Banded for Life

We’d brought Ron home…along with the unexpected addition of Hermione and Ginny. We were all set to welcome Harry home in a couple months.

But first, one important thing had to happen: banding Ron.

I had read quite a bit about the best way to render him a wether. Everyone seemed to agree that banding was safe and simple to do ourselves. And while everyone agreed it should be done as soon as possible, the exact timing? That was another story.

At birth!

No, at one week!

Eh, anywhere between one and two weeks.

Dude, as long as it’s before three months old, you’re fine.

Since we were bringing Ron home at ten days old, I figured we’d band him within a few days.

That is not what happened.

First, I brought home two newborn lambs. Then I learned that the CDT vaccine should be given at or before the time of banding.

So even though I’d already purchased the rudimentary banding tool—complete with one hundred bands (ha!)—we couldn’t move forward just yet.

Then came the week of panic attacks.

And that is how we found ourselves on the eve of my birthday, nearly two weeks after bringing Ron home, with him still unbanded.

So for my birthday, I made a simple request: the day before, we’d pick up the CDT vaccine, and the morning of my 39th birthday, we’d take care of a few things—fortify the sheep enclosure against the north wind and band Ron.

My husband and two oldest children woke up early, made a Lowe’s run for plywood, and grabbed breakfast on the way home. They measured twice, cut once, and installed the plywood on the north side of the enclosure.

Then it was time to catch Ron.

I picked him up and handed him to my husband, who held him securely in his lap while administering the CDT vaccine.

Then came the not-so-fun part.

We prepared the tool and band. My children and I gently kept Ron still, and a moment later, it was done.

My husband set him back on the ground, and Ron came straight to me with the saddest eyes. I apologized profusely, even as I reminded myself why we were doing this. We wanted to avoid repeating our experience with Vlad. A little pain now would, hopefully, mean less pain later.

We felt terrible. Ron was clearly uncomfortable for the first few hours. We gathered all three sheep into their enclosure with fresh water, feed, and hay, and gave him space to settle.

Then we left to celebrate my birthday properly—with bowling and a movie.

By the time we returned home, Ron was back to his old self…though admittedly, a bit more standoffish.

Fair, Ron. Totally fair.

And just like that, the hard part was over.

Stay tuned—A Time for Peace coming May 9.