January 17, 13
It’s a girl!
What a week!
First thing Monday morning (around 8 a.m.) Daniel started the regular chores checking
and feeding all the animals. We
have had several ewes that looked like they were larger than usual and we
assumed they were pregnant but had not seriously thought about it happening for
a few weeks.
”One Ear”, one of our older ewes aptly named due to the absence
of an ear had left the flock and had just given birth! By the time I made it to the field the
baby was up and nursing with the umbilical cord still hanging in plain view.
Jade our Great Pyrenees was watching over. She then was sniffing around the
placenta, which was on the ground near by. So we decided to give her a break from the flock and let her
hang out in the back yard.
The next thing we knew Jade saw the open gate at the end of
the drive and decided she wanted a real vacation. (It is not the first time that she has bolted from the
property!) With Daniel in hot
pursuit Jade takes off first down Marshfield Road then onto Lake Road and ends
up at the end of the road. Daniel
calls on his cell phone telling me he was totally lost, but to come with car
and bring a leash and dog treats.
I jumped into car, with directions, a dog leash and treats
to find Daniel in the middle of the driveway at the end of the road with a
darling spaniel and a serious looking German shepherd. Jade was nowhere in sight.
There is something powerful about a dog’s sense of
smell. I opened the window
and a new bag of dog treats, whistling for Jade at the same time. She came bounding out of the
woods. We threw treats to all the
dogs while we got Jade and Daniel into the car and headed home.
Jade spent the rest of the day at home tied up to the front
porch while we made multiple rounds checking on Mom and baby. By 5 p.m. Mom and baby had crossed the field and were trying to
get into the field by the pond where we had isolated the rest of the
flock. Hearing that a cold
wet night was on the way we wanted the Mom and baby to be closer to the shelter
and fresh warm hay we had spread out.
We made the decision to let the flock in with the Mom and
baby. The theory was good. I had gotten six of the eleven sheep
left into the field with the Mom and baby when the ram decided that he did not
want me in the field with them. And he knows that I am a bit fearful of his head
butts.
The next thing I know I was basically trapped in the field
by the pond with the remaining flock.
I had shoulder surgery the week before and did not have the dexterity to
undo the electric fence with my left hand to get to the house.
What we ever did with out cell phones I do not know. I called Amanda to come out and help me
finish moving the flock. It was her second trip to the farm on her day off but
she generously came out and got me out of the field and the flock united.
We were all so excited about the new birth. I went out again around 8 p.m. with a flashlight
and headlamp to re assess the situation.
The Mom was still keeping the baby separated from the flock but Jade was
staying close to them both running the perimeter around them to keep predators
at bay.
Here is baby Venus at day #3!
And Mom and Proud Papa (that Ram!).
