Last winter we took all 3 to a neighbour's croft where they were to meet and get to know a handsome fella who would see them right!
As we're not modern or rich enough to scan our ewes, we have just had to be patient and wait to see what nature brings. Yesterday nature was early!
My shepherdess friend had messaged me to say to watch out how much we are feeding the sheep as they are looking pretty fat and this can lead to birth complications. I went up to the field in the afternoon to separate the sheep from the goats and the brightest whitest little darling scampered down to the gate along with our 3 sheep! Adorable, and just so easily and suddenly arrived!
I moved him and Mum into a maternity shed I had luckily been preparing early and left them alone to carry on bonding, have a feed and rest a bit. (I remember how it feels to have just given birth, even withour the tea, jam and toast, it must be similar!) They got on just fine – phew! No dramas!
But here is the conundrum – when our shepherdess popped by for a look, she pulled us up on the details. Her ram is a cheviot, our ewe is a cheviot and yet the lamb has a black face.... it seems the Dad was not her ram after all...
Our next door neighbour has a collection of rams that he overwinters near the house, on the other side of our fence. I can't remember a day when they got in to our side – they are huge old men with enormous curly horns – not the fence hopping kind.
But there had been a day that would explain it. Mark and I had been standing at the kitchen window looking at some sheep out on the road and wondering whose they were. Then we recognised them as our own! Very unusual that they would break out, but as we went over to call them back in, I'm sure I saw one of them blow a kiss to the next door rams! Ewes are known to go to the men when the time is right and it would explain why when we took all 3 to our arranged ram, he only fancied one of them – the other 2 were already in lamb and he knew to save his energy.
So now we are waiting for Shouty – who is enormous - to lamb in the next day, we suppose. Then we will have some time to catch up before our final ewe gives birth on what had been the planned date in April.
Thank goodness the sun is shining – I'm sure it has also had a hand to play in pinging the egg timer.
