Just Relaxing ...

 

Wild Rose Farm Ewes & Lambs Sunning!

The weather was a little cooler yesterday than it was today & I caught this picture of the ewes with the younger lambs enjoying the morning sun.  I didn't realize until I looked closer, but that little lamb was just holding onto the fence panel until I walked right up. Then she looked startled & let go ... :)

Wild Rose Farm Studio - We're Packing!

 

Wild Rose Farm Studio Shelves
Naturally Dyed Yarn - Pencil Roving - Combed Top!

We'll post more photos of what we're bringing to the 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest on Saturday May 22nd!  Today we packed the yarn, pencil roving, & Rambouillet combed top. There are about a half dozen or so "sheep items", a tapestry frame, antique sock form, and maybe that plaid picnic basket with wooden handles coming too!  Stay tuned fiber friends ...

Wild Rose Farm Ewes & Lambs at Feeding Time

Meanwhile, back in the barn on the shed roof side, the lambs have room to run when the ewes line up at the feeders ... 

2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

 Yes, there will be a 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest on Saturday May 22nd. Stay tuned for more information. A vendor list is forthcoming and Wild Rose Farm will be there for a streamlined 1 day festival to quench your fiber needs! 

This is What "Nothing" Looks Like!

Wild Rose Farm - "Nothing Happening" Looks Like This!

When one of us comes in after a lambing check and says "nothing happening", this is what it looks like.  A few ewes grazing.  The rest of the flock is sitting up and chewing their cud. Our llama Snow White is cushed and watching, or as in this case, looking at us as if to say, "what are you looking at?".  It looks similar at night, except that a scan of the field returns sets of glowing eyes! 

Wild Rose Farm #136 With Newborn Twins

We had 3 sets of twins born yesterday. The first set was on the previous post, the 2nd set arrived around 2:00pm and the picture above is the 3rd pair born around 8:30pm.  It was a busy day here and all are doing well! 
 

 

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.  

Liquid Gold!

 

Sheep Milk Colostrum Going to the Freezer!

Here's an upside down selfie that I took to show everyone the precious colostrum that we milked from our ewes.  The first milk from the ewe after lambing is "anti-body rich" colostrum and it's critical for the newborns to get up and nurse.  It's thick and you can see the more golden color - which is one of the reasons we consider it liquid gold!  When a ewe has a single lamb, that's a perfect time to get some colostrum for the freezer. The frozen colostrum can be thawed later and fed to another newborn lamb that needs to be started or supplemented.  Both of the jugs above are colostrum, but from different ewes, so there's a difference in their color. 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #568 & Ram Lamb

The ewe above delivered this large single ram lamb and is the donor for the jug on the left. The picture was taken after a 1AM pasture check when we brought them up to the barn.  The colostrum was milked from the side that the lamb wasn't nursing on yet at around 7AM.  It actually provides some relief to milk out the ewe and the single lamb will soon be nursing on both sides.  

The jug on the right came from a ewe that delivered twin lambs around 6AM the same morning. She just happens to have a very heavy milk flow, so we recruited her as a colostrum donor ... 

There was plenty of milk to go around!  :)

Keeping Track of Who's Who!

 

Scourable Spray Paint & Barn Supplies

Every year we get questions about the green numbers painted on the ewes in the fall and on the lambs in the spring. The paint is a special formula for livestock - sheep in particular - that is "scourable". It will wash out in the wool washing or scouring process.  If you notice in the pictures as time goes on, the numbers fade in the sun & rain.  We refresh the markings once or twice over the summer as the lambs grow.  We have the paint out in the barn as we vaccinate, ear tag, and dock the lambs. Pretty nice tackle box, eh?  It's just the right size and the sheep "duck tape" is holding together the cracks in the lid.

Wild Rose Farm #141 & Twin Ram Lambs

Here are a couple of lambs that we just painted. The tag number of the ewe is painted on the lamb and in the case of twins, one of them gets a "dot".  That way, you can tell them apart at a distance if there's a problem without having to catch them to read the ear tag number. 

Time to head back out to the barn to check on a newborn set of twins and then make a quick pasture check!