An update from the paddock

Exciting sheep news...  

I was moving the sheep yesterday into the next hill paddock.  This can take a bit of time with all the lambs running around, and not necessarily following the mob.



I keep the dogs away and let them move on their own so they don't get stressed.

The ewes are keen to get at the fresh grass but go and round up their young ones after a few mouth-fulls.
  

The lambs get excited and start hopping and skipping around in groups, but eventually everyone finds who they should be with.

I had one ewe hanging back in the old paddock.  I thought she must have a new lamb so left her till last.  When I got near I saw she had triplets.  This is the first time I have had triplets so it was very exciting.  She is an excellent experienced mother who is very friendly and calm and she was keeping track of all three when she moved them to the gate.  

You can sometimes end up with an orphan when you have triplets because they have trouble feeding 3 but I think she will do OK.  I will be keeping a close eye on her.

Linking to Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop

The matriarchs of the sheep flock

My two favorite old girls.

The two oldest girls in the flock have had their lambs.  They are wonderful mothers and produce one lamb each every year.

 Chloe is the oldest.  She was born in 2002 so is turning 11 this year.  That's a great age for a ewe.  Normally you would only keep them until they are about five or six so you can have the younger replacements coming through.  Chloe was bottle fed after being rescued by my daughter, who had spotted her alone in the paddock.  She's starting to look a bit old and has earned her retirement, but against my advice she got friendly with the rams and has just had her 9th lamb.

Chloe has a big deep voice and is easy to find amongst the other 100 ewes.

Molly is the second oldest ewe at 8 years old.  She was also abandoned at a few days old.  We had quite a job catching her at first as she could run like the wind from early on.  She was bottle feed and grew up to be the friendliest sheep ever.
  

She is always first through the gate and leads the other sheep wherever I want them to go.  Molly started lambing early - at 1 year old - which is like being a teenage mother.  She has had 7 lambs so far and has looked after them all well.

Molly is always ready for a head rub or neck scratch but Chloe only comes up for a pat if she's in the mood.   I hope they both carry on being fit and well for a few more years yet. 

Linking to Home Acre Hop