Sheep are perfectly suited to the great outdoors. We'll be having highs in the low single digits here at Wild Rose Farm for the rest of the week. All three groups of sheep got fresh round bales of hay yesterday. When the temperature drops, they really put the munch on the feed. The sheep generally don't come up to the barn, even though they have access. They prefer to stay outside, but will go under trees or over a hillside if it's windy. After all, since the barn isn't heated, it's really just a windbreak. Following a heavy snow fall, the wooly well insulated sheep stand up and shake off like a dog.
Breeding season is over now and we will be selling our Dorset ram this weekend. We've had him for 3 years, but we need to breed his daughters to another ram. The Rambouillet ram will be separated out and moved to the ram pen. We can then get all of the ewes together in one spot so that they're easier to take case of for the rest of the winter.
Another comment about the weather and our lambing schedule here. Despite the frigid temperatures, there are plenty of folks lambing at this time of year. This involves round-the-clock checks on ewes in lambing pens and quick action to dry lambs and get them up and nursing. This is required if you want to hit the Easter market for lambs or if you are raising 4-H club lambs and show sheep. We aren't targeting those markets, so we lamb in late April/early May. On a day like today, that makes us particularly happy ........ :)
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