Sadly - 2020 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival Cancellation!

No Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival This Weekend … :(

Normally at this time, we'd be in the Saturday morning joy of the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival!  Wild Rose Farm would have set up our booth on Friday and headed out around 6AM this morning to be ready for opening day … Unfortunately with the COVID-19 restrictions, the committee was forced to cancel the festival.  Just look at the great art for our Save the Date Cards and t-shirts … we were READY!  Many other fiber festivals have been canceled or may be rescheduled this year. Waynesburg will be back in 2021.
Our farm is still essentially closed for visitors now, but we have had a couple of folks show up asking to buy freezer lambs later this year. People are looking at their food and fiber a little differently these days.  We also have 2 custom made cherry wood shelving units from Pat Zeibers Furniture ready and awaiting pick-up for our studio.  The were ordered after Christmas and were finished just as the Pennsylvania lockdowns started!  Hopefully we'll be able to pick them up in the next couple of weeks and get things organized.

April Shearing Day - Penned Up & Ready!

One thing that did happen during the shutdown is the essential service of sheep shearing! 

 We'll be skirting fleeces and posting pictures of fleeces for sale as soon as we get several warm & dry days to work on them!    

Rambouillet Ewe on Shearing Board

Before Shearing

Wild Rose Farm Snow White in a Sea of Wool!

We brought Snow White and the ewes up to the barn from the Back 40 on Easter morning. They are scheduled to be sheared and it's essential that they be dry. It's raining outside as this is being written.

You can see lots of wool fleeces out there ready to come off!

Snow White is particularly "white" today. We had a t-storm and very high winds two days after we sent them out back to graze.
Check out the big elm tree that blew out in the pasture field overnight. No one was hurt and the tree formed a triangle over the high tensile fence.  Nothing like a fence to attract a falling tree!

Wild Rose Farm - Elm Tree Blowout Over Fence!

Scene Greeting Us in the Morning ...

Shearing Done!

Wild Rose Farm Horned Yearling Ewe Lamb After Shearing

Isn't She a Nice One? 

Wow - where did the week go? All 40 sheep and llama Snow White were sheared on Sunday the 15th. Of course, it rained for a couple of days and then we had snow and it stayed cool. We kept everyone sheltered and bedded down in the barn for the week.
Today we did the annual CDT vaccinations, trimmed some hooves, and generally looked everyone over. Snow White eluded capture today and stood outside in the pasture nearby watching the activities in the paddock.

Annual Vaccination - Barn Book & Notes

After we finished up, the ewes went back out to join Snow White and we moved all of them to graze in our "Back 40" pasture.  We'll start our lambing pasture checks tomorrow ... it's getting close!

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White & Ewes To Pasture

Before Shearing!

Dorset Ewe #118 Enjoys Spring!

It's almost time for the shearing ... stay tuned for the "after pictures! The ewes are very fluffy and they're ready to get all of that wool off ...

Saturday April 14th - "Before"

Shearing Done For Another Year!

Getting Set Up For Shearing @ 7AM

If you have sheep, you know what a relief it is to have the shearing done for another year. This year, our long time shearer of 20 years retired from the business. With his own flock of ~175 sheep, give or take, it was time to back off.  We were fortunate to find Luke, a tri-state area native who has sheared in several areas out west, including South Dakota & Wyoming. The good news with that is he has experience with fine wool sheep and has done quite a few Rambouillets.

Luke Shearing - Note the back support.

We had 45 ewes to shear and we got started at 7:25AM on Saturday morning.  It was damp & cloudy, but the temperature seemed to be just right. Seven of the ewes are yearlings, so I took the 2" square side samples of wool from them for their individual micron test. The samples will be shipped to Yocum-McColl Testing Labs in Denver for testing as soon as we get the ewe registrations back ... and I get the time to fill out the forms, lol!

