The Soay Sheep Chronicles

I have such mixed feelings about Patterdale, our first and only bottle baby.  She seemed so vulnerable when she first arrived and then as she started to grow in our breakfast nook, yattering away to be sure we knew she was there and needed milk — all the time.   Both Steve and I had to resist the urge to smother her with attention, lest she get too attached to us.

We need not have worried.

These days, Patterdale hangs out with the friends she made in the Nursery when she first moved outdoors:  Sedgwick and his mom Yalo, and Milburn and his mom Catalaya.  We are relieved that she does not cling to us, or pay any attention to us at all, truth to tell, except when she wants milk.  Yalo and Catalaya will not let her nurse, of course, but Patterdale beds down with one or both of them nearby.  It is a surprisingly endearing family group scene for “just” sheep.

During the day, Patterdale is one of the crowd, exploring the hay feeders, running in and out of the creep feeder,

and generally learning the only skill — eating adult food — she will need until the Ancient Rituals — breeding and lambing — kick in.

But back to milk.  Notwithstanding her increasing independence, all it takes is a ring of the dinner bell hanging on a nail, or simply calling Patterdale’s name, and she comes racing over from whatever games or other mischief she’s gotten into with her lamb colleagues.

It is not very often I allow Steve to act as the official Saltmarsh Ranch photographer, mostly because he is somewhat of a perfectionist and I get impatient waiting for him to take the ideal picture.  But a few days ago he grabbed the camera as I was strolling down the gravel lane in the Maternity Ward to feed Patterdale.

Does the old Al Jolson tune, “Me and My Shadow” come to mind?

When Patterdale first moved inside with us, we used a purchased lamb nursing bottle, but once she moved out to the Maternity Ward with her buddies, we needed something a bit bigger so as not to be running back and forth to the house all the time.  Enter a no-longer-needed-for-human-consumption Schweppes Diet Tonic bottle — just the ticket.

As you can see, there is no shortage of enthusiasm for eating in this little ewe lamb. 

I have to laugh at our naivete in this whole episode, especially our unwarranted fear that we would not be able to find Patterdale amidst the throng of lambs in the Maternity Ward.  We actually put a big swath of green marking crayon, the stuff we use to tell us which of our Soay have been vaccinated when we work the ewes or rams, on Patterdale’s head. 

Oh yes, the red nipple.  For such a mundane tool, it has an awfully fancy name, “Pritchard teat,” and it is widely available in farm stores.  Unfortunately, as you can see it is way too big, as is a lot of sheep-related equipment not made especially for the little Soay, lambs or adults.  So far we have not had any luck finding a reliable smaller nipple and we welcome any advice on where to find one.  The nursing/watering equipment for rabbits and such in the pet stores never seems to include a nipple and we cannot imagine the Soay taking a liking to one of those stainless steel “straws” that little rabbits are supposed to lick on for liquid intake.

I haven’t decided whether to submit this next picture to the American Dairy Board or whoever it is that puts out the ads featuring celebrities with milk mustaches, but if life gets boring around here, I may just give it a whirl.

Meanwhile, as endearing as Patterdale is, on balance I will be relieved when her rumen is fully operational so she can live exclusively on hay and grass and we can commit the Schweppes bottle to the recycling bin.

For now …

When last we met Patterdale, she was just a few days old, traumatized by her mother’s rejection, confused by her wanderings in the Maternity Ward, wishing she could have continued as Tolcarne’s adoptee, and a bit uncertain about her prospects in the makeshift pen in our breakfast nook.  Not to mention the nearly hourly strife of going nose-to-nose with a border collie through the wire dog crate.  Weighing a mere 2 pounds 4 ounces at birth, she had a long way to go.

What a difference a week makes!  This morning as I was feeding her, I realized we should weigh the little darling to see if she ihas made any progress.  To our great surprise and delight, she has put on nearly 2 full pounds in just 12 days, to a whopping 4 pounds 3 ounces.  Not only that, she is no longer fazed by Molly’s border-collie intensity (see Molly back there quietly observing the proceedings?), and she has decided every Soay lamb should have a kindergarten chair as her personal gym equipment.  Have a look:

A few minutes ago, I turned the chair sideways and she actually jumped right over the seat.  Time to get her out in the nursery, that’s for sure!

So what have we learned thus far?  Patience.  Now there’s a newsflash, patience with a baby.  But a particular kind of patience – not feeding too much.  Patterdale never actually scoured, thankfully, but she did not pass the … hmm … how to say this, the ”solid waste products” test.  She has been slow to pass this second test of potty training despite her best efforts.  Fortunately, Steve had squirreled away for just such an occasion a bag of an energy supplement with electrolytes by the grand name of “ARREST,” to be used for “scouring calves, pigs, foals, lambs and kids.”  As near as I can tell, it is the ovine equivalent of Gatorade or one of the other energy drinks.

In any case, it works just dandy.  We mixed up an empty water bottle of the stuff per the dilution directions.  The first day we used equal parts of the supplement and milk replacer, reducing Patterdale’s total milk intake.  The next day we used one part supplement to 3 parts milk, again substituting the supplement for part of the milk.  By the third day, Patterdale was tired of reduced milk rations and let us know in no uncertain terms.  She may be only the temporarily-adopted sister of Otley the Noisy, but by golly they have the same robust vocal cords even if they are not biologically related.

One caution about electrolyte supplements for scouring:  do store the mixture in the refrigerator.  Unlike milk replacer, which can sit out at room temperature without spoiling, at least for a day, the electrolyte mixture will start to ferment at room temperature.  What we do not need around here is a tipsy lamb; she and her ilk are not exactly rocket scientists stone-sober, after all.  Besides, I don’t know about you, but an exploding plastic bottle of sugary solution in my kitchen is not my idea of a good time.

Patterdale, you’ve come a long way, baby.

For now …