Big news!

Our very first mammal birth on the farm happened early this morning. Our very own flock has been expanded by a count of one. We had a ram lamb born this morning sometime early because by the time I got out there for morning feeding, it was settled, dry and apparently had it's first meal. We did the checks-
Teats open and flowing-Check 
Little guys knows which end to find food- Check

Umbilical Cord ok- Check

Afterbirth cleared- Check

Second Lamb- Only a cursory check made- No tools for internal checks available. She did make moves like she was or might have another pawing,   pacing, but no real labor signs so I think they may have been to contract the uterus back to normal. But what do I know= I raised market lambs years ago not breeding sheep.

This also marks the milestone of our Ewe, our Ram, and our lamb. Up till now, we have bought lambs to be grown up for the freezer , this is our first to be raised made by our flock. For those of you that will ask, 'how can you eat something so cute?', I say, "with a knife and fork." Farm life isn't for everyone, though not so very long ago, if you didn't grow it or raise it, you couldn't get it to eat it. Even 100 years ago, the variety of food we had to choose from was VERY limited do most tended to eat what was in front of them or go hungry. 

This was actually a surprise, since we brought in a Ram provided by a friend on Oct 11 and he stayed with us until November 11 of 2021, we expected a due date of March 7 at the earliest, but a reverse check of a lambing calculator said the lamb was conceived on Sept 23rd. A full 18 days too early. The only other ram was the stray we caught at a neighbors house because he was raiding their garden! We though he was too young to be a papa, but okay- got that one wrong. 

This is Rambo, father to Rain when we first got him- 6 months ago. We have since butchered him and he is in our freezer, ironically contributing to that same freezer after he was gone. 

In another odd twist, we are picking up another 4 sheep on this coming Sunday, A ram, a yearling Ewe, and their 2 daughters. They were supposed to be settled in and part of the 'old' flock by the time birthing day came, but the best laid plans, and "all that, wot?' 

Plans were for this lamb to be freezer bound, however, until I figure out (someone I know suggested this) how line breeding new 4 sheep in a way that makes a DNA clear set of 3 distinct breeding sets that won't mess with the DNA. Yeah, sounds like snake oil to me too. Well, I am going to find out more, and will post soon. 
Some more pictures just because they are cute:

    

Next time- More Cute!