Expanding Our Hobby Farm: Welcoming Sheep into Our Flock

As I welcomed Anita home from work, I was surprised to discover that she wasn't alone. Anita was carrying an animal crate. Inside, quietly observing her new surroundings and wearing a nappy, lay our newest addition to the hobby farm.

A stray lamb had found its way into our lives, but as herd animals, you can't have just one. So this sparked the start of our search for the rest of the mob, eager to minimise the time she was on her own.

The Decision to Add Sheep

Sheep were not even on our plan, but our plans pivoted quickly that day. We managed to find a hobby farm about 40 minutes drive from us that breeds Wiltshire Horned, and decided on 3 breeding ewes and 1 wether. Our thoughts were that it would be nice to have the option to breed, should we want to in the future. In less than a week, we had switched from not having any plan to keep sheep, to purchasing a small mob of lambs.

The long wait for a solitary lamb

A lone lamb is vulnerable, and generally won't be able to settle without company. On the first night, we kept her in the laundry in a nappy, fully expected her to bleat all night. But as soon as the door was closed and the light was out, she seemed to quite content to just eat, or lay down. We woke up the next day, surprisingly well rested, and another welcome surprise; she hadn't destroyed the laundry! Her nappy wasn't doing a great job of containing things, so there was a bit of a mess to clean up, but all things considered, a very successful first night.

During the day, we took her into the old turkey pen, which is fully fenced internally within the goat paddock. There haven't been any turkey's kept in there for years, but the name has stuck. We introduced her to the goats, with mixed success; turns out they can be a bit territorial.

Although the lamb was very happy to see the goats, it was unfortunately unrequited. In the turkey pen, she wouldn't feel so much on her own (if the goats stuck around that side of the paddock) and she got some time outside with fresh grass. It was a routine we had to make work up until we could get some friends for her.

Preparing for the Lambs

Most of our fences are barbed wire, and not currently in a state to reliably keep in sheep, let alone lambs. In fact, that was one of the main reasons we were looking at cattle over sheep, as we already had appropriate fencing for them. So, I got to work preparing somewhere we could safely contain lambs.

We had purchased 100 metres of temporary electric fencing to allow us to relocate the goats for short periods, which would prove very handy in quickly setting up a sheep pen that could also keep out foxes. I wasn't sure if a fox would be able to take a 12kg sheep (apparently they're safe at around 10kg), but we didn't want to take any chances. Putting up the fencing is a quick job, but since it's an electric fence, it can take a while to prepare. It's important the the grass is well mowed, to avoid shorting out, so it worked out best to first lay the fences to get a measure, then mow, then to erect the fencing. We also put up a layer of dog fencing in some areas of existing fencing and the personnel gate to eliminate any lamb shaped escape opportunities.

I then disassembled and relocated an old three-sided storage shelter that used to hold pool toys by the dam and setup a automatic water trough for them, and felt almost about ready on the morning we were supposed to be picking up the new lambs. My cousin Dan was visiting, so it was the three of that us headed out in the ute to collect our new farm friends.

Collecting the Lambs

The journey went by quickly, 40 minutes not feeling particularly far when you're driving in the country. We brought with us a large dog crate just in case, but didn't expect it to be big enough. Sure enough, when we got to the farm, we confirmed, we'd be lucky to fit two of them. So, while I hopped into the farm buggy with the husband of the pair to find a solution to our transport issue, Anita stayed with the wife to see the lambs. When I got back, the plan, as those best laid often do, had changed. In addition to the breeding ewes we had discussed, they had 5 bottle fed lambs, 4 ewes and a wether that looked a similar size to the lamb we already had. Bottle feeding is an excellent way to build a bond with an animal, and it tends to make them more comfortable with people. In a matter of minutes our planned head count had increased by one, and we had signed up for a twice-daily job of bottle feeding lambs. Since they were much smaller than the ones we had planned to collect, we were assured they would all fit into the crate we had. It was a much longer journey back home, with 5 lambs loudly bleating and pooping all over each other in the backseat. Dan made the right call and opted for the front seat for the return trip.

When we introduced the 5 new additions to our lonely stray lamb, unlike the goats, they were fast friends. She was excited to finally have company with the correct number of legs.

We were worried that there might be challenges introducing new animals, but it seems in this regard, we had nothing to worry about.

The Joy of Bottle Feeding

I'm not sure I can think of anything that comes close to the excitement of lambs when it's time to bottle feed. It is beyond a doubt their favourite time of day. Although it can be chaotic, with them jumping over each other in excitement, and trying to keep track of which ones you've already fed, it is an absolute joy.

It took a little while, but eventually the stray lamb we had first came around to the bottle, and it forever changed her attitude towards us. She now, as would all the lambs, run towards us when we approached the paddock, and sometimes even approach us for scratches. Perhaps a combination of the effect of the herd and our opportunity to bottle feed, we were starting to feel a real connection with all of our new lambs.

Don't Ever Name Them

They say you should never name a livestock animal, unless you are keeping them as a pet. I'm still not sure how I would deal with the decision to process an animal I have cared for, but I couldn't keep calling them by their tag numbers.

A Joyful Addition to the Farm

Lambs are happy playful creatures that you can't help but love. They have brought an energy to the property that I didn't know we were missing. Although we hadn't planned on keeping sheep, every one of our lambs is now part of the family. We honestly can't say what the future holds for them, but for now we gratefully welcome Holly, Summer, Blossom, Moonshine, Frida, amd Rufus.