Joining the Flock

All sheep that are brought in to Boston Lake Farm spend 2-4 weeks in quarantine. It's a good idea to do that, of course. But sometimes the reason for such an extended stay in isolation is because it takes me that long to get the more permanent accommodations ready. Or I didn't get the new sheep de-wormed the day they arrived so they have to wait longer than the 14 days it takes to worm them a second time.

Well...Anna Belle is the exception. I didn't get her de-wormed until a bit more than a day ago. And she has only been in confinement for 7 days. And I put her in with the rest of the ewe flock this evening.

I could make up excuses...She was lonely. (She actually was baaing a lot.) But the truth is that I had so much to deal with on other levels that I just wanted her to be with the flock so I didn't have as many water pails and hay feedings to carry in different directions. I already have a ram pen, a ewe pen, and then the other ram pen...

I don't expect any problems. Clancy and I have been inspecting Anna Belle's "just weaned" udder, and her feet and her general health for the past several days and she is doing well. I moved the whole flock to a new location minutes before I added Anna Belle so the girls were too busy ransacking the new forage to get uptight about the new sheep. And the ground they are on probably will not be used again until next year so I'm not too worried about worms. Maybe I should be. But today I just can't muster the fret. (More later)

So anyway-Anna Belle had to parade right past the ram pen and I swear they were yelling "Hey Baby!" (She led in hand like a pro, by the way. Someone must have put some time in there or she really is one of those angel sheep.) By the time she got to the ewe paddock she was thinking more about boys than girls...she checked all the ewes out and decided none of them had the equipment she was expecting and then she got busy eating the new pasture. It was almost dark by then, so I'm hoping that the flock goes easy on her.

Even with my niggling guilt of not keeping her isolated for another week, it was nice to see her get out into the pasture. I'm sure she is happier out there too.