Lambs at the Running Duck Farm
We got a bottle-fed karakul-Romanov cross ram lamb and so he would have
a companion picked out a ewe lamb. We really enjoyed their antics when they were
young. (Pictures coming when scanned.)
The ewe dropped a lamb when she was a year old but it was on a very cold night
and sadly it did not survive. The next year we were better prepared with a
new shed where we planned to confine her before she delivered. That was the
plan.
One morning we noticed she was off her feed and we decided it was time to put her in the shed. We spent much of the day on a slow speed chase trying to lure/maneuver/lead/drive her into it without success. About 4, my sister noticed her in the woods with what appeared to be a lamb. We rushed out to find her with 2 lambs. She was cleaning the stronger of the 2 but the other, much smaller and weaker, was off to the side. We were able to warm and clean him but he was very feeble.
Day 1. We used the stronger lamb to lure the ewe to the shed and put the little one in with them. We were not too optimistic but willing to try to save the little one. (This was also the day I decided to get a better digital camera.)
Day 2. He was able to stand but still very weak. He was very good with the bottle and an eager eater. So eager that over the next few days we became worried that he was actually getting too much milk and put a Gatorade feeding into the schedule. At the next feeding he was at his mother and did not want the bottle again. Coincidence? In any case, she was a wonderful mother with plenty of milk and the lambs thrived.