Dealing With Triplet Lambs!
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- In today's episode of our daily sheep farming vlog at Ewetopia Farms, we delve into the increasing complexity of our operations as more and more of our ewes give birth to triplets. Initially, we had hoped to maintain a single bottle baby for this lambing season. However, as the number of ewes birthing multiple lambs, particularly triplets, continues to rise, it is evident that this cannot be sustained indefinitely.
There are several reasons why we prefer not to have triplets, with the most apparent being that a ewe possesses only two teats. It is in the best interest of both the ewe and the lambs to limit feeding to two offspring. Consequently, if the ewe is unable to nurse all the lambs, we are left with no choice but to take on the responsibility of bottle feeding. This process is incredibly time-consuming, especially when the lambs are young and require feeding every few hours. Additionally, providing milk replacer to the lambs proves to be quite expensive. However, when faced with triplets or ewes unable to nurse their young due to other reasons, we are left with no alternative but to assume this duty.
In this video, you will witness the birth of more triplets. Our hope always remains that a ewe with a single lamb will adopt one of the triplets, although not all ewes are willing to do so. Join us as we navigate through the challenges of managing multiple births on our sheep farm. #sheepfarming #lambingseason #triplets
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Lynn McKay & Arnie Droogh
3606 6th Concession Road
Kingston (Joyceville), Ontario
K0H 1Y0
Thank you Lynn & Arnie & yes team work makes the dream work 😊❤❤
Wow, those triplets got up SO quickly! I noticed her tag is different but Arnie answered that question. I want to give you some positive feedback and say thanks. I like it when you tell us about the ewe's background as well as who the daddy is. I acknowledge that you don't always have the info handy or in your head but when you do, please continue to share.
Will do 🙂
Lot of work. But, great job yall
What a beautiful set of triplets.
I can’t even begin to fathom how tired you and Arnie are. You both sure do take good care of all the sheep.
THANK YOU!!
Thanks! We're hanging in there!🙂
Do you know what causes triplets ? It's so crazy so many in this round
Bad luck!🤣🤣 Lots of factors but time of year makes a big difference. In season you get the most lambs naturally but if you artificially inject them with hormones, they will produce more triplets too
♥️
Good evening Arnie and Lynn. Oh my gosh triplets. Yikes. You really have an audience there. And they are quite beautiful. It is always amazing how fast the lambs ears perk up after they are born. The little female really is on the ball. Arnie lays her down and she says no. I am getting up. 😂😂😂. Females have attitude 😂😂. That mama definitely loves her babies. She has been singing right from the start. Wow. A lot of lambs. You guys have been working hard. Your rams did a good job this year. I bet Arnie appreciated the help. Goodness. A long day. Big big hugs to you both. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😉😉❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks Patricia. This is just the start of triplets it seems. Lots of bottle babies now which means a lot more work. At least the first month went really well!😁🥰🥰🥰🥰
Beautiful set of triplets, the ewe was a bit smaller than her brothers, but even at that she's not small. The Dorset lambs are so much quicker to be up moving around! I agree with you on the colostrum, with the numbers of lambs you guys have that expense is well covered in the lambs saved. Add in the numbers of lambs that get a jumpstart in their growth from being nourished well from the first minutes of birth, I would say the colostrum is priceless!! Thanks for sharing another very busy day (and night) at Ewetopia Farms!! Stay safe!!🙏❤
Yes, we think so too 😊
I LOVE what you and how you do it! It's good to see that us common folks can make a good go of it! All the fancy equipment is nice but only adds to the expense and downfall of many farms. I know you work so hard and must be dead tired, just know that you have lots of support and prayers out there! Love you both!😊
Absolutely but you still need all the basic stuff which does cost a lot to start up even if it is handmade or second hand. The fancy stuff is what you get after you're established and running well. The you can treat yourself if you want. But it doesn't take much to become equipment poor and unable to make ends meet. 🙂
Oh, I hope I didn't offend you in any way! You have a fantastic operation and I love your channel! I just meant that you do the job to get things done (with fabulous results) without all the glitz and glamour.....the dog and pony show, so to speak. Actually it gives me hope that one doesn't have to be a millionaire to start raising animals. I love that you are both always teaching what to look for in a good sheep, what the best qualities are in a specific sheep you are working with at the moment and the not so good ones. I'm much, much older than you guys and night learn something every video. I have been wanting to get a few sheep (we have cows) but most of the videos I have watched the lambs are pulled, I love that you let the sheep deliver naturally as much as possible, only intervening when necessary. Because of you and Arnie I may give it a go. Thank you so much for sharing and caring!
