Now that lambing is done, I’m starting to plan for summer grazing management for the whole flock.  I want to get the two groups back together, and my first step was to test Bravo’s behavior with young lambs.  I know he’s not safe around newborns, and I learned that he’s just fine with 7-week-olds, so I was trying to get a better sense of the changeover point.

I spent perhaps 40 minutes with him when I first brought him over, and he was mostly interested in catching up with all the smells that had accumulated since he’d moved to the lower field.  I checked a little while later, and he seemed to be relaxed and gentle with the newest members of the flock.

I checked a couple more times, and all was going well until he ate Lefty.  Not sure if he was finishing what he’d started (way too anthropomorphic, I assume) or just identified a weak member of the flock as a dinner prospect. Not so cool either way, and still trying to figure out my next move.