Rebuilding Our Flock

“Two boys. One choice.”

I began researching, thinking, and praying.

One little ram lamb was red and white and tiny and…Cho rejected him.

My friend quickly put him on a bottle, ensuring he received the much-needed colostrum and was protected from Cho’s very clear communication that she would not be raising him—it’s not uncommon for first-time sheep mamas to be overwhelmed at the prospect of caring for twins and to reject the smaller one.

The other little ram lamb was much bigger—a beautiful, sleek black with white socks on his back feet. Cho was taking great care of him.

They were both so adorable and it seemed impossible to choose.

As I reflected on our experience with Vlad and did more research, the choice became clearer. The black ram lamb was obviously bigger and stronger, and being raised by his mama made him far less likely to become aggressive like Vlad had. He was the obvious candidate for a future breeding ram.

I felt at peace with my choice—and still a little disappointed, because the red and white ram was adorable, too.

So, I researched a bit more.

Being bottle-fed meant he had a higher chance of becoming aggressive. Without naturally learning respect from his mama, he might one day see us as peers—something to challenge rather than to trust. Banding, however, would significantly reduce that risk. And I discovered something else: if the black lamb had a wether companion, it could also reduce his likelihood of becoming aggressive.

No way…could we really have them both?

So I talked to my husband. I explained what I’d read. I checked with my friend to see if she was planning to keep the one we didn’t choose…

And as it turned out—we could have both ram lambs.

What a beautiful bridge between our first flock and our second.

A breeding ram and a wether companion.

One we would pick up when he weaned in a few months…

…and one we could bring home the very next week.

Stay tuned for A Fresh Start, coming April 18.