Tag: yearlings

Catching Up

Sheeps & Peeps2 Comments
Last weekend we moved the rams into the barn for an evening then set about shearing them the following morning. Such nosey boys… Liam and Aragorn are right there watching as Poseidon gets his haircut. After the 24-hour ram cram we moved the boys into the goat pen as the goats are still in their winter paddock. This has worked out great as the grass was pretty high, so on top of having a great deal to eat, the tall grass has seemed to cut down on their ram hi-jinks following the shearing. So far, no bloody heads and not much neck wrestling.
We also moved the yearling group from paddock three of the barnyard into the paddock vacated by the rams.  We must remember this moving schedule for next spring (hence recording it here) because this was the easiest (on the shepherdess/s) succession of paddocks we have ever done.  The sun has been so hot, everyone has been enjoying the shade.

Yearlings, Hera and Triplets

Sheeps & Peeps6 Comments

There is a seemingly endless cycle of putting fence up… taking fence down… putting fence up… taking fence down… going on at the farm.  The happy sheep produced by this paddock merry-go-around sure makes it all worthwhile.  The yearlings were moved into the third and final section of the barnyard last weekend, and will be moved once again this weekend.
They have been joined by Ceres (in the foreground below) who is doing so much better!  Although she is losing some of her wool from the stress and looks a little rough, she is eating well and really enjoys being out of the barn.

Hera and the triplets have also moved out of the barn and are enjoying their own little paddock.  We began supplementing the little ewe with a bottle.  She is less agressive and doesn’t seem to be getting her fair share of milk.  Hopefully she will begin to catch up with her brothers.

Maebh’s Lamb

Sheeps & Peeps5 Comments
This morning when going to feed, I was greeted in the barn by Maebh and her brand new baby ram: a sturdy, robust 11 lb. 13 oz.-er. Things must have gone smoothly, he was almost dry and was eating away. They are settled snugly in their jug for the next few days

And so it begins….
Hope this is a harbinger of how lambing season will progress this year….
Guess we will discover that when the real fun begins in a couple of weeks….

Pondering the Who

Sheeps & Peeps8 Comments
The yearling ewes, as if to make up for being such troublemakers all winter, have now decided that they like nothing better than to have their heads scratched.  They especially love to be scratched behind the ears and will nudge you quite forcefully if you stop before they think you should.  And, honestly, who can resist a face like that?
In other news, it seems likely that the young Maebh (yearling ewe 1002) is in a family way.  Despite having grown up on the farm, and our prior shepherdess experience, our first reaction was “How did that happen?”  Well, having given it a second thought, we obviously know the how, the puzzle is the when.  We do not intentionally breed our ewes until they are two.  So either we did not get the ram lambs separated in time or we have another Houdini on our hands.  Hmmm, something to ponder as we go about the daily chores… the when… and then… the who.