Wednesday, April 07, 2010

New horizons

When I got home late yesterday afternoon, it wasn't raining (for a change), so all the sheep got to go out on grass. The three ewes with lambs went into the wooded sheep lot together, once I got Barry to follow his mom. He was the only one who hadn't been out of the fold yet, so he was understandably intimidated by all that space. But once out in the lot, he was the friskiest of the four lambs, exploring and sproinging right out of my view finder with happy abandon!
Handsome Blake is more wary of humans than the other lambs, which isn't a bad quality if he is to remain a ram. He makes me work hard to get a decent photo of him. This morning I took a close look at him when I caught up all the lambs for head shots to document horn growth (or lack thereof); in spite of lacking all the obvious "tells," I do believe he is musket. His fleece is lighter near the skin than it is at the tips, and his tongue is pinker than it is brown.

Yesterday Inky kept her young sons close. This morning when I turned everyone out again, she wasn't as successful:Lamb races should begin soon!

When everyone went into the fold last night, I moved the sheep around. The ewes and lambs (including Katie) are together in the main space now. The yearling girls are in the "nursery pen," and Browning is in the corner where Inky was. He is sometimes rough on the other sheep so I don't trust him with lambs in close quarters, and Bronwen can be pretty pushy, too. By the time Katie lambs, the first four lambs will be much bigger and the yearlings can go back in the main group at night. What would I do to keep busy if I didn't have sheep to shuffle? :-)

That's it for now from . . .

11 comments:

Mama Mess said...

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful baby pics!

IsobelleGoLightly said...

Beautiful babies! I LOVE the sproinging photograph!

re'New said...

I love the word "sproing". Nothing better than baby sheep and calves this time of the year!

C-ingspots said...

That little unusually colored lamb is so adorable!!! I love the radical markings. If she's a girl, I'd call her Radical Ruby. :) I also love the sproing picture...such joy!! Very cute.

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

Oh your babies are so cute! Love all the green grass for the beautiful photos.

"sproinging" is the best!
:)

btw: that little solid single boy is just fantastic. It'll be interesting to see how his color plays out. Here's hoping he stays polled!

A :-) said...

OK - I think the cutest ones are Barry and Banjo. Couldn't you keep them? They are so unique!

WeekendFarmer said...

I cant believe ALL the grass that you have! Beautiful pics. Do you still need hay for them ...with all that pasture? Just wondering. I love the idea of a hay bag. Didnt know they existed! : )

OzWeaver said...

I'm enthralled by your baby lambs! How wonderful! Lovely Talia vest and BSJ! The colors of the BSJ are terrific, and I hope you get lots of enjoyment wearing your Talia vest!

Michelle said...

WeekendFarmer, I do still feed them hay, as the rich spring grass can cause grass tetani if they had unlimited access.

Thanks, OzWeaver! I wore my Talia yesterday for the first time and got lots of compliments on it.

Kathy said...

Such a nice post! I look forward to Lamb Races here as next week should start our lambing here. I'm sure the girls will lamb when the temps move from the 6os to the 40s as predicted.

Looks like a nice "crop" at Boulderneigh this year! Good onya!

thecrazysheeplady said...

Sproinging is a work only sheep people understand...and it's the only word that truly describes the fun. Cute, cute!