Why We Go Out At 1AM ...

 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #571 & Twin Ewe Lambs

This is why the pasture checks continue around the clock!  Rambouillet ewe #571 has lambed for the first time and has a nice set of twin ewe lambs. She's standing over the first lamb that has already nursed and is curled up resting. The second lamb is right in position - isn't instinct amazing?  She's trying to nurse and this "first time" ewe is standing still for her.  She's not in a panic when I approach & then stop to get a picture.  For the curious folks out there, Snow White is cushed about 50 feet away in the dark & the temperature is 48 degrees.  The chance of light rain is 40% by 6am and this group will be dry in the barn. 

Previous "Midnight" Pasture Check - Ewes Resting

 Yesterday the scene was similar, but nothing was happening. None of the ewes were in labor, so by 5am, the shepherd knows that things cannot have gone too far astray. 

Snow White Was Just Out of the Picture!

The same as this morning, Snow White was just out of the picture watching over the flock!  You can see the barn lit up in the background on the hill.  Ok, time to get some sleep now.  

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 ...

Snow White Feature!

Wild Rose Farm - Radar Llamas - Radars Snow White 

We moved the grazing flock today and that provided a chance for some close-up pictures. Snow White's flock is down to the ewes that haven't lambed yet, plus the ewe lambs that she wintered with in the barn. Here she is in the paddock as I'm looking over the ewes … notice her eye is always on my position!

Snow White Watching Behind Herself ...

She was dewormed yesterday, so she has reason to be suspicious! Now that she's out grazing again, she gets dewormed mainly as a preventative for the deer meningeal worm.

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.

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.

Just Curious ...

Wild Rose Farm Snow White - Now What's Going On? 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm amused by the curiosity of our animals. Looks like big do'ins if you're a llama!

Snow White Intently Watches Gate Hinge Adjustment

Llama Snow White Studies The New Garage

The next day, after a bit of rain, I caught Snow White above staring at the new garage. Keep in mind that she has not been in this pasture since the construction started!  Then in the picture below, she turned her gaze to study the big dirt pile in front of the house …

Llama Snow White Turns Her Attention To The Big Pile Of Dirt!

Do the sheep notice any of this? Of course not, lol.

Summer Activity ...

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White & Ewes Ready To Join The Flock

We've had some really hot weather in July & a group of ewes have been under the barn shed roof with Snow White. This week we weaned the last two sets of twin lambs, so the barn ewes went out to join the other ewes who've been hanging out at the Loafing Shed.  We sorted off & dewormed the ewes and the llama.  Deworming is particularly important for her to prevent her from picking up the deer meningeal brain worm (disgusting, I know!). The garage project continues as you can see in the background. I swear the roof was put on during the hottest day of July at 96 degrees!

Sheep Oblivious, Snow White Concerned!

The concrete floor placement (note to readers - you pour milk & you place concrete!) was underway when we headed for the pasture. The ewes were so excited to be munching grass that they were oblivious to the trucks & activity.  Snow White was not so sure that she liked this! You can see that in her ears as she was watching & side stepping …

Wild Rose Farm - Fencing Around The Garden

The funny part was that the sheep kept on grazing across the paddock, but Snow White stayed nearer to the driveway munching and swiveling her head to watch the activity ...

Busy Saturday Lambing!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #416 - "B4" Lambing

We had a really busy day on Saturday the 12th with 6 ewes lambing over the day, and they used all of the 24 hours!  The picture above is our Rambouillet ewe #416 about 8 hours before she delivered a set of twins. You can see her starting to "drop" in front of her hips. She was in labor and closely followed another ewe & her lamb up to the barn, so she delivered in a lambing pen.

Rambouillet Ewe #416 Cleaning 1st Twin Ewe Lamb 

Here's another of the ewes that delivered on Sunday ... she had one lamb in the field and promptly dropped the second lamb on the way to the barn. We paused for about 5 minutes and then proceeded on, #141 coming right along with her newborn lambs ...

Wild Rose Farm #141 With Ram Lambs

Then we had one ewe that delivered on Sunday, which became a day to catch up on other chores & do some napping ...
Footnote: Folks, it's not all sweetness & light on a farm. Some social media accounts make it look easy, fun, & tell only happy stories. It's not pleasant to share some of the realities. A couple of nights ago during the midnight pasture checking, a coyote was spotted sitting and watching in our head lamp beams. The llama is with the ewes inside the electric net fencing that you see in the grazing scenes. The donkey is patrolling the perimeter outside of the net fencing. We've talked about that before. Two nights later, in the midnight rain, vigilance paid off.

Waiting For Lambs!

Wild Rose Farm 6:30AM - No Lambs Here!

Do you see what I see? That's right, a llama and a flock of ewes grazing this morning at 6:30AM. No lambs and no ewes separated off or looking anxious.  Last year our lambing started on April 28th. We put the rams in 2 calendar days earlier in November, so there was a chance that lambing could start a couple of days earlier too.  Not so, ha!  Anyway, we're nice and close to the barn now after grazing the "Back 40" for a week.  Stay tuned ...

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

Besides The Sheep ...

Wild Rose Farm Glenda Wants To Come In!

Visitors ask what goes on at the farm "besides working with the sheep?". Well, the sheep are the centerpiece of the farm activity, but Glenda and Snow White have to manage and circulate around the ewes & lambs. Glenda is always nosey and shows up when there's activity in the pens or when people are visiting.
Snow White on the other hand, is more likely to hang back and avoid the fuss. She can be found in the lead of the flock, but if we WANT to move everyone, she has a way of trying to skip out on the round up!  She also has to be fed separately from the piggish ewes and can be seen fending them off if they get too close.  Unfortunately, sheep don't always understand llama-speak ...

Hey, You're Getting Too Close To My Dinner!

 Snow White gets her feed over the pen divider in the Loafing Shed, but the ewes sometimes crowd her, even thought they can't reach it ... and the ewe looks so innocent & friendly, right?

Now You're Really Annoying Me!  

That's Right, Go Eat Your Hay! 

Perfect Day For The Farm Tour!

"Hey Llama, Why Are You Looking At Me Like That?"

We had a perfect fall day for the 1st Beaver County Self-Guided Farm Tour. Temps ranged from the high 50's to the mid 60's with big, puffy white clouds and a nice breeze.  We were able to have Snow White & the ewe flock grazing right along the driveway in the small "Hospital Pen".
We were so busy talking with everyone and answering questions that I only got one or two pictures taken when the crowd thinned out near the end of the day - oh well!  Llama Snow White was pretty popular with the visitors. The young fellow above kept talking to her and asking why she was looking at him so funny ... we told him that she usually only sees sheep and they don't ask her questions!  One thing that I did notice - look closely at the grass in the pen. The flock spent most of their time grazing as far away from the people as they could get. The grass next to the front fence line is still tall after 5 hours!
Glenda did not disappoint either, with her random & raucous braying next to the folks looking at the lambs in the barn.  Thanks to everyone who came out and visited us at Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White & Her Flock Back at the Loafing Shed

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

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!

Update & Filler Material!

Snow White Takes A Dust Bath!

No, that's not a new silver gray llama in the Wild Rose Farm pasture! Snow White found the ashes after we burned some pine tree limbs on the hill behind the barn.  She did a pretty thorough job of dusting herself - everything is covered except her head.  It seems to work - no flies were bothering her last night.
Our friends had another lamb born today, but we are still waiting. We're supposed to get a thunderstorm & possibly hail this evening, so we'll see what happens. :~0

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 ...