I posted a while back that the Babydolls (Olde English Southdown Sheep) were coming. They’ve actually been here a while, but a couple weeks into their arrival, we also got a dairy cow and her three-month-old heifer calf, so we’ve been too busy to post about the cute little sheep.

We picked them up in the SUV for a two-hour ride home. The back of the SUV sounded like we kidnapped Stevie Nicks. (music joke.) It also smelled like a barn and took about a month to get the smell out. (insert crosseyed emoji here) Helpful Hint: if you move animals in your car, lay down lots of plastic, then more plastic, then tarps, and maybe some towels. Don’t forget the plastic. They will poop and pee right onto your carpet and upholstery.

They’ve been doing very well, even though they were displaced from their new pasture after a couple weeks, so they wouldn’t scare the new heifer calf. They were moved to the back yard which they didn’t seem to mind, but they like to play with the wheelbarrow and the Adirondack chairs, so they’ve been a little messy. Since everyone has been here over a month now, I think we’ll put them all back in the same pasture very soon.

Ayla is 17 months old. Her mother is Flora (who didn’t come to the farm). Ayla had a sneaky encounter with a ram when she was 7 months old and no one realized she was pregnant until she was sheered in the spring. She had Coco a week later. Poor little girl. That’s just too young to become a momma.

Coco is Ayla’s baby and is 4 months old and is now a wether (that’s a castrated ram). We wanted to keep him but didn’t want any lambs from him, so we decided to let him stay with his momma and he can hang out with the coming ram when needed. If you don’t know sheep, they don’t like to be alone, so if you have a ram and don’t want lambs, you not only need to separate the ram in the fall, but you also need a friend for him. Coco will be a good little friend. Note: If you have ewes that are too young to breed, you need a separate place for them too, so accidents don’t happen. Yes, raising sheep requires fencing.

Bluebelle is 5 months old. Her mother is also Flora, so Ayla is her big sister and Coco is her …nephew? Sure, that sounds right. Bluebelle was bottle raised, so she’s super friendly. She also thinks she’s a cat, stepping in front of you at every turn. She’s definitely a tripping hazard.

With all we have going on this year, we opted to not get a ram until 2024. Bluebelle is too young this year anyway. So, we will expect lambs from Ayla and Bluebelle in spring of 2025. I’m already anticipating cuteness overload!

For you sheep people:

Tin Stone Ayla was twin born on 4/13/22 and is registered OEBMSSR, Dam is Flora and Sire is Ace.

Tin Stone Bluebelle was twin born on 3/4/23 and is registered OEBMSSR, Dam is Flora and Sire is Pitch.

Coco was single born on 4/16/23, is a wether, and is not registered, Dam is Ayla and Sire is Pitch.