There is one little yow and lamb that are having trouble getting their feeding established, so I gently sit the yow on her bottom and lean her back against my legs. She doesn’t struggle – once a sheep’s feet are off the ground, she knows she cannot escape and sits quietly. Now I can lift the lamb on to her teat and watch as he guzzles down the milk, tail spinning and whole body moving in time with his sucking.
Later, I will try to put him underneath the yow while holding her between my legs, and over a few days they will work out how to feed independently. They will then move from a small pen into a larger pen with other sheep and lambs, and he will have to learn to recognise his mother in a crowd.
