Baby sheep, called lambs, start their life inside the mother sheep, called ewes. Warm and comfy, they ride inside the ewe for around 5 months. In very early spring the excitement in the barn starts to grow because soon the baby sheep will be born. At Willow Pond Sheep Farm, at 2252 Route 44-55 in Gardiner, live Brent and Carrie Wasser who are local sheep farmers who tend their sheep with love and the help of their livestock guardian dogs. Carrie describes the birth of the baby sheep like a lullaby, “When the lamb is ready to come out of its mom, it happens very quickly. The lamb slides out easily because it is covered in slippery yellow birth fluid. As soon as the lamb is out, it boldly stands up. The ewe quickly licks off all traces of the birth fluid to dry the lamb so it doesn’t get cold and to remove the smell so that predators like coyotes or fox won’t hunt the lamb. Although the newborn lambs can walk, they sometimes do not quite know who they are or where they are, but one thing they do know is that they are HUNGRY, so they quickly find mom and drink milk from one of her teats.”
After 2-3 days the lambs and ewes are moved to what Carrie calls “the kindergarten”, a pen where the babies meet and play with each other and where they can feed from their mothers in peace. Within 2 weeks they are also eating hay and cracked corn, and when they are around 4-6 weeks old, they are moved onto pasture to eat grass and grow. Once the lambs no longer need their moms’ milk, the farmers milk the ewes over the summer and fall, bottle the milk, and make delicious yogurt that is sold at their Gardiner farm store, local farmers’ markets, and stores. Willow Pond Sheep Farm is a wonderful place to visit, and adults and children can go on a lamb tour to see and touch the baby sheep every late March/early April. For more information about the farm, tours, and to try their excellent sheep’s milk and yogurt: willowpondsheep.com