The little guy now seems quite committed to staying alive, and is getting closer to figuring out how to nurse.

He’s also trying to cover his bases, here suckling on the edge of my jacket after I fed him some milk replacer from a bottle.

In addition to capturing my heart with his pluck, he’s also helped teach me a number of (very specialized) skills which probably won’t ever make it onto a resume:

• Milking an uncooperative ewe while she is lying prone on a barn floor.  Headlamp and easily laundered clothes are helpful.
• Inserting a feeding tube into a semi-cooperative lamb — surprisingly easy, though pouring in the precious ounces of milk without spilling is more challenging.
• Giving an enema to a potentially constipated day-old lamb — 4mL warm soapy water in a slightly modified syringe.  Easier than I would have thought, with immediate and satisfying results.
• Taking the temperature of a newborn lamb.  Make note to mark thermometer “Not for Oral Use.”