The Next New Arrival

When we put Scarlett in the barn the other night before she lambed, we also got in Rachel and Lily because this year is their first time lambing and we wanted to have them already inside in case they needed any help. A little before 10:30 Tuesday night I went out to check on the sheep, studied them for awhile and thought Rachel looked like she was breathing faster than normal. No other signs, just breathing a little fast. I decided I'd come back in for awhile and then go check on them again later. So, about 10 after 11 I went back out to the barn and found Rachel just standing around, but Lily was hard at it in front of the hay rack.

She didn't seem to be making much progress, but sometimes it takes awhile, especially since this was her first lamb. She made several attempts, and I could see his front feet and nose occasionally (which was a good sign, at least, since he wasn't coming backwards). After awhile I began to worry that if she had too much difficulty, even if she was able to do it herself, she might be so exhausted and traumatized that she wouldn't have the energy to take care of him as she should. So I finally decided to help. I went back to the house and washed my hands. (Also took off my ring. Remember what Billy Crystal said about his watch in "City Slickers"?) Then it was back out to the barn.

Lily was still working, but still not making much progress. She'd get up and walk around a little, but seemingly to no avail. So finally as she worked, I got hold of his front feet, tried to make a little more room for him and pulled out and down. I could tell he was pretty tight. We kept at it for a little bit, and finally got his head where I could see it. In the midst of all this Lily scared me by getting up a couple of times and moving around. I just crawled after her, and then pulled some more. I could tell then that one of his legs seemed to be farther back than the other one, and decided he was probably stuck at his shoulder. After a minor adjustment, out he came!

Lily jumped up and started licking him. He shook his head around, and it wasn't long before he was trying to get up.

It was about 10 after 12 when I came back in, so, needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of him that night. But the next morning I did!

See the little brownish black spot on the tip of his ear? By yesterday, it had dried some more and didn't look as dark, but you can still see it. Angus is excited about it. (Don't tell him, but Lily had brown on her ears when she was a lamb.)