@pfclemmer omg, of course you didn't offend me. That is the whole point of our videos - keep it simple and focus on the things that make you money (the sheep) and not the things that don't (over-automating, etc). If you know how to look after cows, you can easily do sheep. They are very similar just smaller 😁 So happy you joined in on all our discussions!🙂
It’s great that you guys have good market for the lambs where I am the market is not good at all
Where are you?
@@EwetopiaFarms in Washington state
Such a beautiful set of triplets! Love Arnie’s comments…Where’s that little rowdy sister? And…She’s got attitude! Lol! Amazing birthing again. Arnie, you have a keen perspective on how the ewes will deliver. This young lady is a fantastic mom. Her history was super interesting, coming from the prairies and Humboldt in particular. She’s going to have a wonderful life at Ewetopia Farms! 💛
Thanks Mary! Yes, she's an old girl now and has done well for us 🙂
You’re welcome, Lynn! I should have recognized the ewe as an oldie with the red dot on her back. I remember you guys bringing over the stragglers the other day and marking them. Anyway, she and her wee ones are lovely. 🥰
Such beautiful babies, Lynn and Arnie! And yes, triplets are a lot more work, but it is a testament of the good care you give your sheep. Those statistic numbers are fantastic! With those percentages it reminds me of the Sheep’s Password: “Baa-ram-ewe. Baa-ram-ewe. To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true. Sheep be true. Baa-ram-ewe.” ~Babe
Thank you for loving your sheep so much, and sharing your lives with us. Hope you have a quiet night tonight.
I loved that movie!😁
@@EwetopiaFarms
It was one of my favorites, too!🐏🐑🐑🐑🐖❤️
Good morning!
🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thank you Lynn and Arnie!
We went to a goatfarm today to play with the lambies. It was a wonderful afternoon. I got home and fell a sleep the moment I sat down... lucky it were goat and not sheep otherwise I would sleep just till tomorrow morning... 😂
You are both farmers I really respect. The way you care for them. The gentle touch. Even by a man as tall as arnie. You must be both exhausted... but omg how I love the lambing videos. I am drooling all over the place... the only minus is... the cold. Here we have already our daffodils, and snowblower and krokus... all over the place. It is extremely warm for the tine of year. But you will not hear me complaining... have a good sleep and tomorrow with a happy heart back with the sheep... ❤❤❤
I am dreaming of those spring flowers popping up here but that is still a few months away!😌
Triplets are definitely a lot more work for you two. Hopefully you can recruit a hired hand. Maybe contact the local high school to see if there maybe a young person in the agricultural program or FFA interested.
We have absolutely nothing like that near us unfortunately. 😔
@@EwetopiaFarms 😬 dang that’s to bad! Down here in MInnesota we’re lucky to have FFA, 4H and other agricultural opportunities in the rural schools.
Yes that would be awesome 🙂 All the Farms around here are being bought up by city people as retirement properties. Not many farmers around anymore 😌
Arnie-great video and great detail. The miracle of birth still amazes me every time
Arnie, thanks for that comment about your commitment to the lambs because they are there. That attitude makes your farm Ewetopia!! (Well, and Ramtopia, and Lambtopia.... :)
Lol! Thank you!😁
Have you ever " heard of dump crock pot meals" ? They are crockpot meals you put together and freeze, so later, when busy, you can just dump the whole frozen bag into the crockpot set and go on with your day until dinner time..
There's lots of recipes online.
Just an idea.
Yes, I do try to have a whole bunch of frozen meals for those crazy days!🙂
Is arnies surname schwartzenegger i ll be back
🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Ewe that have the Dorset 3 Lamb's you bought looks built well 🧡💛🖤🤍🤎
Yes, she's a nice stocky ewe 🙂
Out of curiosity, with your Suffolks, how many of your triplets have been out of Gladiator daughters (because he's a triplet)? I ask because, back in the early 70s, my aunt and uncle bought a triplet ram for stud. He didn't throw triplets, but his daughters threw scads of triplets, which as you know creates all sorts of problems. Just curious what your experience has been with Gladiator daughters so far. From what I can tell, it doesn't seem to be a thing for you.
Big hugs,
Craig
Just saw this message on my computer (it didn't come up on my phone which is where I usually check my messages). No, I haven't noticed any correlation to singles, twins, or triplets with any of the rams or ewes. We pay special attention to those from single and triplet lines since people seem to frown on singles and favour triplets.
@@EwetopiaFarms I figured it got lost somewhere. No worries. I ask because, back in 1970, my aunt and uncle bought a triplet ram for stud. He didn't throw triplets (after all, he had no control over how many eggs the ewes dropped). But his daughters, on the other hand, turned out to be triplet machines. It was pretty horrible for them and ultimately drove them out of the sheep business. All those triplets just broke them.
