Five More Ewes to Go

I am loosely keeping track of how long my evening barn chores take us. Tonight we started at 7 pm, back in the milk house by 9:30. Last night, start at 7, finish at 9:45. It all depends. If there are newborns to take care of it will be longer. I have five ewes to go, I think, including Fiona, Minerva, Vespa, and Myrna...ahhh, Myrna. She is a gorgeous "high percentage" Bluefaced Leicester. Not a purebred, but mostly BFL. Two years ago when she was bred to my ram, Duncan, we were so excited about her pregnancy. I watched her for weeks, looking for any sign of impending birth. Then one day as I drove up to the field and parked, I noticed two little dots lying in the grass. My fear turned into panic as I started running toward the little black figures. Myrna saw me coming and ran to meet me, baaing like crazy as if to say, "Mommy, Mommy, you can't IMAGINE what happened!!" There were two dead lambs lying in the grass. Myrna had given birth and the lambs were dead. My heart sank...were they stillborn, or did she abandon them - running away from the terrible pain? All I could do was gather up the dead twins and wisk them away, Myrna following me, baaing all the while. Another year passed by and time came for Myrna to deliver again. There they were, deep in the field, under a tree - another pair of dead twins. Big, otherwise healthy looking lambs - but dead. You can imagine my disappointment. Poor Myrna - what she had been through to give birth to them! And here we are again, almost at the end of a third pregnancy. If I had money to burn, I would ask Dr. Rachel to take Myrna's lambs by C-section. I know when she mated with Legolas and can easily plot the due date. Or I could put her in a lambing pen to better watch her and see what happens when the lambs come. Many shepherds do a "three strikes and your out" with their moms. It is not good for the breed to keep bad mothers, or mothers who have problems bringing a pregnancy to term. I am keeping my fingers crossed!