Hall of fame

if a sheep has its own post, it gets its own category

EweTube: Bummer Soay lamb grows up, lambs without a hitch

Little could we imagine two years ago when we were bottle feeding Patterdale in our kitchen that she would survive, grow up, and produce her own healthy lamb, but that is just what has happened here in the last few days. You may be wondering, what’s the big deal, since Patterdale obviously lived through her […]

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Even bummer lambs grow up, sigh

Even bummer lambs grow up, sigh

I have such mixed feelings about Patterdale, our first and only bottle baby.  She seemed so vulnerable when she first arrived and then as she started to grow in our breakfast nook, yattering away to be sure we knew she was there and needed milk — all the time.   Both Steve and I had to resist the urge to smother […]

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Bummer Lamb Update:  More Lessons Learned

Bummer Lamb Update: More Lessons Learned

When last we met Patterdale, she was just a few days old, traumatized by her mother’s rejection, confused by her wanderings in the Maternity Ward, wishing she could have continued as Tolcarne’s adoptee, and a bit uncertain about her prospects in the makeshift pen in our breakfast nook.  Not to mention the nearly hourly strife of going nose-to-nose with […]

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A Bummer Soay Lamb:  Lessons Learned

A Bummer Soay Lamb: Lessons Learned

It was a dark and stormy morning last Thursday.  I was in town and Steve was running the lambing operation solo.  Delighted to find Fulmar with a big (5 lbs, 4 oz) ewe lamb in the area reserved for pregnant ewes, he jugged them and then went about the normal routine of quieting the din […]

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Otley Update

Otley Update

When last we met here, Otley was a 3-day old, unusually small lamb who already had seen the world and was none too pleased with it.  As you will recall, Otley not only arrived at less than two and a half pounds after her mother struggled mightily to deliver her, she also ran away from […]

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First-time Soay Mothers

First-time Soay Mothers

Some of the indications that a Soay ewe is about to lamb are seen only in an experienced ewe.  If she is going to twin, she usually looks like a propane tank.  Even if carrying only a single lamb, an older ewe will develop saddlebags and a waddle.  The yearling ewes (“gimmers”) who are lambing for the first time exhibit more subtle signs of approaching labor, oftentimes surprising […]

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