I believe we have finally turned the corner with Hornazona, I pray. He joined our farm last week, but hasn't been doing well. The other sheep are much bigger than him and would knock him down. He would get pretty intimidated. He's been losing weight and not eating that much.
It turns out that his drive to eat was linked to social eating behavior. At first I had tried to "pen" Melody and Hornazona together, because the breeder we purchased him from said that might help him bond. But Melody never really calmed down, and kept bleating day and night, which was annoying enough to me. I heard a neighbor yesterday "baaa-ing" back to Melody. So I let them out, thinking that Melody would still be separated from the rest of the flock, who were by the new pen / fort, but close enough. But they broke through the electric fencing, and eventually I let Marly join the rest. I made a creep feeder. This turned out to be crucial. So, Hornazona hardly seemed interested in eating, until Charlie and Marly started chowing down. Then he eagerly attacked the food I brought him. Also, maybe it was realizing he needed something more tasty. I had bought some cracked corn, and I mixed that with the sweet feed. The video above shows why it is important to have a separate space for this lamb. The bigger kids push and shove at the feed trough. This behavior intimidates Hornazona. But he has his own space on the other side of the creeper now, so he is good!
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October 2021
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