Cedar Pond's Mahlon Has A Ram Lamb

 This little ram lamb is the son of Cedar Pond's Mahlon and Puddleduck Jonas. He was born 3/3/2017.

 My 6 horned ewe Mahlon had a ram lamb. He's so cute ! My granddaughters were over this past weekend and were happy to hold my little bundles of spots.

I love lambing season.

Cedar Pond's Inga Has Twins !

 Cedar Pond's Inga had twin ewe lambs 2/26/2017.

 Inga is a very good mama and her twins are both healthy and thriving.

 Two of my granddaughters were over this past weekend and decided to name the twins.

 This lamb is Ivy ,

and her sister is Iris.

Twins ! ~ First Lambs of 2017

 Cedar Pond's Tovah had the first lambs of 2017, twins !

Tovah lambed February 4, 2017. The sire of her lambs is Puddleduck Jonas. She had a healthy ram lamb and ewe lamb. Both lambs are doing well and so much fun to watch. Thus far I've had no new lambs but have 15 more ewes due to lamb. Just hoping they don't all decide to lamb at the same time.

First Lamb of 2013 & My Sister Helped !

The first lamb of this new year has been born.Naomi, my oldest and favorite ewe has given birth to a healthy ram lamb.The sire of this ram lamb is Goth.

As I was handing out soda crackers tonight, one of my sheep's favorite snacks, Naomi, who will push her way through the flock to be first for her crackers, stood apart. Oh-oh, when Naomi won't approach me for her soda crackers something is up. Sure enough, I saw she had pawed the bedding and earth to make a hollowed out area, and was in a cramped-looking postiton. I left her for awhile to let nature take it's course.

Half hour later I saw a head poking out of her rear area , hmmm, I hope this little lamb comes soon.

I checked on her in another half hour and the head was still hanging out but there seemed no progress. Oh dear. I ran into the house and  got my youngest sister to help out. I had her hold onto Naomi's horns while I soaped up my hands and carefully slipped them into Naomi to see what was going on. I could feel the lamb had broad shoulders and it was not going to be born without assistance, and without assistance Naomi would die too.  I did not want to lose either.

It took some doing, but my sister held firmly onto Naomi's horns while I worked at the other end, and after a LOT of pulling, slowly, carefully, but firmly, the big lamb slid out. Poor Naomi. I will begin giving her  penicillin shots tomorrow to prevent any infections from taking hold because I had to insert my hands into her and manipulate the lamb, and pull, pull, pull.

The lamb is big for a Jacob sheep lamb, his horns are already protruding from his head.I was surprised all the pulling on his head, shoulders, and sometimes even his neck did not cause him to be strangled or suffocated. Happy beginning, a new little ram lamb is now suckling milk from his very old mother who is tending him like the very good mother sheep she has always been. The first lamb of this year, my youngest sister helped, and all is well for now. God is good, praise Him !

Welcome to the world little one.

Norwegian Lamb Recipe, But Try American Raised Lamb!

Chicory and her ram lambs.

$12.99 a pound for lamb!

~We raised a lamb this year for our freezer. This is a first for us with my Jacob sheep.I have been selling my spring lambs for many years to others who raise them for the table but could not bear to do this myself.Recently I bought lamb for a special meal to serve my husband and on sale lamb cost more than $10.00 a pound! Given the price of lamb, the price of meat in general, and the fact that we have been raising sheep for so many years it was ridiculous I would be raising sheep and not have lamb for our own table. It just makes good sense for us to feed our own family well & healthy using the bounty God has allowed me to raise. The recipe above will hopefully entice you to consider serving lamb to your family.

As some Jacob Sheep breeders told us recently, "If you go Jacob, you'll never go back". (regarding eating the meat of Jacob sheep) and they were right! The meat of this primitive breed is not as fatty, nor does it have the taste & smell that causes many Americans to dislike lamb. "Americans aren't used to lamb, so it has an air of mystery." ~'Butcher's Guide To Well-Raised Meat ' by Joshua & Jessica Applestone

Would You Mess With This Lamb's Mama?

Look at the expression on Valkyrie's face I captured when I snapped her picture.

I was trying to get a good picture of her son, Viking. Viking's father is Swallow Lane Barnaby.
I am getting excited about him. His horns are looking good. His markings are nice. He has blue eyes too. He is pretty big, and although he was the last born lamb here he is among the bigger lambs. To get to him though you have to confront his mama....

...does she look like a creature you want to cross? ( note that she has 5 horns)

Hmm, look at his stance in this photo. He is going to be one big and beautiful Jacob Ram and I think he knows it!

