Today started out rather interesting. We’d planned to make a trip out to Grand Junction to do the in-between batches for lamb shopping, but we had to change our plans. First, we had a surprise late lamb. It was nine pounds, nine ounces, and is doing fine. Mom had him up, dry, and nursed when… Continue reading
Here’s a photo of one of the new lambs resting on a rock in the pasture. Continue reading
Winnie has decided she’s the official lambing pasture guard dog, along with Kimball. She seems to take up a station near the youngest lambs, staying there until newer ones are born. She’s being very alert and watchful and doing a great job. Continue reading
The ewes are finally lambing! This Mother’s Day, we had three ewes lamb, resulting in five lambs. We got four ewe lambs and one ram lamb. All are doing well, although I had to assist two of the ewes. One had twins whose legs were back, and the other was a first-timer and didn’t dilate.… Continue reading
We were finally able to get a clear, safe shot on the coyote that’s been hanging around. We generally try to leave the coyotes alone. As long as they respect the fences and the dogs and don’t bother us or the sheep, we don’t bother them. The last time we had to kill one was… Continue reading
We’ve had some problems with our sheep sweep over the years. The sheep have worn a path down the middle, and the panels have sunk into the ground. This year, we decided to put some gravel down over weed block, then use an old mine belt to make a more durable surface. We also finally… Continue reading
Our shearing is finally done for 2011. We had lots of sticky fleeces and hard-shearing sheep. I’m not entirely sure of the issue yet. Some of it is probably the weather, since ours was not the only hard-shearing flock in our area this year. Some of it was also due to coats. I ran out… Continue reading
Here’s one of our new solar arrays. It doesn’t just collect power – it also provides shade for the sheep. Continue reading
I needed some white wool for blending with our black for new rovings, so I went over to one of the big range flock operations during shearing to purchase some. The big flocks hire large crews to do the job. This crew had 13 shearing stations set up. The sheep go up the inside, get… Continue reading
There’s not much going on at the farm right now. The sheep are getting fat. We fill hay feeders, fill water tanks, and repeat. I haven’t been taking many pictures, so there isn’t much to show. Last week we had help, and we got all of the ram lambs’ toes trimmed. We still have the… Continue reading