Lambing 2020 off to a good start

The first of this year's lambs arrived yesterday evening. None of the ewes appeared to be in labour as darkness fell but when I went to check on them around 9pm there were two twin ram lambs standing together in the middle of the barn with ewes looking on. It was easy to spot who the mother was and the three of them were penned up together so that they could get on with bonding. 

The mother had already cleaned them up and the afterbirth had also been fully delivered. Not much for me to do other than spray iodine on their navels, checking each of the two ewe's teats were producing milk and direct the lambs in their general direction. The ewe and two lambs had a matching number 1 sprayed on them so that eventually it will be clear which lamb belongs to which ewe when they are let out to the turnout paddock.

At this point it is best to leave them alone to work things out for themselves but to return for a periodic check to be sure that the lambs are suckling. The all-important thing is that they suckle within the first 6 hours to ensure they have their share of the high nutrient and protective antibodies of colostrum. This makes for a long night but when matters go smoothly as Nature planned, it is a reassuring feeling.