Well, we're nearly all done and dusted with lambing our Portlands for this year. We started early and with tragedy - my first ewe to go lambed fine but just didn't seem 'right' afterwards and looked like she was still in labour. We rang the vet who prescribed anti-inflammatory and antibiotic and my sheep farmer friend came over to check we hadn't missed anything. I kept getting up every hour through the night only to find she died sometime between half one and half two in the morning. So, 'Tiny Tim' was brought into the fold (when I say fold, I mean house) after milking dead mum of what she had in her udder - not an experience I ever want to repeat, but gave Timmy the start he needed. Now Timmy looks nothing like a 'pure' Portland, he's got a white fleece with brown patches on his legs and his face. I'll get some photos uploaded at some point!
The rest of the girls went without hitch, lambing overnight with little fuss bar one who pushed her lamb out so quick that he only had the chance to get one of his legs forward so needed a bit of help to get him out. I'm chuffed because even the girl who i thought was barren has had a beautiful little lamb yesterday morning (along with two others!). One left to go and she doesn't look like she'll be too long. I'll get the camera out later!
Really sad about losing one of the ewes, but chuffed that everything else has gone (relatively) without a hitch!
Baaaaaaa!