In Action With X-bred Ewe #136

  Things went pretty well - we're always trying to "perfect" the system of penning/catching the ewes, getting them set up for shearing, and bagging each fleece complete with a label & notes in the Wild Rose Farm flock barn book. 

Now For The Clean-up!

Shearing was done by 11:55 ... a great job with steady, quick work, & minimal second cuts. Next up is the skirting process in the barn once we get some warmer weather.

Snow White Surrounded By Yearling Ewe Lambs

After spending all winter in the barn with Snow White, the 7 ewe lambs stick pretty close to her once we turn everyone out together. They'll all spend the next week or so in the barn to keep them out of the rain ...  

2016 Shearing Done!

Only 6 Sheep Left To Be Sheared! 

We finished the rest of the shearing yesterday here at Wild Rose Farm. Our shearer has his own flock of 100+ ewes, so he arrives here mid-morning after his chores are done.  Mind you, after he finishes here, he heads home to do his own chores again. We split the sheep into 2 groups here now and do about half at a time.
How does the sheep that you're after know that she is the one?  Rambouillet ewe #332 started to spin around just as the picture above was snapped ... she was next and she knew it!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #332 - Very Nice Fleece!

This is #332, but the tag you see in her left ear is her scrapie tag - we put flock number tags on the ewe's right ear as you see in the 1st picture.
Guess who got a full body clip this year? Yes, that's llama Snow White & she's standing pretty quietly for her clip job! Her early handling and showing career before she came to us certainly serves us well.

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White - Off Comes That Heavy Fleece!

 One thing that she didn't want to do was stand on the shearing board & carpet.  Oh well ... I got some of the prime fleece as it came cleanly off & now what to do with it?  For the record, by this afternoon, she had found the spot where we had burned brush over the winter.  She enjoyed rolling around and taking a nice dust bath in the ashes.  She is now a dusty gray color & no longer shows up as bright white against the green grass like the ewes ...

Change Of Shearing Plans!

What The Well Dressed Shearers Are Wearing!

We got 25 of 46 sheep sheared yesterday with temps in the mid-40's.  We mutually decided to reschedule the rest for next week after this cold front passes.  The shearing machine is still hanging from the nail in the rafters and the board + carpet are leaning against the wall.  Click to enlarge & notice the footwear repair with sheep duct tape! :)  Our shearer does not wear felt booties like some do when shearing.

Wild Rose Farm - Another Nice Fleece Comes Off!

Once again, all of the fleeces are recorded, evaluated, bagged, & tagged as they are being sheared. With just 2 of us to help catch, sweep, bag, and move fleeces, we don't have time or room to set up a skirting table. I usually have a couple of bags of belly wool, dirty top knots, tags, & hay filled neck wool that I've pulled off as we are shearing. One of the ewes was sick last year and so there was one fleece with "wool break" that will end up in the tag pile at the wool pool.

Wild Rose Farm Fleeces "Bagged & Tagged" ...

Rambouillet ewe #422 with a 19.9 micron test produced a nice spinning fleece that we will sample for the Virginia guild project.  Once again, Rambouillet ewe #410 has another great show fleece - look for this one again at the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest Fleece Show in May!

A Glimpse Of Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #410 Coming To A Show Near You! 

As they were sheared, the hungry ewes were released to pasture. They ran around munching until we finished, cleaned up, and then opened up the barn paddock gates to them again.  A sudden downpour sent them running back up to the barn where we closed them inside ... but not before some sheepy confusion about where they were supposed to go.  Typical sheep!

Bright White Sheep Flock Back To The Barn

  Yep, they ran past the open paddock gate and stood outside where they had been penned for shearing.  :)

A Bucket Of Grain Calls Them Back To The Gate Behind The Barn ... 

Snow White & the full fleeced ewes were sent back to the Loafing Shed to wait until next week.

Ready For Shearing Day!

Headed For The Barn!

Today is shearing day at Wild Rose Farm ... notice how nice and sunny it was yesterday! Temps are now hovering around 43 degrees and will be falling later today.  Oh ... and it's drizzling with spotty heavier rain throughout the day.  Yuck. Unfortunately, that's the way it goes when you schedule in advance.

