We started lambing on April 22 and by May 11th we had 201 lambs!  It's been a wonderful but intense lambing season; we had 110 lambs in 5 days!  Needless to say the rams were busy ;)  The ewes have needed very little help though I did pull a few lambs that were coming backwards - better safe then sorry.  For the most part the lambs hit the ground, vigorous and looking to suck.  One ewe lost a lamb and has an incredible amount of milk so I'm milking her out to supplement some of the 4 sets of triplets.  
This year we are having more ewe lambs then ever!  This is excellent as we always had more requests for replacements then ewe lambs available.  We are seeing more singles then we like and are currently averaging a 180% lambing rate.  Usually we are right around 200%. Our flock is largely made up of 2 yr olds but regardless I'd like to see more twins out of them.  
When we were flushing them, (increasing the nutritional level of feed for one cycle prior to putting the rams in and this causes an increase in the # of eggs released and therefore fertilized)  we had placed them on whole barley and an alfalfa/grass mix hay that feed-tested well.  The first few bales were fine but the rest was quite moldy and the ewes refused to eat it so essentially their nutritional value decreased;  Essentially the opposite of what we were trying to achieve.  We purchase most of our hay and have always had excellent hay from our supplier and thankfully he replaced the bales but not before the "damage" was done.  Yet another lesson learned!
This past winter has been one of trial and error in the feeding department.  With our new vertical mixer we are able to create an exact balanced diet for the ewes but it is taking some figuring to fine-tune it to meet our ewe's needs.  We are very thankful to have a nutritionist who is helping us out.  This whole adventure is one big learning curve and next year we'll be even better equipped (information-wise) to feed our flock!
 

Here is Hudson checking out some new lambs.  He is very respectful of the ewes and they completely trust him.  Occasionally, I've seen him cleaning one off while the ewe was having another lamb!  
The amniotic fluid was quite dark on these two and I've read that it means it was a long, difficult labour/delivery.  Regardless, there was no indication of that with this girl and the lambs are doing well.  This ewe, "Callie", was one of the first sheep we bought back in  2008.

Not only are we happy to feel the heat in the sun, but this picture pretty much sums up how the sheep are feeling;  She couldn't look more content!  March is here and with it the birth of a lamb!?  What?  We aren't supposed to lamb till mid-April!  Oh well.  It was born on a -30 day and it's first 2 days alive were some of the coldest this winter.  But it's strong and happy and other than some cold ears, the first-time mama had him cleaned off and dry by the time I found him that morning. 
We are taking our last load of lambs in to the buyer - finally!  We had some trouble with worms last year which delayed their growth.  With the wet season we had last year it created the perfect habitat for worms to thrive, and thrive they did!  We choose not to deworm at regular intervals as we don't want resistant worms on our property.  Instead we monitor by doing fecals and checking for anemia and then deworm only those that require it.  We also had some feed issues with the ram lambs in the fall.  Turns out some of our feed was high in nitrates and we lost several to nitrate poisoning.  Very sad but a lesson learned.  With feed prices being low we decided to feed them out rather than take a low price for them in the fall.  Prices are up so it's time to sell!  
It seems like every year we learn something new and we think, "ok, now we've seen it all!" but the next year it's a new lesson!  Though with that, we are improving and changing our operation to better suit us and to raise better quality, healthier sheep.

Halfway through February and I (just like everyone else) cannot wait for this winter to be over!  The TMR feeding system is working out great.  The younger ewes that weren't competing with the older ewes for hay on the bale feeders are all gaining and growing like they should.  Good to see!  With Steve still working part-time we are feeding twice a week and using the little tractor to push the feed in to the pens each day.  Seems to work for us!  
Right now we're anticipating the arrival of some kids (the four legged kind).  In the fall we purchased 2 Saanen goats that were supposed to be bred.  One is looking like it but the other not so much...  I'm eager to not have to pay for milk again and possibly make some cheese!  We'll see how ambitious I get.
Lambing for us isn't for another 2 months and I can hardly wait for it to get here!  Though I'm sure I'll be wishing it all over when we're in the thick of it.  I love having lambs in April; right when the pasture is growing like crazy the lambs are ready to attack it!  It's also easier to take the kids outside when they're not freezing.  

What a beautiful day today!  We've fluctuated more than 50 degrees C in the last 2 weeks;  This Manitoba weather will keep you on your toes!  
This fall we decided to change the way we feed.  It seems like no matter how you feed sheep they manage to waste half of the feed, especially hay.  So, just prior to Christmas we purchased a TMR (Total Mixed Ration) vertical mixer.  We built a fence line feeder (pictured here) in the main feeder pen and we're trying to figure out what works best for frequency of feeding.  The sheep took a few days to get used to it, but now they come running when they hear the tractor go by.  There is virtually no competition for eating room so even the younger ewes can have their fill.  This feed mixer ensures that every bite the sheep takes is the perfect balance of nutrition.  Next summer will be a time for building pens to accommodate this new system.

Thanks for stopping by!  Today is a miserable day here in SW Mb.  The windchill is nearing the -50 mark and I'm feeling quite bad for the animals.  But they have shelters and lots of straw and the hair sheep seem to put on the right amount of wool to see them though the winter.  The chickens are another story.  We've got multiple heat lamps in their insulated chicken coop to see them through!  It's only January and I'm already sick of winter.  I guess being the coldest winter on record (so far) in over 100 years will do that to a person.  I'm counting our blessings though, and am very happy we're not lambing right now!  Our first lambing date is tentatively April 19th.  Here's hoping it warms up before then :).
In the pic you'll notice the thermometer at -32 and my hubby is a little speck by the wood pile filling the fire!  Thankful for that fire today!  (and my hubby, too!)