Liquid Gold!

 

Sheep Milk Colostrum Going to the Freezer!

Here's an upside down selfie that I took to show everyone the precious colostrum that we milked from our ewes.  The first milk from the ewe after lambing is "anti-body rich" colostrum and it's critical for the newborns to get up and nurse.  It's thick and you can see the more golden color - which is one of the reasons we consider it liquid gold!  When a ewe has a single lamb, that's a perfect time to get some colostrum for the freezer. The frozen colostrum can be thawed later and fed to another newborn lamb that needs to be started or supplemented.  Both of the jugs above are colostrum, but from different ewes, so there's a difference in their color. 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #568 & Ram Lamb

The ewe above delivered this large single ram lamb and is the donor for the jug on the left. The picture was taken after a 1AM pasture check when we brought them up to the barn.  The colostrum was milked from the side that the lamb wasn't nursing on yet at around 7AM.  It actually provides some relief to milk out the ewe and the single lamb will soon be nursing on both sides.  

The jug on the right came from a ewe that delivered twin lambs around 6AM the same morning. She just happens to have a very heavy milk flow, so we recruited her as a colostrum donor ... 

There was plenty of milk to go around!  :)

Keeping Track of Who's Who!

 

Scourable Spray Paint & Barn Supplies

Every year we get questions about the green numbers painted on the ewes in the fall and on the lambs in the spring. The paint is a special formula for livestock - sheep in particular - that is "scourable". It will wash out in the wool washing or scouring process.  If you notice in the pictures as time goes on, the numbers fade in the sun & rain.  We refresh the markings once or twice over the summer as the lambs grow.  We have the paint out in the barn as we vaccinate, ear tag, and dock the lambs. Pretty nice tackle box, eh?  It's just the right size and the sheep "duck tape" is holding together the cracks in the lid.

Wild Rose Farm #141 & Twin Ram Lambs

Here are a couple of lambs that we just painted. The tag number of the ewe is painted on the lamb and in the case of twins, one of them gets a "dot".  That way, you can tell them apart at a distance if there's a problem without having to catch them to read the ear tag number. 

Time to head back out to the barn to check on a newborn set of twins and then make a quick pasture check!

Another Set of Triplets at Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm #142 Cleaning Her Ewe Lamb!

Both of the ewes that we put in the barn last night had lambs early this morning. When we went out to the barn around 6:30 AM, ewe #142 was standing there with her head in the corner. Hmmmm ... that means she's thinking of something! We let both of them out into the hospital pen and after about an hour of grazing they separated. Ewe #142 went into labor and within an hour had delivered this first lamb in a nice clean grassy area. Here she is earnestly cleaning her lamb and "chuckling" the whole time.

Wild Rose Farm #142 Tending to a Second Ewe Lamb!

In a little over an hour, she delivered a 2nd ewe lamb. At this point we can see that there will be another lamb coming as she continues to work on the two lambs that she has now.

Wild Rose Farm #142 Turns Her Attention to the Ram Lamb!

Within 15 minutes of delivering lamb number two, a third lamb easily joined them! Wow. We were very lucky to have a trouble free birthing on clean pasture to such an attentive ewe.
All three were moved up to the barn and are doing well as of 9PM tonight.
Meanwhile, as we moved this group to the barn, companion ewe #152 was restless and starting into labor nearby. Her she is circling & then laying down to deliver the first of what turned out to be a set of twins.  They are also doing well tonight!

Wild Rose Farm #152 Just Before Delivering Her First Twin

Two Sets of Twins!

Wild Rose Farm #151 - Twins!

Time to catch up on the lambing season … we had two sets of twins born on the 27th. Our pretty horned crossbred ewe #151 has a ewe lamb & a ram lamb. We just tagged & vaccinated them this afternoon & the ram lamb will have horns too.  Both are doing well!

Wild Rose Farm #144 - Twins Too!

Late in the evening, and actually a few minutes into the 28th, #144 delivered a set of twin ram lambs. She seemed to be "thinking about" lambing for a couple of days as you've seen.  Here she has them cleaned off ... the one lamb has his head down searching, but he needs to go towards the other end!
Snow White continues her pasture duty with the rest of the flock.  This is the first time I've ever seen her munching on the white pines …

Snow White Snacking on the White Pines

Super Sheep?!?

