Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Smallhold Farming and Rural Living => Livestock and Growing on a larger scale => Topic started by: Kate and her Ducks on April 02, 2014, 22:31

Title: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 02, 2014, 22:31
Our first lamb...

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_0444_zps71bc5067.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_0444_zps71bc5067.jpg.html)

Born about 7pm, sadly after her stillborn sister but she seems pretty feisty so fingers crossed. Mum very attentive but not much milk so had had a bit of a feed via a tube and hopefully mum's milk will get going soon.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Aunt Sally on April 02, 2014, 22:33
Adorable picture, Kate and her Ducks Sheep  ;)
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 02, 2014, 22:36
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_0442_zpse94e70ca.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_0442_zpse94e70ca.jpg.html)

She is a great Mum. Hopefully milk soon or its a bottle 5 times a day for a couple of weeks.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: tosca100 on April 03, 2014, 00:29
Awwwwwwwwwww
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: snowdrops on April 03, 2014, 08:33
How lovely,hope the milk comes.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Debz on April 03, 2014, 09:17
Beautiful. What breed are they?
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Springlands on April 03, 2014, 09:22
Oh - she is lovely - well they both are.  :)
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 03, 2014, 09:36
They're Castlemilk Moorits.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Trillium on April 03, 2014, 17:23
Good thing they're cute because that name sure is a mouthful  :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Mum2mj on April 03, 2014, 17:41
So cute!  :nowink:
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Asherweef on April 03, 2014, 18:11
Lovely :)
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 03, 2014, 20:25
Well she is feeding well and the lamb is thriving. No signs of the other 4 ewes lambing but in theory today is actually only the first day they are expected.  :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 06, 2014, 19:31
Well Annabelle is doing really well, she just needs some friends to play with. She is completely adorable and when Mum lets her she loves having her ears and chin rubbed.

I have on ewe who looks like she is about to pop. I swear she is as wide as she is long. She looks at least twice the size of the ewe that had twins. She is a sofa on legs! And she doesn't seem in the slightest bit interested in having these lambs. She's just mooching about, having a bit to eat and laughing at my 2-3 hourly checks!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Yorkie on April 06, 2014, 21:28
Just you wait till your back is turned, she'll pop them out ...  ;) :lol:

Glad to hear Annabelle's doing well.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 10, 2014, 19:53
Well she still hasn't produced anything and is even more massive! She looks like a child's drawing of a sheep - a fluffy circle with a few legs sticking out the bottom!

However one of the other ewes produced a lovely pair of ewe lambs first thing this morning who are both doing well.  :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: joyfull on April 11, 2014, 07:37
aww Kate what an exciting time for you, mum and baby are gorgeous. Are they a rare breed?
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 11, 2014, 10:21
Yes, they're on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust vulnerable list. I wanted to keep a breed that needed a bit of help as well as them being beautiful, hardy and apparently very tasty!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: joyfull on April 11, 2014, 10:43
so are you going to keep some to breed and exchange rather than eating them all? I bet they are really tasty if left longer and used as mutton.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: sunshineband on April 11, 2014, 17:07
You must be so proud, Kate  :D

Annabelle is gorgeous and I am sure her playmates will be just as adorable when they all arrive  :closedeyes:
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 11, 2014, 19:51
Well after yesterdays twins our massive ewe produced triplets this afternoon. The last is a bit wee (only 3 lbs) but full of beans. We are seeing if we can keep them all on mum rather than having to bottle feed any but if it looks like one is needing a bit of help we will take over.

Thank Goodness I am now off for 2 weeks so can keep a really close eye on them all and no problems bottle feeding if needed.

No I am also starting to worry that I am missing something as they all, that's all 6 of them, seem to be ewe lambs! Starting to think that's too good to be true and I just can't tell the difference! I do seem to remember that the tups were always pretty easy to spot btu definitely no testicles seem on any of these. Need to have a good look at the 1st 2 of today's triplets but letting them settle with mum before fiddling about with them!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 11, 2014, 20:04
My mistake, the second of the triplets is a boy and it is obvious. Just not looking hard enough and got head butted for my efforts today, mum is very protective!

