We have lambs! In past years, we have had dozens of them racing around the place, but this year we only put two ewes with the ram. When we started, the flock numbered twenty-six, so we bred all of them. Now we are up to nearer fifty, there’s not so much spare space.
At the start of the month, a mere few days after the theoretical first date, Yum-Yum produced twins rams just after dawn. We had barely decided on naming them Mikado and Poo-Baa when around lunch time, Diamond showed the signs, producing a lovely ewe-lamb mid-afternoon, now known as Fullerene. The thing is, even when only waiting for a few ewes, lambing can mean weeks of poor sleep and regular checking until the last one pops. This year, it was all over in a day.
The closely-grouped lambing is not only good for us, it works well for the lambs as well. When we had a dozen or so lambs being born, the spread of ages was not such an issue, but we have had years with only a handful where they might be born weeks apart. It may not sound much, but in terms of social interaction, one week and two week old lambs are very different. With all three of this years crop born on the same day they have literally grown up together and rapidly bonded into a “lamb flock”.
The close relationship between the lambs is good for them (a solid companionship of mischief) and good for us, since they hang out together they are easily found to check they’re well. It’s not so good for the ewes, since all three conspire closely to defy maternal authority. Once again, we hear the strident BAAAA! that loosely translates into human: come here you little *****.
One of our new arrivals also fills a vacancy in the flock. A few months back we lost our oldest ewe, Cilla the black sheep, who turned her hooves up at the age of seventeen and three-quarters. She was the only pure black in the flock, although she had faded to brown as she got older. Now we have a replacement. Not Yum-Yum’s Poo-Baa, who is a perfectly standard dark mouflon Soay – dark brown on top, pale-to-white under the belly – but the other ram, Mikado, who is black, a perfect, pure and crisp black and a welcome addition. He’s not a replacement for his great-grandmother Cilla, who was ever an amiable, unique and highly memorable personality in the flock. Whatever his underlying nature, Mikado is a ram and therefore destined (for at least the breeding season) to be an awkward, testosterone-fuelled pain in the backside, but at least we still have a black sheep in the family.
Mark-Huntley-James 