Last Lamb!

I'm free! I'm free!

The last lamb of the year was born this afternoon. I no longer have to keep watch night and day. No more slimy placentas to carry down to the compost/bone pile by the woods. I can sleep in my own bed for the first time in more than a month. I can possibly start to pay attention to some of the other areas of the farm that need my attention, like the horses, the yard, the housework, etc.

Tomorrow I can even (gasp!) LEAVE THE FARM!

Okay, so my wild, celebratory day on the town tomorrow will probably involve browsing in a bookstore and possibly eating out, then coming home again, but I haven't left the property for more than a month, so it's still pretty exciting for me.

I went out to check on Sedona at about 3:30 this afternoon, and there she was, in labor, with nose-and-toes showing behind. The lamb was 5 days past due, and when it was finally born, it looked like a week-old lamb. It was the biggest lamb of the year, at 9 lb. 13 oz. (Average for Icelandic sheep is typically around 5-7 lbs.)

So, unless those 4 yearlings decide that they're pregnant after all, and start growing udders and bellies all of a sudden in the next few weeks, that's my full lamb crop for the year. Over all, I think we did quite well.

Here's a roundup of our lamb stats:

Total lambs born: 36
Deaths: 2 (1 stillborn and it's breech birth twin who died at 3 days old)

Ram lambs: 13
Ewe lambs: 23

Polled lambs: 9
Horned lambs: 27

White: 19
Black solid: 3
Moorit solid: 5
Black gray: 2
Moorit gray: 2
Black badgerface: 1
Moorit mouflon: 1
Black solid spotted: 1
Moorit solid spotted: 1
Black mouflon spotted: 1

First: Una, born April 9 at 7:15 a.m.
Last: Umeka, born May 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Length of lambing season: 24 days, 8 hours, 15 minutes
Number of nights I slept in the barn: 30

Smallest lamb (at birth): Ulla, at 4 lb. 5 oz.
Largest lamb (at birth): Umeka, at 9 lb. 13 oz.

Largest lamb load carried by a ewe: Paris, with twins weighing 9 lb. 1 oz. and 8 lb. 14 oz. for a total of 17 lb. 15 oz. of lambs. No wonder she was so cranky!

Cutest lamb: Ulla
Friendliest lamb: Ultra

Highest % of AI bloodlines: Udela & Udena, at 75%
Lowest % of AI bloodlines: Ulani, at 18.8%

Most different AI bloodlines in one lamb: Udara, with 10 (Aski, Bassi, Dalur, Dropi, Eir, Flekkur, Flotti, Heli, Hnykill, Skreppur)

Birth Times:

midnight - 1:00 a.m......3
1:00 - 2:00 a.m......0
2:00 - 3:00 a.m......0
3:00 - 4:00 a.m......2
4:00 - 5:00 a.m......3
5:00 - 6:00 a.m......0
6:00 - 7:00 a.m......3
7:00 - 8:00 a.m......2
8:00 - 9:00 a.m......0
9:00 - 10:00 a.m......3
10:00 - 11:00 a.m......1
11:00 - noon.....1
noon - 1:00 p.m......1
1:00 - 2:00 p.m......2
2:00 - 3:00 p.m......3
3:00 - 4:00 p.m......4
4:00 - 5:00 p.m......0
5:00 - 6:00 p.m......0
6:00 - 7:00 p.m......0
7:00 - 8:00 p.m......1
8:00 - 9:00 p.m......1
9:00 - 10:00 p.m......2
10:00 - 11:00 p.m......0
11:00 - midnight.....4