And another

I went back out to make sure that the Shetland had passed her afterbirth and was concerned, because she had not. I grabbed a bucket and sat down to watch her. Definitely Cumin. She was fussing nonstop, so I figured there had to be another baby. I got up and massaged her belly. She was pretty skittish, so I decided to see what she would do on her own. It was 2 hours after the first lamb, so I debated reaching in to pull it myself. I did not think about it too hard, since I was home alone and she was not down. Then I know I have to intervene. Fortunately, she started pawing at the ground and got serious. Out popped a fairly large ram. Up and eating in no time flat!

If I had not been out there, I would not even have known that she delivered till later in the day. They were all out of the shed and hiding among the rest of the herd.

It is funny how the same two animals bred to each other can give such different color variations each year. Cumin had a black and a brown lamb last year. Both are those colors this year, but they have a huge white stripe running along their backs. Makes it easy to spot whose lamb belongs to whom. Of course, within two months, they will all look totally different, so it pays to routinely take photos of the babies.