This content was published: February 19, 1999. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Lambing Underway at PCC Rock Creek Barn
Photos and story by James Hill
Photo: Terry Lookabill, PCC Rock Creek farm coordinator, bottle feeds a new arrival. Lambing at the Rock Creek barn will take place throughout the month of February.
Warning! Seeing newborn lambs at the Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus induces cooing and may cause incessant baby talk.
That’s right, they are baaaaaahk! As many as 36 little lambs are expected to be born by the end of February at the Rock Creek Campus Barn, 17705 N.W. Springville Road. Lambing, the process of birthing the animals, has taken place at PCC Rock Creek since the campus opened in the mid-1970s, according to Terry Lookabill, farm and greenhouse coordinator for Rock Creek.
Lookabill said each year in February he and his wife, Patty, are up all hours of the night, delivering lambs into the world and feeding the little ones who’ve already made it. Home for Terry and Patty is a little red house next to the barn.
"There is nothing like walking out to the barn at two in the morning to feed a crying lamb," said Lookabill, with the grumble of a tired dad. "I get pretty rummy by the afternoon, like a zombie."
Through the efforts of Lookabill and the 18 busy ewes in the barn, PCC Veterinary Technology students have the opportunity to learn. Students practice how to handle and vaccinate livestock in classes such as "Animal Nursing and Restraint" offered through the Vet Tech program for first-year students.
"Giving shots and handling these animals is something that they really need to practice," Lookabill added.
As busy as Lookabill is this February, next February could be busier. The number of ewes expected to give birth next year will rise from 18 to 26, meaning about 56 little ones will wake him up in the middle of the night looking for food and a little TLC.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »