Bummer Lamb

[rideaway]

So, you remember those field trips where you went, say to the Forest Service and Smokey the Bear gave you a free coloring book, or you went on a trip to the bakery and you got a free cookie? Well, today we went on a field trip to a sheep ranch (over 3500 lambs born so far this year) and we brought home a free bummer ewe lamb. So cute and sweet-what in the heck was I thinking...we did this last year, raised a 5 day old baby up for my 10 year old daughter's 4-H project, fell in love, and he died 1 month before the fair...

But, this little girl is pretty sweet, and since we already have the market lamb picked out and paid for, we can get attached to this one. She has decided the old chocolate lab is her mommy and follows him all over the place.

I got a gallon of goats milk for $2 from one of the 4-H leaders...it doesn't have the fat content I'd like to use, but is cheaper than lamb-lac. The baby had already been exposed to lamb feed, so we gave it some of that to nibble on. I just hope she doesn't cry all night, as she's in the bathroom. It's just too cold to put her out on her own and I won't put her in w/ the two goats, as they'd pick on her bad.

This is only the second year we've done this and I packed my sheep book as we're moving into the new manufactured in a month...any suggestions that anyone has would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[rideaway]

Here is Daisy...she was only a day old when we brought her home. She's still not drinking as much milk as I think she should, but she is healthy...
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/rideaway_63/100_0241.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/rideaway_63/100_0227.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/rideaway_63/100_0228.jpg

[therealshari]

I have to agree! There's not much of anything cuter than baby animals... lambs, chicks, bunnies.

We have two bummers this year.

Our black Merino "wannabe boy" named "Freezer" is headed for you know where.

We also have a PolyPay girl named Crybaby who will join our flock. She got her name because she cries for attention. Pick her up, and she shuts up!

We have a small flock of mostly black Merino including our ram who is 7/8 Black Merino (1/8 Suffolk) and are looking for a market for the fleece and sheepskins.

If anyone has any ideas about this, I'm very interested. We'll be shearing for the first time next month. Our ram and one 1/2 PolyPay/Merino ewe will yield fleeces weighing better than 15 pounds grease wt. One of our black Merino ewes will yield close to 12 pounds and our remaining yearlings should yield about 10 pounds each.

Later we should have at least one sheepskin and possibly three or four.

You can keep up with what we're doing at my blog (http://shari-thomas.blogspot.com).

Shari
in the middle of no where, Beryl UT

[Pigzzilla]

May I ask a kinda dumb question?? Is a "bummer lamb" kinda like a runt of the litter? Or something else. Never had lambs or goats befor, just a ka-jillion chickens, some turkeys, ducks and pigs. And a Holstein-Hereford X steer that was such a pain in the butt he went to the freezer a bit sooner than planned! Thanks

[therealshari]

A "bummer" lamb is one that has been rejected by his mother and tries to bum milk from the other ewes. They don't survive the beating they get.

In today's terms, it may also be a runt, or simply one or two of quads. That is what our "Freezer" lamb is... one of quads.

Funny thing, now we have his mama and sister and brother!

Shari

[Pigzzilla]

Thank you, Shari for the info. If I don't ask, I won't know, huh.