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #141

We had just moved the sheep back over to the Loafing Shed after replacing a couple of ear tags, when this ewe caught my eye.  Hmmm, who is this somewhat short legged, chunky little ewe?  I had to creep up on her quietly to see that she was #141. She's a Dorset x Rambouillet cross and her records show that she's had 4 sets of twins. We'd already made the decision to retain her ewe lamb this year based on her growth - she's the only x-bred ewe lamb that we're keeping. It's tough since we're keeping 5 ewe lambs (3 Rambouillet, 1 Dorset) & we could only keep one more.
I'll try to get a picture of her one of these days ...
We have some really nice twin x-bred ewe lambs for sale that would really be nice to keep. We've sold a Dorset ram lamb & a horned Rambouillet ram lamb in the last couple of weeks and it would be great if some of the ewe lambs went to a new farm!

Fall Chores ...

Wild Rose Farm Ewes on the Move!

With the shorter & cooler days of fall, the sheep are always nice & frisky!  Here they are rushing past on their way in to graze down the hospital pen. We're sorting through the ewes and planning the breeding groups for this season. We'll have a group of Rambouillet ewes with a Rambouillet ram and the Dorset & crossbred ewes with a young Dorset ram. That smaller sheep in the picture above is a crossbred ewe lamb. She was born late and we just separated her off of her dam last week. She's been running with the ewes all summer … it just seemed easier to leave her out there and she did quite well!
We've had some folks looking at lambs lately & we have some really nice crossbred ewe lambs for sale + 2 commercial Dorset ram lambs & several Rambouillet ram lambs.  We were skewed towards rams this year and ended up with only 5 Rambouillet ewe lambs - we sold one and are keeping the other 4 for ourselves. They're all twins and one is a triplet. :)

Lambs Ready To Go!

Wild Rose Farm - Sorting Ewe Lambs 

It's time & the lambs are ready to start leaving the farm now! Here we were above, sorting through some of the ewe lambs at the beginning of August. We have Dorset/Rambouillet crossbred ewe lambs and several Dorset ewe lambs sired by our performance tested Dorset ram available, as well as one registered Dorset ram lamb. We're planning to keep several of the registered Rambouillet ewe lambs for our own flock, but we do have a couple of registered Rambouillet ewe lambs and and ram lambs for sale.
We had good weather last week for the local Hookstown Fair and now it's back to focusing on the chores here … we have a routine farm visit from the veterinarian scheduled this week. Glenda & Snow White get their annual shots and a check-up, plus we review the lambs for sale in case health papers are needed to sell across the state line. Unfortunately, it looks like a hot week with temperatures in the 90's … yikes!

More Lambs Since Monday ...

Wild Rose Farm - #148 & Ram Lamb

We've had a half-dozen more ewes that have lambed since Monday evening. Cross-bred ewe #148, a "first timer", delivered a large ram lamb and is taking great care of him! Ditto for another "first timer", #150 - she delivered a large ewe lamb.

Horned Crossbred Ewe #134 Cleaning Her Twins

 Blog followers will recognize this horned ewe, #134 from previous years, She has a nice set of twins, one of each. We'll have to see if they have horn buds like their dam. These lambs were sired by the Dorset ram.

Wild Rose Farm #134 & Lambs

We also had another set of Rambouillet twin lambs born yesterday - Rambouillet ewe #407 had a ram lamb & a ewe lamb. Here she is with her newborns below ...

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #407 With Newborn Twins!

All four of these ewes above lambed between 3PM and 8PM yesterday!  It was a busy afternoon & evening here at the farm!
And ... today this afternoon, Dorset ewe #1445 delivered a set of twins too - one of each. They will be registered and are out of our performance tested Dorset ram.
Time to get some sleep!!!

More Lambs Coming!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #332 & Twin Ram Lambs

We've been busy the last few days with grazing moves & new lambs coming.  Here are a few pictures of what's been going on in the barn as we bring the newborn lambs in from the pasture!

Wild Rose Farm X-bred #127 & Twin Ewe Lambs

Dorset Ewe #118 came up to the barn with #127 and her twins ... she really wanted to steal one of them!  As expected, she delivered her own single ewe lamb about 5 hours later ...

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #333 & First of Twin Ewe Lambs

Next Up - Twins!

Wild Rose Farm - 6:30AM Pasture Scene

The picture above is what it looks like when a "granny ewe" is hanging out with another ewe and her newborn lambs --- enlarge the pic & see them off to the far right?  Sure enough, Dorset ewe #116 had a set of twins and Rambouillet ewe #407 was hoping that they were hers!  She followed right along when they were brought up to the barn.

Wild Rose Farm - Granny Ewe Following Lambs Up To Barn!