Unless we find someone interested in buying him to breed from he will be eaten. The rest will be replacements and flock expansion.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Trillium on April 11, 2014, 21:09
If he's destined for the freezer, get his private bits cut off very soon to avoid the gamey taste. Maybe that should be his new name.... Freezer  :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 14, 2014, 21:54
Well we have ended up with both of the ewe lambs from the triplets being bottle fed. Although the little one is not that much smaller than the ram lamb she couldn't keep up with the ram lamb and the mother just seemed to focus entirely on the boy. The tiny one just wandered off and the mum had no interest in her at all. So in they came.

Been a challenging couple of days as they have really struggled to get the hang of the bottle so been taking a little but almost every 2 hours but we are finally getting into a better (well for me anyway!) pattern. They are both beautiful and seem to be pretty active so fingers crossed.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: sunshineband on April 15, 2014, 18:04
Just as well you have two weeks off then Kate as you will be very buys with those little ones  :D

Great flock expansion there, plus some meat to come for the freezer --- all good  :D :D :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 15, 2014, 20:29
I wonder if I could claim it as maternity leave?  ;)

They are just getting the hang of playing and doing those little 4 legged jumps and I just want to cuddle them to bits!

Yes, great flock expansion. we started small so we had the space to expand with our own sheep. Somehow very different animals you have raised yourself rather than bought. And of course the boy for the freezer. We have 2 more ewes to lamb so not over yet. One is definitely pregnant and not far off as she has bagged up (udder filled up in preparation for lamb/s) but think the final ewe is probably not pregnant but she might surprise me.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 24, 2014, 22:33
My cousin has a fancy phone and took some lovely pics of the cade lambs. Thought I would share some.

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_0518_zps39e0b9a1.jpg)

 (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_0518_zps39e0b9a1.jpg.html)(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_0519_zps30653d65.jpg)

 (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_0519_zps30653d65.jpg.html)(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_0520_zps1feacedf.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_0520_zps1feacedf.jpg.html)

Yes, they are in the dining room but it's only because they are banned from the living room!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Springlands on April 24, 2014, 22:37
They are real beauties. Hope they are house trained.  :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 24, 2014, 22:41
Sadly no! But they are doing well and spending most of the day outside now. Hopefully not long before they can sleep in the barn too (suspect I am the one struggling to cope with separation more than them). That being said, every time I leave the back door open I find them asleep in front of the aga!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: tosca100 on April 25, 2014, 05:17
Sadly no! But they are doing well and spending most of the day outside now. Hopefully not long before they can sleep in the barn too (suspect I am the one struggling to cope with separation more than them). That being said, every time I leave the back door open I find them asleep in front of the aga!

Awww gorgeous. :D
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: snowdrops on April 25, 2014, 07:37
Lovely lambs, is one the boy? I don't think I could eat him if I'd hand reared him :(. Mind you think I would struggle with any if I'd had anything to do with looking after them  :( :(. That's what turned my sister veggie. She was pregnant at the same time as her sheep & said they knew & were very interested in her baby when she took him to meet them.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Kate and her Ducks on April 25, 2014, 08:04
They are both girls which is a relief as think I would struggle too. Think if I had had to hand rear a boy the first year I would have had to castrate him so we could keep him as a wether to keep the ram company during the summer. Only for practical reasons of course!
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: Debz on April 25, 2014, 09:15
they are such beautiful babies.  I am so jealous of your set up.  My sister has a bit of land and won't entertain the idea of pigs for the freezer and I find it really frustrating.
Title: Re: I am pleased to present...
Post by: tosca100 on April 25, 2014, 09:22
Of course! :lol:

I sympathise having done shepherding for one season when I had forty odd to hand rear. There are those which get under your skin, and one little boy in particular who used to follow me home, and always knew as soon as I arrived on the yard. Then there was my little blind girl who used to get lost and I would have to go and rescue her in the middle of the night. Then there was her friend with one eye, bonded with her to help stop her getting lost (didn't work!)

 Managed to find a home with a vicar with an orchard for the boy, couldn't have coped come grading. The girls lived in the flock, but blind girl ended up with the rams as they always answered her when she called so she knew where they were.

Ahhhh memories. :D