Gardening & Grazing!

 

Garden Planted & Protected by Electric Net Fencing!

It's a bit hard to see from this wide shot, but the garden is planted. We'll have to give it a couple of weeks before you can the plants growing and the seeds sprouting.  It's easy to water plants now since they're so small.  Rain & t-storms have been in the forecast all week, but so far nothing has happened right here on the farm so we'll continue to spread the mulch.  There's a curious lamb gazing at the garden ... give it a few seconds and she'll jump back if she touches the fence!

Ewes & Lambs Out Now to Graze

We moved the ewes with the oldest lambs out to pasture.  Snow White is now mixed in with this group watching over things. Not much else going on now & that's a good thing!

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.  

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! 

2020 Lambing Season Starts!

Wild Rose Farm - Dorset #118 & Twin Ewe Lamb

Once again, the sheep have not consulted the calendar before starting their lambing season!  My schedule said that lambing should start around April 20-21, but our #118 Dorset ewe kicked off the season on April 16th. Here she is nuzzling her ewe lamb after we brought them up to the barn.
As of today, we are waiting for more ewes to join the party. Several pens are ready and you can see that we are doing our nightly pasture checks …  

... IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT !!!

Live From Hookstown, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!!!

Just back in from the nightly pasture check. Nothing happening right now, but Snow White is in her accustomed place, guarding the flock. You can see her behind in the background. She is cushed and facing the "wilderness".  The sheep will bed down up above her closer to the barn where I'm standing.
She looks like the Loch Ness Monster down there … watching.
Here's the same view from the afternoon today.  Everyone is enclosed in electric net fencing inside the permanent pasture perimeter fencing during the lambing/grazing season.

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White & Flock Waiting for Lambs! 

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.

Moving Pastures

Wild Rose Farm Horned Ewe #134 & Twins

We're in the process of moving the sheep from the pasture nearest the barn over to the pasture connected to the Loafing Shed. We lamb close to the barn, but we've now rotated through all of the grazing in sections. We'll probably wean about half of the lambs later this week after the temperatures drop a little. We're having 2 or 3 days in the 90's and there's no sense in causing additional stress in that kind of heat. You can see by the picture above that the lambs are getting pretty big now!

Early Morning Scene ...

Wild Rose Farm At 6:00AM Pasture Check

Yesterday started out cool & foggy ... here is the early morning pasture check with Snow White & the sheep in the background. Nothing going on here!

Snow White At Your Service!

Wild Rose Farm - Snow White Watching Over Things!

We came home near sunset to see a ewe & lamb separated off in the pasture field with Snow White about a hundred feet away. She had ambled closer and stood watch for a while as we got our boots on and headed to the field. It was a nice breezy 60 degrees & perfect for lambing.

Hey, What's That Behind Ewe?

She gently checks out the lamb and sniffs around at her new pasture acquaintance ...

Time To Go To The Barn

Farewell, new found lamby friend ... Snow White watches her leave for the barn!

Wild Rose Farm #145 & Ewe Lamb 

Next Up - Twins!

Wild Rose Farm - 6:30AM Pasture Scene

The picture above is what it looks like when a "granny ewe" is hanging out with another ewe and her newborn lambs --- enlarge the pic & see them off to the far right?  Sure enough, Dorset ewe #116 had a set of twins and Rambouillet ewe #407 was hoping that they were hers!  She followed right along when they were brought up to the barn.

Wild Rose Farm - Granny Ewe Following Lambs Up To Barn!

In this case, #116 is an older, experienced ewe who's raised triplets in the past, so she isn't about to be run off from her lambs by another ewe. She is on the right in the picture and the plump #407 is coming along on the other side of Mr. Wild Rose Farm. We had to put the lambs down in the chute & close the gate behind them and #116 to physically separate them.

Ewe #407 Doesn't Want To Leave ...

It's mostly a case of hormones in an older ewe near lambing time - she wants a lamb! We sent her back out to the pasture & will continue to keep an eye on her.

Twin Ram & Ewe Lambs - Settled In Comfortably With Mom!

Nothing else as of 8:30 PM ...

First Lamb of 2018!

Wild Rose Farm #146 With Ram Lamb @ 2:30AM

The 2018 lambing season has started at Wild Rose Farm! Ewe #146 was standing off by herself at 11:30PM & circling. Her water hadn't broken yet, so we set the alarm for 2AM. It's about 34 degrees outside and dry.  We found her with a single ram lamb that was all cleaned off & he has nursed. She was also closely accompanied by a "granny ewe" (one of the older Rambouillets) who really wanted the lamb too. Both of them followed us up to the barn and we had to separate them and shoo the other ewe back to the pasture. Usually when that happens, the second ewe lambs later that day.  We'll see what happens!  Now back to sleep ...

Out For A Morning Stroll!