Jacob Lambs

~Doesn't this little ewe lamb(above ) look like she has painted a clown face on ? Here are the lambs, frolicking in the afternoon, while their moms are eating. They are so much fun to watch, and they cause me to realize, there is joy in the moment!~

Sheep Midwifery, Good Friends & Neighbors

~I am holding this little ewe lamb for Hubby to tag her ear and band her tail. She won't like this at all, but as soon as I put her back with her mother she will nurse and in a short while will be as frisky as she ever was. I need to get the new lambs tagged and banded before I take off for the weekend with my sisters. Hubby might need the lambing jugs ( temporary pens for mama and baby sheep for up to 3 days after lambing).I have 2 or 3 more ewes left to lamb and Hubby will probably need to have an empty pen for one or more of them. So as soon as this little ewe settles down after tagging I will release her and her mom out into the general pen, with the other sheep and moms and lambs.
~This morning I looked outside while sipping my coffee and noticed Naomi, one of my older ewes, behaving oddly. She is pushing against the shelter side panel. Hmmm....
~She passed a bit of birth matter and I eagerly awaited the gush of a new lamb ....I waited, and waited. Pretty soon she was laying on the ground and pushing some more. This went on for more than an hour, with intense contractions, grimacing, some baaing, pacing, and then repeating the whole thing again. To no avail. Uh oh.... I am home alone and there is no one to help me hold her, and check her out. But wait !
~ I have the best friends and neighbors....I hope for all of you such friends and neighbors. Dirt's family is wonderful in this kind of pinch! I call and they are home. Even though Lanny is sick, she grabs her girls and rushes right over. Bet and Anna help me corner Naomi, and while I hold her, Bet reaches into Naomi and feels out the situation. The lamb is big, and breech, but Bet is able to carefully manipulate the lamb into a good position and gently ease her out of Naomi. A big ewe lamb!
~Anna suctions the nostrils and inside the mouth, getting out the suffocating mucous, then firmly grabs the lamb and flings her in a circle around her ( Anna's ) head. This helps force the mucous out of the lamb. ( This works for newborn almost suffocatingly dead puppies and baby goats too)The trick to this procedure is to make sure the slippery baby does not fly out of your hands, I usually need to use a towel wrapped around the legs.
~At first, Naomi was tired and did not respond to her lamb. Oh no ! I am going away for the weekend and Hubby will have a bottle baby. I don't want a bottle baby. So we left the lamb and mom for a few minutes. When I came back, Naomi was cleaning her baby off....hip hip hooray!
~The baby was very noisy, baaing a lot, but not up and around. So I gave her some Nutri Drench, which is a nutritional supplement especially for distressed lambs, goats, sheep....and then I stood her up. She wobbled, and wavered, but she remained standing. She is going to be O.K.

~I am so thankful this did not happen while I was gone. I am so thankful my friend and her daughters could be here to help. I am so thankful the lamb and her mama are fine.~

~ I have kept Jacob sheep for about 18 years now and have only had to assist 3 or 4 sheep in all these years. Naomi is one of my favorite ewes and I would have been very, very sad to lose her and any of her lambs. Naomi is the daughter of one of my favorite ewes, Ruth. I will tell of Ruth sometime later. I loved Ruth......and now that Naomi is getting older I want to keep a pretty ewe lamb from her...

"There are numerous breeds of multiple horned sheep throughout the world. Of the eighteen breeds mentioned by A.R. Werner in 'An Enquiry into the Origin of the Piebald or Jacob Sheep", thirteen of them are known to have the polycerate trait ( many horns ). Many of the spotted, horned breeds of Europe had become extinct by the turn of the 20th century." JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA by Ingrid Painter

Blessings: Good friends, healthy lambs AND their mothers

Spotted Lambs...( baby Jacob Sheep )

~Isn't this little guy cute ? His mom is Bide-A-Wee's Buttercup and his dad is Cedar Pond's Goth.

~Here he is with his mom.~

~Cedar Pond's Leah delivered her little ewe lamb this morning ( Feb. 4 ) as I was outside in my slippers and robe with my mug of coffee enjoying the unseasonably warm and sunny winter morning.~

~Leah has 4 horns. She is one of my older ewes and a very good mother. She usually twins, so this year should be a piece of cake for her, one little , healthy ewe. Goth is also the father of this lamb.~

~Mama nurses her cleaned off and healthy new lamb. This is one of the sights that make my heart sing, new life and good mamas, little lambs full of the joy of life.~

Spotted Lamb, First of the New Year 2009

~Here is the first lamb of 2009 ! Isn't she cute ?~

~Her mother is Bide-A-Wee Chicory from Karen Lobb and Doug Montgomery's flock in Oregon.~

~This is Cedar Pond's Vandal, Chicory's ram lamb from late last spring. His father is Swallow Lane Torque.~

~This is Cedar Pond's Goth. He is also the son of Swallow Lane Torque, and the half brother of Vandal, and the father of the first lamb of the new year.~