The next day, I was working in the barn, keeping an eye on that one ewe and her babies. I noticed she was struggling a bit, and when my wife came out, I said "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was in labor again..." Lor thought perhaps it was post-partem contractions, and went inside to google it... I kept my eye on the ewe, and kept working in the barn... about 15 minutes later, I checked her hindquarters, and saw a bubble protruding from her rear-- On closer inspection, I saw a tiny hoof.... "uh-oh", I thought- A triplet still-born...?
I let nature take its course, as the mother seemed to be having normal, rhythmic contractions.... within minutes, the entire package was out... but what I got was another living, breathing, full-term lamb! Mom, however, was not done... a few minutes later (well, 15-20), yet another baby had joined the first... and then, finally, a third!
Impossible! She had just birthed twins the day before! At first, I thought perhaps I had made some terrible mistake- perhaps this ewe was NOT the mother of the previous day's litter... and yet, I was completely certain there had been no mixup, and I had correctly separated the mother with the two babies that had bonded with her...
.... This was confirmed later in the night, when the second pregnant ewe gave birth to a singleton.
So, now we have two moms and SIX babies! While the babies seem to be doing well, I know that the ewe with five cannot keep up with milk production, so we have started supplementing with milk-replacer. We have a couple calls in to area vets in the hopes to learn more about such a big litter, but no call-backs yet.
What an adventure!
