Thursday, December 10, 2015

Pins and Needles

It's been a while but things are slow here on the farm front and extra busy on the hockey/Christmas/school front. Our ewes and rams are co-habitating (the rams will get the boot next week) and so we've just been letting Mother Nature do her work.
Our dogs however.....
Should just "live and let live".
Yes Folks, those are porcupine quills. We came home from church and found our precious pooch looking like a cushion for pins!
We got them all out and she seems to be doing just fine!
Never a dull moment out here!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Predator Protection- learning lessons

Last week we lost a lamb but we also had our dog attacked and then 2 of our ducks were plucked right off our front step.

Our short term fix is moving everything inside but our long term solution include these two....

Meet Baxter
                           
And Bailey


Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Sorrows of the Shepherd- graphic.

Saturday morning I went out to say good morning to the girls. All were happily grazing. Sunday evening I went out to do chores and Alma was missing. I walked the perimeter- didn't find a hole or tacks. Walked the field- my neighbor, kids, and father in law all walked our fields looking for clues. We went to beds all a little sad we couldn't find our lamb.
Monday morning I walked my other fields and then thought I would walk her pen one more time. Sure enough, in the day light, I found her and some alarming tracks.
I grew up in the prairies and my husband in the mountains. We have our fair share of predator experiences. We had made sure we had secure fences but because of the safety we have enjoyed the last three years we were also lulled into false sense of safety.
Lessons- lambs are easy targets, fences only do so much to deter predators, and we need to step up protection.


I am glad we found the carcass. It gave us answers.




Friday, August 21, 2015

Summer Lamb

This Summer one of our new ewes Lily
had a lamb.
Her birth story is in the blog.
 But I thought it would be nice if I could show you some pictures.
She is a beautiful big and healthy ewe lamb.
We named her Cattail Amaryllis
Amaryllis means "to Sparkle" 
and we thought that was quite suiting.
Dusty was sure that it would be annoying to say so it was shortened to 
Alma.
She is fun and curious by nature.
She is by far the most friendly lamb we've ever had. She will leave her ewe and come right up to investigate you.

Alma a few hours old. She was so big we think a nerve may have been pinched.
She couldn't get up and laid in some of the most akward looking poses! 

 

 Finally up and standing on her own.

 Kicked out into the field with the other ewes.
Lily was happy to be back out in her pen!
(about 2 weeks old)

 Out and exploring!
Alma is about 1 month old.

 She is going to be a stunning ewe.
We are going to be thrilled to add her into our breeding ewes!


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Committed- Learning Lessons in Lambing

A couple of our ewes were bred late
which means we were going to lamb in July.
One of them was open so we were waiting
(not so patiently)
for our Lily to lamb.
She seemed ready FOREVER
and she was large.
On Sunday I checked her in the morning
and
she seemed as ready as ever
but 
nothing major.
We came home from church and I thought I would just run out to see how she was.
I got in the barn and she was laying down
with a lamb behind her
still in the sack.
I got into the pen and peeled the bag back
the lamb was still hot
but
not moving- not breathing.
I wiped it the best I could with my bare hands and straw.
I put a piece of straw up it's nose and tried to clear out the airways.
At this point it started twitching.
Still not breaths.
So I tipped it up side down and with my other hand went down its nasal canals.
laided it back down and gave it mouth to mouth.
It was disgusting.
I wish I was a good enough person to look past that
I am not
It will go down as one of the most disgusting things I have done to date.

BUT
that little lamb took a breath
and started to kick

She was pretty rattly for a few days and it took her 8 hours to stand and eat on her own.
The ewe was confused about the "let down" reflux
and kept kicking at her bag like flies were on her.
But my midnight everything seemed to sort itself out.

I am glad it's our last of this year.
I am extreamly thankful it's alive and healthy
and
it's a ewe!


Sunday, July 12, 2015

Our First Predator- graphic warning

We have ducks.
They are a new addition this year.
We bought them after we sold our geese.
They are MUCH milder and easy to deal with
Every morning we turn them loose and they waddle themselves down to the creek.
They swim, they clean, they fluff, and then they come home for dinner.
I went out in the afternoon and noticed a duck laying too still in an odd place in the field.

Sure enough. 

Dead.

Decapitated dead.
When I first went down I could only find the body.
The girls found the head a couple hundred feet away- half up a hill...
His name was mouldy
Now to try and figure this mystery out.....

