Waiting on Stella

So, update on little lambs -- we now have 6!  After Sunshine's surprise last weekend, "Moo" followed on the Sunday with 2 more little bundles.  This birth was special for a couple of reasons.  We were privileged enough to be there to witness it, for one.  And to have the wherewithall to help her, for 2.  Both her lambs decided to come out backwards, as in, back feet and bum first.  Poor Moo was exhausted trying to evict the babes, so the situation soon became exigent.  Both daughter and I were available to pull the first little one out, dry it off and warm it up under mama's nose, and then daughter held onto it to give the poor mama some space to repeat the process with the 2nd lamb.  Thankfully, Moo still accepted both lambs happily after she was finished! Sometimes after a particularly trying labor, sheep will not show any interest in their offspring.  This was a worry, not only because of the difficult entrance, but because Moo herself was rejected by her own mother and bottle-raised by our family.

Then, 2 days later, Moo's sister Dulcie decided to have a go.  She birthed 2 beautiful little ones without ceremony or fuss.  We just sat back and watched.  With tea and popcorn.  (I'm not kidding!)

She birthed them both one right after another, so I am thankfull we were there for this birth as well.  The first little lamb needed some attention and drying off while her mama pushed out her bigger brother.  After this, the amazing Dulcie went right to work cleaning them both off and seemed quite relaxed and contented.  It was nearing our dinnertime, so we tucked the new mom in with her lambs, and went in for dinner.  We checked on her later, from a distance, and all seemed well.  Alas, when we went in to the pen with her the next morning, we sadly found a third lamb, dead in the straw.  It hadn't even been licked off.  It seemed fully formed, but either was born dead, or mom was just too overwhelmed to deal with it.  Next time, I will check and watch more closely.  Dulcie and Moo were actually part of triplets themselves, but their mom decided she could only handle one, so rejected our two little ladies.  Dulcie took a few days to get the hang of all this mothering stuff, but both the lambs and mama seem to be doing well now.

And then, there's Stella.  Stella who has always done things her way, and on her schedule.  She is our black sheep.  And a full week after her herd sisters have had their lambs, we're still waiting on Stella.

Today, Stella was acting strangely, even for her.  Wandering aimlessly.  Staring off into space.  Unable to get comfortable.

Hmmm.

I wonder what we'll wake up to tomorrow.