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LambMetrics – September 1st, 2019

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#LAMBMETRICS for the day

Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks

Born 30/8 – today: 8
Total Lambs Born: 34
Drysdale lambs (live total): [no purebreds in 2019]
DrysdaleX lambs (total): 20
English Leicester lambs (live total): 14
Total Sets of Twins born: 7
Total Sets of Triplets born: 0
Total ewe lambs: 16
Total ram lambs: 18
Ewes lambed /68: 27 (39.7 %)
Lamb % : 126 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 4
Losses: 0

Notable Midwifery tales:

Lamb-wise, things calmed for a couple of days but back to four ewes lambing today. Glad to be getting them whittled down.

Currently, there are two sets of twins (English Leicester) on the bottle due to their mums having insufficient milk. That’s making a bit of work (and taking up time) but they’ve responded well at this stage. This issue is one reason why we tend to pen overnight the new mums to make sure the lambs are getting sufficient milk. It also helps make them all very calm and relaxed about such behaviour.
One of the ewes is older than we realised, the other is the “wide load” ewe who featured on Instagram a few weeks ago. Will try get photos of those lambs tomorrow – forgot this afternoon as we raced to get new lambs in the shed as a thunderstorm hit! (The shed is a little full!)

One of the “newbies” this morning. This lamb shows the classic “half ‘n’ half” wool type when the Drysdale is crossed with a different wool type!
Another newborn White Suffolk X Drysdale lamb

Slightly sombre note: there was a newborn English Leicester lamb this afternoon as we rushed to get them in the shed. There’s something Not Quite Right with him, we fear. Have a horrible feeling his mother may have stood on him and damaged him internally.  🙁  If that has happened then there won’t be anything we can do. At least he is sheltered and he’s been given a dose of Lamboost, which is a special supplement to help newborn lambs.
Will be checking on him very shortly when the bottle-bubs get their late night feed. Fingers crossed?? Hopefully the stats above won’t have any “Losses” added tomorrow. We’ve done really well so far to have not lost anything. (There are always some losses but doesn’t make us feel any better to know that. Would prefer zero!)

LambMetrics – August 27th, 2019

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#LAMBMETRICS for the day


Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks

Born today: 3
Total Lambs Born: 11
Drysdale lambs (live total): [no purebreds in 2019]
DrysdaleX lambs (total): 10
English Leicester lambs (live total): 1
Total Sets of Twins born: 3
Total Sets of Triplets born: 0
Total ewe lambs: 5
Total ram lambs: 6
Ewes lambed /68: 8  (11.7 %)
Lamb % : 137 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 1
Losses: 0

 

Notable Midwifery tales:

The run of sunny weather continues but at least 2 ewes decided to get their act together this morning!

“Stand still, Mum!” Mum freezes in position…..!

A lovely set of twin ewe lambs and a single. We won’t be getting through them really fast at this rate but at least they are coming.

In other news – the babes born last week are coming along nicely. A couple posed prettily for your #lambspam delight.

Little Charly says hi. She wants to be a Showgirl like her Mum and sister….
After his rough start in the world, this lamb has decided he knows how to pose for photos – like his mother!

LambMetrics – August 26th, 2019

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No lambs born today!

A few of the ewes look like keeping their legs crossed is starting to make them cross-eyed but they still didn’t give up any #babyyarn today!

So, in lieu of lamb spam here are some pictures of the current state of the maternity ward. And the alpaca protectors.

“Panda” – a maiden superfine merino ewe – is getting wider. First lamb in a week or so!
Heads down, bums up! nom nom nom
Ex-showgirl, Paris, wondering if there is any more yummy treats?
Irish Cream and Valentina are currently learning about being Sheep Protection Officers

LambMetrics – August 24th, 2019

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#LAMBMETRICS for the day

Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks

Born today: 1
Total Lambs Born: 8
Drysdale lambs (live total): [no purebreds in 2019]
DrysdaleX lambs (total): 7
English Leicester lambs (live total): 1
Total Sets of Twins born: 2
Total Sets of Triplets born: 0
Total ewe lambs: 2
Total ram lambs: 6
Ewes lambed /68: 6  (8.8 %)
Lamb % : 133 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 1
Losses: 0

Notable Midwifery tales:

Beautifully sunny day today and the sheep looked very content. Only one ewe actually lambed though! No doubt the rest are waiting until the bad weather. (Which is actually a “thing”! Something to do with the drop in air pressure if I recall correctly.)

Pleased to report that the lamb with the swollen face yesterday is now looking like it has completely recovered from its squeezy entry into this world.

Chipmunk cheeks now gone!

Can only presume there may be a flurry of births tonight/tomorrow??

LambMetrics – August 23rd, 2019

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#LAMBMETRICS for the day

Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks

Born today: 4
Total Lambs Born: 7
Drysdale lambs (live total): [no purebreds in 2019]
DrysdaleX lambs (total): 6
English Leicester lambs (live total): 1
Total Sets of Twins born: 2
Total Sets of Triplets born: 0
Total ewe lambs: 2
Total ram lambs: 5
Ewes lambed /68: 5 (7.3 %)
Lamb % : 140 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 1
Losses: 0


Notable Midwifery tales:

The set of twins born this morning were beset by “interested parties” early on and so had to be relieved of the extra attention…! Hopefully it inspires those ewes to have their own!

