First lambs of 2009

The first set of twin lambs was born Wednesday, the 21st. You can see what an excellent job the mother did with cleaning them up. In these photos, their navels are still wet which means they were born a few hours earlier. Isn't that a cute white cap on the one lamb? These are Shetland sheep mixed with other breeds; so you never know for sure what you will get for coloring. Sometimes a mother will have one white wooled and one black as she did last year but this year, both are black with that cute little white topper.

I am not sure what the relationship of the ram was to this ewe and lambs. More than likely he is her lamb from two maybe even three seasons ago and he has stayed with her. Whether he is also the father (which you can inbreed a generation or two like that and not have any problems), he was very protective of the babies and mother.

One advantage of raising animals in herds, such as we do is watching the interaction of the different ages. This isn't a machine out here to produce meat. It's a living organism of animals and their relationships, and it's a joy to watch.

Sometimes too much joy as we can never lose track of the fact that some of these lambs are raised for food. That's a tough one. But you know without accepting that fact, there would be no new lambs. The ewes would be reduced to eating and living without their own joy. For me, it's a tough part of ranching to accept the purpose behind it.