It never fails! At the first sign of rain the old ewes decide its time to lamb! 3 ewes got moved to the barn this morning and 2 of them have lambed so far. Lola has a set of twins and Emma tripled yet again. Everyone is snug & healthy in their jugs. A jug is a small pen that the sheep stay in for a few days after lambing so they bond. A ewe will occasionally walk off and leave a lamb behind if she has multiples, the weather is bad, or is a first timer. Lambs have the same trouble in the winter as they do in summer. they can't regulate their body temperature for the first few days & at this time of year hypothermia is a concern. I have a wall heater in the barn with a thermo cube that turns the heater on at 50o & off at 68o. A dry stall would probably be enough but with old ewes a little pampering is a good idea. We "dag" the ewes about a week before they are due and make sure the lambing kit is stocked. Gloves, rope, puller, lube, iodine for belly buttons, rags, etc. When the lambs are 3 days old they get their tails banded, ear tags & tatoos. Then a few days after that if everything is good, out they go. The farm flock is down this year to about 20 ewes & the commercial flocks have a shepherd with them at all times. We are almost completely switched over to hair sheep crosses with 1 band of Columbia X Suffolk that we keep for Club Lambs. I personally prefer the Dorper Crosses. They mature quicker & the meat is milder due to the lack of lanolin. More Later Meg