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
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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.
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Adorable picture, Kate and her
Ducks Sheep ;)
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(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.
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Awwwwwwwwwww
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How lovely,hope the milk comes.
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Beautiful. What breed are they?
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Oh - she is lovely - well they both are. :)
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They're Castlemilk Moorits.
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Good thing they're cute because that name sure is a mouthful :D
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So cute! :nowink:
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Lovely :)
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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
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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!
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Just you wait till your back is turned, she'll pop them out ... ;) :lol:
Glad to hear Annabelle's doing well.
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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
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aww Kate what an exciting time for you, mum and baby are gorgeous. Are they a rare breed?
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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!
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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.
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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:
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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!
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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!
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They are real beauties. Hope they are house trained. :D
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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!
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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