The first blackie lambs

Today we have had our first blackie give birth.  I thought it was a single lamb initially but then I spotted a second one in the reedy grass.

They are both tiny in comparison to the fatties produced from our pet lowland sheep.  Here is a family photo taken from a long distance with my zoom lens.

 I think this may be the only family photo we get as mum doesn't like her second lamb; the tiny one.  It was quite weak from the start but kept shouting for it's mum....

But she just isn't interested in it, she's been left twice.  She will sniff it but just doesn't want to encourage it to feed or hang round for her. 

In the end I had no choice but to bring her in, she was cold and weak and clearly hadn't fed.  Here she is in front of the aga to warm up.

After a couple of feeds she is looking a bit happier and depending on how she is in the morning I may try to  reunite her with her mum and sister (yes two girls).  She is still rather unsteady on her feet but she looks happier than she did.

I'm hoping that this is just a blip and the rest of the blackie birthing will go according to plan!  Keep tuned to our Twitter feed for frequent updates.