In this case, #116 is an older, experienced ewe who's raised triplets in the past, so she isn't about to be run off from her lambs by another ewe. She is on the right in the picture and the plump #407 is coming along on the other side of Mr. Wild Rose Farm. We had to put the lambs down in the chute & close the gate behind them and #116 to physically separate them.

Ewe #407 Doesn't Want To Leave ...

It's mostly a case of hormones in an older ewe near lambing time - she wants a lamb! We sent her back out to the pasture & will continue to keep an eye on her.

Twin Ram & Ewe Lambs - Settled In Comfortably With Mom!

Nothing else as of 8:30 PM ...

First Lamb of 2018!

Wild Rose Farm #146 With Ram Lamb @ 2:30AM

The 2018 lambing season has started at Wild Rose Farm! Ewe #146 was standing off by herself at 11:30PM & circling. Her water hadn't broken yet, so we set the alarm for 2AM. It's about 34 degrees outside and dry.  We found her with a single ram lamb that was all cleaned off & he has nursed. She was also closely accompanied by a "granny ewe" (one of the older Rambouillets) who really wanted the lamb too. Both of them followed us up to the barn and we had to separate them and shoo the other ewe back to the pasture. Usually when that happens, the second ewe lambs later that day.  We'll see what happens!  Now back to sleep ...

Ewe Lamb Leaves For New Home!

Wild Rose Farm Crossbred Ewe Lamb Loaded Up!

Another of our nice Dorset x Rambouillet ewe lambs left the farm this afternoon. She was a twin ewe lamb born on April 28th ... out of the first ewe to have lambs this spring. She had been chosen several weeks ago and was waiting for pick-up. We were working on the ewes in preparation for breeding season and her new owner stopped in on his day off from work. We trimmed her hooves, loaded her up, and away she went ...

Rambouillet Ewe Lamb #561 - A Keeper!

We had a lot more ram lambs than ewe lambs born this spring for "whatever" reason. All of our Rambouillet ewe lambs were born as twins, but their twins were ram lambs!  The #561 Rambouillet ewe lamb above is shown in the handling chute with several of the crossbred ewe lambs that we have for sale. What a beautiful day to be working outside with the ewes & lambs!  We'll be putting the rams in over the weekend to kick off the breeding season here.

What's For Supper?

Wild Rose Farm  Ewes Around Loafing Shed Door

After working with the ewes at the barn on Sunday, they trailed back over to the Loafing Shed.  Of course they know that their grain ration comes out of the front door and they attempted to get inside ... "I knew you kept the goodies in there!", they seemed to say.  You'd think they hadn't eaten for days.

On The Way To The Feed Bunks ...

The fall color here has been fleeting & slightly drab. A lot of the maple leaves went from brown tipped and yellow to "gone". Some are still turning orange & red, but not nearly as colorful as usual due to the dry & hot weather that we've had. See how dry it is in the woods around the water tank?

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Enjoying Spring Water

BTW, now is the time to come out and look at ewe lambs if you'd like to start a flock! We also have several Rambouillet ram lambs left & they'd be great to breed a small flock this fall.

Lambs For Sale

Wild Rose Farm Ewes In August

It's August and we've got ewe lambs & ram lambs for sale. All of the ewes have been separated off from the lambs and they've been grazing with Snow White ... see her in the upper right of the picture? Of course, they have been walking back & forth and she sees no need to follow them each time. Smart llama!
And why are they walking back & forth? We weaned the last 3 ewe lambs from their mothers the evening before this picture was taken. Those 3 ewes keep walking back to the gate to call for their lambs.  Occasionally, the rest of the flock follows them.  The 3 lambs are in the barn (penned up with the older lambs) and they keep bleating for their mothers. It takes about 2 days for them to settle down on both sides. Then it's peaceful & quiet again ...

Three Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Where Are Our Lambs?

Aside from working with the sheep, we were at the Hookstown Fair for several days. Here is the 1st Place wool hooked rug ... very nice entry again from this lady!

2017 Hookstown Fair - 1st Place Hooked Wool Rug 

Take a look at this massive heavy weight team from the Saturday morning draft horse pulling contest. They are from Florida and were on their way to somewhere north of here ... just "pull'in through" as they say!

