So many things got done this weekend. The covered feed station in the ewe pen finally got it’s roof on. No more snow filling up the feeders. Tom designed these with folding doors so I can fold the top down to put feed in. Then I can fold the bottom up when I need to clean out underneath. These feeders keep our sheep healthy by keeping their feed off the ground where if can be infected by their droppings. The feed pans are resting on hardware cloth, which lets some seeds and chaff fall to the ground but keeps the hay high and dry, preventing spoilage or mold that could lead to illness. The sheep get hay pellets and barley first, which they scarf down in record time, then we come back and toss in the hay for them to eat at their leisure. This system is keeping them healthy but I think it’s also keeping the wool a little cleaner than it was last year. It’s nice to know all the girls can belly up to the bar at one time and be out of the weather while they dine.

We were waiting to put Niko in with the girls until the construction project was complete. It’s too dangerous to be distracted by construction when there is a ram in your midst. We took the time to change all the coats before we moved the ram and we were delighted with all the fleeces. 

 

 

Cocoa

 

 

 

 

 

Nellie      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Pants

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mocha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Missy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jolene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woolley Nelson

 

 

 

Niko looked AMAZING too but my camera battery died before I could get the shot (of course) He will continue to pass those amazing fiber genes on to his progeny.

In an effort to be more successful at guessing due dates we are trying out some marking paint this year. The paint comes in powder form, gets mixed with vegetable oil and then spread all over the rams chest area. When he mounts the ewes it leaves a mark, that we can note in our little black book, and from that we can calculate possible delivery dates for spring lambs. We have gotten mixed info about how this product performs in freezing temperatures but we are hopeful 🙂

I’ll be working on adding information pages to the website for each of our sheep with their breeding and fiber characteristics, as well as some insights into their personalities. That should take a bit of time and help keep me busy until the lambs start arriving.