Tag: spring

Have you ever seen anything cuter?

We had one little lamb born with crooked front legs, something we have never seen before. He has one of the calmest demeanors and didn’t cry once on the way to and from the vet to put this stint on his leg. At only 3 days old, he was such a trooper! Today he is 10 days old, the stint is off and he is playing with the others. He may not be as quick and fast but he is still a little guy with some growing to do.

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The above video shows the lambs feeling good and playing together while their mommas are busy eating. The noisy lamb that is always last in line running is the lamb that had the splint. We named him Castaway. He gets around pretty well, but not 100%, so we are keeping a close eye on him as he develops. His non-splinted leg overcompensated for his splinted leg, so as you can see, it bows out a little. We are hoping that will straighten out on its own over time.

12 little lambs and counting

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In one day we received 8 lambs! All seem healthy and found their Mommas teats right away. Spring time is official when the lambs start coming and we hear little “baaaaaaaas” coming from the barn.

As they are born, we administer 2 shots, tetanus and Oxytet, an antibiotic. We do this because when they are 3-4 days old, we put rings on their tails and for the males, castration rings, and ear tags in their ears. It also protects them from diseases or problems they may have early on. It is like giving vaccinations to children of a certain age to protect them from measles or rubella or other harmful viral issues.

Docking of the tails prevents future issues with maggots. Maggots and flies love dark, warm places with feces. Under a tail is a prime location for flies to lay their eggs, especially if the lamb or sheep has diarrhea. This is a prevention method. Castrating males early on is much less harmful and devastating than later. The earlier those rings get put on the less the testicles grow. They eventually wither, die and fall off. The first two days are always the hardest for the little male lamb, but after day 3 they don’t even realize they have a ring around their balls!

During lambing time, we make sure we check on the little ones and mothers 4-6 times a day. We watch carefully for any behavioral differences and make sure everyone is getting enough to eat. This mild Spring weather has made it exceptional lambing time. The little guys aren’t freezing and they feel quite comfortable in their jugs with their Mommas.

We have started moving the vaccinated, tagged and ringed lambs to another barn where they learn to socialize with other lambs. That is where the fun begins, and they play and play and play!