No New Lambs
We haven't had any new arrivals but I took some photographs of the three oldest lambs. "Original Mum's" lamb is still very little and stays close to her. She didn't come over when I brought some food for them, whereas the other three mums came over this time (they didn't on the weekend) and the three lambs played while the ewes ate the pellets and chaff I brought. I have named one "Floppy" because one ear is bent and droopy. "Floppy" is "Big Baby's" lamb and she is a girl. "Cross's" lamb is a girl, no name yet. "Original Mum's" lamb is a boy, however he is a full merino, so I might keep him as a wether just for wool. But I don't know whether "Flystrike's" lamb is a boy or girl yet (photo above). All the lambs are lovely.
I have included a photo of the three together to show the difference between the cross breed and the full merinos. "Cross's" lamb is the one on the left with smooth skin and no 'wrinkles'. The other two are merinos. From my understanding the 'wrinkles' increase the surface area so you get more wool. But they also increase the potential for getting flystrike from flies laying their eggs in the moist folds of skin. Now, since mulsing is not allowed any more (not that I would have done that anyway), I will have to find out what the alternatives are for reducing the skin folds and reducing the risk of flystrike. One of our ewes, "Flystrike", got flystruck in the first year we had her. We had another lamb with flystrike last year (or the year before, I can't remember) when we did the crutching, so she had to be fully shorn - we caught it just in time or we would have lost her. It's pretty awful - the fly maggots start eating the sheep's skin. Needless to say, I don't want that happening again.
"Ebony's" pregnant belly didn't seem as big today. Maybe the lamb has moved and is getting ready to be born ... here's hoping.