News from the Barn

Just in from the barn where I snapped this photo of a lamb being born. Laying under mom on the hay is her sister, born just 15 minutes before. Here's the scene... I arrive for an afternoon "barn check" and find mom, Rose (Rozay, like the wine) licking her first black babe, a big bouncy girl. I pick up the newborn and use it to lead Rose into a "jug" which is a birthing pen we set up for new mothers to have private space and bond with their lambs. I'm aware that Rose is still in labor and soon, this 2nd lamb, also a girl (ewe) pops out. I'm surprised & delighted to see both of these girls are black as their parentage is 75% Tunis. It remains to be seen if they will keep their black color or if it will change, like the red coats of purebred Tunis lambs.

In the next photo, Rose is eating the afterbirth while lamb is hunting for milk.

What shall we name these lambs? Naming is both serious and fun for us... Serious because the names give us instant data about the animal, including age and parentage. And fun because each year has a theme which must be broad enough to allow for choices for 60-90 names. Our oldest ewes are YinChen and WuSong from 2000 when the theme was Chinese. Other themes have included Trees, Rivers, State Capitols, Singers, Elements, Beverages, Movie Stars and for 2011: Music.
I'm naming these black girls: "Reggae" (rhymes with mother's name, Rose) and "Rhumba".

Here's a photo of our first lambs of 2011, another set of twins from a breed called Jacob. This is also a rare heritage breed... known for their black and white spotted fleeces, and 2-4 horns on both ewes and rams. "Piccolo" (girl) is in the lead, followed by her twin brother, "Percussion". They don't stand still for photos, so this is the best I could do.

And that's todays Barn News,  Baa Baa