Sonatina with her triplets about 8 hours after they were
born.
As I watched her take care of the lambs, I suddenly realized
there wasn’t a water bag that followed that last ewe lamb out and that I was
either going to have to call the vet or there was another lamb coming. Sonatina didn’t even lay down for the last
lamb, she barely even had contractions when a small water bag appeared and just
hung there with this tiny lamb in it. It
only took me a few moments to realize that he was in trouble if I didn’t break
that water bag, and with quite a lot of effort I finally got it open and one of
the tiniest lambs I’ve ever seen was out.
This little guy was about 2.5#’s, a fawn kat with wild spotting and he
was weak and chilling fast. I scrambled
around for heat lamps, a pole to hang a lamp, an extension cord, more towels to
dry him and a few boards and panel to block drafts. It took about 45 minutes for the little guy
to get warmed up and then he was up and looking for food!! I was thrilled because 10 minutes after he
was born he couldn’t even lift his little head.
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Sonatina is a perfect example of a ewe with great mothering instincts and still has plenty of milk for 3 lambs, (says this grateful shepherd) and I am
very happy to report that all 3 have amazing tight, crimpy fleeces and lovely
birth coats.
Below is a photo of Lynx, the tiny ram that was last of the
triplets born, warming under the heat lamp.
And here are the triplets about after a few weeks of being
taken care of by a fantastic Shetland ewe.
Right to left: Lynx, Leda and Larissa
As you can see, there are no signs of these lambs not
getting enough nutrition, so this ewe will be sticking around in my flock for a
while, she exhibits everything that I want to see in a Shetland ewe. Sonatina has definitely earned her keep here
for the foreseeable future.
Kelly K. Bartels
OK Acres Shetlands
Monroe, WI