Babydoll Sheep - Spring Lamb Report
Olde English Southdown ‘Babydoll” Sheep at Roberts Ranch
-Spring Lamb Report-
Littlest Eweling, Joy - born 2/24/26
It has been an eventful few weeks at the Ranch! A few days after a delightful evening Wine Club gathering with our members, we got a call from our midweek farm helper that “surprise!” lambs were “on the ground.” (That is shepherd-speak for lambs safely and successfully delivered.) We headed up to the Ranch to visit with Polly, the new mama, and not one but TWO beautiful black ewe lambs! Sarah stayed with them to dose with vitamins, monitor and help the smallest one along for a few days, but they both got the hang of things quickly and have become quite chubby and energetic! Join us in welcoming little Jill and Joy - very fine babydoll ewelings that we will keep and add to our breeding program. and If they are anything like their mama, they will make excellent mothers. When you next visit, you will already find them bouncing around the barnyard!
Four nights later found us with a careful eye on another mama ewe, Helen, as we could see she was very close to delivery. Saturday night 2/28, we made one last visit to the sheep barn to see how she was doing, and lo and behold, it was clear that lambs were imminent! Joshua and Sarah and their youngest son got to be present for the birth and precious early hours of TWO MORE lambs! This time, we were given twin white ram lambs. We are delighted with the blessing of these additions to the flock at Roberts Ranch. These boys will be kept as wethers and be pet lambs and hang out with our rams when they need to be separate from the ewes. Wethers are known to be some of the sweetest most personable sheep in the flock - our brown wether, Peter is already a visitor favorite - so we are happy that he will have buddies in little Edmund and Eustace (are you catching our ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ theme?) These two little guys had a bit of a rough start and we have been doing some late-night bottle feeding to help them get enough to thrive. They’ve got great energy and the cutest fuzzy faces - along with that signature babydoll “smile” that we know and love!
Much more to tell about these little vineyard mowers, but we will have to save it for another time. Interested in learning more? We invite you to join for April’s Babydoll Sheep Vine & Wine Walk with French Worker’s Lunch 4/18/26) to learn more and get a personal introduction to these sweet lambs!
Twin Ramlings, Edmund and Eustace, born 2/28/26
Little Eustace settling in to take a nap in the door of the Sheep barn.
Little Jill, ready for action!