Countdown To Lambing

Suddenly it seems a lot like winter out there - more so than it has for most of the season. We had a few inches over the weekend all at once and are expecting more later today.

Amidst all of the snow we're getting ready for this:

The cold and the snow is a little nerve-wracking considering we are just twenty-three days from our first expected lambing date. A little earlier than planned as Winston spent up to an hour with the ladies a few days early after breaking through a gate while we were inside eating breakfast. We're not sure if that day was his lucky day or not since he wasn't wearing his marking harness yet.

Otherwise the "official" first day of lambing is March 25th - a whole month earlier than lambing last year.  By then it will be spring so bring on the sun and warmer days!

So the countdown is on and the preparations have begun. Like last year we're putting together a lambing kit that we can take to the barn with us every few hours on our checks.

A shepherd's lambing kit includes many things, not all of which actually fit in the kit. So it seems there are lambing supplies everywhere these days.

• towels, clean buckets, and gloves (M, XL and obstetric gloves)
• lamb snare (helpful in case we need to assist)
• bottles, multiple types of nipples for picky lambs, milk replacer and frozen colostrum (in case of the inevitable bottle baby)
• a thermometer, stethoscope, lamb scale, and lamb sling
• gauze, vet wrap, q-tips, and cotton balls
• nasal aspirator
• multiple sizes of syringes and needles to go with them
• iodine & navel clamps
• hibitane (a disinfectant & lubricant)
• dextrose solution for weak lambs plus a stomach feeding tube and 50cc syringe
• castration bands plus castrator
• prolapse retainer
• vitamins A+D
• selenium + vitamin E compounds (the soil in our area is selenium deficient so all lambs get a boost at birth to avoid white-muscle disease; vitamin E is necessary to process the selenium)
• Pen G
• scours tablets
• paper ID collars (to keep track of who goes with who when lambs are very little) plus ID tags (for when they are a little bigger)
• a tiny wool lamb coat (purchased, which I can use as a template to make a few more for small lambs on chilly nights)
• heat lamps + bulbs
• sheep care books, veterinary guides (for consulting if something looks off)

There are lists scattered around as we think of things to add to the kit that might be helpful to have on hand just in case. Orders are being place for things we can't get around here. The adult ewes are on an increased grain ration for their last trimester and they've all received their annual booster 8-in-1 vaccine for things like tetanus and other sheep-related diseases.

We're starting to see evidence of udders on the ewes (exciting news in the dairy world!) including on Eleanor and Lilah. Neither of them had lambs last year for unknown reasons. Too young? Timing wasn't right? Infertile? We're hopeful for them this year!

So now all there is left to do is wait!