It is time Red takes control of the sheep again, his herding has been interrupted by the lambing season. We didn’t herd the ewes when they were too far along, and it is nearly impossible to herd sheep with lambs. The lambs don’t know what to do and their mothers won’t leave them. Red has been butted, kicked and trampled by the protective mothers who will not run away from their lambs or leave them behind.
The first Bedlam Farm Open House is two weeks away and it is simply time for the farm to return to normal. So Red and I have begun working daily with the ewes and lambs, turning term into a flock that can be worked with. This is done slowly and carefully.
Red approaches in a “walk-up” command, also a “steady” command, he approaches the flock slowly and calmly, when he gets close I get him to lie down. He has to reassert his authority over the sheep without harming a ewe or a lamb, he has to remind the mothers that he is charge and also train the lambs to be herded. If a ewe charges him or butts him, he will nip her once on the nose or face, sometimes drawing a small amount of blood.
This is the time-honored method of border collie control of a flock. He never tears into the flesh or bites elsewhere, Red is quite professional, I’ve only seen him nip once or twice to get a ewe to stop banging into him. When he approaches, the sheep tend to gather together, as sheep do, and thus the lambs learn to do the same. This process will take Red about two weeks. The lambs have to be fast enough to keep up with the rest of the flock, and the ewes have to get used to a border collie giving them directions. Red knows what to do, he did well this morning.
He and Ma had a two or three minute stand off, but he held his ground and she slowly backed off. The lambs just go where he goes, Red never tried to herd a lamb or bother when, he is ever appropriate.
