Lambs staying on our Farm!!

These are the 7 lambs that are staying on the farm - for now. I may change my mind later, but I want to observe their growth and colouring. I love the lambs, but hate making these decisions!!!

Enjoy the "eye candy" aka enjoy the lambs......

Windy Grange Ceallach
Dam: Fibre Works Easter
Sire: Willow Garden Rex Harrison

I cannot decide if she is Moorit or Musket. She has a blueish-grey tinge
to her fleece. I will have to do more investigating when I tag the lambs.
Edit: I am leaning toward Musket - she does have a mixture of white/brown fibres
coming when you look at the entire lock structure!

Windy Grange Conn
Dam: Nier Lakes 315405977 AI "Baker"
Sire: Nier Lakes Emmet

This ram lamb is unique. We are unsure if he just has excess phaeomelain
or if he will stay "calico". We will wait and see. He is nearly 4 weeks old and
is not fading much at all!!

This is one of the quadruplets, Windy Grange Cookies & Cream.
Dam: Fibre Works Fiat
Sire: Nier Lakes Emmet
Sale pending

Windy Grange Cappicino
Dam: Fibre Works Falerno
Sire: Nier Lakes Emmet

The deal fell through on this gal who I thought was sold. She has a beautiful, very even crimp and her markings, Moorit spotted Gulmoget, is so unique that I just have to keep her!!!

Windy Grange Cairo
Dam: Willow Garden Anu
Sire: Windy Grange Apollo

Windy Grange Caoilinn
Dam: Willow Garden Aelwen *Sale Pending*
Sire: Windy Grange Apollo
I love her even crimp and her grey colouring. I am
unsure if she will stay spotted or not, but I do not care.
She is yummy to the eye and to the hand! :)
*Sale Pending*

Windy Grange Cass
Dam: Willow Garden Adella
Sire: Nier Lakes Emmet

She is moorit and white with very few spots. Fleckett?? hmmm,
I will have to look into her markings. Yuglet for sure!

April Snowstorms brings .....

May Snowstorms!?!??!???

Well, it is our May long weekend - Victoria Day is Monday. We are notorious for wild weather this time of the year. We have had drought conditions for some time now and happily we have been getting much needed rain the past few days. Well, 24 hours of rain, some low pressure and cold conditions and what blew??? .... SNOW!!!

This shepherd does not care much what kind of moisture we get, we need it or the pasture will only be usable once. The ewes, rams and lambs??? well they are so not impressed! They are hiding in the shelters or near a fence, not wanting to move!! They finally got up to eat around 6 pm, I guess they figured they could wait out the storm?? Didn't think so!!!

I really wanted to tag, vaccinate, trim toes, etc. this long weekend but that will have to wait. I can finish some spinning and the tons of paperwork that has been waiting to be finished on a "rainy" day!

Apparently Bear, our black lab, doesn't think the weather, or I am, so funny!

Lambing Season was fast and furious!!

Lambing Season 2010 is complete!! It feels like it just started, what happened? I'm not even sure who hasn't been posted here yet. I do have pictures of 2010 sales lambs on my sales blog, check them out!!

Fibre Works Highwood (Nier Lakes Emmet) gave me lovely twins again this year. Surprisingly, they are black/white NOT Moorit or Mioget, which she usually produces. The black is pure black, so I doubt they are going to lighten up to Moorit!! WOW!!!

Ram lamb

Highwood with her ewe lamb

My favorite twins are Willow Garden Anu (Nier Lakes Emmet) ram and ewe lambs. I am not sure, but I think they are gulmoget, like their mom, but look at the face markings!! What would you call them????

Dark Moorit Ram Lamb

Moorit Ewe lamb

Their fleece is very even throughout!!

Fibre Works ISP "Issy" has twins!

Are they not cute???

Closeup of her ram lamb, look at those spot!!!

And ....

here is what happens when lambs get into things they should not
be getting into .....

;-)

More lambs...

