Natural Mothering

Early springtime has come. This time of year, I wake up and either head for the lambing sheds or drive to various pastures to check on thousands of sheep with their 3 day to 4 week old lambs. Today will be no different. After feeding my little man, we will grab a couple breakfast burritos and head out the door. Somewhere along the line, I will meet up with my husband and hand off a burrito as we both keep going in different directions. The beginning of lambing marks our busiest time of year from dark to dark. However, I often find it one of the most rewarding. Watching little lambs scurry about with their mothers is one of my favorite sights in all the world. Such sights always bring my mind to an appreciation for what nature holds if we pause to watch and listen. 

As a mother, I know that we humans desire the simplistic, beautiful, and effortless relationship with our child that we see in nature. We all have a desire to get close to nature in some form. Natural mothering is about as close to nature as one can get. We humans are the only ones it seems that are so far removed from the natural design of life that books, doctor endorsements, articles, and support must be given to follow what people call “natural” mothering. I appreciate such things, but reality is that mothers are born not made.  Ewes(mother sheep for those wondering) are perfect examples of this phenomenon. 

As a sheep rancher, I get an up close view every year of what real natural mothering looks like in livestock. Ewes usually give birth to one or two lambs though sometimes it is as many as four. Most of the ewes all give birth within a month of each other. Sheep naturally cycle best in the fall so around October the bucks(male sheep) begin their work, and five months later lambing begins. 
Right before lambing, we gather all the ewes into a few pastures and a corral for close monitoring. Many, many ewes give birth easily without any help or intervention of any kind. However, there are a few every day that require some assistance. This assistance usually takes the form of someone gently guiding the lamb out of the birth canal. Lambs that are too large, coming backwards, or twins coming at the same time require a little bit more twisting, turning, and moving before they emerge. maneuvering a little one around inside its mother may sound scary, but lambs are really quite tough little creature when one thinks about it. Quite unlike we humans. After all, consider the fact that they arrive ready to stand and within in a few minutes some can even run quite efficiently. As soon as the lambs are born,  the herder removes himself from the scene immediately so nature can do its best work. Licking her lambs vigorously, the ewe quickly cleans and warms them up. Even on frigid days, we never worry as long as a ewe is busy licking her little ones. Then magically the little lambs start migrating without any help in the direction of the ewe’s udder. Warm milk makes happy tummies and wiggling tails. A few swallows of warm colostrum is the difference between life and death for a little lamb. 
For the ewe and lambs, this whole bonding process is vital. If a ewe isn’t allowed to bond with her lambs within moments of birth,  the chances of her mothering(caring for) the lambs without a lot of human intervention is very poor. The ewes must be left alone until they have mothered the lambs and formed a good bond. Mother ewes who choose to abandon their lambs are rare.  Most cases of ewes rejecting their lambs stems from traumatic births, still born lambs, or unnecessary human intervention. The cure for this lack of mothering instinct is locking both ewe and lambs in close quarters for a few days and forcing the ewe to allow the lamb(s) to suck. As one can imagine, this is not an easy job. For the sheep rancher, it is far better to have a mother and lambs bonded naturally and without any intervention. 

Two day old lambs with ewe. 

After the ewe is done cleaning and sucking her lambs, she is moved to a small individual pen in order to have privacy and solitude with her new offspring. This is done by grabbing the legs of the lambs and carrying them in front of the  ewe to their destination. Good mothery ewes follow, sometimes almost running the poor herder over. 

My husband helping a struggling lamb suck in a individual jug pen. 

After a couple days of watching for any complications the ewes are turned out into a pasture with other ewes and lambs of the same age. This is where my favorite time to observe begins. 

Out in the pasture, the ewes and lambs all seem like a sea of sheep mixed up and combined. A casual observer could easily wonder how they don’t all get mixed up and lost. Closer inspection reveals small ewe and lamb groups dotting the pasture.  Ewes resting with two lambs by their side or eating close by their lambs. One can tell who the mother is by watching her eyes which frequently return to the location of her lambs. Every day for a couple weeks now, I  walk slowly through the entire herd in each pasture observing. As I look for signs of sick or weak lambs and ewes an organized community emerges.  

Around two week old napping. 

When I approach seemingly abandoned lambs, out of nowhere ewes appear with obvious concern. When I catch a sick lamb ewe run to me out of a sea of white wooly faces.  Really mothery ewes keep their lambs close by. We have a couple ewes who seem to never let their lambs leave their sides. They watch, feed, sleep with, and care for their lambs like few mothers ever could do. They also have the biggest and healthiest lambs in the flock. Out of 2500 sheep, I never forget those two ewes. when a lamb wanders,  a few bleats and the lambs and ewes are together once again. As the lambs get older they begin to frolick together and play away from the ewes, but a ewe always knows where her lamb is.

This would be called nursing on demand(emphasis on demand) 

Nursing is done whenever a lamb desires or as we would call it, on demand. Lambs can be seen running up to their mothers and “attacking” her udder without any warning at all. Sheep are truly are social and intelligent (despite a few misguided beliefs to the contrary). I have marveled before at these creatures, and found myself understanding them better and better as I observe.  But,  this year, I feel closer to understand them than before. After having my own baby who is now seven months old, I can comprehend much more of the beauty, devotion, and natural drive which makes these ewes do what they do so well. I can now understand the ties and desperation with which lambs seek their mothers. These animals have inspired me. So many voices in our world are calling and telling us what to do with our mothering instincts. So many voices are calling out to us with advice and directions on how to be that we can often hardly hear or if is we do hear we begin to question the natural instincts inside us. I am confident that if left alone and never taught to question our natural mothering drive, we would be just a amazing and beautiful as these ewes. Mothers are not taught to be mothers, they just are. No one has to teach someone how to have a child and no one has to teach someone how to care for it unless the natural instincts have been distorted by societies artificial expectations. Those who need teaching have first been untaught what was naturally there. This year, the ewes have inspired me to listen to the natural voice that was placed into my being by design. The ewes have encouraged me to ignore the voices that would discourage and drown out who I was born to be. The ewes have shared with me the beauty of their journey and helped me to see the beauty of mine. Lambing has always been a favorite time for me, but from now on, I believe it will hold an even greater light in the discovery of life.