My wee little lambs aren’t so little anymore, in fact they are almost as big as their mommas! Still, as the youngest members of the flock they get pushed around a bit by the older sheep and because of that I have a hard time having one on one interactions with them. Every time I try to give treats of scratches to the lambs, one of the older sheep comes along and pushes them out of the way! The result is very shy, skittish lambs. This isn’t ideal for any of the sheep, but is a real problem with little ewes that will eventually be bred. I need to be able to easily handle them during their pregnancies and after lambing to make sure they stay healthy, and I need them to trust me to help out during lambing if they have problems.
Thankfully my mom offered to help me out with my shy lambs by taking two of them to her farm for lots of one on one attention. Hopefully this will make them more confident and friendly!
The lambs and their moms separated in the barn the night before their trip to make them easy to catch in the morning
Liisu settled in for the ride
Liisu and LeeLoo meeting their new flock
Settling in into their new stall
We want to explore our new pasture!!
Square Peg Farm 
I don’t feed treats, which reduces the rude, pushy behavior by almost 100%. My sheep come up to me for attention only, and who wants it the most at any one time varies a bit. My two ewe lambs are both very friendly, so they get lots of loving.
We don’t use a lot of treats (dried corn or sheep pellets), but we do find that they help with shy animals or new situations.
Goodness, they really are growing up! How neat that your mother is helping to socialize the little ewes…a very motherly thing to do.
Very best,
Natalie in Lexington, KY