Head cold from hell and a lamb

Well Jase has been away this week at a course in Ashburton so the kids and I took over the stockwork on the big ranch!! The weather has been lovely so that has helped. Jess, Sam and I have been moving the sheep, feeding the pigs and moving the cattle. We have also been on the lambing beat with the big flock (all 60 of them!!) We have had a few sets of twins and a single on the breaks with the later lambers (whoops!) One ewe didnt have much milk so we gave the lambs a feed off another ewe we had caught to get them going. But this morning the lambs were still pretty hunched up. We popped around to Gegens and got some milk powder and picked up a lamb teat when we dropped Jessa to kindy. Sam and I went out to feed the two lambs. However only one of them would suck from the bottle so we brought the other one up to the house and tube fed him. I popped him in the shelter of the back door to keep an eye on him. When we got back from picking up the kids he was looking pretty chilly and not too well so we made up the baby bath for him and popped him infront of the fire. It has been raining this afternoon and the wind had got up.
Anyway we gave him a feed again and the kids have been patting him and talking to him. Sam is particularly interested in him. He still looked pretty sick when Jase got back at 7.30pm tonight so we tubed him again and he actually perked up a little. I took these photos just a little while ago as he had decided to lift his head and look around and was bleating for more food. (good sign!) Then he decided to try standing up again and discovered that he could step out of the bath. He has got quite long legs!
Luckily he didnt leave any lasting impressions on the carpet while he was having his little wander! Jase just tried the bottle for him again but he isnt particularly interested in sucking just yet. Hopefully we will get him going on it tomorrow and the kids will have fun feeding him.

They will be quietly gutted that he is a little boy as they were hoping for some girl lambs this year so we dont have to send them to market. Ah well I am sure we can source a couple more for them later on!