Under Pressure

The last two weeks here have been filled with baby chicks, foster dogs and constant attempts to keep chores caught up. Add some homeschooling into that mix and you have very full days.

My favorite ewe, Lila, has been also expecting to lamb any day now. I was not planning to have any lambs this year, but Lila snuck into the ram paddock back in December. I love Lila and her fleece is so fabulous, but she has this one issue that makes lambing difficult. She's not a very attentive mother.
Lila typically has triplets, but she will just drop them on the ground and walk off, hence House Lamb Flicka.
The last couple of weeks have been spent walking outside throughout the days and nights to check on her, to watch for signs of labor.
Lila is huge!! Her belly protrudes out incredibly from the pressure of growing lambs, and each day I think she will labor at any moment.

Just when you think things couldn't possibly get any more crazy, well, things get crazier.

Lila presented with a vaginal prolapse yesterday, no doubt caused by the incredible pressure of the lambs. Sorry for the graphic picture, but it is what it is and farm life can be quite graphic at times.

I called the vet and then proceeded to rub sugar all over it to keep it moist and to shrink the swelling a bit.

Lila didn't appear to be in pain, but she was straining and pushing.

The only thing to do is put it back in and sew her up so it cannot come back out.
I love my farm vet and he promptly came out with an assistant and a new vet grad. Together we got Lila restrained and fixed back up.

Yes, we are smiling. This type of issue isn't a life or death emergency, but rather just something that must be fixed. The youngest kids were standing by watching the vet and also had some lively comments about the procedure.

He used strong cotton tape/string as a suture material. He got it closed up very tight. Nothing will be coming out. NOTHING!

The problem is that she is pregnant and due anytime. (sigh) She has 3 lambs that will need to come out of there. This, of course, can only mean one thing!
I must check on Lila every couple of hours, day and night, to watch for any signs of labor. Mostly I am looking for mucus. Once I decide she is in labor I will remove her sutures.
No big deal, right?

Sleep and sanity are overrated.

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Accept It and Move On

It has been one of those weeks when you just feel like one thing after the other is going badly, a week when you seriously dream of living in a subdivision again.

For starters, my white female goose went missing. I am sure she was the victim of some predator, although we have looked and not seen any evidence of a goose kill. She is gone, though.

Then we lost 6 ducks over a 3 night span. This time there were sign of a kill and it looks like an owl got them. They have been out in the pond paddock, which is currently empty of livestock. I am letting that paddock rest after a winter of overgrazing.
Tonight the ducks are moved closer to the house and with my sheep nearby.

Most of the time my bull dogs are great at keeping the predators at bay, but when it is raining outside I let them stay in the house.

Rain? Oh yes, we have had several inches the last week. I was almost ready to buy a canoe at one point. Muck and mud are amplified 100x when it has been pouring rain.

The most tragic event, however, was the freezer mishap. During a storm (I can only assume) a GFCI kicked to one of my freezers. I didn't notice until several days later, only to discover 90 pounds of ground beef from our steer and 2 large turkeys from the fall ruined.

I cried. I cried a bunch. This was not only a huge loss in meat, but a waste of a steer that I respected. I truly feel guilty for letting it ruin and waste, like I did not follow through on my end as a farmer.

After several days of moping and being upset I finally did what every farmer must eventually do and that is to accept it and move on.

That's tough sometimes, truly. In fact, it is probably one of the most difficult things to do.

Accept It and Move On


The mama dog we are fostering is doing great and so are her puppies. This mama dog loves to be around people and follows me everywhere. We have moved them all up into the main house area, and we have them situated in the laundry room.
The weather has been nice so I do get them all outside some too. The mama dog is house broken now and really a sweet dog to hug.

The boys got new hats from the dealer we bought the tractor from and they love to wear them! We actually took the boys out on Monday to run errands and it was a fun afternoon out. They are both a hoot!

Finally, I collaborated with one of my dearest friends to create an art  quilt for a silent auction that will be held for North Korea Freedom Week in Washington.

It was a really fun project and I am always happy to be part of such a great event. Most of the fabrics are hand dyed and the theme is more of a positive one. I like that.

Now, the only other thing that needs to happen this week is for Lila to lamb. We have been watching her closely and I am hopeful that by tomorrow we will have some healthy babies.

Accept it and move on...because life keeps moving.

Sami Has a Little Lamb

This morning we woke up to new life on the farm!
Sarah had lambed sometime this morning and to our surprise she had not only one lamb....

but TWO lambs!!!! They are both boys and I could not be more thrilled!

They both appear to be healthy and are both nursing very well!

This little guy is a little smaller than the other. They are both friendly and Sarah doesn't mind us checking them out. Now, the ram who fathered these two is named Whiskey Creek. We wanted to name these two guys along those lines, and we decided to name the little one Tiger Creek. This is an actual creek that runs through our property.

Then there is this guy, whom we have yet to name. We are thinking carefully though for the perfect one. He is more spunky and much more curious. Gosh, look at those ears!!!!!

Sarah has spent the day tending to her babies and getting them cleaned off.
We moved the ram out to another paddock, out with the horse and calf. The horse guards the calf like she is his mama, but overall I think the three will adjust to one another.
We had to put a sheep halter on him and lead him out across the drive with a bucket of feed. It really does pay to have your animals "bucket trained."
He will come back to see Sarah in the fall when it's time to breed again, but meanwhile he has much more room and more grass.

To say this has been an exciting and fun day is an understatement! These sweet lambs have tiny, tiny curls in their fleece. They are also quite soft!

Tomorrow we will band their tails and their "jewels" so that they can be castrated. The tails need to be docked for health and hygiene reasons.

 

But for now we will just enjoy watching them. They are such sweet animals! Great job Sarah!