Megan's Charm

MEGAN'S CHARM

Written and Illustrated by Kathy Wright



This book is dedicated to the many bum lambs in my life and to my children who were the models for my drawings; and who inspired me to create this and many other books.



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© 2012 Kathy Wright
First edition
Title ID: 4103691
ISBN-13: 978-1481298865



Megan sat on her front porch soaking in the crisp sunlight of a winter's day. She was waiting for her dad to come out so they could go to the lambing barn together. As Dad came out the door Megan noticed his supply tote full of medicines anticipating the newborn lambs in the barn.



Dad and Megan walked together to the barn in the cool December air. The winter birds were in the trees overhead and the sound of winter's frost lifting was in the air. The lights from the barn shone invitingly warm around the cracks in the doors and shuttered windows of the barn.



As Megan entered the barn the smell of new lambs and fresh hay hung in the air mixed with the sharp scent of iodine. The sound of mothers caring for their new babies was a soft bleating sound that soothed. The rustling of the straw was gentle and peaceful.



As they moved through the barn Megan noticed the first new mother. She was softly licking her new baby lambs encouraging them to stand and her soft bleats were returned by tiny sounds from the new lambs. The twins were wobbly but doing well standing and trying to nurse.



Megan helped Dad hold the lambs while he dipped their navels and together they moved the mom and the new lambs to a small pen called a lambing jug where they can bond and won't be bothered by other sheep.



Then Megan noticed a lamb in the corner all alone and still wet. She was cold and shivering in the dark corner of the barn. Megan moved towards the tiny lamb as dad called for her to help. Quickly she swooped up the lamb and hurried off to help Dad.



Dad was with a young ewe nearby who was taking care of one lamb. He had treated the new baby and was trying to move the mom into a jug. She was afraid and didn't want to go. Dad handed Megan the lamb and told her to put both lambs in the jug as he grabbed the mom and pulled her towards the small pen.



Dad told Megan to watch her with the babies while he went to take care of another ewe with a single newborn lamb. Megan noticed the mom liked the one lamb. She licked and talked to it, but the cold baby was knocked around and stepped on. The mom didn't like it.



When Dad got the last pair in a jug he came to stand by Megan. They watched together as the cold wet baby stumbled towards the mom only to be butted or kicked away. Finally Dad said that this would be the first bum. Megan climbed into the pen and gathered the baby in her arms.



Dad and Megan worked together to help the new baby get her first drink of rich colostrum milk from her mom before they head for the house with the cold lamb to warm it up and give it a bottle of milk replacer.



As they walked towards the house Megan was aware of the warm damp baby tucked inside her coat. She felt the quick rhythmic breathing and the tiny heartbeat thumping away in the baby's chest as it rested on her arm.



Inside they warmed the baby in a box near the fireplace and fed her when she cried to be fed. When she was warm and dry Dad said it was time for her to live in the barn under the heat lights. Megan knew it was best but she was sad to return the lamb she called Charm to the barn.



For the next few weeks it was Megan's job to visit Charm three times a day with a bottle of warm milk. When the holiday break was over she turned most of the feeding over to her mom and dad. Megan had to return to school.



She still feeds Charm and plays with her after school. Megan doesn't mind though for she loves the sounds and smells of the lambing barn. Lambing will soon be over and the barn would be empty until the next year.



Except for Charm and other babies like her who would find safety there until they are big enough to join the herd.





Glossary of Terms

Bum Lamb: (bum lamb)
A young lamb that has no mother.
• In this story Charm’s mother rejected her or refused to take care of her. Sometimes lambs become bums because their mother has too many lambs and not enough milk or because the mother has become ill or died.

Colostrum: (co•los•trum)
Milk secreted for a few days after the ewe gives birth and characterized by high protein and antibody content.
• Most lambs get this milk on their own when they drink from the mother. In this story Charm cannot get it by herself because the mother wouldn’t let her so she has to have help. If a new lamb doesn’t get some colostrum milk they can become very ill.


Encouraging: (en•cour•ag•ing)
Giving hope or promise
• In this story this word is used to say that the ewe is trying to get her new babies to stand up and walk so they can nurse and get the colostrum milk.

Ewe: (ewe)
The female of the sheep especially when mature.
• In this story the ewe is the mother sheep.

Iodine: (io•dine)
A tincture of iodine used especially as a topical antiseptic.
• In this story the iodine is medicine used to protect the lambs from getting an infection in their navels.

Jug: (jug)
Lambing jug or lambing pen – a small pen to confine ewes and newly born lambs.
Also: Jail or prison
• I never knew growing up why they called the small pen used to confine lambs a jug but when I was doing the research on the terms I wondered if a farmer somewhere thought it was like putting the sheep in jail.

Lambing Barn: (lamb•ing barn)
The barn set up to give the sheep a safe place to have their babies.

Milk Replacer: (milk re•place•er)
A special formula made for lambs that have to be bottle fed.




Navel: (na•vel)
A depression in the middle of the abdomen that marks the point of former attachment of the umbilical cord.
• In this story the navels of the lambs are unhealed cords that have to be trimmed and treated with medicine to keep the bacteria from making the lambs sick.

Pair: (pair)
Two corresponding things designed for use together
• In this story a pair is a mother sheep and her single baby.

Rhythmic: (rhyth•mic)
Marked by or moving in pronounced rhythm
• In this story this word is used to describe the feeling of the lamb’s heartbeat as repeating the same beat.





These are captions under photographs of real sheep I added to the end of the book.

This Mother is a Suffolk sheep. Her babies are born black but when they grow up their wool will be white. This kind of sheep is also known as a black faced sheep.







This Lamb is only a few hours old.






This is Lepa, a St. Croix sheep. Lepa is a hair sheep.