Lambing 2013 is Finished!

And now for some well deserved rest.....well not quite.

Ninkasi and lambs, they took it all out of her, poor girl



 this is Reese, like in Reese's peanut butter cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Hattie, she is a bouncer!







 

My yin and yang boys out of Strudel and Jasper

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As you can see there will be no rest, but at least lots of entertainment.

Bookend Boys

Tsunami gets her boys out in the pasture for the first time. 

Jack and Moby with mom, Tsunami.  Don't ask me which one is which.

Sushi and babes enjoy today's sun

Brother and Sis relax in the warmth.

Meet "Nori"

Sushi and her little ones.

The boy's face markings.

How about that tail!  It was pinned on after he was born.

First for Spring

Sushi is the champ of the day.  2 babes, a boy and a girl, late afternoon between lunch and dinner.  Classic birthing right out of the book.  Now if she would just hold still and let them nurse.  It must be overwhelming to suddenly have two munchkins coming at you making little sucking sounds. 

Hope the rest of the sheep can follow in suit.

These are Gotland lambs, the first of 2 to deliver.

OH MY...

Has it really been that long since I posted?  You are probably wondering what the hell those people on McTavish Farm are up to.   Well I wish I knew.  Time just seems to fly.

To very quickly get you up to speed we are expecting lambs this coming week.  It is that time again.  We actually bred a few more this year than last so we expect to lose a bit of sleep, hopefully not too much, but will be rewarded with stellar lambs.  At least that is the plan.  We have 7 expecting mothers.  Here are a few pictures of them just taken today.

 This is Shebaa, due date the 19th, I'm guessing she will twin.

Here are Rhapsodie on the left, Strudel on the right.  Strudel has a habit of surprising us with triplets so she may do that again (this time I refuse to be surprised!).  Rhapsodie I would guess is holding twins.  These two also due in the 19th.

Miss Nell is the biggest of the bunch.  She is has the same due date as those above but I can't imagine she won't come early.  And I think triplets are in order.

This is our first timer Tsunami, the Gotland girl.  Her due date is this coming weekend but I imagine she will hold until next weekend.  Twins?

One of these years I think we should try to make some extra money by developing some betting game.  People could bet on things like actual due dates, how many lambs, ram or ewe,  things like that.  Might be able to rake in a fortune, don't you think?  I promise to keep you posted.

Christmas Letters

Isn't this the time for updates from friends and family?  Well it is not often you get a letter from an animal you sold down the road.  Well it happened.  An e-mail message from our beloved ram Apollo whom we sold to some very nice folks just after Black Sheep Gathering this past year.  I'm not sure how he got his hooves on a computer but seems he is doing just fine.  Here is a copy of the letter:

Hey Mom and Dad,
I just wanted to drop you this picture and a quick note to say that I still love it here. I took a visit over to see the girls awhile ago but now I'm back in my mancave. My babies should start arriving in February or March. Travis and Jessie give me lots of loves and yummy food. You would be proud of me because I have been such a good boy! I hope things are well back home...tell my friends hi for me.
Luv,
Apollo :)

One thing about having lambs is you eventually have to sell some sheep (well the other alternative is not so good either).  But being a control freak I find it hard to imagine that anyone could take as good a care of my sheep as I can.   I have found I have to rein in on that feeling and have a little trust.  In this case I have been rewarded, don't you think?   We find it monumentally reassuring to know the animals we sell are in good hands.  I also find it monumentally reassuring that the ram I sold is not breaking down someones barn.  That too is good.

Happy New Year!
Tracy

Breeding Time

Sushi and Tsunami sport their green butts

Since last post the rains have come along with some warmth and sun.  Enough to green up the pastures a bit and give the sheep something to forage.  We just completed our breeding (that must sound really weird to those not accustomed to "farm talk") and the ram and ewe groups are now settled into the long wait until lambs come.  That will be the last couple weeks of March. 

We bred 8 ewes, 6 Shetlands and the 2 Gotland girls.  The Gotties got to go on a little road trip down to Ronan Country Fibers near Grants Pass to meet a nice man.  I'm not sure they liked it all that much but they did come back with nice green bottoms!  (for those of you who wonder what that means....the ram is painted on the chest before breeding, when he mounts the ewe it leaves a nice mark so we know whether they have bred or not.  Ewes conveniently do not breed unless they are cycling). 

Strudel, Rachel and Rhapsodie

Jasper and Dover were the lucky Shetland boys this year.  Jasper takes his job very seriously and works his girls until they finally give in.  Here are his girls wondering why I put them in this pen with this strange guy with horns that keep sticking out his tongue at them.  "Would you please get us out of here, now!"

Jasper at work

Dover here chose to run his poor girls until they were completely out of breath.  After a couple hours they finally settled down and ate a nice meal together.  Dover is only a lamb but obviously didn't need any training to know what he was suppose to do.  We are hoping to getting some little gulmoget babies out of him with his soft, fine, lovely moorit color.





And now the wait begins!