In the Beginning

With the arrival of our three little lambs, came a complete upheaval of our routines. Suddenly, we were bottle-feeding three lambs three times a day. I quickly learned to throw my overalls on over whatever I was wearing, shove a washcloth in my pocket, and slip on my muck boots as I headed out the back door with three dollar-store baby bottles—filled with milk replacer—in hand.

I would tromp across the narrow strip of land between our house and our detached garage, circle around the carport, and head for the door of our little Sheep Shed. As soon as those three babies heard me coming, they would clumsily scramble to their feet and the baa-ing would begin.

To say they loved their milk is an understatement.

The moment I opened the door, they would come gleefully sprinting out, immediately bumping the bottles with their noses. As soon as I flipped a bottle upside down, they would bump it several times before finally latching on and going to town, chugging the 9oz as fast as they could. Milk foamed around their mouths, which they would promptly wipe on you if given the chance–thus the overalls and the pocket washcloth.

Admittedly, there was a bit of a learning curve to feeding three bottles to three lambs all at the same time with only two hands. Somehow I managed it—though I was often grateful for extra helping hands–until they grew bigger and their boisterous bumping made it impossible to hold on to all three bottles at once. At that point, those extra helping hands became a necessity!

We learned to check their poop for signs of parasites and their eyelids for signs of anemia. They learned, very quickly, to stick together and to follow my family and me all around our property. They made circles around the house, their baa-ing drifting through the open windows. They were curious about our ducks and chickens and cats. The cats, for their part, were equally curious about the lambs.

Our three lambs grew so fast.

Soon, Cho and Luna were reluctantly weaned from their bottles, and a few weeks after that, Vlad joined them. Mornings were their most energetic time. They would run in wild loops around the yard, leaping as they went.

We slowly settled into new rhythms. Each morning, one or more of us would make the rounds—letting the lambs and our birds out of their respective pens to free range, filling waterers, and checking feed levels as needed. Each evening we made the rounds again, putting everyone up for the night, ensuring water, hay, and feed were available, and securing all latches.

As summer turned to fall, we began preparing for winter. We made sure heat lamps and extension cords were ready in case of cold weather. We stocked up on hay for additional feed as the grass dried up and straw for warmer bedding. We continued to clean out and refill waterers again and again, the ritual both calming and exhausting.

As they continued to grow and their teenage hormones hit, Vlad began pushing us with his head. At first it was playful, harmless. But soon he pushed harder and we realized we couldn’t let our youngest be outside alone anymore when the sheep were out.

As the months passed, life with Vlad, Cho, and Luna settled into a rhythm—but the challenges grew right along with them. We learned quickly and sometimes stumbled awkwardly through our first year with them, thinking we were starting to figure things out. We would soon discover that greater challenges lay ahead.

Next Up: The Turn.