Last year we weren’t sure that our ram was up for the job, he may have done the job but no one would be looking forward a lamb-less spring if he wasn’t up to it. So to make sure this spring would be packed with cute and fluffy lambs, we got a loan of a ram.

It is not age that has us doubting our own ram, he is fairly young and has performed well since we got him. The problem was that the hot damp weather in September landed me with numerous cases of maggot infestations.

I will not go into the details of a maggot infestation, just saying the words paints a disgusting picture anyway. The ram came out fine, but there is always the worry that sickness could render them sterile and thus resulting in no-lambs-for-spring, which was not something I was willing to risk. So while our own ram convalesced we introduced a new one.

Now, I’m delighted to have the second ram and he has caused absolutely no problems. He’s quiet and shy, less of a bully than most of my sheep and gets along fine with our own ram. The fact that the two rams don’t fight speaks volumes about our own ram’s performance capacity; there simply doesn’t seem to be any competition for the new ram.

The new ram is a muscular Texel breed, which will give lambs of great market value. We are all for that, but, and I am well aware that this is not a relevant complaint, this new ram is butt-ugly. He has the Texel breed characteristics of course, but for some reason his snout is a lot shorter; this ram is literally the sheep variety of a bulldog and I did wonder if I would end up with a flock of ugly lambs. Is that even possible?

Which is the handsome ram?

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My helpful neighbours, who always steer me away from my city-girl madness with logic and a firm hand, completely brushed aside my superficial worries pointing out the shanks of the new ram and the muscle he carries. Not that I seriously worried about ugly lambs, but I had never expected to see such an ugly sheep either.

Pretty is not really a main concern with any animal, the key is good genes and for me also good temperamennt. I simply would not be skilled enough to deal with an aggressive animal, I will forgive the smallish head-butts my ewe, “The Angry One”, gives me when she has a lamb, but that is as far as it goes.

There are only two ewes left to lamb, and with several pairs of twins, I have a wide selection of lambs on the farm. I can’t fully verify which ram is the father, I’m sure it will show eventually, regardless of that, I can with relief say that the lambs are beautiful.