Circle M Farm

Number one is on the ground!

A coal-black, long-eared ram. Karla is cleaning him off in the anxious, humming, obsessive manner of sheep and goat moms. She’s on her feet and looking well, nibbling hay between bites of umbilical cord and various other juicy tidbits. Lambing is the one time of year that sheep aren’t vegetarians.

The instinct to both lick the birthing fluids off the baby and eat up the afterbirth is more than disgusting to my children – they won’t even hug me today because of my association – but I find it fascinating, economical, and a perfect example of the sort of life without waste I aspire to here on the homestead. The ewe gets a burst of much-needed protein, the lamb gets a stimulating massage, the cord gets nipped off to a small, clean nub, and all evidence of a messy birth is quickly tidied up before predators can smell the blood. Our cats do love sharing the meal, however, and all ten of them are keeping the newborn family company.

I can’t wait to see how many more lambs come out of Karla’s ample tummy. Though this first is so very large and vigorous, already on his feet, talking and nuzzling around the udder, I wonder if maybe she’ll produce less than I thought.