[Jacob-list] an interesting morning...

[Betty Berlenbach]

...okay, so this a.m. at 6 I went out to feed the critters, expecting Anna Mae and Delilah to have lambed, since they were looking a little crosseyed last night.  And I was not disappointed: there were the two mothers, one licking off twins, the other licking off a single...all small...(Did I stop to think:hmm, unusual for Anna Mae who usually has baby cows?, NO!  Here's your first hint to the rest of the story.)  So, I penned them, Anna Mae with her (sic) twins and Delilah with her little single, all 4-1/2--5 pounds.  And went to the supermarket...Came back, and checked, to find, what, another extra leg in with Anna Mae, no...look more closely, another lamb, no look even more closely, WoW!  There's four lambs in here...hmm...okay, SO, the triplets were Delilah's and she was just getting help cleaning them off.  It's now two hours later, and there are two big "cow" (8 pounders) lambs in with the two little ones.  I put the triplets all together with Delilah, and put Anna Mae with her REAL (as in birthed by her) lambs.  Did weights, dunked cords, etc...all seemed well.  An hour later I checked: one cow-lamb was outside the pen, the other all but; the side of the pen gate (which I'd forgotten to tie) having been butted open.  And both looking cold and skinny...Put them back with mama, who promptly beat on them.  Held her down so they could get drinks, by this time, they are a  little weak and stupid...She would still have none of them...although it was the biggest one she mostly butted.  Okay, I decide, let's see what happens if I give you back "your" little girl from the triplets...now, she will accept the smaller cow=lamb so long as she can have her daughter, too, so I figure, two each, and one for me...no, wait, let's just see...so I put the biggest cow lamb, 8-1/2 pounds in with the remaining two triplets and Delilah, and miracle of miracle, she is happy to take him, offers him a long drink, which he gladly accepts.  I watch for awhile: all is well: Anna Mae has accepted smaller cow-lamb and girl-trip.  Delilah has her remaining two trips and Anna Mae's largest cow-lamb.  Why has Delilah accepted this lamb?  Who knows, but maybe because her two trips had been cleaned off by Anna Mae so they smelled like her, so ...so did the cow-lamb.  She was too confused to figure it out, but knew she had three?  She surely looked around, as if counting to make sure there were three, not too fussy about WHICH three apparently.  All is well in Weathersfield, Vermont, now...three ewes lambed so far, 16 to go.  Good thing I didn't rush off to visit mother in law in nursing home, but waited to check in an hour to make sure all was well...I probably would have had two dead lambs when I got home, had I done so, as originally planned.  Two shetlands are looking a little crosseyed, so maybe there'll be shetlands tonight...Of course, they are such drama queens, it could also be that they just weren't getting attention, so decided to fake a little distress, so I'd come pet them..It's wonderful to be lambing again...It never gets old...until the last lamb of the season is born, at which point, I'm always happy to call it quits for another year.
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