Sheepy Drama

10:48 PM, Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Temperature: 32 F, calm

At evening feeding the 'open' bale of hay turned out to have mold along one edge. Moved the hay to the pile of rabbit leavings intended for compost and went to open another bale. When fetching the knife, discovered two ewes were out of their enclosure; ewes were from the enclosure shared with the poultry. Fetched a crook and a container of poultry feed and entered the enclosure, pegging the gate open.

Immediately the sheep mobbed together, following the magical poultry feed wherever it was carried. Began spreading it by the handful, moving further and further into the enclosure. The sheep went wild for the stuff and sure enough, the two ewes outside the enclosure got the message: oh, crap, we're missing the good stuff! They came trotting in and joined their sisters (and cousins and aunts and whatever other morganatic relations).

Penned them up again and walked the fenceline to determine how they got out. The white fencing obtained from the woman who gave us the sheep turned out to have popped its ground spikes out of the earth in places, causing the fence to be leaning outwards substantially although not actually downed. With the felled evergreens right behind this slant, it seems highly likely that the ewes - being oddly crazy for the taste of pine - took this road out. Righted the fence despite a hopeful audience of ewes still following in anticipation of more poultry feed; tossed stray evergreen branches over and well in to keep them at a little distance while fixing the fenceline.

While at the far end of the fenceline there was an altercation between the neighbor's dogs and what either sounded like a trapped feral cat or more probably a female coyote. The noise spooked the sheep due to its repetitions and they all charged back to the other end of the pasture, where they felt more secure. Proceeded to wash out and refill water containers and resumed care of the rabbits; Minnow still would like out, but she's lost even temporary roaming privileges unless both farmers are present to keep it from getting out of hand. Even when both are present, she tends to prove good at getting away.

She shows some signs of still tending to the remaining three kits. We'll hope for the best. Finding tiny cadavers every morning gets depressing fast.