Pixie and her lambs are doing very well. They were let out of the lamb jug after three days. However, once they were in the maternity/nursery corral with Brownie, our other pregnant ewe, things got a little dicey. Brownie would ram the lambs if they were within two feet of her. At first Pixie seemed o.k. with this, then she got ticked off. She started to ram Brownie on her side. Well, at this point I couldn't take anymore, and I corraled Pixie and her lambs back up. I promptly called Tammy @ Fairlight Farm, my constant resource for sheep advice. It turns out, this behavior is very normal for Shetlands. Of all the things I have read about sheep care, this never came up. Apparently, most reading material is geared toward other, milder mannered sheep! Ha. So, anyhow... Tammy says so long as the lambs are old enough to be able to run back to their mama, they aren't cornered by the aggressive ewe, they will learn to stay with their mother. After a few days, or less in this case, they will calm down. Well, I decided to keep the trio in their corral for a few days and try again. HOWEVER, when I came home from my afternoon bus route Pixie had busted out of the corral. Both ewes and lambs seemed relaxed. Everyone now knows their place, and all is well. Tammy was right about something else too... it's probably a good thing I wasn't here to witness the reunion. I think watching the lambs get rammed is simply too much for me, even though it's a normal behavior and nobody was hurt. Look at them all just chillin'. BIG SIGH from this shepardess!
Brim, aka Houdini, is doing well. He's sweet, mild tempered, doesn't complain... and WILL NOT stay put! Since his leg first broke he has broken out of a large dog kennel, a garage, a bathroom, and an extra large dog run (which we bought just for his recovery)! The only thing that keeps him contained, henceforth immobile, is our sheep trailer. In an effort to ward off coyotes, we moved the trailer right next to the ewe/lamb corral so he can bark away predators at night. Pleeeease let that be enough. Brim's leg is healing well, at least now that he's officially confined. :) In 4 or 5 weeks we will be taking him back to surgeon for follow-up x-rays. Keep your paws and toes crossed!
Brownie's just getting bigger. Really Brownie, is that a cow calf in there?! Look at that waistline... If it's not twins we might be in trouble. Isn't she a pretty girl? I can't wait to see what we get. I've always thought her beautiful head looked like that of a deer. Tammy and I agree that we'll get either moorit (like Conway) or oatmeal color, like Brownie... spots are a possibility. I'll be glad when her babies are here, healthy and hale!
We had our gas tank moved today. It came with our house, and it was apparently made in the 50's. The tank's still in good shape, but the ground had settled. The tank had sunk to the ground's surface then rolled onto it's side. (Not a good thing, if you want your propane stable and your tank not to rust.) I thought it was pretty cool how they did it. Check out the contraption... it was pretty simple to move it with that thing. AND, it's now up off of the ground on blocks AND we had them move it so it's now perpendicular to house instead of parallel. We were thinking it would be less of an eyesore that way. We'd like to put up a little fence and have plants or ivy growing, but the sheep have other ideas in mind. So, it's a big improvement, and maybe we'll come up with a better plan.... like painting the tank to look like a big white fluffy sheep. Ha ha!
Happy Wednesday to all! I was gonna say "Hump Day", but does everyone get that reference? If not, well, they just might misunderstand me altogether! :)