The English Leicester ewe lamb, Charly, that was born yesterday is possibly getting slightly less milk than I’d like but her mum has always been quite good so I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and a few days for her milk to come in more. Fingers crossed there! Bub is pooping like a champion though so that is always a good sign! Hahaha

Just after lunch we noticed a Drysdale ewe who seemed a bit more “uncomfortable” than usual. Closer inspection revealed that she had a perfectly presented lamb but he was a bit of a boofa and his shoulders got stuck, much to his mum’s discomfort.

A simple assistance and his mum was relieved but he was looking a bit worse for wear. When they get stuck for a while the head and tongue swell and he seemed a bit reluctant to breathe on his own to begin with.

Tough entry to this world but we’ve decided to live.

It took a fair effort of chest stimulation and periodic hanging upside down for nasal passage drainage for him to get breathing properly. (It always reminds me of the classic Monty Python scene in “The Meaning of Life” where the doctors in the hospital birth proclaim “aaaand the Rough Towels!”)  Bub’s mum was keen to get her licking in as well. She is also a complete poser when the camera came out. She probably felt like crap but seriously – the camera was pointed in her direction and she posed sweetly then went back to licking!  Hahaha

Once bub was holding his own we left them to bond for an hour or so.

When we returned the lamb was able to stand and was feeling quite perky. His mum though was having some issues getting back on her feet. (A few key ligaments are feeling a bit stretched and sore!)

A chariot was required to convey her to the hay shed for the night!

This ewe must have been a show ewe in a former life. She stepped delicately onto the tractor carry-all platform, sat down (with a little encouragement) and then regally sat there and didn’t move/flinch/or stress about the platform going UP and then the tractor ride to the shed. Upon arrival she calmly stood after the platform descended and then walked after her lamb into the shed…. 

The lamb probably isn’t “out of the woods” completely yet (am about to go check them) but things look hopeful. You never quite know the extent of internal damage or bruising in cases like this. The tongue swelling has gone down though and he has been drinking.  All going well the ewe will be back on her feet properly tomorrow.

LambMetrics – August 22nd, 2019

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The last few years I’ve kept track of the lambing statistics in the Drysdale & English Leicester flocks). I call these “LambMetrics”.
Hopefully, they provide a little insight into the real-life “goings-on” here.

#LAMBMETRICS for the day

Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks

Born today: 3
Total Lambs Born: 3
Drysdale lambs (live total): [no purebreds in 2019]
DrysdaleX lambs (total): 2
English Leicester lambs (live total): 1
Total Sets of Twins born: 1
Total Sets of Triplets born: 0
Total ewe lambs: 1
Total ram lambs: 2
Ewes lambed /68: 2  (2.9 %)
Lamb % : 150 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 0
Losses: 0

Notable Midwifery tales:

This year lambing is (deliberately) a little later than usual. The season was very “ordinary” earlier in the year so the decision was made to not join the commercial flocks of Merino and Castledale and only the stud flocks (English Leicester & Drysdale) would be joined.

Better late than never though! The official “due date” is from tomorrow – but two girls decided they just couldn’t wait any longer.

So, our first English Leicester is a lovely little ewe lamb to one of the experienced ewes.

English Leicester ewe, “Lacey”, with her new ewe lamb, “Charly”!

And there was a very calm Drysdale ewe who had twin boys. This year the Drysdale ewes were put to White Suffolk rams rather than Drysdale. This means that if the season looks to be poor at the end of the year the lambs can be sold on which reduces the grazing pressure on the farm over the dry summer months.

Drysdale ewe with White Suffolk X lambs. (Lambs are less than 12hrs old)

However….. the Drysdale ewe was not alone! There was a younger ewe hovering around the lambs and getting a bit keen that she should “have one too”! The strong maternal instinct is a wonderful thing in the Drysdales but it can manifest in some dedicated “lambnappers”!! So, to remove the extra ewe from the scene the lambs had to be carried to the paddock gate and then the ewes could be sorted – leaving the new mum and her bubs free from interference as they bonded. Luckily, most Drysdale ewes can count!

Having quiet ewes is really important as each morning and evening the ewes are calmly shifted between a day paddock and a night paddock. (Hopefully, some of you were able to see the live Facebook video we did when moving the sheep recently?) It enables us to drift off the pregnant ewes from the new mothers and lessens the lambnapping incidents.

As an example of how quiet the ewes can be – when a lamb has been born we check them out and tag them (another important tactic to match the right lamb with the right mother!) The ewes don’t run away as they are very used to us. The ewes will also follow us when we carry the lambs up the paddock to change paddocks.

Lacey hovering over her lamb as Charly’s eartag is applied.

So, that is it for today! The new bubs are tucked into the shed tonight as -3 is forecast overnight. The DrysdaleX lambs don’t need extra shelter (so much wool already!) but I’ll sleep better knowing the English Leicester is in the shed.

Charly having a good drink. (Not wearing a coat now because her mum was a bit upset by it)

Hopefully, we will have more lambs tomorrow!