Mexican Jumping Bean Sheep

I believe I have been the lucky recipient of a rare breed of sheep: Mexican Jumping Bean Sheep.

About six months ago, Wally purchased five young black-headed Dorper ewe lambs from the auction. He got them when they were likely just weaned. They are cute as can be: little, round beasts with black heads. Can they jump though! They jump more than the black lamb who is part Barbado (Raisin), a breed that is known for its flighty nature.

Several times now while working them out in the front pasture, they've run to their fenced-in area and jumped (well, roll-jumped) over the four foot high field fencing. Once, when we were trying to load them, one jumped straight up into the air and kicked me in the head. The other night when moving them into a side pasture, all of the sheep but one slipped into my shabbily-fenced-in area (a/k/a my first fencing project) leaving a Mexican Jumping Bean Sheep out by herself. That is the kiss of death for a sheep, to be left by herself. She promptly jumped (really jumped this time) the four foot high fence. I'll often see the group of lambs running and jumping playfully, especially when I've first let them out, and the Mexican Jumping Bean Sheep are the ones who are jumping straight up and down, usually a good four feet in the air.

Sheep can me extremely entertaining, well, they are not entertaining when they are giving you and your dog fits in a herding trial, but in general, they are funny. Several of the sheep are loosing their hair (these are hair sheep and they shed their hair [it isn't wool] when it warms up). One had a long hunk of hair hanging down her side and dragging on the ground as she moved. Soon, they'll be sleek and shiny, especially given the amount of rain we've been getting. The grass is grow, growing, growing! I hope it grows three feet high! After the brown, crunchy stuff we had to look at most of last year, it's wonderful to see lush green.