April 30, 2000
When one thinks of sheep, one doesn’t think in heroic terms. Sheep are incredible social animals and ewes in particular have tight bonds within their family units. Most will fight to protect their young and we’ve known ewes to mourn the lost of a lamb for days. We expect that from the majority of our ewes, both wool and hair.
What we don’t expect is this type of behavior toward newborn lambs by any of the males that run with the flock. At present, we have two wethers and a ram with the ewes, and it’s not expected to have any of these show any maternal instincts. But then again, there’s Whiz-Bang.
Whiz is Blackbelly Barbados, two years old, and the only wether we’ve ever planned on keeping, mainly because we raised him on the bottle (we both have a hard time eating something we’ve named and nurtured!) and he spent the first month of his life as a “house sheep!” He was moved to the barn when he could easily jump the baby-gate that kept him in the kitchen… he wanted to be with us (that bonding thing is very, very powerful) and would do anything to find us! Whiz has, since becoming the “bell sheep” of the flock, watched out for anything amiss and has been able to alert me when there’s problems. Last year, we discovered newborn lambs in the barn, but no mother claiming the twins. It was Whiz that let us know who the mother was and he helped me to bring her back into the jugs and get her settled down. We were thankful for his help and figured that he’s earned his keep for another year.
This year, Whiz has been great about helping the flock settle into their new environment and the new routine, and helping babysit a rather active and rambunctious group of lambs. After we made the move on April 21 with all the sheep, Whiz has stood guard and brought the ewes home when called. He’s also been a good friend who doesn’t contribute to the stress that this move has caused and is always willing to lend his kindness… did you know that the highest compliment a sheep can pay is to ruminate in your presence? Seriously!! The odor of regurgitated foodstuffs eaten by any sheep is rather, how shall I say this… AWFUL… but after the first couple of times, it’s really not all that awful!
On Easter Sunday, we discovered a ewe with twins in the grove behind the house and went to retrieve her and her babies. Of course, I never thought of searching the undergrowth for a third baby since both of these were nicely sized (the ewe isn’t very big) and vigorous. Whiz assisted, as he usually does and I didn’t pay any attention to his whereabouts the rest of the evening. For once, I really wasn’t paying attention to him like I should have… he stayed right in the mix of things getting that ewe brought to the barn and was headed back to grove immediately after I got the ewe and twins put away.
The next day brought about some odd behaviors in Whiz… he was in the grove, but not with the majority of the flock. Both of us noticed him that morning as we had coffee and both of us mentioned that it didn’t seem quite right, although that isn’t completely unusual since Whiz can be rather independent at times. When chore time rolled around, I headed to the barn and began to call the sheep to the barn. Whiz did come up, but had in tow a very tiny ewe lamb! He was protecting her, encouraging her, and doing his best to “mother” her!
Now I understand gender confusion, but even this was a bit much! We always knew that Whiz was the best babysitter in the flock, but he had gone above and beyond his usual abilities to something quite spectacular! The tiny baby (less than 4 lbs) was sticking as close to him as she could and he was talking to her and keeping the others well away from his new charge. I honestly think that had he the works to feed her, he would have been nursing her, too! Needless to say, he was not very happy with me for taking “his” baby away from him. He followed me to the barn, talking to this little infant, trying to “head me off” to not take her away, and pounded on the door when I didn’t allow him in with the newest moms and their babies, and continued to call for “his” baby for quite sometime afterward.
We’ve since named Whiz’s baby girl Lily and she’s
quite the addition to our house family!
Not
surprising, her mother wanted nothing to do with her. We suspect that she
was probably first born and the smallest. Her mother most likely hid her
and walked away to deliver the other two sisters, then promptly forgot
where this little package was hidden. It happens, but it’s sure
frustrating for us as shepherds. She’s doing extremely well as a
bottle baby, living in the bathroom most of the time (it’s a very
good excuse to keep our bathroom floor scrubbed everyday!) and has her
outings with us in the kitchen. We both have to admit that it’s a
rare “conversation” in the early mornings… having that
little bitty nose searching the side of a leg as we take care of our own
morning “duty” is a real eye-opener!
She is learning to knock on the bathroom door when she hears our voices and to insistent about being with us! Lily did discover that she can get good traction on the dining room rug, but that’s not going to become her normal playpen! I’ve included photos of Lily, some with me and her companions, Annie (the Tabby-cat) and Pearlie Mae (the Blue long-hair). We tried in vain to capture her ballerina antics with the camera, but sadly failed. She’s learning to jump sideways and to pounce on Annie or Pearlie with no provocation. Thank goodness these two cats are kind natured and both are quite gentle with her!!
We do know that without Whiz, this tiny baby
would not have survived and he’s earned his keep ten-fold by his
exceptional devotion to “his” kids! I think that when the large
end of the flock goes to pasture, I’m going to let Whiz stay with the
youngest group of lambs. Knowing that he’ll be watching them helps to
give us a sense of peace in our new location and I know that he’ll “tell”
me if something isn’t right with his world. I’m very proud of
him and his place within our flock… to me, he’s heroic in the
true sense of the word. He was ready to do battle with our Irish Wolfhound
(completely out of character since Whiz was raised with Wolf, having never
shown fear of this huge dog!) and to fiercely protect her against all
comers, yet he was gentle, attentive, and nurturing to our new little
Lily.
I think we can learn something from creatures like Whiz… we all need a hero in our lives, someone to emulate and create a sense of pride in our lives. For us, right now, that hero is a funny looking sheep named Whiz-Bang!
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact us!
Until later,
Linda
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