Needless to say- the rest of the ducks are in lock down until this matter is sorted out.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Butternut's Debut

A couple weeks ago I picked up this lovely Nigerian Dwarf nanny and one of her doelings. She has been such fun! Our oldest daughter is smitten with them. They are fun and a little more personable than our sheep. We haven't tried milking yet but that's in our future. I can't wait to try soaps and lotions and maybe even a taste.
She is settling in well to her new surroundings. She enjoys the walks the kids take her on. She doesn't love Bellie {our dog} but she is learning to at least tolerate her!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Learning to Listen

Last night my girls went out to do their chores. As they were finishing up with the goats, one of them felt like they needed to go and check the sheep. They went. When they arrived at the shelter one of the ewes was stuck. 4 feet in the air on her back. One stayed with the ewe and one ran to the house to get me. When I got there the ewe was upright again. My daughter felt like she needed to roll her over. The ewe was stumbling and stiff. She had been there for sometime (I check them morning and night so it must if happened shortly after morning checks) but her back was saturated with urine and fecal matter.


So glad that these two listened to that inner voice and found her. And another great lesson learned on our little homestead!


Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Don't forget the Cat

When we moved to our place
we were fortunate enough 
to inhert their cat.
We had one of our own
but 
we spay and neuter our cats
so it was great to have a spare.

She turned out to be a fantastic cat.
She loved the kids and was always following them around.
She loved to photobomb almost all our pictures
and she was an amazing hunter.
I am pretty sure she has killed more gophers around our place than
Dusty!








You will be missed Spurk.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Odd and Unusual- Coming home with 8 Boxes

 Saturday was Auction day.
We got there a bit early so the kids walked around to check everything out.
I gave each of the kids $20.00 and told them they could buy whatever they wanted.
I was only a little scared.
Dusty was a lot scared.

Ellie was sure she was going to buy a pig
(that's what made me nervous)
but 
she made a wise decision and chose to wait until she had a pen built!

Lucy, however, spent her money on this....
It will be moving outside once her pen is built.
 
Ellie and I spent on our money on these lovely ducks.
3 different kinds.
Indian Runners
Peking
and Rouen
 
 Penny bought fancy chickens
Americanas (which I don't have a picture of)
Silver Brahmas (the photo)
and
Silver Laced Wyndottes
 and we will end with the ducks
The drake rouen is so pretty!
and they already laid 2 eggs
and they are HUGE.


Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Sorrows of a Shepherd- Enucleation


"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."
Mark Twain 
I love having an assortment of creatures on our acreage. 
I love watching them.
I find great amusement in all of them.
I enjoy caring for them.
Inevitably something happens that requires additional care.
I love to learn new things.
I find satisfaction in nursing these guys back to health.
I don't love carrying a cat by the tail 
(So to speak)
Not too long ago-
One of my ewes was "off"
We went out and she had some fox tail in her eye.
She gets really wooly eyes and so she does get grass etc caught in them from time to time.
I cleaned it out.
Long story short.
My efforts were not good enough.
By the time I called the vet my poor sheeps eye could not be saved.
I know she will be fine.
I know most farmers shoot a sheep in the same predicament.
I also know that this is on me.
I have carried my cat- I hope that I don't have to write another post about a sheep and fox tail and a tardy vet call....
 
 

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Weaning

One of the saddest {and loudest} days on our farm.
We fence wean our lambs so it's not so cut and dry.
At first there is lots of bleating and running
but
soon the ewes relax
and 
EVENTUALLY 
the lambs start to settle in.

It also means that in 2 weeks our little lambs leave our house
to their new homes.
So far every lamb has found a home and we couldn't be more thrilled in where they are going!

Friday, May 15, 2015

Butchering Roosters

We had some MASSIVE Cochin roosters that were occupying part of our barn.
It was time to butcher them
{something we had been avoiding doing}
I have helped people CLEAN chickens during butchering
but
I have never done the deed from start to finish.

There is an amazing amount of information available from people's blogs or pinterest
on the process of butchering chickens.
It is amazing.

My dad hunts. I remember hunting with him.
He hunts everything but bird hunting was a very valuable experience
in regards to my decisions about chicken butchering.

{As you can tell from the title this post won't be for the faint of heart}

We decided against the ax or throat splitting.
I really wanted to do bloodless butchering.
My children have been exposed to blood and animal carcasses
but
{in my mind}
there is something different about seeing an animal die and then having lots of blood to go with it.

We decided to ring their necks.
I highly recommend leather gloves and a thick long sleeve shirt.
I didn't ring the neck.
My dad did.
It was over within a few seconds.
Our youngest daughter watched
{our older daughters were in school}
and she was fine.

The next step was removal of meat.
We have lots of scavengers where we live and because we were doing roosters we decided to take the breasts and legs.
There was
No plucking
No guts
No blood
No smell

You start by laying them down on their backs.
You then pinch their skin {not just feathers}
and make a slit to get your fingers or thumbs hooked in.
Then your rip all the way up and expose the meat.
It looks like you unzipped a jacket
a big puffy feather jacket!
You then take a sharp knife and slice down the breast bone.
Be careful not to cut to deep or you'll puncture the chest cavity and then you will get some blood.
You continue down until you have removed the breast.
I put it in a bucket of cold water.
You do that to both sides and then you move on to the leg.
Take a pinch of skin and make a slit and remove the skin and feathers off the leg.
Once exposed you can dislocate the hip joint then take a large sharp knife and cut through at the joint.
The leg will then be removed.
Take a saw and take the feet off.
Do this to the other side.

