The kids are, even as I write, sorting the sheep. The list has been on the refrigerator for two days - ever since I got the call from my Dad that prices are up for lambs and that we should get them on a heavy diet of corn and push them out the door. A red underline under your number (if you are a sheep) means that you get to stay. A red circle around your number means that your days are numbered (literally). There are several undecided sheep that have no mark made near their #.
We plan to keep 25 ewes to lamb next spring. We had 13 that lambed this spring. Five were "open" (didn't have babies). SO - 18 of last year's flock will stay on. The remaining slots will be taken by ewe lambs from this year. What gets you a pass on going away in the trailer? Well, we are looking for lambs that are from a multiple birth and have a long body. The multiple birth is a trait that is likely to carry forward (desirable). The long body enables the sheep to carry the multiple babies easier.
Two sheep are being kept in the flock just because. One of our two first bottle lambs is still with us and is the matriarch of the flock. We don't breed her but keep her on because she is a calming influence on the flock. We also keep Peter. He was a bottle lamb a few years later. He is quite cute (even as a sheep, and that's saying something!) and seems to also be a good influence.
This will be a noisy job - the mothers and babies don't accept being separated very well.
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