Portrait of Wool

I couldn't resist this one but, I promise that I won't do a daily ovine mug shot.

The ewes are definitely in a state of displacement. They came from a farm, out in the sticks, where they haven't seen people, traffic or dogs. I was told they would come to the bucket but don't seem to recognise the traditional aluminium pail as a sign of food to come. There is a lot of grass but they should still respond to the promise of a handful of ewe nuts.

They seem to be fascinated by the traffic on the road and spend a lot of time on the fence line watching the world go by. If I keep the dogs inside, I can get quite close but touching them isn't an option yet. The dogs have been brought up around sheep so ignore them totally but, the sheep are very wary so I'll have to be careful to not let the mutts jump the fence to have their quotidian romp around the paddock for a while.

It doesn't take much for a dog to frighten a ewe. Dogs are predators and sheep know it. A placid pooch may just be curious or running nearby but an adrenalin rush sends the sheep into a severe state of anxiety which can easily cause abortion. The last six weeks of pregnancy are a dangerous time, more so if the ewes carry twins. What most people don't realise is that although they call the dog back and walk away with the sheep seemingly unharmed, two days later there may be dead lambs in the field or worse, mother and lambs.

I've left it very late to move them into a very new and noisy environment and if that were not enough, they've never had any contact with man's best friend. Thankfully, nobody is daft enough to let their dogs off a lead on the A25!