Our first sheep was Selkie. She is the white wool sheep on the left in the picture. We happened upon her for free, and we picked her up more-or-less as a pet. While she has never been cuddly, she tolerates us humanoids pretty well; especially when we are carrying food. We really enjoyed having her around, so we decided to get some more; however, the new sheep were not intended to be pets. In fact, they were extremely skittish when they first arrived... with the exception of one.
From the very beginning, the brown sheep on the left in the photo was far less afraid of us than any of the others, and it wasn't long before she would actually let us pet her. In fact, she seems to crave human affection. Often times, she will stop whatever she is doing (including eating) when she sees one of us coming; then, she'll just stand there looking at you until you pet her.
You can see from the look on her face how much she loves human attention. It is really strange to me! It's almost like the same kind of connection that a dog has with its human. She'll just hang out there for as long as I'm willing to pet her.
I know they say you're not supposed to get attached to your livestock animals; or even name them for that matter. Whether you plan on eventually sending them to freezer camp or selling them at some point down the road, that just complicates matters. But, this little lady has found a permanent home, here. She is by far my favorite, and I have officially elevated her to pet status. Along with that promotion comes a real name. So, since her ear tag number is 0023, I have decided to call her Michelle Jordan in honor of the greatest basketball player of all time.
