Acorn’s Arrival - The Valentine’s Day Surprise
And Building the Creep
February 14 brought little Acorn to our farm.
This little girl came at 1:00am in the morning. So it was really the day after Valentine’s daythat she was delivered. Acorn’s mother is Natalie, our brown Katahdin.
Natalie was going into labor around 10:00 at night so Nala and the twins had to move to the other pen.
In order for Charm and Lucky to be safe while in the older sheep’s pen, they had to have a creep to have their own space. A creep is basically a little fence where the lambs can fit through but not the bigger sheep. It allows the lambs to get space away from the big sheep.
Heat lamps were hung above the creep to keep their area warm. We added the bales of hay for a wind breaker. The creep was made of equal length and sized prices of wood that were screwed onto the long board with only enough space between each for the lambs to fit through.
While Justin worked on this project late into the night, I assisted him and monitored Natalie’s progress.
This is Natalie when she was in labor. |
Natalie started licking her little lamb the second she was out. She let little Acorn drink her milk and snuggle with her right away. It’s super important for the mother’s to bond with their lambs. This way, we know the ewe will take care of her young. But in the beginning, we keep a close eye on them to make sure mama doesn’t reject her lamb.
I love this photo because it captures the 3 day old twins Lucky and Charm checking out their newborn cousin being cared for by her mother.
Mommy and baby Acorn. |