Never say never

Boo's lambs - Gobi and her brother

After 32 years of shepherding sheep and goats there is a familiar structure to the year and a rhythm to the seasons. Goats are seasonal polyestrous - meaning their breeding season is September through December, maybe January. They have a 5 month gestation period.

We usually put the rams/bucks in with the flocks in October, so we have mostly March babies. If we are setting aside separate breeding or housing pens, we leave the boys in there and away from the main flock through January. But, our boys are protective of their girls and babies, so we put them back in the main flock in February. For 32 years, we've done it this way and never had baby born after the first of May.

Until yesterday.

Obviously, Mother Nature doesn't put much stock in the phrase "But we've always done it this way!"