Stella, Slow and Steady

Well, she did it.  A full week behind the other ewes, but that's typical of Stella.  This is one sheep who does things when she wants.  We call her our "goat-sheep".

She had been showing signs of being "close up" for several days, and then when she started leaking fluids, we knew it was anytime, so we just kept watch over her.

She birthed 2 little beauties last Wednesday evening, just before the kids' bedtime, which means they got to snuggle brand-new lambs before tucking in themselves.    Stella, of course, needed no help and both lambs are beautiful and healthy.  The little ewe -

- looks just like Dad, and her brother --

-- just like Stella.

Because they are a full week behind the other lambs (10 days behind Sunshine's), Stella is preferring to keep to herself.  She is out with the other sheep during the day, but at night I'm still putting her in a stall with just her little ones for company.

I'm sure these two will be bouncing around the pasture with the rest of the gang (they do look like a gang of lambs when they're all hanging out together) soon enough.

Copy Cat

And I wasn't even trying this time!  Pinky swear!!

I have scads of undyed yarn that I washed, carded and spun myself, and I've been looking for a project with which to display my handiwork.  Nothing too fancy, but I wanted a larger project, but not huge, and not too difficult.   As I'm thumbing through www.ravely.com the other day, I came across the "Shalom" Sweater.  Simple? Yes.  Stunning? Oh yeah.  But hmmm.  Looks familiar.... where have I seen that before?  I looked back in my "favourites" from over a year ago, and there it is!  Only, it's been slightly modified... by Amanda Blake Soule, AKA Soulemama.  Geesh.  I wasn't even TRYING to copy her this time and I did anyway.

Anyhoo... hoping it's a fairly quick knit as the weather up n' coming would be perfect for it.  A bit chilly, but not cold enough for a full-on sweater.  But, I'm sure I'll find plenty  of excuses to wear it!

Frost on the Fringe

Oooh, it was a chilly one this morning.  Not as chilly as some of my friends in Alberta, mind you, but cold enough.  Once the sun peaked over the hill behind our house, the frost faded away for the most part, but lingered in the shadowy places, like the shadow of the garden gate.

The lambs were not quite sure what to think of it either.  I try to keep them all in the barn all curled up and cosy in the fresh straw, but their mothers have other ideas.  I swear they can hear me come out the front door, no matter how quiet I try to be, and start bellowing to be let out onto the pasture.  The lambs, thankfully, are all doing well, and can keep themselves warm running races all over the pasture -- sometimes right over top of their mothers!  Yes, quite a circus around here lately.

Michie casts a disdainful look -- not sure if it's at the frost, or those pesky lambs who keep getting in the way of her barn mousing adventures.

Oh, and Stella had her babies on Wednesday night!  Two sweet little ewes - one white and one black - born in the early evening, quick and uneventful (as far as birth goes!).  Pictures in a few days after they are well-acquainted with each other.

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.

Spring Reading!

"Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks" by Gail Damerow.  Truly, if you're planning on hatching chicks this spring (or ducks, turkeys, geese, quail, or whatever), this book is super awesome, especially if you have kids that are interested in the process, as the photos are Amazing and very helpful!!  I bought it on a whim from amazon.ca and am not disappointed!  Gail Damerow is a noted "expert" on chickens and has written several books, including Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which is also very helpful, though I really enjoyed the photos in this book.  It even has real-life images of what a chick looks like in every day of development, which is great if you're like me and crack the unhatched eggs to find out why they didn't hatch. You can then figure on the approximate day the embryo died and possible reasons why.
I highly recommend this book to anyone planning on hatching birds this spring!

Felting Books for Sale

I have a couple of great books for sale - "Magic Wool" by Sagmar Schmidt & Freya Jaffke and "More Magic Wool" by Angelika Wolk-Gerche.   I've seen them on amazon for more than what I'm asking, which is $5 CAD + shipping.  Leave a comment if you're interested! Thanks!

First Peek at New Lambs!

