Just a few weeks ago, the rams were chasing Oreo around, so I thought she didn't catch. She never shed the wooly coat the hair sheep have their first year or two and she is an easy keeper - never eats the grain we supplement with in the evenings. Plus, I am gone over 12 hours a day, so the sheep generally fall to my husband's purview during the school year. I did notice to my surprise that she was pretty darned pregnant when I did my weekend inspection, but I was a little lost on the due date. I have had ewes look a bit bagged up for a month or more.
However, at 1:00 am, there was quite a lot of commotion out in the barn. It woke me up and I ran out with a flashlight. Sure enough, there was a pretty black and white ram lamb and a confused but willing first-time mama. I dipped his naval, separated them out of the flock and gave the ewe some food, water, and her own supply of minerals. She's not one of my amenable ewes, and I couldn't quite catch her on my own, so I trusted her obvious interest in the lamb and backed off. I like it when first timers have singletons - so much easier. Her mom was a first-timer with triplets, so a multiple birth could have been a real possibility.
Hopefully, all is well, because I won't be home until almost dark.
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