[Jacob-list] sibling memory and recognition of each other,

[SharHill at aol.com]

<but we also should consider "the Jacob lamb survivability" ... and their 
"loose flocking" with  (ewe AND lamb / >

I am interested in the bonds retained between ewe and lambs after weaning.  
For example,  last week, I moved 2 wethers, aged 1 1/2 years to a field 
directly adjoining a field where their mothers were.  They had been weaned 
well over a year ago and had been in separate fields all summer.  Somehow, 
the wethers found a place where they could wiggle under the fence and get 
into the field with their mothers.  It seemed strange to me, because the 
field the wethers were in had been resting for a while and had more and 
better grass.  I could see no reason for them to go to all that trouble to 
get into the inferior field.  The only thing I could think of was:  Their 
mothers were there.  Do Jacobs normally retain family bonds this long?  Or 
perhaps they got under the fence because it was there, and they wanted to see 
if they could do it.

Also, an 8 month old pair of twin lambs, wether and ewe, are so closely 
bonded, they stay with each other constantly.  Sometimes the whole flock is 
in one place, and they are off together, someplace else.  I couldn't bear to 
separate them and put the wether in with the other wethers.  It seems very 
sweet to me, that they are so close.
It is one of those things that makes raising these sheep so enjoyable.

Sharon Hill
Kingston,GA
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20021011/9e0ee31c/attachment.htm