Anne Tove to the rescue

Last night Elke also gave birth to two boy lambs. But this morning, not all was in perfect order. Elke clearly rejected the lambs and refused to let them feed. One was already lying weak in a corner while the other stumbled around, looking lost and confused. After checking that Elke actually was the only one having recently given birth, I locked her up alone with the two new lambs and phoned Anne Tove, a sheep farmer down the road. Anne Tove instructed me to prepare a hot water bottle in case the lambs got cold, and then she immediately came over to Tønsåsen with a bottle of fresh warm milk from one of her own sheep (they are also in the middle of the lambing and she had just collected milk from one that had plenty, for instances like this one). Lambs must feed within six hours in order to survive and Anne Tove made sure Elke’s young ones got a good startup-portion from the bottle. She then showed me how to hold Elke tight so that the lambs can help themselves to Elke’s milk (of which there is more than enough). Gradually, the lambs should learn how to feed from their mother, and their mother should start to care about them. The next twenty-four hours will show if it works this time around. Before she left, Anne Tove also confirmed that both Ida and Inga are expecting, although Inga not straight away. So more live action ahead, and with Anne Tove’s morning crash course I feel a tiny bit better prepared…