A Frightful Halloween (& A Regularly Scheduled Blog Post)

 When I went out to the barn this morning, found Sassy and Marble (ewes) in with the wethers and rams.  Then I noticed that Yeti, Peat, Spruce (wethers), and Oregano (ram) were missing.  I easily found them--with the not-being-bred-right-now ewes, including Henrietta (didn't I just say I wanted to keep her away from the rams!?!?!) and the ewe lambs (a.k.a. Oregano's sisters).  The gate between the two sections was closed, and none of the dividers were knocked down.  What happened is a bit of a mystery.

Marble, Yeti, and Peat were easy enough to move.  More than a little freaked out and ready to go back "home," they all walked through the gate with minimal help from me.  I caught Sassy, but Clove (ram) didn't want to let her go and he ripped my shirt with his horn.  One of my helpers grabbed him so he couldn't do any more damage.

Taking a ram away from ewes during breeding season?  Not fun. I wouldn't have attempted it this morning with a larger or more ill-tempered ram.  I went into the ewe section to catch Oregano.  Oregano came near me before both of my helpers were ready.  I grabbed him and held on.  It's been much worse (Mimosa, although one of the smallest sheep gets those honors), and no one is hurt.  But we didn't want to go through it again, so Spruce (wether) is staying in with the ewes today. 

Being that it's breeding season, there will be some unplanned pregnancies. At least anyone who is expecting be due in March, along with quite a few of the others, and not in July.

Back to the regularly scheduled blog post...

The newest lambs, Parsley and Tarragon, are learning about peanuts.  Parsley is a big fan, and Tarragon, although interested, is not sure if he wants to be pushed around by the bigger ewes.

Tarragon

Parsley & Hazel waiting in the snack line.

Cinnamon is a big fan of peanuts.  She's a big fan of any kind of food.  She squeezes into the creep feeder with Parsley and Tarragon every morning but can't seem to squeeze back out.  I've also seen her trying to nurse from her mother Elsie as recently as this week!

Cinnamon's pudgy belly hanging below her sheep coat.

Compare to Vanilla, her twin sister, who is wearing the same size.

Cinnamon doesn't quite fit in with the rest of her family. Elsie's offspring are alert...Then there's Cinnamon, who's more interested in eating. 

Sassy, Elsie, Vanilla, & Cinnamon

Barack O'Llama is enjoying his last week of being seven.  He'll be eight next week!