And that's it.
I then take it in the house and clean it really well then soak it in some salt water
(this helps take the blood out)

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Out to Greener Pastures

Part of our journey into sheep has been fencing. In fact, it's been a huge part of the process! We have three small pens (probably about 2- 1 acre pastures and then a coral at our barn) that we put in the first couple of years. As we have grown we have NEEDED to figure out how to accommodate the growing flock and the dynamics of keeping ewes and rams separated.
The initial cost for wire fencing was $300.00. This year we committed ourselves to sheep fencing around another 4 acre parcel- the cost $700.00. On top of this we had to purchase an electric fence (well truth be told my parents purchased it and we are "borrowing" it) and that was another $300.00.
This will not be the end of fencing. We have only begun.

We are not technically a farm. There are no write-offs. If someone were to look at our sheep "books" they would think we were on a 1 track route to coo-coo- town. We are.

We wanted to have and raise sheep. We wanted a heritage breed that were easy to handle and had great mothering instincts. We were committed to this for the long haul. (and it will take a long haul to break even).

Things to think about...

Friday, May 1, 2015

Sorrows of a Shepherd- Lamb Death

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."

Mark Twain 
There are experiences you gain living on a farm that would be hard to learn in their entirety any other way. The above quote from Mark Twain I used to describe how I felt after a lesson learned in the fall about eye care with sheep (which I will post here another day).
Let me take you back to last fall....
We put our ram in with our ewes in October and so we separated out the yearlings and put them in a different pen with a shared fence line. Well, of course, they got in with the ram. We thought perhaps we caught them in time before all the frisky business commenced. Thought....
I don't preg test our sheep. It didn't even cross my mind after the fence crawling escapade.

Last night at about 4 am I got woken up by a sheep bleating and bleating. Our little lambs sometimes wander. I laid in bed and contemplated getting up but it seemed to subside and I chalked it up to either a wandering lamb or Buttons (she is a very noisy ewe).  I went back to sleep.

This morning I sent our 5 year old to check to make sure all the lambs were in. She came back and reported that all was fine. She said that Jackie (a yearling) was "baaing" lots. I thought it was odd since she's typically quiet. I continued to cook breakfast. After breakfast and girls got off to school I decided to run out quick. Our baby is teething and he bumped himself so I spent a good amount of time rocking him until he settled enough for me to put him in his crib for a morning sleep.

Finally at 1030am I made it out to water everything and that's when I saw a little black lamb. Jackie was laying down beside him. I walked over- knowing before I even got close- that this little guy didn't make it. I didn't miss it by much. His little body was cool to the touch but he was still soft and hadn't even been fully cleaned. I looked for Jackie- who was a little perturbed but had gone down to eat. I scooped up the lamb and took him out thinking she had figured out that he was dead.

Do you want to know what one of the worst sounds on the planet is?

A mother who has lost her baby. Any mother of any baby.

My afternoon has consisted of the echoing bleats from the field and my own guilt/self-reflection (if we want to give guilt a positive spin)

It is inevitable that there is loss of life on a farm. I know that. Anyone who raises and takes care of any animal knows that. I feel so honored and humbled to watch (and help sometimes) a little life come into this world. I also feel the pain and humility when dealing with a loss.

I should of gone to check at 4am. I should of gone to check at 630. I should of just taken the baby out and gone to check at 830. It looks like it was still born but part of the sorrow of the shepherd is that I don't know 100%. I don't know if I could of helped. Will I lose sleep over this? Most likely. Will I go out and check at 4 am next time? Most likely. This changes me. This is an experience that I wish I didn't have but because of it I will be better for next time because there will be a next time.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Lovely Lambs Growing Up

Our warm April has given us lots of opportunity to spend time with all our creatures.
My oldest and youngest love hanging out with the sheep and if given the pick of chores the sheep will always be their choice.
 It is hard to believe that round 1 of lambs will be going home in only a few short weeks!
These are Bella's twins. 
She is a very cautious ewe and so most of the time her lambs are pretty cautious.
These guys are a bit flighty by themselves but together they think they are invincible!
This little girl on the left- her name is Bonnie and the little guy on the right- he is sold
to a great family.

This lovely little grey ewe is the sweetest little girl!
She will come right up to you and always has to check everything out!
She is always the first responder.
If another lamb lets out a bleat she comes trotting over to check out the commotion!
She gets to go home with a lovely couple and Scotty.


