Dave The Lamb .... Returned to Solitary

After a couple of weeks in solitary confinement I was beginning to feel a little bit sorry for Dave and thought he might like to come out of his pen and join the other sheep in the field. My friend also thought that Dave should, by now, have realised he is a sheep and be happy eating grass in the field with the others and leaving my plants alone.....

So we let Dave out ....

He ran straight out and up the field to the holding pen where he met Minnie and without a second glance Dave hot-footed it through the fence and straight over to the front door! Things were not going well .....

So we set about re-capturing Dave who obviously hasn't got it yet.


Dave had other ideas and when he saw my friend approaching him he just lay down on the floor and refused to move. Jean went to find a halter to put round his neck to try and lead him back into the field ..... no chance.

Dave was going nowhere.

Only one thing for it .....

A Fireman's Lift

Dave is back in his field for another week when I will try again to re-introduce him to his Flock!!

Dave's Destruction Knows No Bounds

Now Dave has been causing trouble yet again ....

Dave In His Hiding Place Avoiding Capture

His distruction of the entire garden has meant that I have been left with only one choice......

My Raspberry Bush

Dave is heading to solitary confinement.

Another Bush After Dave Dined On it

Harsh some may say ......but fair!

Another Plant Trashed

He has been moved to the second unused pig area for a few days in the hope that he will at last want to live in the field ... or get a taste for grass!!

Nat Taking Dave to His New Home

As you can see by the way Dave had to be transported to his new home he is not impressed. I will see how he goes on and see about letting him out with the others in about a week for good behaviour!!

Dave The Lamb Found Safe And Well .....

BUT THE DUCKLING HAS GONE DOWN THE DRAIN

Oh My Word - this is a nightmare of a day. Its not supposed to be a comedy and I woudn't mind but I am supposed to actually love animals .... what is going on!!!!!!!

Right I have got to dash because I know the drain goes into a 4 acre field in front of the house but I have no idea where or if it comes out at all or whether it is a seep-away and I just cannot leave it there. So I am going now to try and locate it and find the drain and hopefully find the duckling.

This is just fabulous ... I mean how can this day get any better!!!!

Update soon!!!

Dave The Lamb Goes Missing

As all the Dave The Lamb fans out there will already be aware Dave was given his first lamb duty a few weeks ago which he refused to do. From being one day old Dave lived in the utility room of the kitchen in his caged area until he was strong enough to walk and then his cage was moved and he was free to move around. Whenever I was around Dave pretended to be absolutely content with his quarters in the utility room and whenever I wasn't Dave skipped over to the kitchen and took the bed of his choice.

Dave The Lamb  Work

 Dave then moved permanently into the kitchen but got a little too comfortable and after 6 weeks he was still showing no signs of wanting to move out into the field to be with the rest of the Nunnery Farm Flock. I took action and decided he had to have his bottles reduced so he would want to eat grass and I moved him outside the front door. I still fed him at breakfast at 6am and then 11pm with his bottles. Dave was not amused.  Eventually Dave stopped asking for milk and began to live outside - but not in the field as you might expect oh no, Dave set up camp right outside the front door and this is where he continues to sleep to date.

Dave the Lamb at Work

So Dave's new job was to go back into the same grassy area that just couple of weeks ago he refused to stay in. The grass was getting a little too long and because of the slope if perfect for the sheep to eat off. Dave was less than impressed when I pulled him out from his shady spot under the landrover and placed him over the wire into the lovely new green grass.

Dave Before He Left Home

Dave appeared to settle and after a couple of minutes I left him to it as he munched on his new food. It was a nice day and I thought I would check on him later. All was going well! After all, Dave was more than big enough to live out in the field now so maybe this was the first move to him living permanently in the field and me getting the space outside the front door back.

A couple of hours later I went out to check how much chomping Dave had done and disappointingly the grass looked no different. In fact the only difference was that I could no longer see Dave. I looked again - no Dave. He was nowhere to be seen. I started shouting his name at the top of my voice over and over again but there was no sign. Dave had gone AWOL.

Dave the Lamb Leaving the Work Site
Without |Permission

MISSING - DAVE THE LAMB

Dave The Lamb Another Day Another Dog Walk

Well I didn't think he would start making a habit of it but Dave 'The Dog' Lamb has taken to dog walks like a duck to water. You think he isn't around but he shoots out from nowhere when he sees the troops gathering and looking like a walk might be on the cards - this is pretty noticeable given the amount of noise and crazy behaviour that starts at the beginning of every dog walk at Nunnery Farm and then there he is without a care in the world a little cotton wool ball comes rushing towards the gate with the other crackpots!

He appeared to have yet another great walk but this time there was a bit in the middle that he wasn't too happy about all caused by Bean. Bean is and has been his surrogate mum from day one. She made certain that he knew she was by being with him all the time, none of the other dogs could get too close when he was very young and she let them know she was there to protect him. So Dave truly believes that Bean is who his mum is. Bean on the other hand has got fed up with this game now, and can't be bothered with him all the time and she did just this in the woods. Dave was stuck to her like glue and then all the dogs wandered into the ferns which are at least 4 feet tall, Minnie is a rather large Great Dane and she disappears completely ... so Dave stood no chance.



