Category: Sheep
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Triplets!
Well, I spoke too soon! At this morning’s sheep check, at six AM, we found an ewe with three lambs. 298 Caridwen had all three lambs out, dry, and nursing. Two were ewes and one was a ram. Unfortunately, Caridwen can only count to two, so we put her in a jug on pasture until… Continue reading
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Burning Brush and More Lambs
Yesterday, we burned the big brush pile in our field. We have to call the Sheriff to get permission now. In years past, agricultural burning was allowed with no restrictions. It’s a bit of a hassle, but I guess because so many urban folks moved in and saw burning, they had to institute some sort… Continue reading
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First Lamb!
Our first lamb of the year has arrived. It’s a lovely little ewe lamb weighing six pounds, seven ounces, and it was born at six AM this morning. The new mother is 716 Bron, and this is her first lamb. Papa is Hervey, who was sold to Canada last year. Bron had her new baby… Continue reading
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On Pasture
The pregnant ewes went out on pasture today. As you can see, the grass is still thin, so we preloaded hay into the pasture. Some ewes were eating it after testing the grasses. From the looks of these udders, this is none too soon. I expect lambs anytime now. Continue reading
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Sheep Dewormer
The pregnant ewes got their dewormer yesterday. One of the ways we reduce the parasite load in the pastures is by deworming the ewes 24-48 hours before they go out in summer. That, combined with our hard winters, means that we rarely have to deworm lambs until late summer. That’s when we start to get… Continue reading
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Lawnmowers
We got the ewe yearlings out to graze the bits of grass coming up around the guesthouse. Why use a lawnmower when you have sheep? The grass must be too young still – it doesn’t taste good yet, and they didn’t like it much. They did have a grand time racing all over and checking… Continue reading
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Spring, Then Winter Again
Animal Husbandry, Farm Life, Gardening and Harvesting, Hay and Forage, Other Animals, Sheep, WeatherWell, we thought spring was coming. The snow had melted, and things were starting to green up. The grass was just getting going, and the guard dogs looked ready to start their lamb-protection work. Then, we got this! More snow, which led to more mud when it melted the next day. Last year, we had… Continue reading
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Federal Flock Inspection and Vaccinations
Yesterday was the yearly Federal flock inspection. We are in the Scrapie Flock Certification program and are certified Scrapie Free. One of the things we have to do is have our flock inspected once per year. The inspector comes out and we run every single sheep through. He checks ear tag numbers against inventory. I… Continue reading
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Shearing Day
Saturday was our sheep shearing day. On Friday, we picked up Eifion – that was the good news. The bad news is that his shearing equipment in his luggage wasn’t on the same plane as he was. He tried to shear the first flick with my Lister shears and got it done, but it was… Continue reading
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Getting Ready to Shear the Sheep
This weekend is the big sheep shearing day. On Saturday, all the sheep will get shorn, and I’ll have a bunch of new wool to skirt and prepare for sale. We’d hoped the shop would be done so the wool could go upstairs, but it’s not. I’ll be storing the boxes of wool under the… Continue reading