I can see how that would break them. Triplets just aren't worrh all the extra work 🙂@@craigpacker7171
More bottle babies, here we go.
For a first time mom, that first ewe is a fantastic mama.
Yes, now's when things get busy!
OMGosh I love your content so much. Alas, chaos has descended on my house at the moment, while I'm trying to watch your conent at home. (Still bummed I can't mentally prep for the day by listening/watching your videos. I LOOOOOOVE the lambing, I know it's very stressful also - been there, done that - so I'm both dreading the end of the best content, and looking forward to the non-lambing content that the school censor will allow me to watch. (so I'm kind of torn in two by opposite desires). But regardless, I am heading deep into my own lambing season. I have my seven girls, and upon latest inspection, I have 6 udders that are obvious, along with getting rosy in their nether region. In fact, one of the ewes, who is a first timer, born in 2022, today was the first time I realized that she has a white belly with a demarkation line between the dark and the light colors, just aft of her nipples, because when I was inspecting udders today, I saw that her nipples are getting rosy..... I'd only noticed a bit of fullness before (like yesterday) but today, her udder is twice the size.
I'm hoping she'll hold out until Sunday.... but a bit concerned that she'll have her lamb(s) before then. I think she'll have one based on her current size. .... but the udder is only at about half-full.... so hopefully it'll wait. On Saturday I'm getting some Oat-hay (price comparison with what I last bought is about $11/100 pound bale versus $20/60 lb bale. Hoping it'll work well for them.
The only ewe I'm not sure is pregnant is my lone 2023 lamb.... she did seem to cycle right before we culled the ram for being a butt-headed a$$hole .... so if she's bred, she won't lamb until she's about 14 months old. Not optimal, but not horrible. She won't let me inspect her udder. She's the kind to stomp to warn me off while simultaneously taking some food from my hand.
Anyway..... love ya bunches. :)
What is oat hay? Straw with heads on? You may need better hay for lambing if so to keep those girls milking 🙂
@@EwetopiaFarms Pretty sure that Oat hay is immature oats in the "bread" stage? Kind of after the milk but before the bread stage. I still have alfalfa hay and orchard grass hay. The oat hay is supplemental. If it's not enough I'll buy something else, and I have 10 acres of land that will start greening up soon (hopefully).
I appreciate the words of advice, and I will be keen to pay attention to such details when the hay arrives. Alas, now that dad has moved out, and taken his truck with him, we have to rely on whatever can be delivered.
I will make sure to respond to their needs. Sheep are AMAZING at communication. I love my sheep. I've had the goats for three or four weeks, and they're just not as cool as sheep. :)
Yes, getting good feed is very difficult. By the look of your sheep, they certainly aren't suffering, they look in great condition 🙂
@@EwetopiaFarms Yeah, when we had to cull one the butcher told us he'd never seen an animal with so much fat. I normally give the whole gang one scoop of corn (a quart maybe?) per day. Alas, I have other family members who might give them treats. I had to put my foot down when I found a bunch of moldy gourds in the sheep pen.... my niece was giving them her spoiled food. NOT okay.
They're not starving, I can say that. Probably have a bit of overconditioning, particularly the one who was a freeloader last year.
we could have 3 and 4s this year, we built a pen that can hold 3 triplets and we leaf them in their for 2 months, we use to have ewe had 4 and 5 births were triplets also her first lambing was a triplet
Yes, some breeds do that. We only want twins though 🙂
It was a hair sheep@@EwetopiaFarms
Very busy with triples! I would be interested in males versus females with the lambs in total. Which are more profitable for you? I’m guessing the females. But maybe you sell a lot of rams?
Probably rams. Market lambs are same price as ewes but breeding rams ate more expensive to purchase. Usually three times the price of ewes
@@EwetopiaFarmsBreeding ewes are the same price as market lambs??? Oh my. So why would anyone buy breeding ewes at market? Because I know some people do that.
I think you only sell the top 50% of your rams for breeding stock, correct? So you sell half at market, half at 3x that price for an average of 2x the price of a market lamb.
With breeding ewes selling for the same price as meat, overall you sell your sheep for about 1.5x the price of a market lamb.
I’m guessing that since you keep them around longer-especially the ewes-and sell them kind of slowly that you aren’t making 50% more profit than a commercial operation though.
No, male and female market lambs are the same breeding stock is $50-$200 more for breeding ewe lambs depending on a lot of factors.
Got it, thanks!
"Promo sm"
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