Blah!

Two of the triplets died. I can't figure it out. They should have been past danger. They seemed so healthy and the deaths were so sudden. One died on day 3 and the other died on day 5. This is the part that makes me want to get rid of the ram and just keep a few sheep for fun pets. No more lambs!

Of course it's the lambs that are the funnest part of raising sheep. But it's so hard at times!

It's such a struggle to keep lambs alive in the middle of winter, yet I let them breed at their own natural timing and this is when nature deems the most appropriate time for lambs to be born?! Makes you wonder how they ever could have survived in the wild. But I think that is a big part of the problem. These domesticated breeds aren't very like their wild ancestors. Perhaps I should look into raising a heritage breed. My neighbor raises Icelandic sheep. This is a much much older breed and so it is supposed to be hardier. I might have to go visit and see if we might buy a couple of ewes and a ram this summer.

We need to do something. I thought lambing would be exciting when we first started with sheep. It's not. It stressful and frustrating and just plain sad at times. Ugh!

Frosty

I've neglected my blog for more then 2 months! So I've added this picture of Mr Snowman. Say hello Mr Snowman!

It's been so busy here. Christmas and New Year's are long gone. Real winter finally arrived and we got our first big blizzard in years. The kids were thrilled with a real snow day at long last. We received around 50 cm of snow! We also experienced a good long deep freeze which will hopefully destroy the gypsy moth eggs. We might actually have leaves on our oak trees this summer!

My parent's took their yearly vacation, this time to Cuba and carried on the tradition of missing the biggest blizzards here at home. Keeping the hen barns warm and dry was a huge job while they were away. These are the moments in farming when normal work hours fly out the window. Barn checks have to happen every few hours day and night to make sure heaters and fans are working. But we made it through with only a few minor disasters, lol!

Of course during this time the lambs started to make their appearance. They seem to always choose the bitterest of February days to birth. We've had 2 single births. 2 sets of twins - one twin died from one set. And yesterday we saw our oldest mama birth the first set of triplets we've ever had here on our farm! I'll try to get a picture of them to add. I hope all three will survive. They've made it through the first 24 hours which is great. But there is one that seems weaker than the others. I've taken extra care to see that she's eating and is warm, but with weak lambs, it's never a sure thing. The other lamb we lost was a weak-at-birth lamb too. I'm crossing my fingers!