12:11 AM, 25 April 2010
Overcast & cool

The rabbits being gone has made life on the farm a bit easier. Today we went and bought doghouses from a large pet supply chain as nothing local was both affordable and suitable. These should do nicely, and if not, will do until something more suitable can be obtained or built. We also picked up treats to help with making friends and training; and a couple of rawhide bones.

When we returned home we found most of the ewe flock including lambs had somehow managed to escape their enclosure. One of the rods was out, and the flock had taken full advantage of this. We shifted their pasture and managed to entice them back in with a bit of patience and with luxurious amounts of alfalfa and a scoop of poultry feed. Jojo, Jenny and Fanta all were persuaded to eat poultry feed right out of a farmer's hand, and Jojo and Fanta in particular were willing to accept pats as long as they also got feed.

While we were tending to this, another new lamb was born. Its birth weight was extremely low; it had not gotten to its feet successfully by the time we opted to leave the enclosure. We may find a dead lamb there in the morning, but it had almost succeeded more than once by the time we left, so it may yet surprise us. The Soay are surprisingly hardy.

We also found wildflowers growing in among clumps of grass; purple flowers which we have tentatively identified as Rocky Mountain iris (Iris missouriensis). Potentially poisonous, but not definitely so, and sparse enough that we are as yet not too worried.

Tomorrow will involve trips to the farm store (for hay) and to the hardware store (for rebar).