Sheep Are Mean

We got a new sheep.  I know, we really didn't need another sheep but this turned out to be a nice trade for us.  This is how it happened.  I was helping at a friend's shearing;  I was doing the skirting of fleeces for her, my favorite job.  I complemented her on a particularly fleece I had just skirted; a very fine fleece with lovely tiny crimp toward the neck and shoulder and a beautiful dark, dark brown color. She reported that she hated this sheep and was thinking of doing her in.  This was too nice a fleece, I just could not see letting this poor critter go, no matter how "bad" the sheep was.  Apparently she had been for sale but nobody had acted on it.  So to prevent loosing this wonderfully fleeced girl we worked out a nice deal, a sheep trade, as she had met a sheep she liked on our farm.  What a deal, and really no net increase in sheep numbers for us;  totally justified.

Meet Lietzel

So this little gal is a yearling and her name is Lietzel (Valkyries Lietzel).  We brought her home yesterday and introduced her to little Hailey, a Shetland of the same age.   They were good together for a bit but then Hailey just couldn't help herself and had to do some head butts with her.  Lietzel held her own though.  So that after about an hour, I released her and Hailey so they could go out with all the rest to the pasture and graze in the sun.  Lietzel then proceeded to check out her new surroundings, the barn, the pasture, the grass, the fences, the other sheep.  She ran around checking out each sheep and then yelling.  It was as if she did not recognize anyone!  Where were all her old buddies?  They were all a bunch of strangers to her.  I felt a bit sorry for her so talked to her throughout the day.  By evening I spotted her introducing herself to the rooster.  She took a couple happy little "hoppers" , as I call them, toward the rooster and chased him away.  It wasn't all bad for her.

Lietzel wants her old friends back

 This morning though, the others would not let her eat.  Of course after getting pummeled in the side and rear a few times over the past 24 hours, she is a bit hesitant and is acting very timid.  That does not help in the sheep world.  Act like that and you are sure to get beat on.  They go after the weak, just like kids.  An opportunity to look good, I guess.  Sheep can be so mean.  Poor Leitzel, I am sure after a few days she will adjust.  Just the new kid on the block.

Ninki and Aurora checking out this new girl.