We have six bred ewes this year. I will provide updating progress on this thread. Last night, Clara started the birthings. She had lovely twin ewe (female) lambs. She only needed a little assistance, since the first one was positioned a little wonky. No problems. We could/should have more deliveries this weekend and/or into next week.
We may keep one or both of them depending on how the grow out this summer. In general, we try to sell our best lambs for breeding stock and sometimes sell as castrated males for fiber/pets.
Another set of twins tonight, a boy and a girl. I'll post better pics tomorrow after mom has gotten them cleaned up
Two more ewes delivered this evening. Ava had triplets, two girls and one boy, difficult deliveries, needed a lot of assistance. Ace had twin girls, smooth births. View attachment 338883 View attachment 338884
We woke up to another set of twin girls this morning. Mom delivered by herself while we were sleeping. We like when this happens. Running score: 5 ewes have delivered 11 lambs, 9 girls and 2 boys. All mommas and babies are doing great. Just one more pregnant ewe waiting to deliver. Looks like a may be a few more days for her.(?)
That went quickly. The last of the 6 bred ewes delivered twins tonight, a boy and a girl. Statistics for the year: 6 bred ewes delivered 13 lambs, 5 twins, 1 triplet, zero stillborn, 10 ewe lambs and 3 ram lambs, all done in just 4 days! Now for some very much needed sleep.
Thanks so much for keeping us posted. The lambs are so neat to see. Amazing the variety of colours. Do they change their colouring as they get older?
Wow, your dude was doing quick work a couple months ago.... Very cute, and surprisingly curly! I will NOT be showing these pics to my 6 year old! I know how that will go, and I have enough stuff to feed now!
One of the best part about the Icelandic breed is the diversity of colors. In addition, we specifically breed for interesting combinations. The color doesn't change a whole lot with age. However, there are some genes that cause the color to change over the course of the years. For example, this is a composite of pictures I took of one sheep over a year.
These sheep are grown for their wool I guess. I have always wanted to learn to card and spin wool. Not a lot of opportunity around here.
mike bayerl Do you save back a few lambs for herd stock, sell all your lambs or do you save a couple to butcher ?
So, we mostly breed them for milk and wool. The best lambs are either sold for breeding stock or we keep them for our flock. Some are sold for fiber pets. There rest go to the butcher.
Someone already mentioned it, your ram was busy and fertile. Hope you kept him, he did a great job. Those ewes with horns look like they could do some damage if they think you are hurting their lambs. Great pictures. Have you invested in a barn camera to save you a lot of steps and some sleep?
