Beginning of Round 2

Seven ewes have lambed in round 2 of the 2013 lambing season. They have produced three sets of triplets and four sets of twins. One ewe lambed between the two lambing seasons. When I observed her in heat, I had put her with the ram. Good thing because she had triplets.

A Dairy Mule ram lamb

Lambing continues to go well. All ewes have lambed unassisted. No udder problems since the beginning of the lambing season.  Having a clean barn makes a difference.

One of my favorite ewes, Miss Piggy, gave birth to triplets on St. Patrick's Day. She had two red lambs and one white lamb. One of the red lambs is a ewe lamb. Unfortunately, I can't keep it since someone already put a deposit on Miss Piggy's lambs and thus has first refusal.

A Katahdin ewe lamb

The older lambs are doing well, having turned into little eating machines. I am freshening the creep feed three times a day. I have started substituting whole barley and pellets for some of the cracked corn and soybean meal, respectively.  I  have reduced the protein percentage to 18.

All but one of the ewe lambs seems to be bagging up. The fifth ewe lamb was born in May, and I would expect her to lamb a bit later. Phelps continues to run with the ewe lambs. So far, he has not been aggressive with the ewes, so as to necessitate his separation.

One of Miss Piggy's triplet lambs

There are nine more mature ewes to lamb, along with the five ewe lambs. So far, I am able to keep all of the ewes and lambs in the hoop house. After a few more ewes lamb, I will probably need to put a group of ewes and lambs outside.