Meet Moses, our Icelandic wether pet. As you can see, Moses is a sweet, friendly wether that has become our farm mascot. He greets everybody enthusiastically and follows us all around like a puppy. He is perfect addition to our farm now that we are doing our farm tour days because he walks on a leash and let's children and adults hug and pet him. He is a perfect ambassador for the breed and for making the case that some ram lambs can make great pets if they are wethered - especially bottle lambs.

Moses is shown above with his mom and sister shortly after birth. Unfortunately Moses was born 1/2 the size of his sister, and because his mother delivered him while standing up -- she didn't even realize that she had him! Therefore when he started to get up and approach her she didn't know who he was. This is not good for lambs because if mom doesn't know who you are, then she won't take care of you! I tried to bond Moses to his dam, but she refused to let him nurse unless I was holding her. The reason he is named Moses is because when I checked on him later in the day, he was floating in the 5 gallon water bucket. Mom had tossed him right into the water.. Sigh. Thankfully we had frozen colostrum and sheep milk in the freezer so we could start him on a bottle. Papa Willie took over "nursing" Moses for about a week and then he went to live with my friend Vicky. Vicky thought of the name Moses for him because he was saved from the water, after his mother put him there, just like the Biblical Moses.  Vicky did a great job raising Moses, as you can see by his photos here, when he is shown at 10 months. Moses came back to live at our farm in mid-winter 2009 and we enjoy him immensely.

Moses is also proving to be a protective "leader" in the flock (even though he doesn't have any "technical" leadersheep genetics. One day two of the dogs got in with the sheep and decided it was time to "herd" them. Well, Moses thought differently and he ran right at the dogs, who turned heel and ran right out of the pasture, with Moses in hot pursuit!

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