We usually let ewes begin lambing in the large pen, with the other expectant ewes. After the first lamb is born, The Farmer will let her care for it for a few minutes. Then he will go in and pick up the lamb (or lambs, if he's arrived after multiple births) and move slowly out of the large pen. In this case, the lamb is the bait that makes the ewe move, too. She is very concerned about her lamb, and will follow closely, calling out the whole time. The ewe and her lamb(s) are placed in a small lambing pen, called a jug. I have no idea why they are called jugs. If anyone knows the origin of that term, I'd love to know. They are kept there for 1-3 days to ensure that they bond, and that the ewe is caring for her lambs well. No distractions. We set up a whole row of temporary jugs during lambing time. This is one of our hay storage areas, so we need to be sure that we've used most of this hay up before lambing begins. After their time in the lambing jugs, the ewe...
How about the mud and muck that makes it INTO the house----and all over the house?
ReplyDeleteI am sure that your muck has no smell to it either, right??????
Oh the mud! And I call March the Mud Month. Why April too?
ReplyDeleteAh, the fantasies we all have...
ReplyDeleteI live on an island, which I love dearly but the reality is much different from what most people imagine.
I made the mistake of wearing "good" pants and my regular shoes when I took dd to her horse riding lesson yesterday. Let's just say the shoes had to stay on the front porch and the pants had to be washed again. (still, you can't beat farming can ya??!)
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