Lamb watch

The middle of March marked the beginning of one of the most intense, exhausting, and rewarding phases of the year at Midwest Mini Sheep. Starting on March 15th, our schedule completely shifted as we officially went on lamb watch, monitoring the ewes around the clock.

Pulling off this season required constant vigilance and very little sleep. To make sure we never missed a birth, we established a rigorous rotation system. We took turns monitoring the sheep on camera throughout the night, checking the screens to catch the subtle behavioral shifts that signal labor is near. During the day, the monitoring continued with multiple trips out to the shelters and pastures to check on the flock in person, ensuring every ewe and newborn lamb had immediate support.

The true rush began just a few days into our watch, with the first lambing recorded on March 18th. March quickly turned into a flurry of activity, particularly around March 20th and 21st, which brought a massive wave of new arrivals. The momentum kept going right through April, which proved to be our busiest month by far, filled with consistent births from start to finish. Things finally began to wrap up in early May, with our final births wrapping up a long, intense season on May 5th.

Managing a high-stakes breeding program means being present for every critical moment, even when the hours are long and the sleep is minimal. The round-the-clock dedication during this stretch ensured that our newborns arrived safely and received the best possible start. It was a grueling stretch of weeks spanning from mid-March to May, but seeing the new generation active and healthy in the fields made every sleepless night completely worth it.