This week I have gotten the chance to get to know my new girls better. They have their old names Auntie, Mama and Baby which will need to be replaced since I have so many mamas, aunties and babies in my flock- but more on that later.
The beautiful girl to the left is Auntie. She’s the one with a little entropia (bottom eyelid sometimes rolls in on the eyeball slightly) in her right eye as you can see. She is the most skittish of the three. The other two will approach me even if I don’t have food and are just less jumpy around me in general. When I put their dinner in the shed each night Mama and Baby will come in while I’m there and start eating. Auntie will wait till I’m far away from the entrance then race past me and slide across the wood porch, scrambling hooves flying, till she’s safely inside. I’m not worried though – some of the sheep I’m closest with in my original flock were ones that were super spooky and took a long time to win over. The shy ones are worth the patience it takes to make them feel comfortable.
Here is Baby. Not the greatest photo but she has the longest bangs so it’s hard to see her eyes all the time. I will have to post another photo after the shearer is here. This girl is so sweet and tries to be very brave around me. She sticks closely to her mother at all times and is just another reminder to me that animal families often want to be near each other and not separated. She has started baaing more to my sheep so I’m looking forward to getting her in with the flock where she can make new friends. At two years old she is my youngest member of the flock now.
The bottom photo is of Mama, leader of the tiny pack. She is the most demanding, baaing when she sees me or when she feels dinner should be served. The other two take their cues from her. If she is alert they become alert. If she is calm and interested they relax. She is a protective mother even now as I learned when the vet came out. While were trimming Baby’s hooves she was distress baaing and Mama came over and checked in with her. Mama came from across the pen (where she was trying to stay away from us) to touch Baby’s nose and stand nearby. It was very touching.
They still need names and I think I will be asking for your help on that topic in the upcoming newsletter. I need three related female names for these three girls and the entry that wins will be given a gift certificate for the website. So sign up for the newsletter on this site if you haven’t already. It goes out once a month sometime during the first week. I will keep you posted to what new names win out.
