BABIES!!! Lambing has Begun!
The Story, Pictures, and Video of Newborn Twin Lambs at CAF
I am so happy to announce the arrival of twin ewe lambs at Cold Antler Farm! A few days ago Masha introduced the newest members of the family, two beautiful creatures that will hopefully live long and fruitful lives with me here on the mountain. I can not tell you how happy, excited, and hopeful this has made me!
I was in the shed Saturday, when it all happened. It was around 10AM, but I was not feeling like I owned sheep that lambed at brunch. I had dark circles under my eyes, a dragging ass, and the surreal lightness of running on fumes.
I had been checking on this ewe three times a night (10PM, 1AM, 4AM) for the last week, which meant at no point had I slept more than two hours interrupted and my middle-aged body was letting me know.
I wasn’t expecting to walk into the shed after morning emails and illustration work to find a glowing baby girl, but was locked in soon as the ball started rolling.
That’s how I found them, that picture above. Masha was still in labor but that didn’t stop her from turning around in the April light and nuzzling her little one, still covered in the lace of newborns.
After the first lamb arrived, the second came about 10 minutes later. I saw the hooves emerge first, and was relieved to see them presented the right way ,and I forced myself to wait, not panic and intervene. I wanted to reach for those little hooves and pull the lamb out, as I was afraid of suffocation and not without good reason.
If the mom didn’t get that lamb out soon enough after the water broke that the little one would pass before ever knowing sunlight, stillborn and lost. This is sadly what happened with Masha’s last lambing, something I tried every trick in the book to avoid this time around. There was a different ram, different worming methods, different flushing feed in the fall, additional minerals, etc. I did whatever I could with the livestock and finances I had, including prayers. My efforts, and more importantly, Masha’s, were not in vain.
While watching the second birth, wondering if I should get involved, I let out a sigh when I saw a tiny nose emerge. The lamb was presenting properly, and judging by the previous, was a manageable size.
I didn’t pull it out but I did move all the fluids and membrane off the nose, and watched her take her first scent of the world, air hitting her brain and heart. Within a minute she was pushed out and before me were two of the most beautiful lambs I ever saw in my life.
Arty, the little Icelandic ram did his job, and being HALF the height of the ewes, I was impressed. I mean they do live on a hill so he had some platform to work with but still, with an unproven young ram sometimes you simply don’t get your sheep bred.
Like anything in agriculture, nothing is guaranteed. But little Arty had not only bred all my ewes, the first born were twin girls, and as a shepherd trying to grow and improve her flock this was astounding luck. If no other lambs joined the flock this year, it was already a resounding success.
After the girls arrived, there wasn’t much to do after helping clean them off with a fresh towel and make sure they started nursing. The first few hours are so crucial, and that is why many sheep farmers make sure to confine the new mothers and lambs in little makeshift pens called lambing jugs.
The point of a jug is to make sure the mom can’t abandon the ewes, but still has a enough room to not crush them by laying down. I didn’t have a jug but I did have hay bales and carried them up the hill to the shed to create a makeshift wall inside for the new family.
Once that was done, I had nothing left to do but watch and wait. I didn’t want to seem like some hovering unsettling primate, a predator among the gentle prey. I went to the house and grabbed my ukulele—both to add some peace and keep me busy in the corner—with hands occupied in a way that made Masha most comfortable. I strummed some chords and added a soundtrack to their first moments.
I played music in the holy morning light of April, thanking Brigit, thanking luck, thanking anyone listening for these two being born so easily and whole. It took about an hour, but both girls figured out where the valve was on the soft serve, and started filling their bellies with that colostrum that would not only start them off right, but fortify their immune systems and give them the best chance of surviving these first crucial days.
That first night however, the temps were falling near freezing and I was not losing these babes, not to anything. I grabbed extension cords and a heat lamp and set up a station in their shed behind the bales. Now with a heated hay bed, along with a bucket of electrolytes and sweet grain for the mother, everyone seemed as positioned for success that I could manage.
That night (and the following three nights) I would set the alarm for the same cycle of check ins. I was up there at 10, 1, and 4 to make sure nothing happened to these babies. Anything could go wrong, and I was not taking a chance. I was used to not sleeping and the fear of discovering them cold in the morning was more than enough motivation to get me out on that hill with a lantern under the stars, to make sure all was well in their new world.
So happy to report that so far, these two are thriving. All they need is names, which I would love your help with! These girls are not going to be butchered for the table, these two should live full long lives on this farm as future mothers and hope of a brand new flock.
I already asked for name suggestions over on Substack Notes, but if you are just learning about this contest now, please share name ideas below! The only rule is that I only use human names for ewes, and if I choose yours I will mail you a signed book! Comment below with as many names as you want, and if I pick your name from here, or the original note thread, I will contact you to get you that thank you present.
What lovely news! What a tiding of joy! What an encouragement in dark times!
Welcome to the farm, new kids. I hope for a summer of green grass, gentle storms, and just wait till you learn about fireflies. So much ahead for you, for us, for all.
I chose Gemma and Marnie! Thank you @jok1293488 for the suggestion over on Notes! As someone named after a character on Dallas, love a pop culture reference in my animals. But there are two more sheep to lamb so perhaps I'll come back here for more ideas!
Guys keep them coming! Will announce the winner Saturday! I usually like all the comments so you know I read them and care, but I don't want to look like I am playing favorites!