reshuffled

My husband and I finally had a solid hour of time at home to get some much-needed chores done, which involved a whole lot of moving from here to there. We have given up on getting help from the boys. Their schedules are beyond packed with school, sports and socialization. The only reason we see them at this point is that they need to eat, and we insist that they do so with us at least once per day. It's not malicious on their part, just the state of their universes at the moment.

First up: get more hay to the back shed.

Yep, there's me, my shadow, and my trusty iphone.

Thirty bales: check. We won't quite make it to Christmas, but we will be close.

Second: pull the rams out of their fields.

There we are again.

Frustrated rams: check. They were none too happy with us.

Third: Put all the girls, bred ewes and ewe lambs, back together in one of the large pastures.

Done. The bred ewes weren't too happy, either, and spent quite a while sorting out the pecking order all over again. You can see them aaaallllll  the way in the back. Not like them to ignore a grain bucket like that. It must have been quite the discussion.

The closest I could zoom in; 

I didn't have time to walk back because we were still sorting out the rams.

I am not sure who prevailed, but my money is on our leader ewe Kevyn. She usually comes out on top. They were so busy fussing that they ignored the ewe lambs Marigold and Molly and their breakfast bucket of grain, used to lure them to the back pasture.

Fourth: Get the big boys reacquainted. This is always a tricky business.

The two of them are so mellow, and get along so well, that we contemplated just tossing them back into the other big field and letting them work it out. But the potential for harm is so great, with each one smelling like the ewes that he has just been with, that we decided to play it safe (mostly so I can sleep tonight) and put them in the sydell pen together.

Remember this pen? It is the same one that we use in the back of our truck to transport sheep. We get a ton of use out of it!

The close proximity means that they will smell like each other, and not a bunch of tantalizing ewes, in no time whatsoever. They were just pushing against each other when we first put them in; by the afternoon, they were more or less resigned to being together.

Tomorrow: our last shuffle. Mercer the ram lamb will go to Robin's to be put in with her ewes; he couldn't leave before now because we didn't have anyone to put his friend Monmouth in with. Sheep cannot be alone, the stress makes them sick. I am still not sure who Monmouth will be going in with. I may put him in the barn with these two, though not in the pen. There is a gated area that he can get into but the bigger rams can't, so he could escape if they are really picking on him. I can't wait until everyone is back together in a month or so. I am still not sure how we will reintroduce Mercer but I will cross that bridge when we come to it.