Well that was a surprise!

Last Saturday, Adam texted this picture during morning chores. (It was a clinic day, so I wasn’t there for chores).

No, that’s not a picture of one of the older lambs. This is a new lamb! Matilda had a baby on April 20!

No, no one was tracking she was pregnant at all, though I did see the rams mounting her on Thanksgiving last year. Since then she has been getting taller, but she didn’t seem to be getting wider, or having much teat development. The other ewes lambed and went on with their lives, and ‘Tildy didn’t, so we just assumed she was too young to take.

Apparently not.

Edmund got to name the little critter. Her name is Snow (because her fleece is white as snow! Get it?!)

And when I say little, I mean little!

5.8 Lbs at birth. On day 3 (Monday) when I weighed her, she was only 5.5 LBs.

However, she is nursing appropriately, and she is a bouncy, active lamb. Other than her size she seems pretty normal. There is some reason for concern that Matilda might not be able to keep up with the demands of nursing as well as rebuilding her own frame. Her body condition is pretty thin right now. Fortunately, the pasture is coming hard into spring flush, and there is grass aplenty for the next 2 months. After that we are going to have to supplement hay. With all the nursing moms, it will have to be good quality hay.

Also, check out Darla’s beautiful reddish black summer coat. That is a pretty calf!

It doesn’t looks like it in this picture, but it actually got pretty warm on Monday, so all the critters were resting and chewing the cud in the shade of the compost bin and chicken coop. Except Iris.

Iris was very offended to find some thing in her barn, and stayed in the shade of the barn, right next to the gate whenever she was ruminating all afternoon.