Dolly’s Triplets

Triplets closeup
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dolly was the last of the Finns to have her lambs. She was so big and uncomfortable the last few days. Now we know why, she had triplets, 2 ewes and a ram. From L to R they are Loretta Lynn, Alex, and Patsy. They were born on 4/14/08 in the evening just after dinner. I had stayed in the barn before dinner and realized how uncomfortable Dolly was and thought she was going to start going into labor at any time. I sat with her and rubbed her belly and tried to make her feel more comfortable. Dinner was ready, so I came inside and ate and went back out to the barn as soon as I could. Within minutes of returning, she started into labor. Loretta Lynn was first out, no problem. Then came Alex, and I moved Alex in front of Dolly to start cleaning him up. I could see Patsy’s hooves starting to appear when I heard a newborn lamb crying. I turned around to find Loretta Lynn was already across the pen by the feeder. I picked her up and moved her back closer to momma. Then Patsy decided to appear hind legs and butt first. All of the lambs are doing fine, so far, with Dolly nursing all of them. I’m keeping an eye on them to make sure all of them are getting enough milk from mom. I hope that Dolly will be able to raise all three on her own. If not, I may be bottle feeding at least one.

 

Tara and Aaron

Tara and Aaron
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy, our white Finn ewe finally had her lambs. A set of twins, one ewe and one Ram. They were born on my daughter’s birthday, 4/12/08, so I named the ewe after her and the ram after her boyfriend. Tara is on the left and Aaron is on the right.

 

elvis

elvis
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here’s a picture of Elvis, the ram twin. He’s Clara Bella’s brother. He looks kind of shy, but he’s not! They were both up and nursing within minutes of birth. When they were just a couple hours old they were already sproing around like little lambs do.

 

clarabella

clarabella
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Bella Vita Farm & Fiber welcomed twins yesterday, 4/9/08. The twins are Finn lambs and this is a picture of Clara Bella. She looks like a little panda bear doesn’t she? Clara Bella will be staying here at Bella Vita Farm.

 

Donna side

Donna side
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Our first lamb born on Bella Vita Farm & Fiber, April 7, 2008. She is a little Shetland x Finn ewe, we named Donna. She was born around 9 AM while I was doing morning chores. We were late for an appointment with our CPA, Don. So we named her Donna, seemed very fitting.

 

Samson

Samson_full
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Samson is my handsome CVM ram. He’s a drop-dead gorgeous ram with a really nice fleece on him. He is currently in the pasture with Delilah and Dakota. Samson knows what to do, just waiting on the girls….as usual.

 

Daisy and the girls

the_girls
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy is the ewe that is looking straight at the camera. She’s the alpha ewe here at Bella Vita Farm & Fiber. She likes to push her weight around, especially at the feeding trough. Daisy has the most personality of all the sheep and her fleece is to die….or should I say dye for? Well both apply…she’s a Finnish Landrace sheep, often referred to as Finns. Finns lamb in litters (8 lambs have been recorded) and I’m hoping that Daisy has a nice one of her own. Daisy came from a set of quads and her two sisters, Dolly and Dot, are the black sheep on the left side of the picture.

 

Dakota

Dakota_head
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dakota is a Romeldale ewe. The Romeldale breed is where the CVM (California Variegated Mutant) breed started out of. The CVM’s have the badger faced markings which were different than the Romeldale’s solid colors.

Dakota is a shy girl with a very big foghorn sounding baa. She has beautiful, soft, white fleece that a baby could wear.

 

Delilah

Delilah_front
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

She’s my beautiful CVM ewe at Bella Vita Farm & Fiber. She likes to eat her hay.