Fleeces for the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #561 - Skirted Fleece

Here's one of the Rambouillet fleeces that we will be bringing to the 2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest this weekend.  All of the fleeces will have the ewe's micron test report with them in case you're as geeky about that as we are!

#561 Rambouillet Ewe Washed Fleece Sample

I grabbed the little sample in the top picture and swished it quickly with warm water & plain old Soft Soap over the kitchen sink … you can see the crimp in the sample. Rambouillet fleeces clean up well if pulled out in lock formation and washed by hand.

Wild Rose Farm Ram Heads Down the Road!

Speaking of crimp & micron tests, we sold our Rambouillet ram about a month ago to some folks who were specifically looking to get some finer "half-blood" wool from their commercial flock. He sired all of our Rambouillet lambs last year and this year and has a 21.5 micron fleece. It was good to have a ram go to another flock where he can help improve a future wool clip!

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #117 & Twin Ram Lambs

And who doesn't want to see another picture of lambs? Attentive Dorset ewe #117 has a nice set of twin ram lambs this year. They were sired by our performance tested Dorset ram. We'd like to se them go to a small commercial flock for breeding … they're filling out nicely now. 

Lambing, Llama, & Pasture Scenes!

Wild Rose Farm at Dusk - Snow White in Position!

Here are a series of pictures from the last few weeks at Wild Rose Farm during our lambing season. Our llama Snow White is in the pasture with the ewes. The entire group grazes while surrounded by movable electric net fence within our permanent high tensile electric perimeter fencing. You can see in the picture above that Snow White has taken up a position by bedding down in front of the ewes at dusk. They settle in uphill behind her --- sheep usually bed down "uphill".

A Llama & Her Flock!

Wild Rose Farm #152 With Newborn Twins - Snow White Nearby!

One of our crossbred ewes, #152 is shown above with her set of newborn twins. This is her first time lambing and she did a great job! Look who is nearby … Snow White is alert … you can see her tail is held up a bit.

Wild Rose Farm #150 & Twins - 11:30 PM Pasture Check

Snow White is There!

Finally, here's a midnight pasture check & Snow White is there again … even when she's cushed, her swivel head is 3 feet high!  She's too smart to look at the LED light I'm holding, lol!  You can see the eyes of one of the other sheep behind her.

2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival This Weekend!

Wild Rose Farm Will be at the 2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival!
FREE ADMISSION

Stay tuned for fleece pictures and an update on our lambing season that is just now winding down.

We had a set of Rambouillet triplets born on Mother's Day - now that's how to celebrate motherhood!

Shearing Done & Ready to Start Lambing!

Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Headed to Barn Before Shearing

We've had a lot of activity here at the farm over the last couple of weeks! Shearing was done on April 13th this year. Luckily the weather has been decent since then, but we still keep the ewes sheltered in the barn for a week or so if it is raining (or snowing!).  They adjust pretty quickly and by this time of year, they're ready to get rid of those winter coats. They also come in for shade if it is too sunny …

Shearing the Big Rambouillet Ram!

 We had one ram to shear since we sold the Dorset ram last fall after he completed his breeding assignment!  The Rambouillet ram was surprisingly "easy" to shear for our shearer, even though he is bigger than the ewes … he was calm and the only thing to watch was negotiating around the horns without hooking his arms.

Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Enjoying a Sunny Day After Shearing!

There are 8 yearlings retained in the flock this year, so we took 8 "side samples" of their fleece and shipped them to Yocum-McColl Testing Labs in Denver for micron testing.
Next up … lambing!

Time For Some Shade!

Wild Rose Farm - 25 Degrees in the Shade!

I looked out the window and noticed all of the sheep standing in the SHADE of the Loafing Shed.  I zoomed in on the ewes so that you can see them grouped in the shadow.  Folks, it's 25 degrees out there!  They can be lounging anywhere on the other side of the fence line and they choose to be in the shade where it's cooler.  With their wool fleeces, they are quite comfortable in the cold weather, just like the whitetail deer that you see bedded down in the woods. Just say'in for those that worry about the livestock … they could also be inside the Loafing Shed if they choose to be, but they aren't.

By the way, shearing is scheduled for April 13th this year!

New Puppy at Wild Rose Farm!

New Puppy Jake - First Look at Sheep!

We got a new puppy this winter, right in the middle of the polar vortex … yikes! It's not fun being a puppy and going through housebreaking in such cold weather and snow.  Casey, our 14 year old black standard poodle passed away in November. We weren't really thinking about getting a new pup until the spring. Surprisingly, a bit of searching turned up a nice litter of red standard poodle puppies that would be available in late January. I talked to Jen, the breeder, and we were set to get a new male puppy!

Walking Jake on the Ground Past the Sheep

 These pictures were taken on Valentine's Day & I forgot to download them, lol.  They show a nice healthy curiosity from little Jake towards the ewes after a brief introduction … 

Jake & Ewe Checking Each Other Out! 

We'll have to make a little journey into the barn to see the lambs and llama Snow White one of these days!

Giving "Feeder" A New Meaning!

Boots The Barn Cat Finds A Squirrel!

It looks like the greedy squirrel at the bird feeders has met his match today.  We usually see the cat sitting near the feeders watching the birds, but this was a different scene! Needless to say, the birds had scattered.

Yikes! Now What?!?

Things got pretty dicey out there for the squirrel. They really couldn't see each other much of the time and it seemed like going higher was the first choice for the squirrel, but then …

Where Did That Cat Go?

After about 10 minutes of round & round, up & down by both, it basically came down to a standoff. The squirrel wouldn't move and the cat got bored. The squirrel lives to raid the feeders another day …

Standoff!