Archives

Timing of lamb and codon test result availability

May25

A new feature I am providing this year is codon test results for the lambs. All of them have the resistance gene to scrapies (R ) from their father, but for breeding purposes, it is useful to know what allele they received from their mothers. The tests, however, take a while to be processed so the likelihood is that they will not be known until about July 1st.

The first batch of lambs (from Claire, Fergie, Hattie,and Iris), will be weaned ~ June 1st. Tammy and Quin, from Katie and Nina, will be weaned ~ July 1st.

Flock moves out to pasture

May10

As winter begrudgingly gives way to spring, the pasture is starting to grow – and the barnyard is getting nasty.  Transitioning the flock to spending days on pasture has been eventful.  The moms are well conditioned to following me and the feed sled to the temporary pasture enclosures – the babies, not so much.  I spent a number of mornings cornering, catching, and carrying lambs out to their mothers. Today they all figured it out!!

Rhonda and Paula playing on overturned feed sled.

Rhonda and Paula playing on overturned feed sled.

The lambs’ antics are a wonderful antidote to time-crunch stresses of springtime on the farm.  They swarm fish schools.  Sorry, I was unable to catch (on video) them chasing my layer hens around the pasture.  They are similar to goats in liking to play king of the ____ (whatever is the highest spot in the pen).

I modified an existing broiler chicken tractor to serve as creep feeder and rain shelter for the lambs.  Today I added an attached the mineral feeder so I have less to move as they get rotated to various pasture plots.

Paula viewing life from inside the creep feeder.

Paula viewing life from inside the creep feeder.

Fiber Flock Expands

Mar31

Expansion has taken a couple of forms here.  I bought a couple of Shetland wethers from my friend, Allan.  They have a different fleece – more slippery, shiny and feltable and he had two colored wethers that were otherwise slated for the butcher’s table. Moon Shadow is a light gray with darker spots and Noir is pitch black.  I need to read up on Shetland color variations and terminology to be more precise than that. From the looks of them they don’t eat much so won’t be as effective as my Babydolls in the landscape management department. Currently they are walking through holes in fences I didn’t know I had, but are integrating well with the Babydolls.  

Noir (front) and Moon Shadow (rear) sharing hay with Edwin (right).

Noir (front) and Moon Shadow (rear) sharing hay with Edwin (right).

Just in the nick of time, my friends Jean and Stefan, helped me prepare the nursery in the upper barn. Claire, (who you might remember didn’t show any lambs in the ultra-sound!!) gave birth to a baby girl Sunday at around 6:00pm. After a little coaching Claire is doing a great job of mothering this year. Gott sei dank!

Little Olivia explores under the watchful eye of mama Claire.

Little Olivia explores under the watchful eye of mama Claire.

Shearing Day!

Mar31
Shearing provided some surprises in exterior versus interior coloration of the fleeces.

Shearing provided some surprises in exterior versus interior coloration of the fleeces.

Shearing day was quite a success! It was warm and sunny and everyone was excited to be outside.  We had over 25 people show up to watch the sheep be parted from their fleeces and consume some tasty Amish cooking.  Brent, our shearer, did a phenomenal job quickly and carefully sheering all 41 animals, ranging from some ~150 pound Icelandic-Gotland crosses to perhaps 40 pound Shetland yearlings.  I was very pleased with the wool harvest from my Babydolls, with the adults averaging over 5 pounds per fleece even after having left the (dirty) belly wool in the scrap heap.

 

 

 

Willy guarding the wool. The bags will be shaded and as soon as possible the dirty and short bits will be removed in a process called skirting and transferred to more breathable bags.

The wool will be shaded and as soon as possible the dirty and short bits will be removed (=”skirting”) and transferred to more breathable bags.

It will take a while to readjust my image of each sheep. We found some new spotting under all that wool.

We found some new spotting under all that wool – a natural heather effect!

Shearing Day Opportunities

Mar27

Plans are in place for the group shearing day this Saturday at the Amish B&B.  Three colors of my Babydoll Southdown rovings from last year’s shearing will be available for purchase: Espresso, Semi-sweet, and Cream at $3/oz.  Raw fleeces will be for sale at $18/lb. for virgin fleeces (Nina and Katie) and $16/lb. for the adults.  I’m pricing my fiber at a slight discount to the Shetland fiber due to general lack of public knowledge of the value of Babydoll wool.  Fresh fleeces and processed wool from both the Shetlands and Icelandic-Gotland sheep will also be for sale.  The sun is forecast to be shining for a great day for an outing!

Ewe Ultrasound Surprises

Mar18

Yesterday’s ultrasounds were very worthwhile. I learned my second 2013 ewe lamb is also expecting, but her mother is not. Note to self… the best stage at which to do ultrasounds is the 50-60 day window (from conception). At that point the fetuses are small enough that the number can also be observed, so multiples can be planned for. The scaling of the learning curve continues!

Ultrasound Scheduled for Ewes

Mar13

Yesterday I scheduled my sheep vet to pay a visit Monday the 17th to do ultrasounds on my ewes. When it works best, it can indicate the presence and numbers of lambs inside the mothers. It might be considered unnecessary, but not knowing the status of my 2013 ewe lambs, especially, could lead to underfeeding and resultant pregnancy toxemia, or over feeding and obesity issues down the line. Besides… I’m hugely curious!

Shearing Open House Date Set

Mar9

A small group of fellow shepherds and myself will be holding a shearing open house on Saturday, March 29th from 10 AM to about 2 PM at the Amish B&B near Canton, MN.  Shetland, Babydoll Southdown, and Icelandic-Gotland cross sheep will be sheared and their fleeces, and rovings, rolags, and wool from last year’s fleeces will be available for sale.  The B&B will be hosting a light lunch ($5) and presenting spinning demonstrations.  I’m embedding a copy of the flyer OPEN HOUSE 2014 Spring Sheep Shearing that contains the details.  If you are interested in where wool starts from, purchasing specific fibers for fiber arts, or trying the wool of various breeds before adding them to you fiber flock, I encourage you to join us.  Maryann is a great cook, so I’m looking forward to the lunch, too!