Lamb #4

Today my oldest ewe had her lamb with absolutely no problem. It was the easiest birth I've witnessed to date. I'm glad the old girl had an easy time. And being an experienced mom, she skillfully cleaned up her baby and got it to nurse quite quickly.

The lamb is a cute one....white with brown on its legs. The only bummer is that it's a boy. Blag. Another boy.

The score so far is 1 girl, 3 boys. Not what I was hoping for.

Third Lamb

3 lambs so far. Sigh.....another boy. Of the three new lambs, at least one will be a keeper. I would like to retire 3-4 of the old ewes, so I was hoping for more girls. But lambing season isn't over yet, so we see what happens.

A big boy. 

First Two New Lambs

It was pouring rain last night. There were two rain shelters for the sheep, so I was worried about the pregnant ewes. Besides, the first delivery shouldn't be until next week some time. Wrong! Wrong on the timing, but I didn't need to worry any.

Checking on the sheep this morning, I saw two new babies. Wow! I smiled and glowed all over as though I was the proud parent myself!-------well, not really. I would have hated being pregnant and them being stuck with a kid. But that's just me. Checking things out, I saw that both lambs were born out in the open....in the rain. But both did well, both having good mothers. 

Both lambs were robust, nursing, and doing just fine. The white one was normal size, and a little girl. The black one was a super jumbo, and a boy. You'd swear he was a few days older because he is really huge. I had thought that this ewe was carrying twins, but it turned out to be just one large singlet. I like singlets, so that's fine. But how I wish he had been born a female. I don't need anymore rams. So he is destined to become either somebody's pet, or a freezer denizen.

Got this photo just as he was falling over. You can see that all his weight is on his right legs. Oops, over he went. 

Sheep Mamas

I'll be getting ready for new lambs soon. Several of the mature ewes are pregnant, and a couple look big enough to be holding twins. Personally I prefer singlets, but as long as it's twins and not triplets, it should be ok. Soon I'll have to decide if I'll be bottle feeding some babies. I prefer bottle fed ewes when they grow up. But it's a pain in the butt to bottle feed a lamb for 2 months or more. I'll have to give it some thought, but there's not much time. They should be lambing by the beginning of December.

Twins?

One big baby?

Big, big, big. Hopefully just twins. 

Small baby bump. 

Stacy, my old ewe. Looks to be pregnant with one. 

Age to Harvest Lamb?

After my post of yesterday, I got a few emails asking exactly what "F" has asked, "At what age do you slaughter a lamb?" 

Sheep can be slaughtered for meat at any age. The younger the animal is, the more tender, mild, and paler the meat is. But of course that means there a whole lot less of it. The older the animal, the more meat. 

...Newborn lamb. 1-3 days old. Normally this is only done when the pelt is wanted, or you have a bummer you don't want to hand raise. But the meat is quite edible, being soft, pale, and "sweet". There's just not much if it. I find its best used for soup.

...Baby lamb (also called young lamb) is a traditional Easter meal. 6-8 weeks is the usual age. 

...Spring lamb is 3-5 months. 

...Lamb is up to 1 year of age. 

...1-2 years old is a hogget, though I've heard via the grapevine that the rules have changed to allow a hogget to be labeled lamb. Perhaps that's why store bought lamb tastes so strong nowadays. 

...Anything over 2 years old is strictly mutton. Personally, I think anything over 1 year is mutton. 

Mutton is darker colored, tougher, and stronger flavored. Both hoggart and mutton improve with hanging or aging for 7 days, but no sheep meat actually needs to be hung or aged to be decent. Since I don't have a facility to hang a sheep carcass, I simply age the meat in the bottom of my chest refrigerator where the temperature is about 35°. Personally, I prefer to grind up mutton rather than butcher it into cuts. 

By the way, I don't hang or age my lamb. And I prefer 3-4 month old spring lamb to anything else. 

Home Slaughter

"B" asked me the other day when he was picking up his live New Year's Day lamb to haul it to the slaughterhouse for processing...."Do you do your own slaughtering?" 

