Tag Archives: lambs

Well that was a surprise. This morning I walked out to feed the animals and before I even hit the barn I heard the tiny call of a newborn lamb. Cassiopeia is the mother of twin lambs, a boy and a girl.

It was so bright outside that I had trouble getting a good family portrait but you can take my word for it- they are awfully cute! Since characters from Downton Abbey got the most votes in out poll, this pair of lambs will be named Bates and Anna.

Brenda B. was the first to nominate Downton Abbey as a naming convention, she is the winner of a share a share in our 2014 CSA. Brenda, you can choose a Colored Share or  a Cormo Share (I’m betting you pick Colored but it’s totally up to you.)

2014 Shares, including yarn made from the fleece from these little ones, will go sale on Monday.

The bred ewes that I was worried weren’t bred because they weren’t getting very big have suddenly become enormous, almost overnight.

I think part of the reason for the late growth is that I’m not graining the flock very much this year. In the past few years, we have had enormous lambs, which is not my favorite thing. I like a good-sized, healthy lamb but the 18 pound whoppers are much more likely to get stuck and require assistance.

The Cormo ewes show their pregnancy much more than the colored flock, probably because the colored sheep are so much taller.

But never fear! The colored ewes are bagging up, so I know they are bred too. You can see the  enlarged teats and beginning of an udder here.

Here’s an udder shot of one of the Cormo ewes. (I can’t imagine the crazy web traffic these shots are going to draw!)

Feenat, one of the ewes we weren’t planning to breed this year, appears to have been caught as well.

A few of the girls are definitely farther along than others, so my predicted lambing date of 3/13 may not be too far off.

Stay tuned!