Animals

Betty, Sheba, Banjo, Annie and Gracie: In December 2001, we bought 2 sheep, Betty and Sheba, her daughter. I believe they are a Katahdin sheep mix. Banjo, the Pygmy goat, came free with the sheep and needed a home. We did not think we could have a goat because of how much trouble they can get into, but one look and we were in love. He is a sweetheart. Because of his stocky build and low center of gravity, he is not much of a jumper, so a 3 foot fence keeps him contained. Betty came to us already bred with an unknown due date. On January 21, 2002 at around 9pm, Betty had two little girl lambs with no complications. This was our first birth on the ranch, so we were grateful for the easy birth. The lambs, Annie and Gracie, are now full grown. They retained the personalities they had at birth: Annie is friendly, Gracie is very shy. All the sheep, except Sheba, shed their wool in spring, and grows it back in the fall. Fall 2010, Betty died, due to old age. She had been having trouble walking for over a year, and had an incident of not being able to stand up for 3 days. She rallied for a few months, but when the winter rains came, she decided to move on.

Below is our online scrapbook. Click on a picture to see the full-sized photo, then use the 'Back' button on your browser to return to this page. Photos are shown chronologically, so you can see the lambs growing up, and Betty shrinking back down!

Banjo	Banjo	Banjo	Banjo & Sal	Sheba, Betty & Banjo	Betty & Sheba
Sheba & Betty	Betty & Sheba	Sheba & Betty	Betty, Smokey, & Smokey	Betty's "head shot"	Betty-very pregnant
Betty-very pregnant	Lambs-3 hours	Gracie-3 hours	Gracie & Annie	Annie finds teat	Lambs-3 hours old
Lambs-1 day old	Betty helps Annie - 1 day	Annie-1 day	Betty & lambs-1 week	Betty, Annie & Gracie	Plant investigation
Annie & Gracie	Learning to graze	Whole family- Feb 02	Annie - Feb 02	Annie	Gracie & Annie
Annie & Betty	Gracie & Annie	Betty, Gracie & Annie	Annie, Gracie, Betty & Banjo	Sheba, Gracie, Annie & Banjo	Banjo - Feb 02
Sheep and goat in March 2002. I was installing the irrigation system on the ranch, so there was some large equipment they were curious about. Last 3 photos are May 03, an example of the Rastafarian looking phase of sheep shedding their wool. The lambs are all grown up now.
Betty & Annie	Betty, shedding	Betty, shedding	Sheba & Gracie	Gracie, Sheba & Betty
Banjo	Sheba, Betty & Gracie	All 4 sheep	Annie & Banjo May 03	All 4 sheep - May 03	Annie & Gracie - May 03

Bandit, our llama, is 6-7 years old. Just like his father, Smokey, he chases the sheep & goats, so he is kept in a separate pasture. So far, no signs of his dad's buckteeth! Below are photos of Bandit on his first day here.
	Bandit			Bandit & Banjo