Heidi and Charlotte showing development of the udders.
Charlotte, a white Icelandic, showing her pregnancy. Likely she will have twins. The ewes are fat! They are only a week or so away from birthing their babies and some are huge. Three different rams were used this year. The Icelandic girls were bred by a pure white Icelandic ram, but Icelandics can throw many colours and the parents colours may not be what the offspring turn out to be. Twins are the most common for the Icelandics, especially second pregnancies and thereafter. The sheep are two years old and have birthed once before, so I am expecting twins from most of them. The Iceland ram was the clean up ram for the Jacobs, since the ram used for them was very young and may not have bred the 2 girls. We shall see. The Cotswold ram was the third ram and the main breeding for the white sheep, except the Icelandics, and the Karakuls, but was with the Merinos and white cross breds. He was last in with the sheep, so if the the first two rams did not do the job, he would have for sure.
As it turns out, the timing is such that these Icelandics must have been bred to the Icelandic ram. There are a few later pregnancies, likely bred to Walter, the Cotswold. I suspect the Jacobs are two of those. It will be interesting to see what a Cotswold/Jacob cross is like. There are 3 lambs and two appear bred as well. They were in with the Icelandic ram, who is small, so hopefully they will have easy births.
The Icelandics and Merinos have begun to develop their udders. Heidi, the black and white Icelandic appears almost ready to birth, with the other Icelandics right behind her. Some sheep develop an udder up to 2 weeks before birthing, while others develop only when birth is imminent. At any rate, the ewes are definitely fat. It was hot today, 27, and they were waddling around panting and hiding in the shade. The excitement is about to begin!
As it turns out, the timing is such that these Icelandics must have been bred to the Icelandic ram. There are a few later pregnancies, likely bred to Walter, the Cotswold. I suspect the Jacobs are two of those. It will be interesting to see what a Cotswold/Jacob cross is like. There are 3 lambs and two appear bred as well. They were in with the Icelandic ram, who is small, so hopefully they will have easy births.
The Icelandics and Merinos have begun to develop their udders. Heidi, the black and white Icelandic appears almost ready to birth, with the other Icelandics right behind her. Some sheep develop an udder up to 2 weeks before birthing, while others develop only when birth is imminent. At any rate, the ewes are definitely fat. It was hot today, 27, and they were waddling around panting and hiding in the shade. The excitement is about to begin!
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