which means they have one lamb, and then the second born is pushed away....when I watch it is as though the mom believes that the second lamb has to belong to someone else.
I've had a few ewes who do this every year. But this year it is really out of hand. So, this is why I suspect the lack of green grass, the hay being not rich enough, something in addition to not their different way of thinking and or capacity to count seems to be going on. You see hay is so short this year because of the drought in Texas and the fewer acres of alfalfa in cultivation.
Sheep are not known for being bright....but there are some that are.
I had one I named Grettel. About 8 years ago there was a huge rain storm- 8" in one night- and the entire 60 lower acres flooded- even over the highway! The sheep were on a little higher spot next to the ag well (they were smart enough to find this spot) , surrounded by the river which had overflowed as well. They were stuck like this - water up to their knees) for maybe 8 hours. Finally, the water began to come down. My neighbor and a few friends came and helped catch them and put them in the back of my truck and I took them up to my hill area, the part of the farm that I have my barn and little house on. The fence had been destroyed by the flood and they had to be moved, plus who knew if something like this would happen again?
Now the sheep were terrified and no way wanted to be caught and put into my truck but we had to do this. Someone made a joke about sheep not being too smart. With that remark Grettel gave me and the person who made the remark a good look and then she trotted over to the truck bed and hopped in all by herself. She gave us a look again and made a huge baa! As if to say "so there!" She was the smartest sheep I have ever met. I kept her son as a ram, she died at age 13. But the rest of them....well lets put it this way, whatever intelligence they have , it is not easy for me to grasp. They are a mystery.
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