Growing Rocket

Rocket is growing wonderfully, and since he is always asked after, I thought it was time I gave you an update.
Rocket now spends his days as a sheep, out in the paddock with the little flock of last spring's lambs. We slowly moved him out by bringing them down into the large house yard for a few days, where Rocket could spend the day with them whilst also being close to us. It's so much better for him to be out with other sheep, as lambs learn by copying, and since being in with sheep he drinks more water and spends more time grazing. He was still sleeping inside at night until a few evenings ago.


When the sheep ran out of grass down here, we moved them back up to their paddock (which is visible from the house anyway). Rocket was put to bed with them into the shed, and horrible as I felt for leaving him there, he settled in wonderfully and is really benefiting from rediscovering his identity as a sheep. He's still on five or six feeds a day, which is pretty intense but it really won't be long before he drops one or two of his day time feeds.
As well as he's doing, I can't help but feel sorry that his mum isn't here any more. He's gone through so many changes in his very short life. He's gone from being a normal lamb, to living in the house and learning to except us as his new flock, to attaching himself to Bambi and spending the day outside with her, to having to readjust to spending the day with a flock of sheep, and now changing to spending all hours with the sheep, and having to accept that he only sees his "mum" (me) at bottle time.
This has been the last change for him, until he is weaned when older, which is entirely normal.

Rocket's first bottle is at six thirty in the morning, which is a rather chilly time to be out in the paddock but has it's benefits in that I get to see the sun rise every morning, even on a Sunday when I'd like to sleep in. Rocket and the other sheep are lucky and get to stay in their warm shed for a little longer until the sun dries the dewy ground, whilst I head back to the house for a warm cocoa (made with Missy milk, of course!) and a little knitting before starting the day.


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