Many a time I've been asked if I do my own or send the animal to the slaughterhouse. Plain and simple, I do my own. I feel it is the most humane. It also happens to be the most self reliant method and cheapest, but I do it because it's the least disturbing to my animals. There is no excitement of being loaded onto a truck, no stress of being transported 2 hours and held in a strange place with strange smells and other strange animals at the end of the journey. No anxiety of being separated alone from the flock/herd.  No fear of being approached and handled by strangers. I'd rather have my animals at home, at ease, and be completely unaware that something is about to happen. They are instantly rendered unconscious using a gun, and then killed with no pain, no sensation. Killing is done by cutting the main arteries and bleeding out. 

I never like killing my animals. I find it stressful (I fear I might make a mistake), disturbing (I don't like watching an animal die). I'm ultra careful to make sure everything goes perfectly. 

Once the animal is dead, I have no trouble butchering it out. Butchering a chicken or rabbit is quick and easy. Butchering a lamb, goat, or pig takes more time and work, but it isn't difficult. I've never helped with something larger like a cow or horse. Having worked in veterinary medicine most of my life,   I have no aversion to butchering. It's the slaughtering that is difficult.

First Lamb

The first lamb of this lambing season was born 2 days ago. Mom just brought him forward this morning to join the flock.

A boy, you heard right. Sigh. I wasn't looking forward to another ram. This guy is strong, active, and huge. And really pretty, so I might keep him as a back up ram just in case something happens to one of the other two. So I guess I'll need to think up a "ram name", rather than "Freezer Lamb #1". 

Problematic Gate Post

When the new rotational pasture fence was being put up, we ran into a section where the pahoehoe lava was real close to the surface. As a result the fence posts couldn't be properly pounded in. For much of the fence, it didn't really matter. Sheep don't tend to put much stress on a fence. But the gate was another matter. 

The post supporting the gate needed to be firm. I could have had a neighbor bring over his skid steer with a hydraulic hammer to bust a hole........or I could cop out the quick & dirty way by pouring some concrete. Being impatient, I dragged out the concrete. It may not look neat and pretty, but it's dang functional. It gets the job done. That fence post surely isn't moving anywhere soon. 

Transporting Sheep

"K" emailed to ask how I transported the new sheep. 

Transporting sheep, I find, is easy. I don't need to use a special trailer. I don't need to call in a livestock hauler. I don't need to cram sheep into dog crates. Nor truss them up with duct tape or rope. No. I use a "cage" that I made especially for my truck. 

After measuring the dimensions of my truck bed, I custom cut and bent cattle panels to fit the truck space. I wanted flexibility in using it, so I didn't weld the pieces together. I simply used snap hooks to attach the pieces. That way I can take the "cage" apart to store it. And using cattle panels is far lighter in weight than using lumber. I can easily toss this cage into the back of the truck all by myself. 

The sheep themselves seem to respond to this set up just fine. They aren't panicked. They aren't trying to escape. I guess because they can see in all directions, they don't feel trapped. Just guessing. 

Above is a picture of the snaps I use to hold the pieces together. They are easy to put on and take off, and they are secure enough to hold the sheep. 

I use black rubber bungees to hold the cage down. This way the sheep can't shift it around or accidently flip it. One bungee on each corner does the job. 

I find it's easy to put sheep in and out of the cage by using the back panel as a door. I've never had a problem with loading and unloading. 

New Lambs -- Fresh Bloodlines

I picked up ten new lambs to add to my flock. The opportunity was there and I needed two things : fresh blood in the breeding flock and more mouths to graze down my excess grass. I actually didn't care if I got ewe or wether lambs (although I would like at least a few ewe lambs in the bunch) because I primarily wanted my grass under control. I figured that if they were wethers, I could just put them into the freezer when the task was done. But the seller was interested in keeping the wethers himself to grow on for meat, so I got all ewes. That was just as fine with me. So instead of slaughtering them, I'll just add them to the breeding flock. This gives me the opportunity to phase out the older ewes. Plus now I won't need to replace my rams since these new ewes aren't closely related to my current stock. 

