extra heat. I can't wait to go home this weekend and see the new babies!

Here are two of the ewes that lambed today, these pictures were taken on Christmas, the ewe on the left had triplets and the ewe on the right had twins just to give you an idea of what ewes look like weeks before they lamb. Of course the size of their bellies is determined by the number and size of lambs they have and their own personal condition, so it is very difficult to pin point an exact size of belly that a ewe will get to before she lambs. 

Countdown to Lambing: January

1 Month (or less)

By now most of our ewes have noticeable bellies and in the coming weeks their milk production will crank up in preparation for lambing.

Here are some pictures of the girls.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from

Prairie Winds Hampshires