Yesterday we ushered the lambs into the barn for a winter wardrobe makover. While they are closer to being yearlings at this point, we still think of them as our "designer lambs", since all were named for fashion industry icons. Although it's barely been eight weeks since the last coat check round up, some of them were beginning to look like stuffed sausages. While most of the adults are simply piling on the fleece in this season, the lambs are still growing in all directions which means a closer eye on the trim of their little jackets as they get taller, wider and more woolly.
The changing of coats is a pretty mellow process. Some of the lambs clearly like the attention and the opportunity to watch humans in action up close. There's no need to pull them away from their buddies so we carry the buckets of fresh coats right into the pen and work our way calmly through the flock. They poke their noses into the buckets, curiously inspecting the pile of clean coats. Chanel and Diesel press in closer to supervise. Others are less eager to participate. Perhaps Valentino (below) thought we couldn't see him hiding beneath the feeder.
And maybe Polo and Beckham thought they could escape notice hiding behind the water bucket, where they were deftly out-maneuvered by Holly.
Calvin posed for this shot of his snowy midriff which has been protected from dirt and chaff all winter by the jacket. It takes two people to change a coat. You can do it alone, if using a halter, but my sheep absolutely hate being tied. We use a holistic approach that involves someone (usually me) holding them firmly but gently under the chin, while another person – usually Holly – works each hind leg up and out of the leg strap. I stroke their faces and whisper silly things to distract them while Holly lifts each hind hoof slowly off the ground and like a swedish masseuse, gently shakes and rotates the leg to loosen up the muscles. This keeps them from stiffening up and resisting as she flexes the hoof at the pastern and bends the knee, which is necessary in order to draw the hoof through the strap. Once the legs are free, we pull the coat up and over the shoulders. My task is to work it free of the dense neck wool and to shimmy the collar over their wooly top knots, taking care not to snag an ear. Most of the lambs put up little fuss when we do it this way. We paused to admire Calvin's handsome fleece. A grungy coat is replaced by a fresh one, one size larger.