This year was been the exception on so many fronts, hasn't it? I suspect we'll all remember 2020 for quite a few reasons. For us here at Struan Farm we only have one pet lamb, Tiger.
And he hasn't been our typical pet lamb, abandoned at birth. His mum died 2-3 weeks after he was born. So he was captured in the paddock and brought up to the pet pen in the backyard under protest, where I taught him how to drink from a bottle.
Tiger's stint in the Pet Pen was pretty short as a result. He wanted to go back out to the grass. He's now out roaming the paddock with the mob. Early on when he didn't show up for bottles I'd send John out on the quad bike to find him to get him to come up for a bottle. At this stage he knows where the bottles can be found, at his back gate, but he loses track of time. Tiger does not work to my schedule.
What's especially odd is that for five years now our pet lambs have camped outside our bedroom window and baa-ed at first light for their breakfast. Not Tiger! In fact, while I call out for him early, he doesn't wander up to the house paddock until 11-12 for bottle #1. Clearly he's not a morning person lamb. He prefers brunch.
I try to catch him for bottle #2 around 3-3:30 so there's time for a third bottle before dark. If he's around and interested, that is.
He does seem to be developing some personality, which I wasn't sure was going to happen either. I've started to scratch and pet him while he's feeding. It seems he loves to have his back scratched! He wiggles and wags his tail, which makes me smile.
But then I can't get too attached, can I? He's a ram lamb, and they go off farm after Christmas. The only problem is that my favourite lambs of all time have indeed been ram lambs (Spud, Buster, and Alfie). Except of course for Rosie. But Tiger is such an independent little spirit that I'm hoping he'll help me out by not getting too attached to me.
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