Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Babies Everywhere!


So yesterday....

Sophie (Fullblood Boer) had twins, Brunswick and Scarlett.

Gwenie (Commercial Boer) gave us a big girl...Miss Lonely. And yeah, she deserves the name, because Gwenie will have nothing to do with her and I couldn't get anyone to foster her. So much for no bottle babies this year.

Parsley (Katahdin) finally gave birth to one gigantic ewe lamb, Texas.

I don't have pictures of the new babies yet, but will get some soon.

I'm forgiving the singles because they are gals and because of the flushing failure in the fall. This next year year we are using experienced bucks and rams.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian


Vienna comes to meet Sicily and Paris

Amelia and Vienna at 4 days old

Another pic of Amelia and Vienna at 4 days old



Miss Lonely a few minutes after birth

Aravis and her twin ewe lambs, Paris and Sicily
6 days old

Monday, February 8, 2010

First Boers of the Year

Today my kidding and lambing pens maxed out...

I had two does and one ewe that looked like they could let loose today, so I bumped Aravis and Amelia with their lambs to the group pen and pasture. I normally would be dandy with this, but since we've got plenty of mud right now, I'm not so pleased.

I freed up one entire pen and moved a close ewe to the other barn. I came back up, took a two hour nap and came back down.

More kids! Sophie had given birth to twins, on big red buck inside all cleaned up and one traditional Boer doeling outside, all muddy. Poor girl. But it wasn't long before they were fat and happy, and I'll give Sophie some slack since it's her first kidding and she was with the other goats. :-) This is my first Fullblood Boer doe to kid! She's crossed with a "Monkey" who is a Nubian/Oberhasli grade. This babies are going to be hardy, stocky, and milk power houses. Exactly what I want!!!!! I'm so excited!

They are the cutest things!

Baby Count
3 ewes - 6 babies
2 does - 3 babies

And a 7:2 girl:boy ratio. I'll forgive the singles this year with my flushing failure... Everyone seems happy and healthy at the moment...and I don't think the day is over!
I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Introducing Vienna


Amelia gave us a lovely ewe lamb this morning! Our first single in three years!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

How lambing has been going....

(Note...if you just stop by to check out the pictures, don't leave! Scroll down. There's plenty below the lambing squib. :-)

Well, after the Rue ordeal, I was happy to go down to the barn to check on Aravis and find two huge, very healthy, very cute ewe lambs! Welcome Sicily and Paris! And congrats Aravis, you are a great ewe! :-)

So, this is how it's all been going....

Last year Rue (as a yearling having her first babies) didn't dilate all the way so we had to take her in. She had two lovely twin boys who she raised excellently! This year she didn't dilate either, so I did my best at what they explained to do last year, but didn't get anywhere. I started getting worried about the babies and called the vet out. Apparently, she had scarred over last year and there was no way anything was coming through.
So, yes, I'd been on the right track and I hadn't messed up, but we were in a pickle.

We did what was best for Rue and put her down. No more of that pain! But we are going to miss her! What a horrible thing to happen to such a pretty, sweet ewe.

Thank you Dr. Jacklyn Aschim for getting those babies out on time! Rue had a lovely set of triplets, two spotted ewes and one white ram (8.2, 7, and 8 lbs). My first Johann babies. I'm bottle feeding the two ewe lambs and the ram lamb is now happy at his new home (thank you Anna).
I hope one of my goats kids pretty soon so I can have some more real milk. It didn't take these guys long to drink up the milk I'd put in the freezer. And I really don't like using milk replacer and I really don't like how much it costs! It's been years since I've had to buy any. Ouch!

To make up for it all....the perfect ewe...Aravis.
Yesterday it looked like she'd dropped so I moved her to a lambing pen in the other barn. She spent most of the day in the grass yard looking out at the other sheep in pasture. I was pretty sure she'd have them in the evening or late night.
I came down at 8 to check on her and...yep...two lovely, huge ewe lambs already fat and happy.

This is how Aravis is...Her first lambing I stuck her in a pen in the morning and came back after a day out to well fed triplets. Last year I thought she was close, came back down in the next morning and two well fed twin rams. I hope it continues this way for her.

I've kept her two ewe lambs from the triplets. Rue...you know about her...but she did give me 5 babies before she'd turned two! And Parsley who had twins last year when I was gone and nobody noticed until they saw lambs grazing in the pasture with the moms! Still waiting to see what she gives me this year. She doesn't look to plump, so maybe a single, maybe twins. We'll see.

Current 2010 Baby Count
2 ewes - 5 lambs

Thanks for reading,
Drowsy Waters Farm

Enjoy the pictures!

Rosalind
Watching Aravis' new lambs play.
Can't wait for this girl to lamb. She's my plumpest ewe and my best bet for another set of triplets....but it will probably be twins.

Introducing!
Paris and Sicily
They were not interested in posing at all! The light isn't good with all this rain and overcast weather and they just wanted to move! They are very energetic. I think they were born two weeks old. :-)

Paris and Sicily

Sicily thinks mom is great for climbing.
Look at how big she is!!!!!

And papa Johann.
He's just turned one!

Mercy
A July 2009 ewe lamb

Maggie
One of my dairy ewes!
Poor girl's a bit dirty. I guess wool doesn't clean up so nice as Katahdin hair....

And Dolly, Maggie's sister.
Another dairy ewe.
These girls are both due in March.

Some 2009 ewe lambs
Tamar, Hagar, Dotty, Ophelia, and Juliet

Herman might still look like a calf, but he's to big now!
This is a good sized ram lamb grazing with him.

Herman and the three remaining ram lambs.

Parsley
Due sometime this month.

Amelia
Also due this month...

Celia, my oldest ewe, and can you tell?
Due to lamb soon!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Lambs are here!

Introducing Drowsy Waters' first 2010 babies!
Rue's Triplets
Florence, Little Dorrit, and Arthur
More on their story coming when time allows...

Arthur, Florence, and Little Dorrit

Florence, Little Dorrit, and Arthur

Little Dorrit
Looking thoughtful

Arthur watching the camera

Ella

Gweny :-)

Ginny
Twins?

Chuckie...watching the proceedings

Rosalind

Amelia

Aravis! The next ewe to watch.
I believe she dropped her babies this morning!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Count Down to Lambing!


Rain, rain, rain....Mud, mud, mud.... Hopefully we get some dry, sunny days in before lambing begins. Expecting them any day now. Rue and Rosiland look the closest. Can't wait!!!! Except for the fact that I'm not supposed to be doing anything right now because I hurt myself hauling stuff around down at the barn. :-(

We are praying for a good easy baby year!
Miss Pickwickian

Monday, December 21, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas All!

I keep waiting to post (waiting and waiting!) because I want to post with pictures. Weather and schedule have not been lining up, so here is a pictureless post....

All is well at Drowsy Waters with only three weeks to go until lambing begins! Yes!!!!!! Hopefully we get a nice warm dry spell. :-)

I have eight ewes due this year. Four due starting on January 10th, two due starting Feb 1st, and two due in March. (The gals due in March are my new dairy sheep which didn't get situated in time here to be bred with the other ewes. That's just fine because I won't have to milk yet during our annual church camp.)

My goats are due sometime after January 10th too....but I'm thinking its quit a way after...probably mid February at the earliest. I was seeing does going into heat later in the season. I have three Boer does and three dairy does this year. Can't wait until kids!

Ideally I would have a few goats kid before our sheep so I have surplus milk encase of bottle babies, but that is just the way it worked out this year.... Hopefully all goes well. I did put some milk away in the freezer.

Anyways....that's a quick update.

Hope you all have a very wonderful Christmas!
Bethany