Tag Archives: sheep

How To Build a Water and Mineral Stand for Your Homestead

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There’s always big projects and small projects on the homestead. It often bothers me that we have a 1,000 things going on and nothing is ever started and finished in one big swing. But I’ve learned that the farm is ALWAYS bigger than the man and it’s best to be flexible if you want to get anything done. And every once in a while you find a small project that you can knock out quickly and move on. Our recent mobile water and mineral stand project was one. Wood pallets used … Continue Reading…

How to Find and Use a Farm Sitter to Enjoy Vacation as a Homesteader

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We don’t go on vacation much. Hardly ever, really. And our version of a vacation is usually just a 3-day weekend visiting family. Between all the packing for five people; all the prep (and cost!) to leave the animals in someone else’s hands; all the stress of getting there and getting home–and worrying about everything while you’re gone!–then all the unpacking, washing, cleaning, and catching up when you do get home…blah! There’s nothing relaxing about it! Besides–we like being at home! But we also like our family. And we like adventuring … Continue Reading…

5 Tips for Raising Kids That Are Self-Motivated

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We got a late night call from the sheep shearing about rescheduling our appointment due to rain on Sunday. You can’t shear wet sheep, so they had some cancellations from folks that couldn’t get their animals under cover. They knew we could, and asked if we wanted to bump our appointment up to first thing the next morning. It meant that Mr. Fix-It and I had to move the sheep from one side of the farm to the other and pen them in the tractor shed. In the dark. Without … 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…

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…

Choosing Livestock (Part 3) …The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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So here we are at Part 3. You’ve already decided that you’re ready to bring some livestock out to the farm. You’ve done your research and planning and know what type of livestock you want to start with. But within each species there is a huge list of individual breeds to choose from–and each one has plenty of breeders and admirers swearing that theirs is the best breed ever! The Livestock Conservancy identifies and tracks heritage livestock breeds only, and they have lists of 22 breeds of cattle, 10 individual … Continue Reading…

Choosing Livestock (Part 2) …the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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This particular part of the series became a two-parter (and then THREE PARTS) because there’s just so much to cover when it comes to choosing livestock. Livestock will be, by far, your largest investment in your small farm. In time, resources, and heartache. Choosing the right animals to fit your needs, your goals, and your farm space will make the best use of your limited resources, and be less stressful for you AND the animals. If your tractor dies, there will be financial pain and angst. When you lose a … 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…

Farm Work Odds and Ends…the Daily Farm Adventures {119}

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Well, it’s pretty soggy around here. That limits what we can do outside. You can cause a lot of damage to fields and paths by driving through and rutting them up in really wet weather. You can see what I mean in those ruts in the picture below…   But there’s still always something to be working on. First, there’s always housework to be done–and these soggy days can multiply that with everyone’s muddy boots and clothes! There’s a constant balancing act on the homestead between the basic housework and … Continue Reading…

First Snow of the Year…the Daily Farm Adventures {116}

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Well, our first snow was quite an event this year–10 to 12 inches! Something we only get every couple years around here. Last year we hardly got any snow at all. Snow means fun for the kids, time off from school, and more chores. {smile} We spend more time checking on everyone and making sure everyone has the calories they need to stay warm. We also throw down extra straw in the barns to keep everyone off the cold ground and out of the eventual mud that always follows the … Continue Reading…

Choosing Livestock (Part 1)…the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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So, now we get to the fun part of a small farm–The critters. It’s the part we tend to get over-zealous and the most impulsive about–and probably the most important that we take our time and think through! {smile} On a more serious note, it really is the part people most often get in over their head with. We’ve ended up with a lot of cast off livestock over the years. From “adopting” chickens at the animal shelter, to a goat tied to our porch rail with a note, to … Continue Reading…

There was this Girl Farmer…the Daily Farm Adventures {101}

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I was walking down the alley with the dogs yesterday evening and ran into this girl… She was tall, and slim, and wearing a well-worn pair of muck boots like she knew something about the business of mud. Her barn coat was a little rough around the edges and shrugged comfortably across her shoulders as she warmed her hands in her pockets. Her scarf was set just so, casual and deliberate, just so to warm and breath, and there was a rosiness to her cheeks that suggested she knew the winter evening … Continue Reading…