Oh, we've had some excitement around here lately.  By my calculations, our first possible lambs could arrive around March 9th.  So as I am heading out to the barn on the morning of the 9th, I remind daughter that lambs could be making an appearance very soon.

Lo and Behold!

Unbeknownst to us, Sunshine had lambed over night, giving life to 2 sweet little things, 1 ram lamb and 1 ewe lamb, right in the middle of her herd sisters!  She had them all cleaned off and nursing and seemed like an old-hand at all this mama business, even though it was her very first experience.

We closed her up in the barn for the first 3 days, like the "books" all say to do (I have to follow the books, as this is MY first experience as well!), but by the morning of the 4th day, she was demanding to be let out into the yard for some fresh air and exercise.

She is doing just fine, as are her babies, and I will post more photos soon.

Jagger's Legacy

You remember Jagger?  He was my big, black, LOUD Ameraucana rooster.  Well.  I traded him in.  He was the brother to ALL my Ameraucana hens and so in-breeding was unavoidable if I wanted more chicks.  I did that a bit, last year.  This year, I decided I wanted some new blood, and my new friend at Tangible Farm needed a rooster.  I wanted some of her Buff Orpington/Lavender Orpington eggs.  So we swapped.

The Buff/Lavender X chicks hatched the other day, and MAN are they CUTE!  Apparently they are what's called "Isobel" in color, but we'll see what that looks like when they feather out in a few weeks.

We hatched out a couple more Buff Orpingtons with them.  They are totally unrelated, so perhaps we can breed a buff to a buff/lavender in the future.

Right now, we're just enjoying the cuteness!

Mail-Order Eggs

I got my birthday present early this year!  This arrived in the mail for me today:

This is absolutely a new venture for me, order eggs in the mail.  But, the small, family-run hatchery Briarwood Poultry on Vancouver Island comes highly recommended, and specializes in the 2 breeds I want to add to my flock: Marans and Ameraucanas.  I already have 5 ameraucana hens and HAD one rooster, my dear Jagger, but I traded Jagger for some other hatching eggs (more on this later), as he was the brother to my hens and I didn't want to inbreed my birds more than they (probably) already had been.  So.  Briarwood has beautiful Wheaton and Blue Wheaton Ameraucanas which I think will pair beautifully with my blue hens.

The Marans?  Well, they seem a little hard to get, and lay a gorgeous dark brown egg, as you can see by the photo:  

My thinking is two-fold.  Maybe I breed these Marans next year and make a little extra cash from the eggs or chicks.  And, I want a rainbow of eggs to sell:

Just because I think they are pretty and if I have enough of them, I'll do the farmer's market once in a while and have a little fun.

Hello March!

Well... Can I say it?  Spring has Sprung!

And with it, my dear sweet ewe's ever-widening bellies!

It's only the very beginning of March, but it truly felt like the end of April today.  We were outside all afternoon, digging in the garden, frolicking with chickens, and checking out the state of the very pregnant sheep.

Here's Sunny, who's not as far along as Dulcie...

And for those who haven't seen a pregnant sheep close up, and for my own records as I am totally new to this realm of sheep-keeping, here is Dulcie:

Dulcie from the front...

... and from the back.

 I am hoping that this time next year, I can look back on theses photos, and go, 'Oh, right, so they have x more days/weeks to go when they look like this."  Dulcie's and Moo's (they are sisters) udders are getting quite full and they have a waddle happening as they stroll across the yard.  They are moving none too fast these days.  We're all having a guess as who's carrying what.

For the record, we think that Dulcie and Moo, both quite wide, will birth first and have twins.  They themselves are from triplets.  Sunny and Stella will be a little later, a couple of weeks maybe, and birth singles.  This is what we're thinking anyway.

A Buff Update:
It was SO warm out today, 13C this afternoon, and plenty warmer in the (new!) greenhouse where these little ones were having a party!

Oh, the things to discover when you're new to the world outside!

And, in the garden, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that I hadn't killed the rhubarb, and it's coming up!

And the garlic too!! Wow, must be spring!