Two Wild Turkey Hens & Their 5 Little Ones Tagging Along!

Just before we went out to do the usual morning chores & feeding, these 2 wild turkey hens showed up at the stream crossing in the pasture field.  This is the second time in a week that we've seen them at that same spot. Today they decided to walk across the paddock & come up on the driveway.
You can just see four of the five little ones next to the fence. A couple of them had hopped up onto the fence rail, but I wasn't quick enough to get the picture. The picture was taken from the kitchen window that was opened very carefully so that the hens didn't get spooked. They are experts at detecting motion & noise!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Rain & Drizzle In The Pasture

The last 2 days have been rainy off & on. We had 2 sets of twins born yesterday - one set in the early morning rain around 6AM and one set around 2PM in a brief sunny period. We had to towel off the morning lambs and milk out a little colostrum to make sure the smaller, 2nd born of the two got off to a good start.

When Will This Rain Stop?

It's critical in weather like this that we keep up the lambing checks about every two hours. Here's my selection of farm footwear for every scenario!

What The Fashionable Farmer Is Wearing ... Complete With Stylish Boot Jack!

Finally, a lamb conference in the barn mixing pen ... they had just finished racing around the hay feeder.  I think they are discussing their Kentucky Derby picks ...

Wild Rose Farm - First Lambs In The Mixing Pen

Good Morning From Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm - 6:45AM Peaceful Pasture

A "once over" of the pasture this morning revealed a peaceful scene ... nothing going on here. Or is there? Most of the ewes were behind me, but there were a bunch in front of me scattered out grazing. As I got closer, I noticed a ewe behind Snow White watching me.  See her? I still didn't see anything until I walked by above them and saw something bright white between them.

#144 With Her Ewe Lamb

I moved in even closer and everyone got up ... #144 was sticking close & taking good care of her first lamb.  The ewe lamb looked great and was an item of attention & curiosity for Snow White.  Ewe & lamb are resting comfortably in the barn now near the 4 sets of twins.

Snow White Watching Ewe Lamb

Another late post & it's time to go back out for a late night pasture check ...

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

Other Work To Be Done ...

Mowing The Lambing Pasture

Of course, there's other work to be done in between the lambs and the raindrops. Here we are mowing the part of the pasture where we have been lambing. In grazing terms, we "set stock" the ewes on an area that gets larger as we move the electric net fencing forward to provide fresh forage. The open area behind provides enough room for ewes to separate off of the flock when they are ready to lamb. Yesterday we back-fenced this area and moved the ewes on to a new section of pasture to start the process again. The dew finally evaporated and the field was dry enough to mow this afternoon. This mowing cuts off the seed heads forming on the pasture grasses. It also cuts back seed heads developing on weeds. The regrowth will be mostly leafy instead of old and full of stems & seed heads.
You can see how fast the grass is growing - the point of grass in the middle right is grazed regrowth that was back-fenced 2 weeks ago. :)  The grass back behind the white electric net fence hasn't been grazed yet.

Wild Rose Farm - Ewe #98 & Newborn Twins

We had another set of twins today from one of our crossbred ewes, #98. As you can see, she had to get up close and personal when we dipped the lamb's navels in iodine. Mama doesn't want you to take her babies and stays REAL close!

Interesting Lambing Story!

Early Morning - Ewe #98 Pacing - Where Are My Lambs?

We started out with a check at the Loafing Shed this morning and found a set of twins and 2 singles ... or did we?   We brought the 2 well taken care of singles and moms over to the barn.  Then when I looked at happy ewe #98, I said "She's as big as a house!  Those aren't her lambs!".  Nope, ol' #98 had stolen 2 lambs from the other younger ewes!    Well, she followed us and the 2 lambs over to the barn and we sorted out who the 2 lambs belonged to ... basically it has to do with seeing which ewe accepts a lamb and/or butts it away. OK, we got that figured out after a little while & made sure that the lambs had full bellies.

Ewe #98 Pawing For Lambs

As the morning went on, #98 kept bleating and looking for lambs.  She was very close to lambing and finally her water broke.  Lambing was underway ...

Snow White Watches The Action!

 At 11:45 AM, we had one lamb born and by 1 PM we had a nice big set of twins out on the grass.  We try to watch from a distance and not crowd the ewe.  No sense creating a problem where there isn't one!  The lambs are usually born with enough time between them to have the 1st one cleaned off before the 2nd one is delivered.

Wild Rose Farm Ewe #98 Delivers Twins ...

What a nice sunny day with temps in the 50's for lambs to be born on pasture.  Once the lambs are cleaned and the afterbirth is passed, we'll move them into a lambing pen for a couple of days.
The disadvantage to lambing this time of year?  I usually miss the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!

Ewe #98 Cleaning Off 2nd Lamb!