We have had a run on lambs. I will post when I get a chance to catch my breath!!! :)

Happy lambing!!!

Orphaned and Re-adopted

This poor wee guy either was sent packing or wandered off again, only to be re-adopted by Issy (Fibre Works ISP). Issy had twins this morning, although I thought it was triplets until I dipped and found this guy was not a new born. He was already suckling, so I just thought he was 1st born. His markings were very familiar to me, although I have had a lot of black krunet lambs this year, I was suspicious. Lo and behold, his last adoptive mom only had two and was not looking for the wee guy. So, for now he is with Issy, although she is not so sure of him.

I have a friend looking for a bummer ram lamb, so if she visits the farm today I think I may send him with her. We have only 2 more ewes to lamb and I am sure they will both have twins. At least this sweetheart has had a good start to life and will be very spoiled at her farm. We will see what unfolds .... for now, he is with Issy.

EDIT: The poor little guy has been rejected yet again! He will be living at my g-friends farm where he will have lots of love and they encourage friendly animals of all sorts - cautiously friendly that is! ;0)

I guess all stories need happy endings, even if they are not the ending we intended!

Quad Update

The quads are doing very well. Fibre Works Fiat is keeping them well fed and attended to. They refuse supplemental feedings and, well, they usually have full bellies anytime I went to check to see if I needed to supplement. They are all thriving and join in the lamb races. Good job Fiat!!

Speaking of lamb races ...

Yet more lambs!

While my ewes have been busy lambing, I have been busy fighting a sinus infection. I dislike being sick and this sinus infection is kicking my butt! Well, on to more fun things like LAMBS!!

Another two sets of twins!!

Milehaus Clare had a lovely set of twins, but ...

her second born ram lamb wandered off and when we got the three of them into a jug, Clare decided he was not hers and we could not make her have him. So, we have a bottle lamb....

But ...

Willow Garden Adella had a set of twins (ram and ewe lambs)



later that day and
I whisked the abandoned ram lamb into the barn, smothered him in her
fluids, set him behind her and ...

Adella now has triplets!! She is an awesome first time mom
and is attentive to all three!

Winter, summer, spring, back to winter and now moving into spring!!!

The weather here has been amazingly crazy. Winter settles down and SUMMER kicked in!! We had a few weeks of 20c + weather! I am sure the sheared Shetlands were mighty happy they did not have to freeze without their coats. Then, normal spring time weather showed up. Not so bad, 10c + type weather, great lambing weather! Well, next comes winter (again)!! This was what I woke up to a few days ago.

I am NOT complaining too loudly, my fellow shepherds in southern Alberta had a worse time of the springtime wintry blizzard. I thought for sure we would have some lambs, but the ewes held tight.

Last night was the coldest night we had in a month and a half, -10c. Well, when I went out for the 6am check & feeding I found an adorable set of twins.

Fibre Works Highwood gave me these wonderful black/white spotted lambs, one ewe (left) and on ram (left). They were mighty cold, the ram lambs back legs were icy and stiff. He was born last as he was very wet still when I found them. Both of their umbilical cords were starting to freeze. Into the barn and under the heat lamp they went!! Towel dry for the two and some hay & water for mom and all are doing well.

Then, this afternoon while I was at work, my husband found these two lovely ram lambs.

Windy Grange Annika, a first timer, had these two black krunet ram lambs. They have lovely wool and will both be for sale.

Just over half done lambing now - 6 more to go!!

I, unfortunately, want to be out with the lambs more but have just discovered that I have a sinus infection. No wonder the left side of my face wants to blow up!!

Colour Genetics

So, I will admit that I understand the very basics of colour genetics. This year I admit that I'm stumped with some of the wonderful spotted and katmoget patterns I am seeing. I did not use a katmoget ram in the breeding program and there is absolutely no way he had a chance to breed.

If you have any advice, suggestions or can just outright "splain it to me", please do!!

There, I've said it outloud for everyone to witness.

So, back to the books & pedigrees .....