The Oregon State University Sheep Center won’t be open to the public for lambing this spring, but Corvallisites looking forward to the annual arrival of the University’s lambs need not be discouraged. February’s lambing event will be closed to the public due to some important new renovations and updates to the Sheep Center. Not only will the center make lamb-related media available online this year—namely videos accessible from home at any time during the season—but future public lambing events could include a wider variety of the campus’ newest arrivals.
The OSU Sheep Center is currently home to 85 expecting ewes, with another nine from OSU’s Sheep Club. Because giving birth to twins is fairly common for sheep, the center is anticipating the arrival of well over 100 new lambs. While the details of the process are still in the works, OSU’s Media Center has expressed interest in working together with the Sheep Center to produce high-quality, informative—not to mention unbearably cute—videos for all who are interested in lambing this year.
In coming seasons, John Killefer, head of the department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, and Mary Meaker, OSU’s new manager of the Sheep Center and modern-day shepherdess, hope to expand the event to potentially include piglets and calves, and new structures on campus could help make this possible. If you’ve driven down 35th Street near OSU, you’ve probably glimpsed the construction of a large new barn near Campus Way. The building will be mainly dedicated to teaching, with classrooms and laboratories, but the large arena may make a perfect home for public lambing—and maybe piglet and calf events—in future spring seasons.
For more information about OSU’s Sheep Center and lambing events, visit http://ans.oregonstate.edu/?q=features/sheep-center. And keep an eye out for lambing video and media updates here and on the Corvallis Advocate website, http://www.corvallisadvocate.com.
by Genevieve Weber
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