[Jacob-list] lamb behavior

[iseespots]

Hi all,

We are at 9 lambs and holding.  I wanted to ask about a behavior I see every
so often in an individual lamb---that of sneaking a freebie from another mom
(or pregnant ewe that is just having a very "mommy" day).

I can understand a lamb that has just realized he is hungry and mom is
further away than the closer and potentially more promising spicket going
for the closer one.  Usually, the ewes make it very clear that their
equipment is theirs and their individual lambs---not for public use.  I much
prefer this attitude on the part of ewes.

What I had not seen before last night was the reverse of this....

I have this ONE lamb that will probably wind up being a ewe with what Diane
and Janine wrote of as "presence" or "carriage".  She might be the smallest
lamb out here, but she has always been the spunkiest, quite alert,
heads-up....the list goes on (not my style birth fleece, though---all
hair!).  I diverge...  Ian and I stood watching the ewes and lambs for about
10-15 minutes last night and noted Bliss calling in her twins for
supper----here comes "Laurel"!  She knocked one of the lambs out of the way
and Bliss got a big huffy and nobody got supper.  Then Beverly called in her
ewe lamb----Laurel tried the same stunt with her with the same results.
This set Iris's ewe lamb thinking it must be supper time......she couldn't
convince mom to get up, so she went searching without any results.  Before
it was over, Laurel's brother had supper, but Laurel didn't get more than a
swig out of her own mom.

Laurel has a good and tight bond with her mother, so it is not a matter of
her not being accepted by her mom.....she just seems to be an incredible
sneak.  There is something I like about her straight-forward manner, though.
She is sticking around here despite the fleece!

She is also an interesting sort----both parents were 4-horned animals, clear
spacing, and you should see the 2 horns that are surfacing rather grandly on
her head!  This was a 99.5% set of 4-horned lambs----GRRRR.  Of 4 lambs her
dam has produced, she is the first that is 2-horned---and this does not
appear to be fusing either.

Mary Ellen
ISeeSpots Farm www.iseespots.com
Home of Jacob Sheep, and German Angora Rabbits,
colored German Angora crosses and a few French.
Renewable fleeces, loving personalities, friends.