For now they will be isolated from my other sheep until they adjust to the change. Sheep stress out fairly easily, and when stressed can come down sick. So best to let then adjust to their new home, new grass, new schedule before they meet the resident sheep. 

For now they are in the newly fenced rotational pastures up at the front of the farm. I'll let them work their way through the grass while I visit them several times a day, getting them use to my presence and a grain bucket. I'd like them to follow a grain bucket before I move them into the back pastures. These lambs are not bottled fed babies, so they are quite skittish around people. I don't expect them to be friendly, but I'd like to be able to control them easily without a lot of to-do. 

Last Lamb of this Season

The last lamb has arrived. And guess what...it's a girl! Thank heaven, I got at least two new little ewes to add to the flock. It was quite disheartening to end up with a string of males. 

So it's another single birth, which is perfectly fine with me. The lamb is large, strong, and active. 

She was born in the rain, and it rained solid for the next 24 hours. Mom birthed in the dry field shelter but it wasn't long before this little lamb had to tottle after mom in the rain. But it didn't seem to bother her. I kept an eye on her just in case, but this girl is a robust one and a persistent, aggressive nurser. She is doing just fine. 

Sheep Questions Answered

"B" asked me to clear up a few questions about breeding sheep......

1- Is there a special time of the year that sheep will mate? 

     Here in Hawaii, our hair sheep will breed year around. There is no set mating season. But the female sheep (ewe) must be "in heat" to accept a ram. Otherwise she will reject his interest and refuse to stand. Once in heat, she will accept his advances for 1 or 2 days before going out of heat once again. If not pregnant, she will come back into heat 2 to 3 weeks later. 

      My own ewes don't go in and out of heat constantly year around, but seem to have a breeding season based upon many factors : amount of daylight, their body condition, amount of available food, length of time since last pregnancy, and whether or not they have been lactating. Since the ewes can see or are with the rams all the time, the sudden arrival of rams into the pasture doesn't bring them into heat. But once one ewe comes into heat, all the others will shortly follow within days. 

2- How do you know that one of your ewes is 3 weeks behind the rest of the flock? 

     She did not bag up and prepare to lamb along with the other ewes. So I guessed that she did not become pregnant on the first go around, but most likely came back into heat 3 weeks later and was successfully bred. 

3- How long is a sheep pregnant? 

     Their gestation period, the time from successful breeding to lambing, is about 5 months, but it varies a few days either way. 

4- How can you tell they are getting ready to have their baby? 

     Sometimes I am lucky enough to see the ewe in standing heat, and possibly witness the mating. Then I make a note so that I know when she will lamb. But most of the time I don't. Since the gestation period is 5 months, I can mark my calendar for an approximate time then watch for signs. Before lambing, the ewe's udder will fill out. And 5-7 days before, the udder will be round, firm, and full. At this point I'll check on the ewe several times a day. 

(Above, a round, full, taunt udder. This ewe lambed 3 days after this photo.) 

5- How many lambs does each sheep have? You mentioned that you preferred single lambs. Why? 

     I have had ewes have anywhere from 1 to 4 lambs at a time . Four are a nightmare for both me and the ewe. I prefer single lambs for a number of reasons. They don't overly tax the ewe. They are bigger and more robust at birth. They grow faster. They grow bigger. The ewe can keep track of them better and will be more attentive to the lamb. Twins (or more) tend to get themselves into trouble, getting lost, popping through the fence, etc. I seldom have a single lamb die, but mortality increases with twins and triplets. 

(Above, lambs of the same age. The two in the middle are a set of twins. The ones on the far right and left are each singles. The singles are far bigger than the twins. The twins are normal sized and are robust, so it's not that they are weaklings.) 

6- How do you control how many babies they have? 

