Getting to Know My New Flock

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 
John 10:27

Even the sweetest, tamest sheep do not automatically transfer their affections and trust to a new shepherd.  Bringing a new flock to Boston Lake means I need to gradually build a relationship with my sheep until they know me. 

Yesterday I started by putting a little dish of oatmeal on the ground and then sitting on a stool about 10 feet away.  Eventually, Amber and Mirta were curious enough to investigate and get the treat.  I spoke quietly to them the entire time they ate so they would associate my voice with good food.  Later in the evening, I strategically sat under the tree where the shade was the deepest and the biting flies were few.  The ewes came in from the pasture and laid down in the dirt under the tree with me.  Enough progress for one day.

Amber & Mirta

First thing this morning I put a tablespoon of oatmeal in 5 bowls and visited the ewes again.  They came forward but hung back with hesitation.  So I pulled down a basswood branch full of tender leaves they had not been able to reach.  Little Heidi galloped over to the leaves and started munching the treat.  Within a few minutes all the girls were crowded around me eating leaves and discovering the dishes of oatmeal.  Over lunch I pulled down a branch and the girls came running.  This evening, I even scratched Mirta, Amber, and Heidi on their throats for just a few seconds while they were busy vying for the best leaves. (Petting sheep from the underside is less threatening to them than petting from above like a predator.)  It will take a bit more time for these girls to trust me as they did their original shepherd, Kelly.  But I'm delighted that all the girls are willing to mill about my legs to get a treat.  Little Heidi even used me as a brace to stand on her hind legs to reach higher.

Amber, Holly, Mirta

Mirta & Leda

Heidi

Yet there is no vacuum in nature.  Last night a wolf was howling quite near, which set off a whole pack of high-pitched coyotes...also very near.  Wild animals are so intimately aware of their surroundings, irregardless of how oblivious humans are to their environment.  It is probably not a coincidence that both species of canine predator announced themselves 24 hours after the sheep arrived.  I'm relying on Lleulu and the Electronet to keep us all safe.