Jetta's 2008 lamb

[altivo]

Jetta's 2008 lamb
Originally uploaded by Altivo

Here he is, a week old now. The reddish tinge in the photo is from the heat lamps over the far end of the pen. He and his mom should be going back out with the flock this weekend I hope.

This one is amazingly quiet, but otherwise curious and alert. His mother and siblings have always been the loudest ones in our sheep chorus, demanding food and attention vocally all the time. Neither of us have heard this little guy make more than a single soft "baaaah."

He doesn't have a name yet. I proposed "Wetherby" and Gary countered with "Stormy Wether" but no firm decision has been made.

Comments

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*grins* I vote for Stormy but then again I am biased towards the name. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

He doesn't have a very stormy disposition though, or at least not yet.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

Heh. So are you trying to say that I do? ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No. But I wasn't responsible for giving you that name either. ;p

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Sweet. :)

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I like Wetherby..but that's cuz I live near it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I kinda like that one too.

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, they come pre-shaved. *licks chops* :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Bite your tongue, wuff. ;p

Actually our lambs are quite woolly at birth. They are all at least half Southdown (this one is 3/4) and Southdowns are noted for their woolly faces and legs.

If you're really hungry, I have a couple of larger ones you could take and I wouldn't miss them. But no stealing the babies, they're too cute.

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

Here's a bit of trivia that you'll find interesting. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You're right, I'd never heard of that one. Does that mean if you plant them next to your carnivorous plants they'll get eaten?

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

Yes. By me.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Better you than me. I don't even like the smell of lamb. The idea of eating it is just eeewww.

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

I like Lamb in gyros and kabobs. :)

Never had it by itself ... with mint sauce. :)

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Will he remain black? Name him Black Ice.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

His mom was black when she was born and we named her Jetta for "jet black." As you can see, she has faded a whole lot. In fact, of all our black sheep, she is now the palest, almost white.

Otherwise, Black Ice would be cute.

Except for Salt and Jetta, though, all the sheep born here have names that include puns, like Ewe-Dora, Ram-Bo, and She-Bah. Hence the proposed names with "wether" in them. ;p

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

A little reference to William Gibson?

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I wasn't being that clever. I am familiar with Gibson's Black Ice, but I was really refering to the harsh Winter, and altivo's frozen barn yard, as the road condition.

[jairus-greywolf.livejournal.com]

Mmm! lamb chops... ;-)

I bet he wishes he had a little more wool in this weather.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Actually they do very well in weather much colder than this. The first year we had sheep, our first lambs were born on a night when the temperature was -10F. Twins, a white boy and a black girl, both did very well.

Wind chill is a factor and we much prefer to make sure the ewes are in some kind of shelter from the wind when they give birth, but the lambs have enough wool to keep them quite warm. Imagine having a half inch thick sweater all over your body and you'll get the picture. Mom has one more like four inches thick right now so she's toasty, which means you get hot milk to drink for every meal too. Coyotes and dogs are a bigger threat to lambs than mere cold weather can be.

As for lamb chops, they just aren't for me. I really seriously dislike lamb. Wool, on the other hand, is quite useful.

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

So he doesn't behave like the rest of the sheep? He's kind of the black sheep of the family, eh?

Okay, I know that was silly..

I like Wetherby, myself.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Maybe the gray sheep, actually. The one who fades into the background, literally.

Sheep have a "graying" gene like the one that turns black percherons into grays, and his mom has it. Quite possible that he does, too.

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

In that case, call him "Fade" ;) Or "Wetherby" sounds all right to. Congrats BTW

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks, but no congratulations needed on nature doing what it does. ;p

I'm being overrun by platy fish and sheep here in fact, and I'm ready to give either away to good homes.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

*pets the little guy nice*

Go with Wetherby.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

How about Wether R. Knot? ;p

[dragon-moon.livejournal.com]

Awww, he is adorable! They are both cute names. ^___^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Wetherby it is, though he's not a wether yet...

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Awww lookit the lil fellow, quiet but curious and alert ay? That's the way all kids should be :)

(checking all the posts he's missed)