On the midnight shift, I was doing "rounds", and found Beryllium in a corner of the barn licking her freshly born Jacob ewe lamb. I moved her and the lamb into a jug. Decided to name the lamb, "Balalaika" and waited to see if mom would birth another one.
As I waited, I thought heard a distant lamb cry. So I went outside with my flashlight to check on the pregnant ewes. Most were quietly snoring. A few were munching on hay. I turned to leave and then heard a loud, wail, “Maaah ! Maaah ! Baaah, Baaah !”
Momma BERYLLIUM |
BALALAIKA |
Turning my flashlight toward the pitiful sound, I saw a little lamb stuck in a pasture crevice behind a fence where it couldn't get out. I crawled on hands and knees under the fence and grabbed it--a sturdy boy with lots of pretty black spots. He was dripping wet and shivering. I took him over to the ewes and set him down. He wobbled towards them, looking for milk, but none of them claimed .
BANJO |
SInce I had a new mother inside the barn, I scooped the babe up and took him in to see if it might be hers, or at least maybe I could convince her to accept him, so I wouldn't end up having a bottle lamb. This must be done cautiously. If it isn't hers, she will know by smell and will butt him away.
I held the little ram lamb up to Beryllium’s nose and watched hopefully. She took one sniff and started licking him... Yes ! Balalaika has a twin brother. Apparently Momma Beryllium left him outside, went to the barn to have her 2nd lamb and then forgot about him. But she's accepts him like he's never been missing and and lets him nurse, which he does eagerly--his little tail wagging with happiness to be where he belongs. I named him "Banjo". Linda Dee