Jacob Sheep Ewe Lambs ~ 2016

 I had some very nice lambs born here on Cedar Pond this spring. This ( above ) is Cedar Pond's Tasha and her ewe lamb. Tasha is a lilac Jacob sheep, her ewe ( girl ) lamb is black and white. The lamb's sire is Puddleduck Jonas.

 Another picture of Tasha and her lamb. The lamb has 4 horns and I am liking her fleece.

 Here is Bide-a-wee Buttercup with her ewe lamb. Buttercup had twins, a ram lamb and a ewe lamb, I sold the ram lamb ( he had 5 horns ! ) and am keeping the ewe lamb. The lamb's sire is Cedar Pond's Goth. This ewe lamb has 4 horns.

 Here is Cedar Pond's Sassafras with her ewe lamb. Sassafras is 12 years old and still having lovely , healthy lambs. The sire of this lamb is Cedar Pond's Goth. The lamb has 4 horns.Sassafras is also 12 years old and there is a good chance she'll no longer be able to have lambs so I am keeping this little girl lamb.

 This is Cedar Pond's Tovah  and her ewe lamb, The lamb has 4 horns and her sire is Puddleduck  Jonas. Jonas is my new ram and I am excited to see how his lambs grow and develop. Their fleeces are looking promising !

 Here ( above ) is Cedar Pond's Inga. Inga is Buttercup and Goth's daughter. Her ewe lamb has 4 horns and was sired by Puddleduck Jonas. She has many of the qualities I covet in a Jacob Sheep so I am definitely keeping her !

 Cedar Pond's Inga's ewe Lamb sired by Puddleduck Jonas.

Lastly, here is Blitzen. He is almost 3 years old and not a lamb, but he is a wether ( castrated sheep) and acts like a lamb ! He also likes to put on airs and play 'king of the hill'. Just like the other lambs.

My Sheep in June 2015

 I have a new ram ! My husband & I made a day of it and drove to Oregon awhile ago to buy a new ram from Ingrid Painter of Puddleduck Farm. I cannot adequately express what a delightful time we had with Ingrid and her family as we shared a lunch provided by them and talked sheep ! Can I just say it is rare for me to be able to unashamedly talk sheep with people for a bit and I get so excited and inspired when I do. ( I suspect my husband does too but he's more quiet about it ! ) This is Puddleduck Jonas and his sire is a Huntsberger ram, all the more thrilling for me. I am looking forward to next spring's lambs. Jonas has settled in here quite easily and is a fairly mellow ram .YAY !!!!

 This is my 2 year old ewe Teekah. Teekah is a trade for a ram we raised. ( Cedar Pond's Barbarian ) and is his daughter. I am going to sell Teekah because I have too many sheep and with the exception of our 10 year old Buttercup I don't keep 2 horned Jacob sheep in preference for the 4 horned. If I desired more 2 horned sheep she would be a keeper !

 This is Teekah's ewe ( girl) lamb, also 2 horned.

 Two of my older ewes are shown in this picture. The ewe looking straight on in the background is 10 year old Sassafras who had a nice ewe lamb this spring. The ewe in the middle looking at me is Naomi ...

.... who is 14 or 15 years old. She has no more teeth, has not lambed for 2 years , and a month ago I thought she was going to lay down and die. She rallied though and is now going strong. Her fleece is terrible and the only reason I keep her is for sentimental ones. My first sheep are now old, a few have passed away and I am still excited about keeping Jacob sheep. God is so good to me, silly sheep that I am, and He is a good Shepherd. If only I could emulate him a fraction in His good care, but I try !

New Lambs , Good Mamas !

 First born lamb of 2015 ( February 12, 2015 ). He is a fine ram lamb from Bide-A-Wee Buttercup & Cedar Pond's Goth. I am hoping his horns turn out well balanced because Buttercup is getting older and I'd love to keep a ram lamb from her and the lamb's father, Goth.

 Buttercup & her newborn ram lamb.

 The same morning Cedar Pond's Sassafras gave birth to a ewe lamb. The last 2 years she gave birth to twins, but Sassafras is getting older and her ewe lamb is a bit tinier than I expected given the girth Sassafras was sporting before she lambed. In spite of how tiny this lamb is, she is very healthy. This lamb is also sired by Goth. Goth is getting old too, and I am hoping there is a lamb sired by him worthy of keeping for my future generations of Jacob Sheep.

 Sassafras was a very diligent mom, licking & licking her lamb to clean off the afterbirth. This also bonds the mama and her lamb. This little lamb was nursing her mama very quickly , a good thing for lambs, and all newborns. The first milk any mama produces gives newborns colostrum that provides not only the newborn her necessary  nutrition, but the anti-bodies the little lamb needs for a good start in life. ( ALL newborns of all mammal species need this ! ) Ideally this happens within the first hour for optimum benefit. If I discover a mama has not been able to suckle her lamb within the first 2 hours I will milk the mama and feed the lamb the needed colostrum , giving the lamb a boost and increasing the chances the lamb will thrive.

