Crystal Fullerton Fine Art

Precious' Boys (Rideau Arcott x Blue Face Leisceister)

It has been a busy spring. All my ewes have successfully lambed out and Precious my favorite ewe produced twins. Or so my daughter thought when she came racing into the house to phone me. When I got home and saw the third bundle of joy I began to wonder about the value of her mathematical education!

Roger, Garnet and Floppy are quite the characters. Floppy was born a bit weak legged (hence the name) as one would expect considering how much lamb Precious crammed into her uterus. If you doubt me look at the above picture. Here are the boys and they are not even 24 hours old yet! My hat is off to Precious, but not too long, it is cool in the mornings here!

Yes they are wearing wool coats. Some of my non animal friends questioned me on this and secretly wondered if I had lost it. Most people would probably agree that dressing farm animals up would be a foolish pastime but for this woman it is the easiest and cheapest way to ensure your lambs survive.

Believe it or not a new born lamb is born with very little in the way of fleece. Our winters/springs can be pretty brutal here especially if you have just left the warm comfy confines of your mother and are exposed to the harsh realities of a -20 degree windchill with a snow bank for a bed!

An old wool blanket (trust me the irony of it is not lost on me!) is easily sewn into a little lamb sweater and voila, instant warmth and skyrocketing survival rates. No heat lamps and it is all chemical free. No sheep were harmed in the making of these blankets and another generation of lamb gets to bound joyfully through green pastures.

For those of you who don't believe me try it. I have a friend who has been a Shepard all her life and she blankets everyone of her Romney lambs. She told me she hasn't used a heat lamp in over 20 years. Considering we lost our chicken shed to a heat lamp I was thrilled to try out the blankets and trust me when I say I have never looked back.

Now all I have to do is find a way to put them on my day old chicks!