Naming Sheep

Mankind has a propensity to label things.  So, naming critters is almost inherent in us.  A good rule however is to name the females that form the flock and number the offspring that are heading to market or one's freezer.  It's easier to eat number thirteen than "Fluffy".

So, as the days go by and I get to know each of the sheep some names have come to mind for them.  They do have personalities.  Some are bolder than others, while some are very very shy.

When I am holding a bucket in which there might be grain, no one is very shy.  I have been mobbed now several times.  The first time the entire bucket of grain got dumped.  I am more wary now.  But the climbing up the back of my legs is a little much.  And when there's food it's amazing how the sheep push the llamas out of the way. 

"Smudge" is a bold gal.  She has a distinctive voice and is often first.  She will allow me to scratch her nose.  She looks like she stuck her nose in a very dusty corner.

One of the younger ewes has a mottled face, a mixture of dark and light.  She has more patches of white than the other two yearlings with dark faces.  It struck me the other day that she looks like a "Chloe". She also has a nice fleece.

In the foreground of this photo is a ewe with a spot on her left ear.  I was delighted to take a photo of "Spot" and then I noticed another gal with the same feature - black spot in the same location on the left ear.  So, once I can tell one from the other we will have "Spot" and "Dot".

Some of the ewes have tawny colouring on their faces and the darkest of these is "Butterscotch".  As a distinctive feature she is also missing a portion of her right ear.  I have noticed that often Butterscotch is last.  She hangs back and takes her time and does her own thing.  I usually have to round her up to get her inside at night.  She is beginning to look very pregnant with multiple lambs.

There is one yearling with a very white face and a woolly face too.  Sheep people call this a 'closed' face as the wool grows onto the face.  She looks to have very strong breeding of Dorset in her.  She reminds me of a ewe from a flock in the past and thus I have named her "Cotton".  For readers from my past, Cotton was Star's mother.  Star - for readers at present - was Cotton's first lamb.  She'd been 'caught' by the ram when he escaped and bred at a young age.  Star was a single, brown lamb.  I adopted Star as my own.  She had a wonderful and productive life, always bearing twins or triplets.  She was a great mother and always happy - as sheep happiness can be measured.


I have named a few more and will tell you about them as I get their photos.