Tag Archives: lambing

Docking Lamb Tails

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Have you ever put a hair ponytail around your wrist and forgot about it for a few hours-then when you take it off you’ve got that indentation where it was cutting into your circulation? Sometimes if it was tight you might have even been a little itchy or tingly at first, but you forgot about it as soon as someone spilled milk all over the floor or the dog yakked up yellow Tonka truck pieces on the porch? (Yes, true story.) That’s how we “dock” lamb tails. We have a … Continue Reading…

Moving Lambs to New Pastures

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With the nice weather this past weekend, part of our outside chores included moving the lambs (and their mommas) to new pastures. There’s grass coming up, so the goal is to keep the animals on fresh, green grass as much as possible. That involves a lot of moving animals around from one pasture to another, from one side of the farm to the other. The older animals do fine with it. They’ve moved before and they understand the typical routes. They also know there’s good grass at the end of the … Continue Reading…

Working the Sheep…the Daily Farm Adventures {85}

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Our big accomplishment for the weekend was that we worked the whole flock through the chute, worming, trimming hooves, and checking general health. Mr. Fix-It is trying a new set up for our pens and chutes–under cover instead of out in the field. Not crazy about it–too much dust and the flies are much worse in the shade. I don’t really understand that, but it’s true. The sheep don’t seem to care one way or another and we’re able to work everyone in less than 2 hours, so they’re not … Continue Reading…

Summer Lambing Surprise…the Daily Farm Adventures {89}

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I don’t see very well. I’m just gonna put that out there because I wear contact and most folks don’t realize. When I don’t have them in, I can’t even see all the way across our bedroom without my bottle-cap glasses. (Seriously, my lenses are so thick they’ve been known to fall out of the frames if the frame is too thin.) My eyes must have been made for reading books, cause that’s about how far I can see well without glasses. {smile} So a few weeks ago I’m letting … Continue Reading…

We’ve Been Busy, as Usual…the Daily Farm Adventures {77}

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Ok, I haven’t written in a while, but I’ve had my hands full to overflowing. (And I needed a break.) We’ve been busy with this… And this… And this… And this… And this… But I’m working my way back. I’m going back to our series on the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm, and I’ve got a fun Spring newsletter full of great spring tips, treats, and farm happening in the works. (Peep cakes, anyone?) {smile} The Pixie Chicken is all settled into the new chicken house with … Continue Reading…

A Peek At Our Winter…the Daily Farm Adventures {79}

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Yes, I know winter is over. Believe me, I’m glad! But I didn’t share much over the winter and I thought I’d take a minute to share some pictures with you. We don’t see the farm blanketed in snow very often, so I just couldn’t stand not to share these before next year! If you look real close at that one, you’ll see Chester (our bull) with his head sticking out of the gray chicken coop. The chickens ran wild for most of the winter while we finished up their … Continue Reading…

Wearing Many Hats…the Daily Farm Adventures {70}

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Things are a little crazy around here right now. We’re in the middle of soccer season, so the kiddos have practice during the week, and then games on Saturday mornings. This Saturday is also lamb harvest this year, so we’ll have customers at the farm all day on Saturday. The Cowboy is very excited that he won’t have to miss it this year, like last year, for school. Plus Mr. Fix-It and I have started teaching Wednesday night bible club at our church. It’s a joy, but it takes up … Continue Reading…

Organizing Direct-Market Lamb Sales…the Daily Farm Adventures {72}

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All of our customers buy directly from us here at the farm. Customers give us money, we give them an animal. We sell live animals only. That avoids extensive liability and food safety issues. If they want it processed by someone, we sell them the animal and then arrange transport to an approved facility for butchering and they pay the butcher directly for the processing at that inspected, approved facility. Last week I explained that our Fall lamb harvest is mostly Muslim customers buying for Eid (the celebration of sacrifice). Supplies of fresh, … Continue Reading…

Serving Muslim Customers at the Farm as Christians…the Daily Farm Adventures {71}

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We had our lamb harvest day on Saturday this year, so we’re wrapping up another sold-out lambing season here at The Lowe Farm. 90% of our customers are repeat customers, or a referral from a regular customer, and this is our 4th sold out year. Mr. Fix-It and I had a long talk the other day and we decided that being more transparent in our experiences might have a lot of value for our readers, and maybe some other small farmers out there. Based on some of the…um…unkind comments that we have … Continue Reading…

Canadian Visitors…the Daily Farm Adventures {64}

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We have some new visitors in the neighborhood. A flock of Canadian geese has taken up residence in our big front field every morning for the last two weeks or so. I’m a little frustrated that most of my pictures are either far away or of them moving away. They don’t get “scared” when we’re around, they just turn and mosey off across the field and all I get are pictures of their tails. It sounds very Fall-ish as they honk on their fly-overs. As usual, everyone else on the farm … Continue Reading…

In the Fields…the Daily Farm Adventures {65}

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Saturday afternoon we took reservations on all our lambs. Yep, the whole crop is spoken for. Customers will be coming on Oct 3rd and Oct 4th to pick up or process their animals. We also sold all our eggs and a handful of chickens. Remember all those free chicks we ended up with in the spring? We’ve been able to raise them and sell birds to several other folks to turn them into a profit. So what’s next, right? Fall is also breeding season, so in addition to keeping our … Continue Reading…

Lambs At Play…the Daily Farm Adventures {121}

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Feeding time for mommas is when the lambs get to run wild and play together. Every evening it’s like a crazy lamb party out there! Their mommas are all head-down in the trough and they are running around wondering what to do. Remember that feisty ewe lamb from Bug-Eyes last Thursday? She might be smaller, but she is a busy little thing! That big black lamb is a bit of a mommas-boy. The little gray is quite spunky. At this age any time the lambs cry, their momma will leave … Continue Reading…

A Set of Twins and Growing Lambs…the Daily Farm Adventures {122}

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We got to be home for a brand new set of twins over the weekend. Many times during lambing season we’re at work or school and always make a new count when we pull in the driveway to see if we missed anything! Their momma is one of the ewes that has struggled before, so we’re keeping a close eye on her. With all of our sheep getting older, we’ve got to keep extra tabs on things like access to minerals, salt, and grain. So far so good, though. She … Continue Reading…

When Things Change…the Daily Farm Adventures {55}

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The Ladybug has been off at camp this week and it’s been just us and the boys. It’s made for an interesting change in the household dynamic, to say the least. {smile} We all miss her, but Speedracer really misses her. Monday evening the boys and I rounded up and penned the sheep. Then a red pick up truck rolled into the driveway with a stock rack on the back. They loaded up a couple sheep and a couple chickens and drove away. I may have cried. Just a little. … Continue Reading…

Twin Lambs at Sunrise…the Daily Farm Adventures {123}

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When I was out walking the dogs past the lamb pasture Wednesday morning, I thought I saw a ewe laying down back in the corner in a sheep hut. So we kept an eye on her throughout the morning chores and school routine. Sure enough, she was in labor. By the time I left for work, she had a healthy set of twins on the ground. They were up, walking around and nursing. I sneaked in for a closer look, but she started stomping her foot at me, so I … Continue Reading…