Sassafras was not happy with me so close to her and her new lamb. She put herself in between me and the lamb , blocking any contact and any more pictures. I love knowing my mama sheep are good and protective mamas. That is the way God made them. And really, would YOU want to challenge a very protective mama with horns ?

Cedar Pond Jacob Sheep in December

 Blitzen is a wether ( castrated ram lamb ) . His side horns are growing too near his face and need to be kept trimmed to prevent them from growing into his face. Castrating a ram prevents not only the obvious, but also dramatically slows down his horn growth, making it manageable to keep the horns trimmed. We decided to keep and halter train him because he has a really sweet and friendly personality. He likes being around people, and having a few soda crackers to offer him only encourages him all the more.

 This is Tasha, she is a lilac Jacob Sheep. She has funny horns, kind of like bug antennae !

 Naomi is my very old sheep. I stopped breeding her 2 years ago when she began needing assistance for her lambings, and raising her own lambs took so much out of her I could watch her condition deteriorate even with increased food rations. My ram , Tonkin, is pretty interested in her, you can see him behind her on the other side of the fence.

 Sassafras is a spunky sheep with a primitive wool coat. She grows a mane , a trait of the more primitive Jacob Sheep. She is a very good mama .

Teekah  is the lamb I chose in a trade for a ram I wish I could have kept , Barbarian. Barbarian is thriving at his new home and Teekah is a good trade I think. Love the spot near her right horn and her little spotted mouth making her appear to smile.

As the weather gets colder my sheep are more frisky. On cool sunny days they run around and leap over logs and each other. Soon I will have them sheared and in late February through April I look forward to new lambs!

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Cedar Pond's Sassafras & New Twin Daughters

 Sassafras' face markings make me smile. Doesn't she look like she is smiling back at you ? She has reason to smile though ( if sheep smile). She had twin ewe lambs 2/22/2013. I am keeping both of her lambs and am so excited about them.

 The little girls are learning how to walk and suckle within the hour of birth. A true miracle when you think about it , and I do think about it.

 The sisters snuggle down together in the grass hay.

Sassafras & I are so happy about these wee little girls. I can't tell how many horns they have, but that will be evident in due time. All that matters now is Mama and daughters are healthy and thriving, and that I love them.

Sassy Has The First Lamb of the Year

Cedar Pond's Sassafras ( Sassy) had the first lamb of 2012.

He is tiny, but very healthy.

She seems pleased with him, don't you think ?

Barnaby's Babes

This post is spotlighting the lambs sired by Swallow Lane Barnaby. This little cutie is the last lamb born here, very recently. She is the first lamb of Cedar Pond's Saffron, and I have named her Sesame. I really don't see her sleeping much, she is very active and keeps up with the much larger and older lambs quite easily.

Sesame's tail is 'bout ready to drop off , looks funny doesn't it?

Here is Tilda, daughter of Barnaby and Cedar Pond's Thora. Thora is Goth's twin sister.

Close-up of Thora. Although I did not get a picture of her tail here, she was born with such a short tail I did not dock it. I kind of like her tail that way.First lambs who's tails I did not dock were born this year. It appears that the ewes bred with Barnaby produced lambs with much shorter tails.

Another view of Tilda. ( above) Tilda has 4 horns.

This is Pixie, so named because she is tiny, like her mother Ruth and sister Mally. This very tiny size seems to run in this particular line of my sheep. Pixie's mother is Cedar Pond's Ruth.

It is hard to tell here, but Pixie is brown. Not faded black, but chocolate brown, with light eyes.
Pixie has 4 horns.

You can almost tell here how brown she is in comparison with her mother Ruth. Ruth has 4 horns, 2 on each side. The horns are fusing to look like 2 fat horns on each side. Pixie's sister Mahlon ( Mally) has 6 horns.

Dinah is 3/4 Jacob, 1/4 Romney. Dinah is the daughter of Delilah and Barnaby.

I think Dinah is cute too.Note , she has no horns, or is 'polled'.

Dinah posing so properly.

Here is Viking, son of Swallow Lane Barnaby and Cedar Pond's Valkyrie. Valkyrie has 5 distinct horns. Viking is very handsome and a strapping big ram lamb with promising horns. All 4 are well formed and spaced thus far.

Sassafras with her little ewe lamb. I have not settled on a name for this ewe yet. She is the other lamb who's tail I did not dock because it seems short enough. She has 4 horns too.

This little ewe lamb does have a lot of black on her, doesn't she?

There you have it, Barnaby's babes, and a lovely group of lambs they are.