Wild Rose Farm - Wait 'Til You See How We Clean Up!

Everyone spent the night in the barn to keep dry and we'll get about half of them sheared today and the other half probably tomorrow if all goes well.  Being newly sheared, they'll have to stay inside for a week or 10 days depending on the weather ... they always have access to the outdoors & they make the choice.

Wild Rose Farm Dorset #115 - I'm Ready To Get This Done!

Dorset ewe #115 was one of the first ewes marked as bred last November ... let's follow along and see if she is one of the first to lamb.  We have an order for a Rambouillet fleece for a guild study project in Virginia, so I'd like to get that put together and shipped by Monday.  :)

Sheep Shearing Done ... Finally!

What Is Going On In Here?

Snow White can't believe what she's seeing!   Not only was she intently observing the sheep shearing, she had to sniff the sheep to figure out what happened.   We had to postpone the original shearing date a week ago.  Our shearer Don injured his knee and called at 7:30 AM Sunday morning to cancel the appointment.  We weren't sure when we could reschedule, so it was "pins & needles" for most of the week.  We ended up shearing the first 26 ewes on Sunday and finishing the last 20 ewes on Tuesday.   It's great to be finished for another year.

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Waiting In Full Fleece

Our shearer has around 200 sheep of his own, so he arrives mid-morning after completing chores on his own farm.  Right before we start shearing, the ewes are crowded close together to make it easier to catch them.

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #129 Being Sheared

As the ewes are sheared, we bag the fleeces individually and make notes on fleece quality for every ewe.  In the case of the yearling ewes being sheared for the first time, we also take a 2" square wool sample, label it, and pack it to be sent to a testing lab for micron testing.

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #129 - A Nice Fleece!

Last but not least, we even got Snow White a "barrel clip" ... meaning that she got the traditional llama clipping pattern.  Kudos again to RA-DAR Farm where Snow White was raised & shown.  She stood quietly in the paddock held by her halter & lead rope and was no trouble to clip.  Yea!  

Sheep Shearing Tomorrow!

Wild Rose Farm Bred Ewes

Do we look like we're READY to be sheared?   Finally, the weather is cooperating and our shearer plans to be here tomorrow.   He called a couple of hours ago.  We moved the ewes off of their round bale hay feeders and they're on the way to the barn.  No sense trying to lead them through the new green grass, so we "pause" them on one of the paddocks for half a day.  Once they're satisfied, they'll follow up to the barn! Then it's no hay or water overnight.  That way, they are more comfortable being manipulated during shearing on an empty stomach.

Fleeces Look Pretty Clean ... Ewe Lamb In Front

We're thinking that the fleeces look pretty clean this spring ...yea!  Well, it's time to go out and get the barn set up for tomorrow.   Enjoy the sun!

Scampering Past Daffodils!

Wild Rose Farm Shearing Done!

Wild Rose Farm - 2014 Shearing Finished

It's always a good thing when the sheep shearing is done for the year.  Now we're ready for lambing!  We're not a big farm, but we are careful with sorting & caring for our fleeces.  They're all stored in bags now waiting to be skirted.  Some of them are already marked to be sent to the wool pool & some are noted to be made into yarn. 
But ... here are two more really nice Rambouillet fleeces that will be available as hand spinning fleeces:

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #416 Being Sheared

  


Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #416 - Fleece Close-up!

Below is the fleece that I think Paula may want - (!) - another wonderful fleece from #329 - look at the crimp!  :)  Click on pics for a closer look.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #329 - As Sheared Close-up!

25 Done, 17 Still To Shear ...

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #412 Being Sheared

We got a little over half of the ewes sheared yesterday.  Our shearer, Don, had some ewes lambing right now, so he finishes with morning chores before coming here to work on our sheep.  He left the shearing machine hanging here overnight and he'll pick up with the last 17.  We left the ram for today & usually all three of us participate in that since they're usually a little to large to just flip around like the ewes.  It's the "hold, shear, & roll" method!  :)

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #332 - Another Nice Fleece!

