They're Here! Daphne's Lambs Have Arrived!

Arriving home at 10:00pm on a rainy Thursday night, I decided to put the sheep to bed (which means closing them in the barn pen) before I put away the few groceries I had.  My red rubber boots were on, my brown fake Akubra was donned, but I had not put on my yellow rain gear. It was just a quick closing of a gate.  As I approached the barn, I could hear sheep grunts sporadically filling the air.  I flipped on the barn light switch as I peeked in, and there was Daphne in the jug (pen) where Sheila had had her two lambs.  I quickly closed her in because I could see two hooves hanging out her back side.  I wasn't going to miss this! 

(I chose not to insert a picture of this here.)


I traipsed back toward the house through the bog and mud that is our front yard, and this time suited up in my full suit. I pulled on my yellow rain pants and jacket, only to remember that I was very hungry.  I had better eat first. It could be a long night. Doug plated me up a bowl of curry, and I sat in the warm kitchen in my suit that smelled of sheep, wearing my hat, and eating as quickly as I could.  Thanked him for serving me, grabbed the camera, and headed back out into the rain on my way to see new life on its way.


By the time I got back to the barn, there hadn't been much advancement on the lamb's part. Daphne was still standing and pacing in the jug. Sheila was in the barn with her two lambs wanting to lie and rest for the night, but wasn't sure what I was doing there with them. The other sheep stayed out in the rain or just under the over-hang of the barn wondering what was my place out there in the night with them. Sensing this, I flipped a large black feeding bucket over and promptly made my place the top of the bucket. I sat down and didn't move very much so that the sheep, including Daphne, would settle down.  Eventually, Fiona came inside and sat down to chew her cud joining  Sheila and the lambs.  The lambs decided I wasn't much of a bother so they snuggled down together with their mama. 


The sound of a sheep in labor was backed by the almost deafening croaking of  hundreds of frogs who have made their home in the seasonal rain pond in the front pasture.  When I talked to Daphne to try to soother her, the frogs were so loud I practically had to raise my voice which probably wasn't very soothing.  So, I softly started to sing a song that starts, "It is truly meet..." Except for the occasional croaking, the frog orchestra ceased while I sang.  A 1/2 minute after I stopped singing, the frogs took up their chorus again.  I sat on my bucket stool listening to frogs, sheep groans, and Sheila snoring.  A sheep that snores! That made me smile.


About midnight, Daphne decided it was time to lie down and start pushing!  She would find a spot, push a few times, get up find a more comfortable spot and push again. Every time she got up, the lamb would slip  back in a bit. At one point, though, I could not only see the two hooves, but the nose and the tongue hanging out.  I would like to take the opportunity to say that I tried to photograph this. But, as can happen, the  battery on my camera needed charging. What is great about this? I was forced into watching and entering into every moment of the birth with my eyes and not behind a lens.


Once Daphne pushed hard enough to get that head out, half the body came out, too, and the lamb started wriggling out of its watery cocoon and taking breaths. She then expelled the rest of the lamb, stood up and immediately started licking it off.  This took place about 12:38am. As she was licking her newborn lamb, she rotated around a bit in the jug and exposed her backside to me. There was another set of hooves peeking out! I thought she might just have this one standing up because she was so busy caring for the first lamb.   In between licks she pushed, labored a bit, and a nose pushed its way out.  It is now 1:15am. Having experienced this already once this evening, she found a comfortable spot, lied down, raised her head in the air, and pushed. Voila! Lamb two!  1:26am. Right away I could see that this second lamb was smaller than the first. D1, for Daphne, Lamb1, (you don't name the lambs by the way) was bigger and darker.  Not dark black like the premature one we lost, but not as light as Sheila's two are. D1 is a ram. D2 is white with a black head, and spots which will probably fade over time.  Once the wool comes in on all the lambs they could all end up various shades of white and black.
Immediately, Daphne licked D2 clean like D1 while D1 tried to find the nipple to nurse.  After watching the mama care for the lambs for at least another half hour, I thought it best for every one out there, that I go in.

This experience was worth losing sleep over.  I can see how some people get "birth" addicted whether it is observing animals or new human beings coming into the world.  Seeing a creature's first breath and conscientiousness is all very normal, grounded, earthy, real, and special.  Each creation born is a unique entity, and yet birth happens all around us. At this birth, I was merely an observer. Things went well.  I feel it best to be hands-off with the ewes during their lambing, unless necessary. And I hope that if it does happen, and I need to help, I will recognize that I need to help, now that I have witnessed an eventful yet uneventful lambing.  


We have 13 sheep now, four of them lambs. Wonder how many more? The lambing season is in full swing here. There are still three more pregnant ewes to give birth on The Derby Farm.