Jack (the lad) has kept busy these last few days. Mrs Brown was sporting a red behind yesterday and this morning Lamorna had one too. (Lamorna being one of Mrs Brown's lambs. Having um-ed and ah-ed about which of our four lambs to keep this year - if any - we have in the end decided to keep both Mrs B's as they are so very friendly. Lamorna is the girl (naturally), named after our last smallholding and Cadbury is the wether, named after our current abode!!! We are nothing if not imaginative).
Cadbury’s role will be as a companion for Jack the lad when we remove him from the flock in early spring. He is such an easy going, friendly boy but big enough, we hope, to stand up for himself, so we hope this pairing will work. Lamorna is also a big lamb, hence our decision to put her to the ram this year. Usually with rare and pure breeds, it is better to wait till the animal is 18 months old before breeding but Lamorna is of course a cross breed and at almost 40kg is very close to the weight of a fully grown Badger Face (45kg – 50kg). Pure Beltex ewes weigh in at 70kg! We took advice from the friend whose Beltex ram we used to produce these two, and he felt a first year mating would be fine! Both Beltex and Badger Face sheep are know for their easy lambing!
The photo shows, in order: Cadbury, Lamorna, Muckle and Jack!