i like ike

mixing up 9 bottles a day

For seven weeks now, my kitchen counter has looked like this. The whole corner of the room carries the distinct odor of milk replacer (for sheep), which smells a lot like baby formula but does not taste anything like baby formula, trust me. 

Ike's father, Ramsey, was a looker,

however, he was not to be trusted

We still have 4 lambs on the bottle. Three are to be weaned soon. The one baby we will continue to bottlefeed for awhile is named Ike. Ike is a hair sheep, Barbados by breed. These sheep have hair rather than wool, so you don't shear them. They look a lot like mountain goats or deer but not much like sheep. Full grown males have big, beautiful curling horns. Ike's father, pictured above, had fabulous horns. He was sold in the fall due to his frequent attempts to knock me down with his big head. 

our little darling, Ike

 

Ike is the friendliest, loviest little guy. On the night he was born, we found him shivering in the cold, wet mud, this weak, tiny lamb who couldn't walk. Less than two hours old, his sisters were already running around the pasture and nursing. Lambs drink their mother's milk standing up, so Ike didn't have a chance out there. We brought the little guy into the house and tried the bottle. His legs were noodly, they just didn't work at all. We consulted the vet, who thought we should give it a try, keep feeding him and see if he was able to gather up some strength. Amazingly, that's just what he did. After only 2 days he was on his feet, wibbly wobbly, but standing. Ike lived in our mudroom for well over a month, and is now in the pasture with the rest. He has been neutered for the future safety of people.

Sometimes, we put him on a leash and take  him for a walk down the road. Annika says, as if to convince herself, "This is perfectly normal, taking your sheep for a walk, perfectly normal."