02/22/2025
Jolene was supposed to be enjoying retirement, but our Dorper ram, Sampson, had other plans. With our relocation from Joseph to Ashland, and insecure fencing that we have slowly been working to replace, we didn’t have the ideal separation between retired ewes and breeding groups. Much to my surprise, Jolene ended up carrying two big lambs full term! Given her history, I thought after she birthed the first big boy, that she was done delivering. Four hours later, she was pushing out a second. The poor presentation of her ewe lamb had delayed labor and I had to perform a difficult assist. It was not easy on mama and I truly thought we might lose baby. It was slow going, but once I had her stable and had given her colostrum, Jolene had recovered enough to start licking her off. Two hours later, she began working on standing up (which under normal circumstances happens within minutes). Two hours after that she was upright and nursing and now, a week later, she is running with all the other lambs and is doing great! She is my little miracle and will have a home with us forever. First and only ewe lamb out of Jolene! G-L-O-R-I-A — Gloria! She is my little glory hallelujah baby and I’m so grateful to Jolene for not giving up on her, and although this is a hard lesson in why I should not keep retired ewes on a property with rams, Jolene is a special lady and a blissed out mama.