Dizzy, Annabelle & Demmy

This is Dizzy with Annabelle and Demeter. You wouldn't know these little gals were born on a cold day in January. They are healthy and happy and bouncing around the jug and already look forward to a human friend to spend time with them cuddling. We are happy to oblige when we can :)

Dizzy is a finn sheep. We raise finn as well as the shetland breed. I had planned on breeding Dizzy to Mr. Finn, our finn ram, who I put in with the ewes in late October. Tom and I have been looking back through our records, trying to establish the Papa of these two cuties. At first we thought it was a shetland ram lamb that had a retained testicle. We have now determined that it was in fact Mr. Finn that did breed Dizzy back in August. He managed to break out of his paddock a couple of times and I thought nothing of it at the time. Often times shetland and finn ewes will not start cycling until the cooler weather of the fall months. Obviously, Dizzy had other ideas :) I'm very happy with the outcome of this mating and very lucky as well.

Sweet little Annabelle runs to the fence panel when she hears us come in to the barn. Who could resist that face?

Our other baby, Coal, is growing in leaps and bounds as well. He has been weaned from his Mom and now has a bottle twice per day of Mom's milk along with all the good grass hay he can eat. He is always ready for his bottle :) A couple of readers have asked me why I didn't teach him drink out of a bucket instead of bottle feeding him. I have been taught over the years that sucking on a bottle produces saliva which helps with a calf's digestion. It has always worked well for the calves we have raised. I figure if it ain't' broke, I won't try and fix it.

Once he gets on that bottle, he doesn't stop until it's gone!

The heavy rains that tormented the West coast have arrived on the East coast and are soaking us in good shape. All our plowed surfaces are turning to sheets of ice. It's 45 degrees so all of our snow is melting as well. When the temps return to normal and are cold on Wednesday, it's going to be a nightmare around here. That's January weather for you. Stay safe and dry out there.