Baaaa…
So we bought some sheep! Specifically five Coloured Ryelands. We’ve been thinking of getting a few sheep for a while to help keep the grass in the meadow below the cabins trimmed, and now we’ve done it.
We picked Ryelands for a number of reasons – they are among the most docile of sheep, they are a rare breed, they are a beautiful colour, and we met a ryeland shepherd at the Bath & West show who helped to persuade us onto this breed.
We now have five ewes – Wilma, Floppy, Bella, Bonnie and Scruff. And already they are proving their breed type. They are friendly, calm, have a beautiful bourbon biscuit coloured fleece and will do anything for a rich tea.
We introduced the sheep to our dogs – the golden retriever was a bit confused and wary – the sheep were nonplussed. The yorkshire terrier wanted to dominate, as the little wolf that she is…the sheep were nonplussed. And our cockapoo, she released her inner sheep-dog, attempting to round them up. She did a relatively good job, but we think the sheep we just just humouring her, and were nonplussed. Ultimately it was good to see the sheep stood their ground and the dogs were getting used to the sheep, as we ultimately want the dogs to ignore and respect them.
Wilma is the leader of the pack – she is older (a lamb from last year), Floppy, Bella, Bonnie and Scruff are this years lambs. They are beautifully tame and the kids love them. We can’t wait to increase our little flock with lambs of our own (something to watch our for in 2021).
Check out the photos below!
