Four Texels in a Day

If anyone had asked me which of the pet ewes were due to lamb first, I would have picked either Penny or Olive. They were both (forgive me, girls) very wide with huge elders. I waited and waited while all of the other ewes gave birth until only Penny and Olive remained. Finally, on 16th February, I arrived in the shed to find Olive standing with twin boys at her feet. I knew then that Penny wasn't likely to be far behind - and sure enough, that afternoon, Penny needed some help delivering twins of her own. I had brought the camera to the shed to take photos of Olive's lambs and found Penny in trouble. Once the lambs had safely arrived, I sat with them for a while.

The white lamb was born first - Eunice was huge, so big that I thought that Penny was only having a single lamb this time around. It turned out that Penny had another surprise in store. The second lamb was coming backwards and the birthing fluid had turned orange from the stress. Thankfully he was none the worse for wear.

Olive was curious about the newcomers.

Despite the difficult birth, Penny was very attentive to her babies immediately. Eugene getting his attention:

Eunice feeling left out:

Eunice tried to stand, landing on top of her brother.

Eunice wasn't giving up and soon she was on her feet again.

It wasn't long before Eugene was standing on wobbly legs as well.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the shed, the ewes and lambs were keeping a respectful distance.

Elodie and Elsie were snuggled at the door.

Olive was with her lambs, only a few hours older than Penny's. This is Enzo.

And this is Ernest with his distinctive spot above his eye.

Elodie and Elsie were so content where they were, I was able to open the door and step over them without them moving away.

I always find lambing the pet ewes quite stressful so I was pleased to get it finished - there was a lot more drama than usual. Now all I have to do is keep everyone alive and well and wait for the rest of the sheep to start lambing too.