Meet Heather

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a Dorset lamb named Heather and interviewing her in her home on Booty Family Farm. Oh, my. Such a story to tell. Such a lucky lamb!

Lichen, the subject of my “First Lamb” post, is growing up fast and doing well, as is her twin, Tundra. There are now eight lambs on the farm, but there has been a higher than usual mortality rate this winter. Steve thinks it’s due to aging ewes, but no matter the reason, it can be heartbreaking when a lamb dies. So when the twins Heather and Bramble were born on January 31, and little Heather wasn’t able to stand up to nurse, Steve decided that this was it — Heather was not going to die. Just look at her now. This picture has not been photoshopped — the lamb is actually smiling!

 

To save a lamb is no small undertaking. When Steve scooped up Heather, she was partially frozen and barely alive. He tucked her into the storage box on his ATV — the lambulance — and hurried her down to his house. He had to work a tube down her throat to give her doses of ovine colostrum, the high-protein milk produced by mammary glands that contains antibodies to protect a newborn against disease.

Heather wasn’t able to stand for the first couple days, and when she began moving, it was on her knees. Steve got up in the middle of the night to feed her, and she kept warm nestled by the wood stove. Though the other house animals were dubious, both Briar the lab-mix dog and Nook the gray cat made room for the newcomer. And five-year-old Elsa? She’s a farm girl; a lamb in the house is fun!

 

 

Heather is now on her feet, and she feels right at home in the farm house. She’s even spent some time at a friend’s house in the village while Steve was logging. (Yes, it takes a village!) She now happily sucks milk replacer from a beer bottle fitted with a nipple, and she has understandably imprinted on Steve as her mama.

On the morning I met Heather, she greeted me at the door, her jingle bell tinkling merrily. Briar got in on the action, too, just like an older sibling trying to get some attention.

 

Heather showed me her bed by the wood stove and skittering about, her little hooves tapping on the wood floor. There were a couple of oopses (let’s just say she isn’t exactly potty trained), and Steve explained the importance of not overfeeding her. She sleeps through the night now and plays through the day. Ever curious, she wanted a peek into the refrigerator when Steve was getting out his own lunch supplies.

She likes to explore the house, too, though when she finds herself too far away from Mama Steve, she runs back to him in her adorable, awkward lamby way.

I watched Heather race down the hall then asked her to do it again so I could film her. She got a little shy (or maybe just distracted by Elsa’s toys), but when Nook the cat went to fetch her, she took off. Okay, she’s not human, but clearly Heather can experience joy! Want to see? Click here to go to my YouTube channel for a short video.

I hear that Heather even tried to get into the shower with Steve. He and Elsa have given her a bath, a whole new level of animal husbandry, according to Steve. Of course Heather won’t be in the house forever. In a couple of weeks when she can eat hay and grain, she’ll be introduced back into the flock. She goes on daily visits to the barn — chaperoned, of course — and though her mother Luna doesn’t seem interested in her, there are plenty of lambs to play with. She’ll also see Steve and Elsa every day when she moves to the barn, so she’ll be fine.

Since Russell the ram moved away, there’s been a question as to who will be the new big daddy on the farm. Steve’s thinking it might make sense to take a year off from lambing as numbers are up and freezers are full. Elsa will have none of it, though, and Steve remembers something my brother Peter said to him that resonates in Steve’s life on the farm:  A barn is a place where life begins, and when lambs are born in late winter and early spring, the barn is renewed for the rest of the year.

Steve continues to track the bloodlines of Booty Farm sheep as Peter did before him. The breeding chart helps to pinpoint genetic defects to facilitate breeding for health and vigor. It’s comprised of several panels taped together and takes up most of the dining table. The photo shows the section chronicling the strongest bloodline, the Annie line.

I’m finishing my third winter living full time next door to the farm, and I’m continually learning. Farming is hard. The tractor breaks down (again), weather regularly has its way, and sometimes a lamb dies on a frigid winter night. But sometimes it lives, and when it does, we experience joy all over again. There’s an extra spring in Steve’s step right now, and we’re all smiling — Heather too.

 

 

MARCH HEATHER UPDATE!!!!!

Heather has been adopted! She is now living with the wonderful family in the village who took her in one day while Stephen was logging and she needed bottle feeding. Below is a photo of her being taken for a walk in town. She’ll have a wonderful life with two girls to play with, a spacious stall in an attached barn, and lots of green grass nearby. She might even come back to Booty Family Farm now and then for a “play date.” Lucky lamb!