Minerva, or Mini, as we call her, just being her adorable self. She was the smallest lamb we’ve ever seen survive. Her mom Andromeda (Rom Doll) had a difficult birth with Mini’s twin Orion. I had to pull Orion because he was over eight pounds and breached. Rom had already cleaned up Orion and was nursing him when I noticed two little black hooves poking out of Rom, but no signs of labor. I quickly pulled out the smallest lamb I have ever seen. I quickly pulled the sac from her face and was greeted by hungry lips smacking, searching for substance, eyes closed. I quickly milked 7 ounces of colostrum from Rom Doll into a bottle and stuck it in Mini’s mouth.
About that time my mother came to check on the situation. I was holding my Mini lamb, not paying attention and I heard the unmistakable sound of an empty bottle. She had downed the entire thing. Mom took her in while I made sure Rom had passed the after birth and bonded to Orion. I joined mom and Mini in the house. We weighed her. 15 ounces. Not even a pound. She was so small she couldn’t reach Rom to nurse. So Mini become my mother’s special bottle lamb.
That was three years ago. Mini now weighs 65 pounds and is the smallest one in our flock. Her twin brother weighs close to 280 pounds. She gives up an astonishing 9 pounds of lilac wool yearly.
I hope you enjoyed this short clip of our Mini Minerva. She is currently our queen ewe. Size isn’t everything. A perfect start isn’t everything. It’s the hunger that drives you to grow and evolve, the relentless desire to live that ultimately wills us to become who we are meant to be.
Craft no harm,
Moriah and the flock
Kind Fibers 