While I was out taking pictures of the sheep this morning, it hit me just how fast the lambs grow and how much they can change in a very short period of time.  I was also reminded to hold off judgement and not be hasty when deciding if the lambs will ‘make the cut’ or not.  There is a LOT involved in this breed… some of the qualities such as percentage of color, spotting pattern, and structure are somewhat obvious at birth, but fleece and horns are very hard to evaluate at a young age.  Fleece qualities can be seen at birth, but they can change – a consistent fleece can end up being quilted and a fuzzy fleece can surprise you sometimes.  Horns are definitely the hardest to get right – they can change in the blink of an eye, especially when there are 4 of them.  To make matters even more confusing, there are all of the traits you can’t see…mothering ability, hardiness, temperament, and the essence that makes a jacob a jacob.  Being hasty and making rash decisions can be detrimental to a breeding program. 

Two of our rams weren’t necessarily my favorite when they were born…

 Wrangler as a lamb

Reno as a lamb

There were qualities that I just didn’t like when they were born, but I held off judgement and watched them mature.  I can remember noticing them at about a month old and going ‘wow, look at you!’.  In both cases they continued to get better and better.  I will always be thankful to Joan that Wrangler stayed here instead of going to California 😉

  Here is Wrangler as an adult…

and Reno as an adult.

They both taught me a good lesson…so for now I am thoroughly enjoying the lambs 🙂 

 Queenie with her little Duchess.

She doesn’t need anybody telling her that she is cute – she is full of herself!

 Holly is still smiling and is very happy with her babies. 

 Emeline makes it very hard not to like her 🙂