The Rams Are Busy Now!

Wild Rose Farm - Breeding Season Supplies ...

The sheep breeding season started the day after Thanksgiving here at Wild Rose Farm.  It was a little muddy around the barn with all of the rain we've had, but it was a relatively pleasant day.  The raddle powder is mixed with mineral oil and rubbed on the chest of the rams. The ewes are then marked on their rumps when they've been bred. That gives us a date to track so the we know when to expect the ewe to deliver her lambs in the spring. We also use the special spray paint to put each ewe's ear tag number on her hip. It's much easier to read the painted number than an ear tag from a distance! The paints weather or wash off over the winter. The little color remaining at shearing time is able to be scoured off of the wool. We also use the craft shears to trim up the back end of the ewes if needed, but everyone was pretty clean this fall.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewes & Ram - Just Mixed Together

 This year we have our Rambouillet ram in with Rambouillet ewes & our Dorset ram in with the Dorset & crossbred ewes.  The 2 breeding groups are separated into different pastures. We also move the llama out of the pasture groups and into the barn with the ewe lambs.

Rambouillet Ram Panting After An Hour With The Ewes!

The first few hours in with the ewes are pretty exciting (and tiring!) for the rams.  The ram above immediately started following everyone and narrowed it down pretty quickly to one receptive ewe.
As of today, just under half of the ewes are marked and it's time to freshen the raddle paint over the weekend.