Would ewe believe it?!

Ok, this morning's chores didn't go as planned. I had planned to just offer a bottle to one of the quads, check on the red #111 lamb that I thought the mother was going to reject, and to check on the last ewe waiting to lamb. Of course there's the usual of feeding the couple of penned ewes and giving them water since I try to keep 2 ewes in the building so that they don't feel like they're alone. They're calmer if they have company next to them.

I had already fed the dogs and cats, and moved on to the sheep shed which is also our hay shed. In there is the sheep hay (small squares) and the horse pasture hay (big round bales). I have a couple of pens in the back for the ewes to lamb in if the weather is cold and/or wet. That's practically all we've had for weather here. All the ewes but the first one have lambed in the shed this year. What's that say about the weather? It's been cold and wet.

I went in to check on a ewe and her lambs to see if they were getting to a point where they could be let out with the flock. I usually keep them in a pen for about 24 to 48 hours if they're in and not on pasture. It's harder for the lambs to stick close to their moms when they're in a more crowded situation. Out on the pasture they actually separate themselves to some degree and the lambs find it easier to find and stay with their mom. Also some of the ewes are really rough on lambs from other moms that stray into their space. That was the reason I had kept this one ewe in as the companion for the ewe waiting to lamb yet. So her lambs are actually about 3 days old or so.

One of the little ram lambs seemed a little less active than the other one. It had some poop sticking out from under it's tail. Now if you've never dealt with very young lamb poop, it's sticky. It's REALLY sticky. In fact I think that when it dries, it's probably comparable to that product they call Liquid Nails. Somehow, he had gotten his tail probably pushed on when he was pooping and got his tail stuck to his butt and then he kept pooping and soon he had a poop blob stuck to his butt and he really couldn't poop. We all know if you can't poop it's a really bad thing!

So...something had to be done. I knew that soaking a lamb's butt would be a tough one. And knowing what I know about the poop, it would take a long time to soften up. So...I got a 5 gallon pail, filled it 3/4 with hot water from the house. I carried it out to the shed and then used some cold water to make the lamb's bath. I took the little guy and sat on the floor of the pen and put him in hind feet first. I held him with my left arm so that the edge of the bucket wouldn't hurt and then with my right hand I began the hour long poop massage and removal. I had my hand in the water so long that my fingers were looking like prunes.

I got the job done finally and with a clean towel so as not to scent him with another lambs scent, I dried him off. He sure was glad to get out of that bucket but not as glad as I was to have him out. Of course by the time I was done, I was wet and he was dry. I had just soaked my arm in warm water and lamb poop for an hour. I had splashed it on my front and it soaked into my clothes of course. So once I could see that he was being accepted ok by his mom and he was nursing again, off I went to the house for an early shower. Usually waiting until the end of the day makes more sense on on a farm so you can go to bed clean at least.

I think someone needs to investigate lamb poop for some kind of new "green" adhesive. Trust me, it's water resistant and really holds strongly and isn't easily washed off though with persistence it can be done.

Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings. There's no more lambs coming but there's 2 mares in the foaling barn that look ready to grace us with a couple more additions to the spring birth numbers. Come on warmer weather so I can get out the camera and get some great pictures of all that's been happening here.