Tag Archives: lambing

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…

The Lambs Are Growing

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Our oldest lambs are nearly 6 weeks old now. They’ve grown enough that the later ones are catching up to the early ones and the singles have really jumped ahead of the twins, size-wise. You can also start to see that the ram lambs (males) are starting to bulk up faster than the ewe lambs (females). The grass is just starting to haze the fields from brown to green. We’ve started weaning the adults off their grain supplement. Soon we’ll worm them and move them to the big pasture. Sheep … 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…

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…

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…

Lambing Season Has Started {2017}

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Our household has really been under the weather this past week, with a stomach bug and the flu coming to visit. But farm life goes on and along with the flu and some snow flurries, Thursday brought our first lambs! This big fella was already dried off and scampering around on his own four-feet when I saw him while walking the dogs at 7 am. Then later that morning we saw signs of labor in a second ewe. One of the earliest signs is that they start wandering off by themselves … Continue Reading…

Being Sick in Spring…the Daily Farm Adventures {108}

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Mr. Fix-It and I had colds. Which we ignored. Because that’s what farmers and busy parents do when they’re sick–they ignore it. Turns out that was probably not the best course of action. After nearly 3 weeks of being “under the weather” we were both diagnosed with low-bar pneumonia. Ha! Serves us right, I guess. After a week of medicine, I think we’re both improving (and back to work) but still a little low in the energy category. That’s hard in Spring, on a farm, but we’re keeping things afloat. There’s … Continue Reading…

More Lamb Pictures…the Daily Farm Adventures {105}

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We had another set of twins here at the farm last week. They came during some of the coldest weather of the winter so far…of course. {smile} But they’re doing just fine. Their momma is a steady, older, ewe that knows her business. It’s a little ram and a little ewe. (The first set were both rams.) The ewe was born noticeably smaller than the ram and seemed to have some problems right at first. Every time I opened the back door I could hear the little girl crying her … Continue Reading…

Lambs are Here! …the Daily Farm Adventures {104}

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Well, the crew came running back in from chores the other day to holler that WE HAVE LAMBS! You may remember that we’ve been on lamb watch for a week or two now because the ladies have had “the waddle.” The only thing cuter than the lambs themselves, was when the crew ran back inside to grab their tablets to take pictures and videos. We still only have this healthy set of twins on the ground, and 9 more ewes to deliver. But they’re doing very well and we’re happy … 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…

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…

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…

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…

How About Some Words Around Here!

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Sometimes in the deep, dark parts of winter, when everything is dry and brown and dead, words can be hard to come by. Sometimes you want to share the excitement when things go right, but not the mess when things go wrong. And sometimes in this up and down and inside out journey you need to focus on someone else’s words, and not your own. But Spring comes in February here… And when there aren’t words, sometimes there are pictures worth 1,000 words. I spent a few months enjoying puppy kisses … 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…