     Well, I don't have a lot of control on that. But I do try to avoid over feeding them when they are due to come into heat. Having a ewe gaining weight will often result in extra lambs. So I try to avoid that. 

     Young ewes often have singles. Older ewes may have twins or more if the ewe is in good health and a bit overweight (or gaining weight). I grass feed my ewes and do not feed pellets or extra grain so that they do not become overly conditioned. This helps keep lambing to singles and twins. 

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My own flock is grass fed will only a very small handful of sweet feed daily. Thus they are not being nutritionally pushed. On top of that, I don't wean most of the lambs early, so ewes are lactating a long time, much longer than in commercial flocks. These factors delay the ewes from coming back into heat quickly. My goal is not to achieve the most production out of my sheep. I'd rather see them be unstressed, healthy, more natural, happier. I don't need the maximum amount of iambs out of my flock. I'm content to just get 5-6 lambs each season. 

Lambs, Lambs, More Lambs

My, my, my, I didn't expect to have so many lambs arrive on the same day. On a nice, warm, dry day the flock increased by 4. Two of the ewes had singles, and Stacy (the lead ewe) had twins. Frankly I prefer singles, but twins are acceptable. Happily, there were no triplets this time. But I still have one more ewe getting ready to lamb, so I'll hold my breath and hope for a single. 

Now guess what..... all the new lambs are boys! A bit of a disappoint, that. So far this lambing session, I've only gotten one little girl, and she's an all white one. I'd prefer to see some color and markings. But she's healthy and hearty, so I'll take that over a sickly, weak colored one. 

Of the four new lambs, only one is pure white. One is white with brown legs, one is all brown, and the other is black with a white tipped tail and a white cap & scarf. Now if he had only been a girl! If fact, it's a shame with all the color that they all aren't females. Oh well, such is life. 

I'll eventually offer these boys as pets, but if they don't sell, then they're be sold for meat. I don't need any ram replacements this year. 

First Lamb of This Season

Utah (aka: Ewe-Tahrapter) has become the first ewe to lamb this season. She brought her large ewe lamb to the feeding station this morning. Utah once upon a time was a people loving little sheep, but nowadays she is grown up, cautious and suspicious. When she joined the flock, she gave up her pet lamb ways. Now she's a mature, serious ewe, and a devoted momma. She wouldn't even bring the lamb close to me for inspection. 

So I got the see the new lamb from a distance, and only know that it's a little girl because she took a pee. Rather than force the issue, I'll allow Utah to be the protective mother. I'll get a chance to closely inspect the little lambakin later. 

Final Lamb of the Season

Our final lamb of this lambing season has been born. A nice size black ram with a white cap. Not that I need another ram, but he's cute and healthy. 

While I would prefer ewe lambs so that I would have the option to add more ewes to the flock, ram lambs are also valuable. This is, after all, a homestead farm. Some of the lambs will go to provide food for people. Personally I find it easier to see young rams serve that purpose. 

I know that this topic makes many people uncomfortable. But it's a part of life here. I accept the fact that humans are designed to be omnivores. And if I'm putting meat on the dinner table, I'd prefer it to home raised. I prefer knowing that the animal had a comfortable life and a quick humane death. 

More Lambs !

Went out this morning to hand out the morning goodies and to check on Stacy's two new lambs and was surprised to see a trio. Tidy (Ewe-L Tide) has brought her new little ram lamb out of the back woods to join the flock. Quite the handsome boy. I just wish that he was a little ewe. I'm getting far too many rams lately. Anyway....looks like for now I now have three lambs sired by Mystery Ram. 

When I called for the flock, in the distance I saw Blacky (Ewe-Soblack) half hopping, half walking up. She'd stop every 100 feet or so, let out a good baaaaaa, then come some more. What the heck? By the time she reached the first feeding trough, she popped out a coal black lamb. My, my. Blacky sure is one sheep that doesn't plan to miss a free handout! 

Eventually the lamb stood up on wobbly legs, tucked under mom who took turns licking her lamb and eating more haycubes. 