2017 Hookstown Fair - Unhitching Heavy Weight Draft Horse Team From Florida

Rambouillets In The Barn

Wild Rose Farm Ewes & Lambs Heading To The Barn

We're getting ready to sell some lambs, so we started the weaning process. Every Rambouillet ewe lamb this spring was born as a twin to a ram lamb. So ... if we want to sell a ewe lamb, we end up weaning both the ewe lamb and the ram lamb off of their mother. We now have 12 lambs in the barn. Registration papers have been filled out & sent in for 5 ewe lambs and 1 ram lamb. We'll wean another group of lambs once we give the last newborn lambs their booster shots and move them out of the barn.
Final lambing update: WRF #143 had a ewe lamb, the last lamb of the season, on the 4th of July!  

Raining Again & More Lambs ...

Wild Rose Farm "Patches" At 6:30AM Pasture Check

We had several very pleasant days earlier this week and nice weather for lambing. It dried out and we were also able to brush hog parts of the pasture that have already been grazed. The lower parts are still soggy so those areas have to wait.  Our lamb checks continue around the clock & we're up to 23 ewes that have lambed. 

7PM May 11th = Left - Snow White Watching, Middle Alone #408, Right Alone #117

The second picture shows what it looks like when ewes are "thinking about" lambing. I walked through the pasture and took this as picture heading back to the barn. By 10PM, #408, who was pawing the ground in the above picture had delivered a ram lamb.

Rambouillet #408 & Ram Lamb - 10PM 

No one else delivered overnight, but our 6AM pasture check found Dorset #117 with a set of twin ram lambs under the pine trees. She had moved on from standing alone near the water tank earlier.
Here's what it looks like at 10AM today ... now #99 is starting to "stare into the distance".  That's her "above" the llama - 2nd ewe in the distance. 

Snow White & Ewes At 10AM 

Hopefully this gives an idea of what we watch for and observe when we are doing our pasture lambing checks!

Sunshine, Twins, & Grazing!

Sunshine At Wild Rose Farm, Finally!

After several rainy, cool, & windy days, we've got sunshine!  The ewes really enjoy a fresh section of pasture and it's not so "washy" to eat. In the rain, we stepped up the pasture checks to every 2 hours to make sure that we got the lambs in to the barn before they chilled. Mission accomplished.
We had 2 sets of twins born in the rain & 2 more sets of twins born today ...

We Were Born In The Rain, But We're Fine Now!

We're Nice & Dry In The Barn ... And Now The Sun Comes Out! 

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #118 With Twin Rams Born This Afternoon

Hey - What's Going On Down In That Sheep Pasture???

We're grazing in the pasture below our neighbors and the Goat Mahal. Of course, the goats come down to the fence to check things out!  When we moved the net fence this afternoon, we saw a doe leave for the back of the field. She probably has a fawn hidden in the pasture so we were careful not to cause too much disturbance.  It's probably gone by now. We've noticed that does will take advantage of the relative safety behind the pasture fences.    

Lambing Time Routines

Wild Rose Farm #50 & Twin Ram Lambs

It's only been a week, but watching & moving ewes and lambs is starting to be a blur! We have "routines" & routine times to go out and do pasture checks.  As soon as I say that, you know that lambing doesn't go according to schedule, so you just have to roll with it ...
After bringing ewe #50 and her twins in this morning, we did the feeding and settled everyone in for the morning.
Another thing that needs to be done when possible is collecting colostrum to freeze in case it's needed to save a lamb. We milked out one of the ewes who had a single lamb late Wednesday night. Usually a single lamb will use one teat and the other teat can be milked out the first time to collect the colostrum.
Worth it's weight in gold when you need it!

300ml of Colostrum For The Freezer

Off To A New Home!

Ram Lamb - I've Never Gone For A Ride Before!

The first lamb born this year left Wild Rose Farm yesterday for a new home. He is totally unrelated to our lambs from last year. He will be be used as a breeding ram this fall with 4 ewe lambs that we sold last summer. The temperature & humidity were down on Sunday & he made an uneventful trip to his new farm.
We have another pick-up for 2 Rambouillet ewe lambs scheduled on Saturday morning ... It's good to see the lambs going to new homes as breeding stock!

GOT SHEEP? 

Lambs At Dusk

Two Ewe Lambs  & Horned Ram Lamb

Here are a couple of shots of lambs at dusk. It was hot today - temps in the 90's - so there isn't a lot of frisking around until the sun is going down. The 1st picture shows one of our horned Rambouillet ram lambs. The green numbers on their sides have faded, & of course he is standing so that you can't see the number anyway ...

Ram Lambs Starting To Face Off!

The thirty-five dot ram is looking to pick a fight with the other lambs ... that chunky fella facing him can probably hold his ground, lol.  There's a lot of chasing & head butting going on among the lambs as they play & race around when it cools down in the evening.