The Rams Are Out

The rams are out...not escaped, but have now joined the flerd and are out with the ewes.

 

At first, all three rams gingerly walked through the gate, more interested in eating fresh grass than in finding the females of their kind.  But, as soon as they walked within eye shot of the ewes, interest piqued.

They quickly moved within inches of the electric fence waiting on the flerd to be moved into their pasture.  Cows, calves, donkey, and ewes stepped slowly into the fresh grass.  Within seconds, the sheep were  a bit restless.  Male sheep...what to do?  The cows, calves, and donkey immediately settled to chowing down.  Big deal...three more sheep.

Winky, the older ram, did not waste any time and got right to his intended task.  With 70 ewes, I felt he was going to be worn out by the end of the day.  He and Blinky and Nod have 60 days to complete their mission - breed all 70 ewes, but they do not know that - like they say, no time like the present...

The two buck lambs ran around chasing the ewes, tails swirling around as they moved.  First one direction, then another.  The ewes were not particularly receptive to these young bucks, but the bucks looked extremely happy.

Soon, the entire flerd was calm and content.  Winky and the younger bucks would perform in due time.

We were told that young ewes produce one lamb, while older ewes typically have twins per year.   So, we are expecting about 100 lambs during our first lambing season (April/May  2012).

Whether we will be trying to get to sleep or not, we will be counting a lot of sheep!