He would have been fine had she just wandered through them but this never happens. The sight of a clump of ferns to run through sends Minnie into frenzy overboard mode. This in turn sends Bean and Molly crackers and a game starts which cant really be explained its just complete madness and something Dave will not have seen before! So Dave had at this point been lead up the hillside quite a way from where we were stood by his trusty friend Bean and then in a flash she was gone and in the fern game. Poor Dave had no way of knowing which direction to go because the ferns were so tall. We could hear him but we couldn't see him.

Dave eventually got out of the ferns after Daisy had found him and he followed her back to the path!

With all sheep you cannot move them off your holding (land) without a document called a Movement Licence which you send a copy of to the local council which isn't any hassle mainly because you only have to do it now and again because normal folk only move a sheep either to slaughter or market. I am not quite sure of the rules and regulations surrounding temporary removal of lambs for dog walks. Hopefully before I have to make a complete fool of myself and enquire about this maybe Dave will get fed up and grow out of this Dog phase before anyone needs to know!

Then again this is Nunnery Farm!

Dave The Lamb Does The Valley Dog Walk

It started out as a simple dog walk with my little boy and the 5 loonpots that are my faithful and trusty dogs - well I use the word simple loosely as nothing concerning me and my dogs is ever simple.  We set off through the gate for a walk that usually takes about an hour. We had almost gone through the gate when I heard a little bit of clip-clopping behind us. Yep, sure enough the lamb we call Dave was hot-footing it down the path as quick as his wooly legs could carry him.

I just wanted to get out as quickly as posible but Bean and Minnie insisted on acting up as is always the case playing with each other both stood on their hind legs and scrapping with their front paws - this may be amusing to someone who sees it for the first time but every day they do the same and always right in front of you so you trip over them and so this meant we were held up as usual - this gave Dave ample time to catch up. Great!

The reason I was unsure about him coming is just because the walk is quite challenging with many stiles and brooks to cross - I only remember too well having to climb trees and rescue him in my flip flops when he was about 3 weeks old - it was not pretty! So Dave starts the walk with us and then after about 100 yards he simply turned back and walked home towards the gate. Breathing a sigh of relief we continued along the lane.

Not for very long - Dave had a change of mind and ran all the way back to us. When he got to us there was no way I was turning round to take him back - that would have caused too much confusion with Minnie in particular who is a pest for the first few minutes of any walk jumping on everyone and generally being annoying so I was not going through that again - there was only one thing for it .... Dave the Lamb was in for the long haul!

I could not believe that he actually completed the whole walk with us. He went under stiles when the dogs did and over the stepping stones in the brook with ease.

Dave did get into a little difficulty in the overgrown fern patch and got lost. This was because Bean lead him in there and then just left the poor thing. But he returned with us all in one piece.

I wondered whether he would want to stay in the field when we returned (the walk ends up back at the bottom of our field) but he shunned the REAL sheep instead opting to get ruffed up by the dogs joining in their games.

He left the field as soon as he got to the top and appeared more relaxed when he was back on the driveway.

It's My Bed Minnie - Not Yours

Now Dave knows that to come inside the house now is not allowed so its great to know he is taking notice of the house rules.

This was where I found Dave last night before locking up and going to bed. In Minnie's Bed!!

I

You can see he is not strictly sleeping and has one eye open just in the hope that I have not noticed said lamb in my kitchen

When inspecting closer he seems to try and look like he is asleep.

With Dave back in the field, or at least on the front door step, Minnie can get into bed and go to sleep.

Dave Refuses Work

Dave the Lamb is getting used to living outside but is still not comfortable around his fellow sheep instead continuing to opt for the company of Bean the Newfoundland and Minnie the Great Dane. He has become somewhat of a local celebrity when he join in with the dogs all running and barking towards the gate to see off the postman.

He does stil try his luck to sneak into the house and today I decided to give him his first job as payback - in return for his use of the dog beds in the kitchen. This was simply to move onto a lovely patch of grass just near the front door for a couple of hours a day so he could still be part of the gang but in the hope that he would at least start to eat off this grass as it is quite a slope and not the easiest to mow.

Dave is sent into the new grassy area....

Dave comes out of the grassy area ...















and straight back into the kitchen!

A Word of Advice to the Unsuspecting Smallholder

Unless your lamb looks like this......

Check and check again that he has not sneaked past you and got locked in the house while you were getting ready to leave.

Pesky Dave did just that and it looks like he has had the time of his life while I have been out all morning. The sight that I returned home to was less than pleasant.

Dave is back on a warning!

Dave Reassures His Fans

Apparently Ive been asked to let my fans know that if they have been wondering what the future holds for me ....
Well I'm here for life
........if you are given a name
you're safe here at Nunnery Farm
and Ive got one!!

Now I am off for my bottle 

Dave Comes in From the Rain

Dave was allowed in yesterday afternoon due to the weather for a feed and I discovered he was the one who had been pulling all the towels on the floor. Every time I picked on up it ended up back on the floor then all was revealed!

Dave went back into the garden after a feed by himself. None of the dogs were playing out in the rain so he found his other friend.

I heard a knock on the window late last night and looked out to see it was Dave who has now learned to kick the window - which is always a good thing! He was soaking wet through so he was allowed to stay in the utility room for last night only.

Morning feed.

A Rather Wet Familiar Face Has Appeared at the Window

SHOULD I LET HIM IN!