Easter lamb

[altivo]

No, I don't mean one of those cakes shaped like a sheep. Nor a molded lump of butter, either.

While busily preparing the house for dinner guests due to arrive in an hour, we discovered that another lamb had been born, in the outdoor pen and completely unexpected. This one is a little white ram, and his mom is two year old Jetta, who was not the best mother to her little ewe lamb last year. However, she is fiercely protective of this little guy, who was already trying hard to nurse when we found him. Total disruption of the day's plans? Well not entirely, but it did throw us off schedule. Gary is preparing a second makeshift lamb jug by using Dawn's temporarily vacant stall. I can't wait to see and hear Tess' comments when she comes back in from the pasture in a couple of hours and finds she has sheep for next door neighbors again, something she hasn't had to put up with since before Dawn was born.

Fortunately dinner was already prepared except for the main course. And the guests haven't yet arrived...

Pictures as soon as I have some, and those of you who wonder why I didn't appear online this afternoon now know why. ;)

Comments

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Bah, some priorities you have. ;)

Poor Tess.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, she did spend some time peering over the partition at them and snorting a bit, but I didn't hear any demands for new quarters yet.

[animist.livejournal.com]

I love hearing about life on the farm! It sounds like a lot of work, but it's also really cool that there's so much going on with the animals there. Happy Easter!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Compared with the horses or the dogs, the sheep are relatively easy to maintain. This makes nine, though, which is too many. The wool will be piling up faster than I can do anything with it. Fortunately, three will go to a new home soon, keeping our numbers even.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Eek, you have sheeplings popping out of your ears now!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Not precisely where they pop out of, but yes, you have the picture.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I hope the older sisters don't tease their little brother too much... you know how older sisters can be.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Only by reputation. I had an older brother, but my sisters were much younger than I. The real trouble makers, in our experience, are the old maid aunties who have no lamb of their own in the current year.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

I didn't have an older sister either, just a younger one. (Almost two, but that's a long and not really sad story.) So I'm just guessing what older sisters can do.

What do the old maid auntie ewes do to cause trouble?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They can be quite aggressive about chasing lambs away from food, or away from the flock at times. The evolutionary advantage of this is mysterious, if there is one. Normally the lamb's own mother will stand up for them and put the auntie in her place. But sheep have pecking orders too, so the "top ewe" can be hard to face down.