When it Rains it Pours.....LAMBS!!
We have had a very eventful 24 hours here. There have been a total of 8 lambs born and I have had no time to take pictures until this evening. Unfortunately our barn is very poorly lit and I haven't been able to get any decent ones yet.
Bramble Anna Belle gave birth to twin black ewe lambs sired by Island Kurkigarth Brent These lambs are 62.5% UK
Bramble Maisie gave birth to twin white ram lambs sired by Island Skeld These lambs are 75% UK
Locksfield Sharlette gave birth to twin black (possibly shaela) ram lambs sired by Kimberwood Oliver
Locksfield Brigid gave birth to twin moorit (should be modified) ewe lambs sired by SheltrgPines Arturo
We have had a very eventful 24 hours here. There have been a total of 8 lambs born and I have had no time to take pictures until this evening. Unfortunately our barn is very poorly lit and I haven't been able to get any decent ones yet.
Bramble Anna Belle gave birth to twin black ewe lambs sired by Island Kurkigarth Brent These lambs are 62.5% UK
Bramble Maisie gave birth to twin white ram lambs sired by Island Skeld These lambs are 75% UK
Locksfield Sharlette gave birth to twin black (possibly shaela) ram lambs sired by Kimberwood Oliver
Locksfield Brigid gave birth to twin moorit (should be modified) ewe lambs sired by SheltrgPines Arturo
Sired by BluffCountry Paladin
Kimberwood FlynnA black ram lamb with just a sprinkle of white.
And, Kimberwood Nara
A white ewe lamb.
Meet Kimberwood Keegan
Mom is BluffCountry Bella Bambina and Dad is BluffCountry Paladin.
Bella loves her new little guy!
Mom is BluffCountry Bella Bambina and Dad is BluffCountry Paladin.
Bella loves her new little guy!
BluffCountry Twister gave us a white ram lamb!
His dad is Kimberwood Gavrael and it looks like Gavrael passed his fine crimpy fleece to this guy. His mom Twister is a Great Grand Daughter of Bramble Dixen who is a polled ram. Gavrael is a scurred ram. So far all we have a flat patches on this guy where his horns would go. We will have to watch him to see whether or not he grows any horns.
His dad is Kimberwood Gavrael and it looks like Gavrael passed his fine crimpy fleece to this guy. His mom Twister is a Great Grand Daughter of Bramble Dixen who is a polled ram. Gavrael is a scurred ram. So far all we have a flat patches on this guy where his horns would go. We will have to watch him to see whether or not he grows any horns.
Didn't think anyone would lamb last night....
so I went to bed and set the alarm for 5am. For some reason I woke up at 4am and decided to go out and check on things. These are what I found! Twins, both black, one ewe and one ram. It's a good thing I went out there because I found the ram lamb inside the barn with the rest of the ewes and Katy outside with the ewe lamb. At first I thought "Oh oh, who do you belong to?". But mom claimed him right away.
This is Kimberwood Kenyon and Kimberwood Keego with their mom Kimberwood Katy. Their sire is BluffCountry Paladin but you'd never know to look at them that they carry spotting genetics! Not a speck of white on them!
So far its been all first time moms that have lambed and all are taking on the job like professionals. We still have 4 more first time moms to go and 2 of them are ewe lambs. Next weekend we could see some real action here when 3 ewes (one of the four ewes appears to have re-absorbed) who were bred by artificial insemination are due on April 29th.
so I went to bed and set the alarm for 5am. For some reason I woke up at 4am and decided to go out and check on things. These are what I found! Twins, both black, one ewe and one ram. It's a good thing I went out there because I found the ram lamb inside the barn with the rest of the ewes and Katy outside with the ewe lamb. At first I thought "Oh oh, who do you belong to?". But mom claimed him right away.
This is Kimberwood Kenyon and Kimberwood Keego with their mom Kimberwood Katy. Their sire is BluffCountry Paladin but you'd never know to look at them that they carry spotting genetics! Not a speck of white on them!So far its been all first time moms that have lambed and all are taking on the job like professionals. We still have 4 more first time moms to go and 2 of them are ewe lambs. Next weekend we could see some real action here when 3 ewes (one of the four ewes appears to have re-absorbed) who were bred by artificial insemination are due on April 29th.
While we have a break in lambing.....
This is BluffCountry Twister. She is a moorit 2 year old lambing for the first time this year. She is bred to Kimberwood Gavrael who has this very fine, very crimpy fleece I'm hoping he passes on to his babies. She looks like she is carrying a single baby this year. It could be white, moorit or possibly black.
This is BluffCountry Twister. She is a moorit 2 year old lambing for the first time this year. She is bred to Kimberwood Gavrael who has this very fine, very crimpy fleece I'm hoping he passes on to his babies. She looks like she is carrying a single baby this year. It could be white, moorit or possibly black.
Meet Kimberwood Thistle!
She was born this morning to Thistle Keep Red Deer and is sired by Kimberwood Gavrael. I'll have to let her dry off a bit more before I can tell if she is grey or musket.
She was born this morning to Thistle Keep Red Deer and is sired by Kimberwood Gavrael. I'll have to let her dry off a bit more before I can tell if she is grey or musket.
SURPRISE SURPRISE!
Look what I found tonight!
BluffCountry Easter Lily showed no signs at all today of lambing. We came home with a load of hay and started unloading it when I heard what I've been waiting for all spring, the adorable little baa of a newborn lamb. Lily is a first time mom and is a complete pro at it already. She has given us a perfect dark moorit ram lamb sired by BluffCountry Paladin. This little guy carries lots of spotting genetics. Mom's sire is an HST as well as his Dad.
APRIL 20th IS HERE!
Today is our due date! This actually means today is the first possible day our lambing could begin. The rams were introduced into the breeding groups 146 days ago. If any of the ewes happen to be at the right moment in their cycle and were bred on the day the rams went into the breeding groups they could lamb today. Of course if the ewes weren’t ready we could be in for a bit of a wait.
Today’s ewe is Thistle Keep Red Deer. She is a 2 year old “musket” ewe and is lambing for the first time this spring. Musket is the name of her color. She started out as a moorit lamb and lightened up. Just like a grey lamb starts out black and lightens up. She is bred to Kimberwood Gavrael who is our white “scurred” ram. The term “scur” refers to the type of horns he has (or doesn’t have actually). Red Deer will probably have a single lamb and most likely it will be either white or musket.
Today is our due date! This actually means today is the first possible day our lambing could begin. The rams were introduced into the breeding groups 146 days ago. If any of the ewes happen to be at the right moment in their cycle and were bred on the day the rams went into the breeding groups they could lamb today. Of course if the ewes weren’t ready we could be in for a bit of a wait.
Today’s ewe is Thistle Keep Red Deer. She is a 2 year old “musket” ewe and is lambing for the first time this spring. Musket is the name of her color. She started out as a moorit lamb and lightened up. Just like a grey lamb starts out black and lightens up. She is bred to Kimberwood Gavrael who is our white “scurred” ram. The term “scur” refers to the type of horns he has (or doesn’t have actually). Red Deer will probably have a single lamb and most likely it will be either white or musket.
Bramble Elsie looks to be one who may be the closest to lambing. She is bred to BluffCountry Paladin and I think should lamb within the next week. Last year, bred to a dark brown ram Elsie gave us twin ewe lambs. One white and one black with a large smirslet marking. We know that the black came from Elsie so with this breeding she could produce either white, black or possibly moorit. 
I also think its possible she could carry spots and if so there is a 50/50 chance of a spotted baby. Unfortunately if she has a white baby, he or she could be spotted underneath all the white and we wouldn't know it from looking at it.Tomorrow is their first due date! I'm hoping for lambs by the weekend!
Kimberwood Lydia
Here is one of the two ewe lambs that will be lambing for me this year. This is the first time I've bred them this young and I have to admit to being nervous about it. I've always waited until my ewes were a year old before breeding them but there are many breeders out there who do breed the ewe lambs in the fall of the year they were born and without problems. So, I decided to try it this year mainly because I had some very nice ones and was anxious to see what they would produce. Lydia is bred to SheltrgPines Arturo this year and should give me a single lamb.
Behind her to the right is Bramble Meg who is looking particularly large in this photo. She is bred to BluffCountry Paladin this year. Hmmm, maybe triplets from her?
I wish my ewes were on the other side of the barn. They are on the north side where there is a lot of shade so the pictures look rather dull.
Bramble Anna Belle....
Is one of my favorite ewes, she is also one of my AI bred ewes. She is a big ewe so it's hard to say how many babies she is carrying. I know there are at least twins and I'm kind of thinking there could be one or two more. She is bred to Island Kurkigarth Brent who is a very rich dark moorit UK ram. Anna Belle is 25% UK (Heatheran Lightning)so these babies will be 62.5% UK. Anna Belle has given me solid (non white) babies in the past so I'm hoping there will be at least one moorit or black baby. Her due date is April 29th.
Lambing is Getting Closer.....
This week on Thursday we sheared our sheep. They seem so small now! Now that we can see more of their bellies and udders we can get an idea on how close we are to lambing. This is LocksField Brigid and I'm thinking maybe twins for her first time lambing. I did have one ewe last year that looked a lot like Brigid does. She carried her baby up high with the "bumps" out on each side. Thats right, one baby. But he was a very big baby. Brigid is bred to Sheltrgpines Arturo who is a spotted emsket ram.
Here is Bramble Maisie who is one of the four ewes we took to Illinois in December for Artificial Insemination. She is bred to Island Skeld who is a UK ram. She still has about 2 weeks before she is due to lamb. The UK bred ewes are due on April 29th and these babies will be 75% UK.The official "Lamb Watch" will begin on the 20th. Be sure to check back often for updates!
I haven't talked about Emily for awhile and thought I would share some exciting news. Emily and I will very soon be taking lessons at Kensmuir Farms in River Falls, WI. We are going to begin our training to herd sheep. I found Kensmuir through my friend Susan in Wyoming who also raises Shetland sheep and Border Collies. Susan is much more experienced in training working stock dogs and I very much appreciate her expertise. Susan has also invited me to attend a clinic in May at Kensmuir featuring Derek Scrimgeour who is from Scotland and is a very well known expert in training working stock dogs. Both Emily and I plan to camp out with Susan at the clinic and will hopefully be able to take a lesson with Derek while we are there.
Emily is now 10 months old and has come into her first "heat". I would post a picture of her but she is rather embarrassed right now because she has to where "underpants" in the house. I have to say it is quite challenging to keep her separated from my son's dog Kaiser. While Kaiser is quite handsome in his own way he is not a suitable match for Emily. Kaiser is a very nice friendly Pit Bull and I'll let you imagine what their puppies would look like. Hopefully we won't find out!