I took a peek and saw that it's a ewe lamb. Good, a girl! She's coal black and sired by E-Ram. This is most likely E-Ram's last lamb, though possibly Tan (Ewe-ka-tan) is carrying a lamb he sired. We shall see in a few weeks if Tan's baby is E-Ram's or Mystery Ram's. 

Stacy's New Lambs

Stacy's my favorite ewe. She's smart, for a sheep. She's the flock leader. Three days ago she left the flock and hid in the back woods. Lambing time! Goody! 

Today Stacy brought her new lambs up to the feeding station. They are healthy looking and full of curiosity.  And soooooo pretty. 

They are very similarly colored and marked, almost twins. But the little ram is a darker chocolate while the little ewe is a lighter milk chocolate. And the boy has more color on his face. 

I plan to keep the girl, for sure. I'm not sure if I'll keep the boy. But we'll see what happens as time goes by. 

Now it's time to come up with names. 

Stacy's lambs is the second lamb birth this year. Goldie birthed a stillborn little white female lamb two weeks ago. Although it looked full term, it was quite small. Goldie didn't even go off into seclusion for the birth. It's as though it happened quickly and by surprise because she dropped the dead lamb right at the feeding station. Sad, but these things happen. I put Goldie on antibiotics for a while in case she had some sort of uterine infection, plus I dewormed her again, ahead of schedule. She's doing fine. It's just that she lost her lamb. 

6 New Ewes

I had the opportunity to add some new blood to the flock, and I eagerly jumped at the chance. Because of dog predation last year, I'm down in ewe numbers. Plenty of rams but not many ewes. Plus with the past rains, I've got grass that needs grazing down. So I need more sheep. 

Another local farmer with a sheep flock had some stock he was willing to sell. 6 fine, young ewes. All grade hair sheep. 

Below, here they are in the back of my pickup truck. One buff, 3 pure whites, 2 black & white. 

When I released them into the pasture, about half of my original sheep came running over to check out the newcomers. The other half kept their faces buried in the haycube feeder. I guess they'll make their introductions after the food runs out. 

Needless to say, the rams found the newcomers to be highly interesting. Nobody is in heat, so it was just a case of introductions and getting to know them. Next year, the lamb crop should be beautiful! 

New Lamb - Ramrod

Ewe-Lima has finally had her lamb, her first. She was so big that I really expected twins, but it turned out to be one big boy. 

Ewe-Lima is a shy girl and has been since birth. And she didn't act any different when it came to having her lamb. She disappeared from the flock 15 days ago and I didn't spy her anywhere in the pastures. But there are plenty of hiding places where it's almost impossible to spot a sheep, so it wasn't surprising. When she disappeared, I wished her the best. That may sound hard hearted, but spending entire days trying to find a ewe who doesn't want to found is simply not going to happen here. 

This morning Ewe-Lima showed up for the daily grain bucket, coming at a run when I called. So she's doing fine and I was happy to see that she had a large lamb in tow. One large lamb let me know that there wasn't a missing twin or triplets to look for. 

The lamb is most likely sired by an unnamed white ram. Well, he's not a ram anymore but he had been for awhile. I guess the timing was right for him to become a daddy. Why do I say that the white ram is most likely the sire? 

...1- Mystery Ram always produces color on his lambs, especially if he had bred this ewe. 

...2- E-Ram would have produced a colored ram out of Ewe-Lima. 

...3- the white ram is a St. Crois, an all white breed. 

...there were no other rams that could have bred at that time. 

I've dubbed the new boy Ramrod. 

New Sheep Named

Lots of neat suggestions via email this time around. 

Ewe-Name-It

Ewe-kelele

Ewe-con

Ewe-niversal

Ewe-tensil

In addition to what was posted on the blog, it's a nice list to choose from. 

And the winner........Ewe-turn. As "S" remarked when she submitted it via an email, "How about EweTurn because obviously she zigged when she should have zagged...." Yup, the ewe ended up with a broken leg from zigging instead of zagging. Funny!