I try to jump in and take a few pictures.  We bag each fleece individually with the ewe's ear tag number and I also pull off a 2" square side sample of the yearling fleeces.  Those samples are sent to Yocom-McColl Testing Laboratory for micron testing.  We micron test all of the sheep. 
So here we are ... part way through shearing!

Wild Rose Farm "U" Sheared With Friends!

Between The Storms

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Grazing - We Need To Be Sheared!

Between the blowing rain storms today, we're working the ewes over towards the barn.  The plan is to shear about half of them on Monday.  Ideally, we'll get some strong winds & some sun tomorrow.  Then we can pen part of the group in the barn to dry off for shearing on Monday.  These girls probably can't wait to get all of that wool off! 

One Paddock Away From The Barn ....

The picture below has not been retouched or squished!  We shouldn't have lambs before April 26th or so, but ol' WRF #37 looks like she's ready to go with twins for sure ... we'll have to wait & see.

Wild Rose Farm #37 - Lambs In There?

Shearing Day at Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm "U" and Friends After Shearing

Saturday was shearing day for the bred ewes at Wild Rose Farm.  We had 33 ewes sheared and now we're ready for lambing to begin!   We brought the sheep into the barn on Thursday since the forecast was for heavy rain Thursday night and Friday morning.  Yes, it did rain and the temperatures also dropped.  Shearing day was about 10 degrees cooler that we like it, but it was dry and sunny. 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #403 Gets Started!

We were very pleased with the fleeces this year.  It's great to have a nice group of young Rambouillet ewes and Dorset x Rambouillet ewes in their prime!  We will have some wonderful fleeces skirted to take to the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival. 


Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #401 Shears A Show Fleece!

Can you see the "Rambouillet" in WRF #401?  Small horn scurs and our shearer plowing through a dense white fine wool fleece!   And she's got a nice open face.  She is out of the Colorado Andrew Schafer Rambouillet ram from several years ago.  She had triplets last year ........ we retained the ewe lamb and the horned ram lamb.
I'll have fleece pictures up on the blog in the next couple of weeks when I can get to them around the lambing season!

Shearing Done For Another Year!

Everyone Out On Front Pastures

One of the best feelings during the year on a sheep farm is when the shearing is done!  At Wild Rose Farm, that is second only to when the lambing season is over ..... 
We had a cool rainy day for shearing and we've kept the newly shorn sheep in the barn.  We needed the rain & it should really help the grass grow.  The next chore will be setting up the barn and getting ready for lambing.  We ordered a bag a lamb milk replacer from Hookstown Feed & Supply this morning.  It's better to be prepared & hope that you don't need it than to be running around looking for it when all of the farm stores are out of inventory.

Munching After Shearing!

One of the best feelings for the sheep has to be being able to eat after having no feed since the night before shearing ..... shearing is done on an empty stomach to make it more comfortable for the sheep.  The ewes all have dirty noses & faces right now.  They were in the "Back 40" where we were doing more clearing & burning.  Something about the burn piles & the ashes -minerals?- makes them come in an nose around ..... happens everytime we burn.

Sheep Shearing Tomorrow!

First Group Of Ewes Sheared ......

We'll be finishing off the shearing at Wild Rose Farm tomorrow.  Wouldn't you just know that we're supposed to have rain & cooler weather?  What's that we hear about the "S" word for Monday?!?  After all of this warmer weather, that won't be any fun .......
The second group to shear is mostly the yearlings, but also the ram & the less "bagged up" ewes.  They're in the barn tonight staying nice & dry for shearing.  We'll be taking fleece samples from the yearlings for micron tests from Yocom-McColl Testing Labs.  We do micron test all of our sheep as yearlings at their first shearing.