Out in the sheep pen little mottled brown and white lambs gambol jump and play, frantic moms try to maintain some element of discipline....exuberant lambs bring anarchy and chaos to the normally calm and peaceful barn. In the bonding pens, Chance the big white Khatadin ewe lovingly tends to her tiny twins. All does not come naturally to the newborns, mom's milky bar is there somewhere but when you are only a few hours old it takes a little while to work out exactly where ! Searching lips have latched on to and sucked frantically on mom's knees, mom's tail produces none of the good stuff and mom's tummy is soft and warm but doesn't fill the need for milk. Chance murmurs gentle encouragement to her tiny offspring, her nose nudges the hungry lambs in the right direction and relaxes when the search is over, lips latch on to her swollen udder and junior's tail twitches with contentment. Chance is a model mom, her little twins are fortunate.....not so our most recent mom......
Typically, we were rushing. Tyler and Emily's arrival was imminent...it was lunchtime...we were hungry, the truck engine was running and just time for a last check on our moms in waiting. DOH !!! There was Snowflake, a first time mom who had clearly just given birth to a Martian. All the signs were that she was mom.....but the little shivering black lamb pathetically bleating to her was apparently unheard. Snowflake was looking at it in horror, she stamped her little foot in annoyance at the little wet alien in front of her and took an "exit stage left" . Just then a little movement in the far corner of the pen caught our eye....number one Martian has a sibling....an even blacker wet shivering alien struggling to stand up. I guess that's the life of a farmer.....we were hungry ...our day had an agenda...our new WWOOFERS were due to arrive in Purdy .....and our reluctant mom had to be reunited with her clearly unwanted offspring. Snowflake, traumatized by her unexpected ordeal quite obviously had no intention of bonding and even less intention of being put in a pen with the tiny shivering twins. The little white ewe ensured that if she was going to be caught she wasn't going to make it easy for us and after ten circuits of the sheep pen, puffing, panting, sweating and wondering why I gave up a desk job....Snowflake was safely contained in a bonding pen with her infant lambs. .....we had better get the bottles and teats ready...I have a bad feeling about Snowflake's maternal abilities !
Hopefully Misty Moo the big ....now VERY BIG Jersey cow will be a great mom. Our delicate little Jersey calf has turned into a hulking battleship with an udder that looks like it will feed an army. Her long awaited and eagerly anticipated calf is due in 16 days. We will keep you updated on her progress....
We would like to welcome Emily and Tyler. The two smiling youngsters arrived at Purdy for a week at the ranch, they are going to spend their Spring break getting down and dirty on the farm and we hope that they leave here with happy memories of their experience. Welcome girls, we'll have fun. GIRL TEAM !!!
Take care, keep safe, M
Typically, we were rushing. Tyler and Emily's arrival was imminent...it was lunchtime...we were hungry, the truck engine was running and just time for a last check on our moms in waiting. DOH !!! There was Snowflake, a first time mom who had clearly just given birth to a Martian. All the signs were that she was mom.....but the little shivering black lamb pathetically bleating to her was apparently unheard. Snowflake was looking at it in horror, she stamped her little foot in annoyance at the little wet alien in front of her and took an "exit stage left" . Just then a little movement in the far corner of the pen caught our eye....number one Martian has a sibling....an even blacker wet shivering alien struggling to stand up. I guess that's the life of a farmer.....we were hungry ...our day had an agenda...our new WWOOFERS were due to arrive in Purdy .....and our reluctant mom had to be reunited with her clearly unwanted offspring. Snowflake, traumatized by her unexpected ordeal quite obviously had no intention of bonding and even less intention of being put in a pen with the tiny shivering twins. The little white ewe ensured that if she was going to be caught she wasn't going to make it easy for us and after ten circuits of the sheep pen, puffing, panting, sweating and wondering why I gave up a desk job....Snowflake was safely contained in a bonding pen with her infant lambs. .....we had better get the bottles and teats ready...I have a bad feeling about Snowflake's maternal abilities !
Hopefully Misty Moo the big ....now VERY BIG Jersey cow will be a great mom. Our delicate little Jersey calf has turned into a hulking battleship with an udder that looks like it will feed an army. Her long awaited and eagerly anticipated calf is due in 16 days. We will keep you updated on her progress....
We would like to welcome Emily and Tyler. The two smiling youngsters arrived at Purdy for a week at the ranch, they are going to spend their Spring break getting down and dirty on the farm and we hope that they leave here with happy memories of their experience. Welcome girls, we'll have fun. GIRL TEAM !!!
Take care, keep safe, M
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