Rogue

Rogue arrived on Wednesday -- a little black ewe lamb whose ma-a-a is a first-time mother. Many beginning mothers figure things out right away. This ewe, Petra, unfortunately did not. When Dierdre and I entered the barn and found mother and daughter, Petra fled from the dog, leaving Rogue alone. Not what a shepherd wants to see. Mothers should defend their young.

The lamb was dry and seemed to have nursed, but I wasn't sure. Petra went off to dine with the other sheep, leaving Rogue alone again. Before I went in that night, I wrestled Petra and made her let Rogue nurse. I did the same the next morning.

When I got home from work, I was quite concerned that the baby wasn't eating, at least not regularly. I found Petra socializing with the other sheep and Rogue alone in the barn. I decided I better pen them together. I made an enclosure using some chain-link gates. I coerced Petra inside and plunked Rogue in with her. I made sure she nursed again, as well.

Let me digress about the wonderful usefulness of chain-link gates. Someone gave a dozen gates to a friend of mine a few years ago, and he gave me three of them. They're 3' high x 4' long. I've used them as wool drying racks, to enclose part of the shearing enclosure, and as portable pens. Moveable, strong, and sheep-proof, they're incredibly handy to have around.

Petra has finally figured out the mothering thing. Rogue looks well-fed now. I'm going to leave them together in the stall until tomorrow, though, just to make sure Petra understands this ewe-lamb relationship is ongoing.

I don't have any pictures yet but will soon. So in the meantime I decided to include two pictures of Dierdre. It's been raining for a couple of days, and there is a lot of mud near the barn. Dierdre takes her job seriously, which means she braves all weather. Wow, is she wet and muddy.

I had to buy and unload some hay this afternoon, despite the rain. Dierdre, as always, kept me company. We were both drenched by the time I finished. We came in the house, and I changed clothes. I couldn't figure out why I still smelled like a wet barn until I looked down and saw Dierdre standing next to me. Hmmm, the source of the odor. I cleaned and dried her as well as I could. The "wet" picture is the result. The second photo is what she usually looks like.