This guys name is Scotty and he is the bruiser of the bunch.
A couple weeks older than everyone he knows he
has weight behind whatever he says!
He isn't afraid of much and will walk right up to the dog and lick her!
The dog isn't a huge fan!


Saturday, April 11, 2015

Rosie's labor and Lamb

We caught Rosie in late labor 
It was nice to get it on video
She was classic.
Uncomfortable in early labor
Not eating.
Swollen back end.
You could see contractions.
She didn't care about all the spectators.
She did great
and
had a very healthy little ewe lamb.

She was sold before she was even born.
The girls love her to bits
She is such a sweet gentle lamb!
and GREY!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Bella's Ram Lamb 2015

Our sweet Bella gave us twins at midnight on Friday! They are both doing great so far but this little guy was first out and totally ready for the world!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Blessings of Rural Life


 Chores are a family event.
During the winter the girls and I rotate who is outside, that way someone is always in the house with the boy.
Now that it's spring, we are all outside!
The girls first outdoor animal chore is cats and dogs.
Our youngest daughter who is 4 is in "charge" of making sure they have food and water.
She can also help collect eggs.
Our second daughter is responsible for the hen house.
She feeds and waters and collects eggs.
The oldest daughter feeds sheep hay and can also feed our docile horses, ponies, and donkeys.

Sometimes I feel a pang of guilt for my kids.
They don't know what it's like to ride their bikes to the pool
or have a neighbourhood kid "gang'
They come home from school and have homework and chores
and
when that is done they can play outside with each other.
BUT
I have to remind myself that they get to witness a full circle of life.
Birth, life, and death
untainted and unedited.
They get to know what it feels like to save a baby chick from the claws of a cat
and 
hold a brand new lamb.
I can't imagine a better life.
 


There is a quiet joy found in rural life for me.
I spend lots of time walking from pen to pen to check on our animals.
It's me and my thoughts 
most of the time some wind
and occasionally the gibber of a small child
I can hear my sheep and the horses.
I hear the owls and the doves
and the chickens
I usually have the cat and dog to keep me company.

I am really busy.
There is no two bits about that
but
in all the chaos of life and to-do lists
Animals must get fed.
I must make those walks to feed and check.
No matter what happens in my life,
I still find quiet
and there
is
joy
and
peace
in 
that.


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Buttons Newborn Video 2015

unsteady newborn lamb.
Buttons had a rough lambing last year 
but
this year she fell right into the groove of things 
and has been so fantastic!


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Buttons Lamb 2015 days 2 and 3

This is this little guys second day photo!
His eyebrows KILL me!
I love him and his adorable old-man-ness!

Day 3
I love that he is filling out!
Those baby wrinkles disappear so quickly!


For our lambs first 3-4 days we keep a pretty detailed record of them.
I check on them at least every 4 hours and document anything I see.
I have livestock records for everything on our little place
so
I just changed my sheet slightly and made a lamb record form in excel.

Records are really important. 
I have learned their value in dealing with our horses.
It is hard to remember every detail of a timeline and when a vet comes out it is really handy to have an accurate account of all the things you've seen or done.

It's also made lambing easier for me.
I am a rookie and I get a ton of information from other people
and so my own record keeping
helps me to remember what happened with LAST years lambs....
What is normal and what isn't.

If you want a copy of my livestock record or my lambing record,
just send me an email,
I would be happy to save you the time in excel!


Animal Name: Vet Info:
Animal Type: Clinic:
Animal Breed: Name:
Description: Cell:
Sire:                                    Dam:



Date Description
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Buttons Ram Lamb 2015

 Yesterday evening I noticed that Buttons bag (udder)
was REALLY full.
I feed twice a day and during the evening feed
she wasn't her normal gluttonous self!
I figured she would lamb in the next day or so
I checked at midnight and I didn't notice anything.
I checked at 5 and she was uncomfortable
I went back out at 9
not really expecting to find this
sweet little guy.
 



He has eaten.
He has pooped.
and
He is exhausted.
 I will post more pictures later today after they both have had some quiet time.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Our Geese

We sold our geese this week.
We were all kind of sad to see them go.
They weren't very nice and you couldn't do anything with them.
They were amusing to watch in their little kiddie pool
but that was about the extent of our interaction
other than the terrifying moments that they got out of the their pen!

But they gave us some experiences
and laughs
and they will be missed 
but 
they went to a really great bird farm.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Pregnant Ewes

Gestation for sheep is around 147 days. 
Like humans, some sheep go longer and some shorter.
We could lamb any day.
I take photos of our ewes every day at the same time to help document the last couple of weeks.
 The above is a shot of Button's hips.
She is most likely carrying twins.
 This is Bella.
That is a pick up truck tire. It kind of gives you a scale of how tall mature Babydolls are.
They must measure under 24" shorn.

This is a front shot of Bella.
She is also carrying twins.
This shot isn't the best at displaying how impressively big she is right now.