We have 5 lambs currently living in a pen near the house, watched over by the students, and by pretty much everyone on the farm as they are passing by. I mean, who could resist? These lambs were orphaned in the field and brought up to feed and bring along by hand.
"Bummer" is the traditional name for a lamb whose mother either died or rejected the baby. In order to survive in the flock, those babies would need to be adopted by another willing ewe. If that didn't happen they would die in the field. So the students at Deck check the fields for little lost lambs to bring home.
And, yes, it is just as cute and fun as you would imagine. They snuggle together on these chilly days, or cuddle in their shelter out of the rain. They nuzzle your hands looking for a teat and they don't mind being held. They taste everything they find, curious about the world or working on teething.
It is also a lot of work trying to manage feeding them. When it was just two, feeding was manageable - you could easily make sure they both got what they need. But as new, younger ones were added to the group the difficulty multiplied. The older ones took more than their share and the littles were shorted, calling constantly. Now, there is an feeding station where they can "nurse" whenever they are hungry, just like in the field.