844-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 29, 1996 (Continued from Page B 11) to die. “I sat here in the bam for about 10 minutes with her. She got up, laid down again and started to push. And this teeny little ewe lamb was bom, so tiny but perfect ly formed. I had taken from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for all the lambs to be delivered. I couldn’t believe it was even alive,” grins Pat, still marveling at the memory of the surprise. However, the ordeal had taken quite a toll on Athena. The largest ram lamb weighed in at 10.5 pounds, while its brother and larg er sister each weighed nearly nine pounds. Little Bit, the tiny infant, tipped the scale at a mere skin and-bones five pounds. After the births, Athena’s udder was full and distended. The lambs soon learned to lay down next to her and nurse. Bottles every three hours supplemented Athena’s milk and warming lights kept the babies from gettin chilly. Pat’s sleep suffered for the next few weeks, since part of every night was spent in the bam, bottle feed ing lambs. “I sat out part of the March ice storm duringn the night in the bam,” she relates of the rather frightening event. “At 2 a.m., tree limbs were almost constantly crashing down outside.” With vitamins, rest, and Pat’s tender, loving care, Athena re gained her strength and in four days was back on her feet. An ex cellent mother, she knew instant lyk when one of the lambs was out of her sight Little Bit was kept on Riding Arena Ph. 701 E. Linden St., RICHLAND, PA 17087 Trusses for Chicken House Romney Ewe Delivers Quads bottle feedings and became the classic bottle-fed lamb, scamper ing along behind Pat as she tended the others. She soon learned to crawl up or Pat’s lap and put her head on he*' shoulder. It was the acquisition of a pony that originally put the McKinneys into the sheep business. “We got a pony years ago for the boys, from a friend of ours,” explains Pat. “It got out and ran loose for several hours around the neighborhood. We decided to get it a lamb for company and were told a single lamb would get lone ly.” “And that’s how the boys got into 4-H Lamb Club,” she adds. “The first lambs were bought be cause they were cute. We were al ways dead last in the show ring and were happy if they ever won anything other than a brown rib bon.” Blake, however, did win num erous fitting and showmanship awards during his 4-H sheep exhi bitor years. But every year when it came time to sell the lambs, tears flowed all around the family. So market lambs were given up in favor of breeding sheep and the first Rom ney was purchased from a New Jersey breeder. With its quality bloodlines and superior fleece characteristics, the McKinney’s new acquisition soon changed their brown show ribbons to pur ple champion rosettes. In recent years, Blake and Clay have for gone sheep showing for sports participation, leaving their mother as the family’s head shepherd. ■7237 Pat is an accomplished spinner and knitter of the wools from the small flock, along with marketing fleeces to other wool crafters. The lustre and crimp of the Romney fleeces make them especially popular with the artisans who use •wool in their various creative pur suits. Though the quads show some individuality in their fleece char acteristics, they all show quality. Pat plans to keep both Little Bit and her sister, Hannah, as part of the small breeding flock. One ram lamb is already sold and she hopes to market the other to a breeding flock where his parental champion bloodlines can be passed on to other generations of lambs. Capemicus, the flock’s ram and sire of the quads, was lost to an unfortunate accident during this past winter. A massive 300-pounder, he was a former su preme ram over all breeds winner at the York Fair junior shows. But the ram had in recent years gotten a bit rambunctious in his play. Af ter one of the winter snows, Blake and Clay were sledding on the pasture hill and the ram took to chasing them, crashing his head into a tree during the pursuit. He died a few days later. The McKinneys expect to re place their ram over the summer and rebreed Athena and her flock mate ewes later in the fall. One thing they do not expect is a repeat of the surprise quadruplet birth. For Athena’s sake, Pat McKin ney would probably be happy with just one good-sized, healthy ewe lamb next season. • GLU-LAM ARCHES • ROOF TRUSSES • GLU-LAM BEAMS • FLOOR TRUSSES • GLU-LAM TREATED • TAG AND V-GROOVE POSTS DECKING “Th» Sign of Quality In Englnaond Tlmbar" TRUSS PLATE INSTITUTE Stables Free Stall Barn Interior Little Bit, iast-bom and tiniest of the quadruplet laihbs, comes running fora bottle when Pat McKinney enters the sheep pens. Over 38 years quality products & materials... Let us help you with your building needs! Free Stall Bam Exterior '< "> */ A
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