Save The Date!

Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest coming soon!

Two Lambs & Two Fleeces

Wild Rose Farm #105 Dorset and Twins

We like to be in the barn a this time of year sorting & skirting fleeces.  You can hear the ewes & lambs "talking" to each other.  Dorset #105 was settled in with her twins sleeping right in front of her.
Here are 2 more fleeces skirted & ready to go to the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest .....
First up is a nice Rambouillet fleece from one of our 2 year olds, Wild Rose Farm #401.  The cast iron lamb mold in front was an Easter present!  I've always wanted one of these. Special thanks to "S&L" for adding another item to my cast iron collection ......

Wild Rose Farm #401 Rambouillet Fleece

The next fleece is a crossbred fleece from Wild Rose Farm #50 ---- more Rambouillet in her breeding than Dorset, so she also has a fine fleece.  

Wild Rose Farm #50 Crossbred Fleece

First Set of Twins

Wild Rose Farm Dorset #105 Twins

Here we are bringing the 1st set of twins born this spring up to the barn.  One person has to carry and the other one has to open & close the electric net fence.  The ewe is very attentive & concerned .... you almost trip over her because she stays so close to the lambs.  These are Dorset x Rambouillet crossbreds out of Dorset #105.  One ewe & one ram and both are healthy.
And now a follow-up to the post yesterday about "U", "U2", & the headgate.  U was released from the headgate this morning and is doing fine.  No problems now with allowing the lamb to nurse.  It usually works out without a problem ... yea!
Looking back as I closed the fence, I saw a group of the expectant ewes watching their flockmate go up to the barn with her lambs.


Where Did The Lambs Go?



First Lamb Jitters

It's U2! 

Well, this morning, Wild Rose Farm U had her first lamb.  A healthy snow white ewe lamb!  U did a great job of cleaning off the lamb, but then kept backing off & wouldn't let the lamb nurse.  This doesn't happen often, most years we have no problems, but we keep a grafting headgate for just such occasions.  The gate allows the ewe to stand up, lie down and get her feed & water, but makes sure that the lamb can get to the udder, nurse, & get enough colostrum to get a good start.  Sometimes the lambs slips through the neck opening & can be found curled up peacefully under the ewe's nose.  Usually, the ewe can be released the next day or so, but sometimes it takes longer for her to accept a lamb, espsecially if it has been grafted on to her.  Gotta have a grafting headgate if you're going to do any lambing ..... then hope that you don't use it often! 
So what to name the ewe lamb?  Aunt Mary Ann agrees with me ..... U2!

U & U2 Grafting Head Gate At Work

Right On Schedule!



WRF Rambouillet #329 & Ram Lamb

The ram went in on November 28th, 2010 and our first lamb was born today on April 26th.  These were the exact same dates as last year ......... right on schedule!   Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #329  had a single ram lamb out in the pasture this evening.  She's a very attentive mother & came right up with us as we carried the lamb.  We brought them up to the barn since we've been having intermittent downpours so far this week.

These 2 yearlings were quite attentive & interested in the whole process.  They're in the barn because one of them injured her leg in the pre-shearing breakout a couple of weeks ago.  She's starting to put some weight on it, but we'll need to keep her confined until she's fully recovered.  Sheep just aren't that smart and a quick scamper could ruin the whole thing.  Since we're talking about "sheep psyche", the 2nd yearling is with her strictly for flock companionship.  We don't sell a single lamb to anyone for the same reason.  You need to get 2 or 3 so that they are in a group, or you'll end up with a frantic sheep that will injure itself ......

Fleece & Farm

WRF X-bred #39

After sorting through 4 more fleeces, we came up with this one to add to our group going to the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival.  Not every fleece has the quality to be a show or handspinning fleece.  What knocks them out of the running is that they have excessive "vegetable matter", stains, or even that some don't have enough staple length.  Fleeces from the yearling lamb's 1st shearing usually don't hold together well enough to be used as a competition show fleece. 
Which brings us to another point of contention ..... have you ever had a "lambs wool" sweater that was harsh & itchy?  Remember that EVERY SHEEP WAS A LAMB at one point, so lambs wool is not necessarily going to be "soft".  If it comes from a coarser wooled breed, it will have a higher micron count (thickness) and once you get to 30 microns, the "itch factor" comes into play.  Wild Rose Farm Rambouillets have 19 - 23 micron fine wool fleeces & the Dorsets will have 28 - 36 micron medium wool fleeces.  Different wools for different purposes!   

What's Going On Out There?

 "U" - Something Gets Her Attention!

Even "U" stopped to watch the silly activity going on just outside of the pasture.  Ginny & Frank were fighting over a stick ..... you may remember little Frank from last year.  Well, he may be bigger, but he still plays like a pup.  He found a big stick, but little Ginny just wasn't letting him have it!  They ran all over, pulling, biting, & tumbling after the stick.  :)  You should have heard her growling & barking!  

Whose Stick Now?