There are dangers inherent in visiting a sheep farm during lambing season. Having been raised on a sheep farm, my friend Grace knew the risks. But I suspect that this was a new one for her.

This morning around 6 am my ewe Kale, gave birth to twin ram lambs. Nice healthy boys. The labor was a little odd and I wasn’t sure if it would be twins

or triplets. It was a long time between twin one and twin two. But eventually he arrived though she never quite finished cleaning lamb #2 off. He got his first drink and all seemed well. I towelled him down a little since she hadn’t finished the job. He got another drink and took a nap.

Grace arrived shortly thereafter to oogle lambs and catch up. We sat in the barn yard, chatting and watching lambs. Just before we got up to go into the house, Kale started butting her second lamb away, hard and frequently. I went into the jug to see what was up and if we could settle her down. We gave her some time to relax. We went up to the house to give her privacy.

While we gave her a chance to settle and relax my dogs mauled Grace (and Rose put in some therapy dog time) and we chatted a bit more.

I went back to the barn and she was still pushing him away and hard. I decided he wouldn’t last long with such hostility. So, I scooped him up and brought him to the house, figuring he really needed a second drink by now. I prepped colostrum supplement (thank goodness he got some from mom) and fed him. Except for a slightly sideways tongue he seems fine. It didn’t keep him from filling his belly.

I decided that this was an opportunity for the pup to meet her first lamb without a hostile hysterical mom around. She was curious, concerned and while mostly nice, has delivered her first grip (actually just a punch) to a sheep nose. That seems to be her motus operandi when she meets a new species. Zora the cat got the same treatment.

Now, fortunately I had a back up plan for a bottle baby which included becoming a therapy sheep at a program called the Holland Project in Merrimack, MA. They bought sheep from me previously and took a bottle baby last year when one ewe had triplets and was challenged with caring for everybody. They named her Sugar. I called and emailed them. Grace and I got lunch while waiting to hear. They called back. They were thrilled to take him.

 

 

And so began Operation Spice. Grace couldn’t resist the name. Grace could drive him back most of the way. They made plans to meet in Lowell. And so we packed him up in a crate (people who have done a lot of shelter/rescue work always have extra crates) with a bed of straw after another big drink. A bag of colostrum supplement for the first 24 hours and some milk replacer to get them started. Off he went down the driveway to a very different life than your typical sheep. He will be well loved and bring joy to many challenged children.

 

 

Before I said good bye to Spice, I turned around to find Ruby in early labor. And so now I play the waiting game. Hopefully, she will do all the work and my job will be mop up this time.

But what a wondrous life I lead that there are places for my bottle lambs to go and people to transport them. Truly my life is blessed by so many folks, not just these. These just happen to be today’s heros. I really do get by with a little (and some times more) help from my friends.

That Grace was here at just the right time to be a lamb taxi driver (or perhaps Uber) and was willing, game and experienced enough to whisk him away to his new life, seems, well how do I put it, just a bit of grace.