Sheep

Clancy

Clancy was the very first sheep resident at Blackbird Ranch. She came to us as a day old wee little lamb in March of 2017. Clancy was a triplet, and often times when ewe’s give birth to triplets, they can only raise 2 of the babies, because they can only nurse 2 at a time. When this happens, the runt of the litter usually gets rejected by the mom. This is what happened to Clancy. Clancy is our only resident black sheep, her best friend is Darby and she loves spending her days up on the hill grazing. Clancy is very friendly and will come right over for ear rubs and love.

Darby

Darby came to live at Blackbird Ranch a couple days after she was born. She was orphaned after her mother died while giving birth to her. The farmer who had her mother didn’t want to take the time to bottle feed her, and was going to have her shot. Luckily we heard about this girl just in time and were able to step in and adopt her. Darby is the best friend to Clancy, and enjoys long walks in her pasture, sleeping under the shade of the pine trees and ear massages.

Oliver

Oliver came to us a couple years ago from Spokane, WA. He is a triplet, and sadly was rejected by his Mama. Often times, when there are triplets, the smallest or weakest baby gets rejected and the mom will only care for 2 of the babies. The third baby, is often referred to as a “bummer lamb”, in Ag terminology. Farmers often will just euthanize these babies because they require round the clock bottle feedings, lots of extra time, and the milk replacer is expensive. Luckily for Oliver, a nice family in Spokane knew about him and were able to get the farmer to release him, so he could live out his natural life! We are so happy they saved Oliver and we have the pleasure of watching this beautiful boy grow up and live his best life on our hills. Oliver is a “hair sheep”, meaning he doesn’t grow wool, and thus never needs to be sheared. He grows a very thick, velvety-soft hair coat and it falls out all on its own in the summer! Oliver is probably our quietest sheep, we hardly ever hear him make a peep, but when he does, he has the deepest voice of ALL the sheep! It almost doesn’t seem like that deep voice could come out of his petite little body. Oliver loves spending his days lounging around at the top of the hill, napping in the shade of the pine trees, and frolicking with his best buddy, Clancy.

Garfunkel

Garfunkel came to us in the Fall of 2019, after living his former life as a breeder ram on a big farm (he has since been neutered). The farmer was planning to shoot Garfunkel after he claimed that he “made ugly babies”, which is not only horribly sad but hard to even believe! Garfunkel looked as though he’s never been shorn either. He must have had at least 3 years of wool growth on him when he arrived. Garfunkel is a little shy, but is coming around and is more and more trusting everyday. He loves to roam the hillside and graze all day with his besties, Clancy and Darby.

Guy

Guy is our Christmas baby, we rescued him on Christmas day in 2019. He was being used in a live nativity scene at a Christmas tree stand. The owner of the Christmas tree stand was planning to slaughter Guy on Christmas day, but thankfully, a kind hearted woman stepped in and arranged for him to be released to her. Guy is named in honor of the father of a long-time friend and sanctuary supporter, who passed shortly after we rescued him. Guy is our most shy sheep, but very sweet and gentle. He looks after our newest lamb, Josie, and is showing her the ropes.

Josie

Josie is our newest lamb, she arrived in the Fall of 2020. She was rescued from a local farmer who was going to put her down simply because of her size. You see, Josie has proportional dwarfism, so she is very tiny. She’s only the size of a 4 month baby. Josie is super sweet, loving and inquisitive. She has a soft voice and pretty light brown eyes. She looks like she’s wearing little brown leg warmers all the time too. Josie is learning to adapt to herd life on our big sheep and goat pasture, but she’s still a little timid around the goats. She stays close to her best friend, Guy, and he looks after her.