Lambing Season & Changing Weather

 

Snow White Watches Ewe & Newborn Twins!

Even though it's much warmer now for lambing than in February, the weather changes by the hour.  Our Dorset ewe #119 had a set of twin ewe lambs just as the wind picked up and a misty rain started.  Snow White stayed nearby and we saw her go up and greet the lambs!  Time to go out and bring the new group up to the barn. Snow White is relieved of her duties as she sees someone coming and she heads back to the rest of the flock.  

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #119 & Twin Ewe Lambs
Dried Off & Warmer in the Barn ...

This is the second time that #119 has lambed and she followed right along up to the barn and into the pen like an old pro.  After having their navels dipped in iodine, it doesn't take long for the newborn lambs to start nursing!  Two hours later, the sun came back out for the rest of the day ... 

More Lambs Arriving!

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #117 & Twins

A couple of days have gone by and that means more lambs have arrived here at Wild Rose Farm.  The 3 pictures in this post are from lambs that were born on Tuesday the 27th.  We processed the lambs today giving them their shots and ear tags. Tomorrow we'll paint numbers on them and put them into the mixing pen to run around!

Wild Rose Farm X-Bred Ewe #144 & Ewe Lamb

Wild Rose Farm Dorset #120 & Twins
... this is her first lambing!

Hello 2021!

Snow White & Ewe Flock Headed Back to Pasture

 It's been quite a while since we've posted here at Wild Rose Farm!  Our 2020 was pretty uneventful with all of the pandemic restrictions and canceled events.  No shows, no festivals, no wool pool, no Hookstown Fair ... nothing to report except sticking close to home!  We even had to cancel our last group of freezer lambs due to lack of processing capacity, grrrr.  The breeding season began on Thanksgiving weekend as usual and we've been grazing and waiting for the first lambs to arrive.  The ewes come up to the barn for feed each afternoon and we look them over.  You can see them above on a beautiful day headed back to a fresh section of pasture with Snow White bringing up the rear.

Rambouillet Ewe #333 With Ewe Lamb!

 Our frequent pasture checks paid off this afternoon! We found one of our Rambouillet ewes under the pine trees with a new ewe lamb.  Actually, I was looking closely at the ewes below the trees for signs of impending labor when I heard a lamb bleat! There she was standing next to the ewe up in the shade of the trees. Both are resting comfortably in the barn tonight.  

2020 National Llama Appreciation Day!

Today is National Llama Appreciation Day, so last night I went in search of Snow White to get some pictures to post ...

Nope, She's Not Resting in the Shade With Us ...

She wasn't in the Loafing Shed resting with some of the ewes and lambs, so I set off to hike around this paddock. We have a secure tightly fenced section around the Loafing Shed where we bring everyone in after the day of grazing.  The spring water development is in this section too.

Snow White At Sunset

Of course, she was all the way up at the highest point of the paddock near the gate along the road. From the piles of "llama beans" nearby, you can tell that she likes this spot. 

"I can see the whole place from here!"

Snow White Can Oversee Her Flock From Gate to Gate

As I was taking pictures, Snow White wandered down to graze closer to her flock. We have been very fortunate to have her as our guardian llama. Officially, she's Radar's Snow White #280010 and she came to us during lambing season in April 2014 from the Suttons at RA DAR LLAMAS. She had never seen sheep before, but she was immediately fascinated by the lambs.  

Snow White Sees First Lamb - April 2014 - Wow! 

 So back to last night, Snow White returns to grazing and watching her flock of ewes and lambs. We really appreciate our llama! 

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White at Work! 

 Here's another way that you can appreciate your llama during these trying times ...

Fiber Festivals ... ?

Missing the Fiber Festivals!

I guess we're all missing our fiber festivals this year! I just talked to some folks today who were asking about when festivals may be starting up again.  Who knows at this point? 

Locally, we also had our wool pool canceled, so that means that the conventional sheep farmers will have wool sitting in their barns for another year. This will make for an interesting wool pool next year - it will be a guess as to what will come in in terms of volume and quality ...

Working on Lambs and Garden ...

Looking Towards the Garden ...

We've gotten the ewes with older lambs out and into the field where we have the garden.  They've just passed through this field and have moved on to the pasture by the Loafing Shed. Even with the electric net fence around the fledgling garden, I'm still nervous! Somehow it seems that one of those goofy lambs will manage to get into the garden!  There are a dozen tomato plants, the sunflowers & summer squash are just starting to sprout, and we've planted popcorn this year … never tried that before, so we'll see how it goes.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #555 & Twins 

We had a nice delivery of twins out on pasture and we left them out long enough for the ewe to clean them off outside. Here's another ewe with her set of twins in the barn.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #553 & Twins

Oh, and did we mention the barn project? The hemlock board siding got a coat of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits for preservation … what a chore, but it's done!

Resealing the Barn!

Lambs Out to Pasture!

Wild Rose Farm Lambs Race Out to Pasture!

Our first group of ewes and lambs have been moved out to pasture. We start in this smaller paddock near the barn so that the lambs get used to the routine of following the ewes. They also learn to wade through the high grass and get used to the electric net fence.

Mom Is Grazing & Doesn't Care About Us!

OK ... Now What Do We Do?

After a mad dash into the paddock, most of the lambs are milling around in a group, not sure of what to do next.  So it seems that if in doubt, let's butt heads ...

Lambs Square Off ...

Another Lamb Joins In!

Back Up & Charge!

No Harm, It's a Side Swipe!