It's cold!

We have a slight east wind.

That's rare for us - normally, living west of the Rockies, we get strong west warm winds called Chinooks. Once in a while we'll get an east breeze and it is FREEZING!

I can always tell if it is an east wind when I look outside and the sheep are huddled on the west side of their sheep shed. Normally they spend the nights inside. But, the door is on the east, and despite a wind block I set up, plus a burlap curtain, they prefer outside on the west side of the building.

This morning I discovered one of the smaller twin lambs was hypothermic. It was just laying outside all curled up while the mamma sheep and other lambs walked all around it feeding.

You can tell if a lamb has hypothermia if their mouth is cold.

I put it in the barn under a heat lamp for four hours while I went to work. She was no better when I came home, so I brought her in the house for a serious warm-up.

First I wrap her in a towel.

Then I wrap a heating pad around her.

Then I wrap another towel around herShe spent an hour like that without warming up, so I wet two large washcloths, nuked them for a minute, put them in a baggie and tucked them in the front of her (they're warm, not hot)

Then I wrap her all up with a blanket. She looks pretty cozy here. It'll be a couple hours at least until she warms up. Right now she's lethargic and lets me do whatever I want to her. Normally, she'd be alert and freaked out and baa'ing for her mamma. It's 7pm now. I'm hoping she'll be good to go by bedtime so I can return her to her mamma and the heat lamp (lamps - I added another one). I went downstairs to get some powdered lamb's milk that I had leftover from last year to discover that the cats ate it ALL. Grrr. It is crazy expensive. I thought I could fill her belly with some warm milk when she woke up and before I took her back to her mamma. I could milk one of the ewes I guess - but that really sucks. I wish my goats were still lactating. What also really sucks is that a bag of lamb's milk is $83 this year. Last year it was half that price. I really don't want to have to buy a bag if I can help it.
I'll keep you posted on her recovery!