It is coming fast!

Shearing DAy, April 12, 2019. We need help, please. 

Jobs will include moving sheep into the catch pens and out after shearing, sweeping between shears, providing water for the shearers, skirting the fleece, labeling and tagging and bagging fleece, and the final clean up. 

We welcome all volunteers. Children around 12 can help under supervision please. There are accommodations for 6 in the house and 4 in the camper in their sleeping bags. Lunch of beans, homemade bread and salad is provided for all. Shearing will be in progress from 8 am to approximately  3 pm. If you can join us, please let us know. 

​Thank ewe!

I like to think that I have an indomitable spirit. Once when I was quite young, maybe a teen or early twenties, that was how I was described. It stuck in my memory for some reason, likely because I liked that idea. So, with that indomitable spirit, I formulated a plan, and set to work. Six hours later, I had done it! I managed to remove three huge rams and get them on the other side of the farm to their home, plus put medicine in all the sheep and a few goats, except one, Kara. 

Kara is a jerk! I am not sure why, because she was a triplet from Daphne, my best goat, and Daphne's kids are wonderful. Her twin sister, Kia, is sweet natured and curious and comes to me to get a little pat, but Kara heads for the other end of the pen, wildly screaming every time she sees me, as though her life is at stake should I come near her. She is on the sale list, though she is beautiful, an F1 (first generation cross) mini Nubian in a lovely fawn colour. She was bred to Wimpy the Second this year, a tri colour Nubian buck. The mini Nubians, except Marie, who decided she wanted to get bred by Stevie Wonder, not Wimpy and somehow got herself out of one pen and into the other, rather miraculously, are going to have 3/4 Nubian babies. I am hoping they will be hardy enough to this climate, since Nubians do struggle with the extreme cold. Anyhow, I will have to work on Kara today, plus the other goats in the other pen and the rest of the rams across the driveway pen. Not many, compared to the hundred or so I managed yesterday ALONE!

I broke the cuboid bone last week in an unusual way. It is the bone that the metatarsal attaches to and it is a hairline fracture, nothing much really, and does not require casting or even bandaging. But yesterday, a big ewe stepped on it, and after that I was walking like Festus from Gunsmoke (you will have to look that up if you are not very old). Today it is swollen and painful all over again. I was out to check on the critters this morning. Bob Cotswold had his big head stuck in the feeder, so I rescued him and other than that, the plethora of ravens eating the dog scraps, was dispersed because I picked up the raw bones and meat bits. Anyhow, that broken bone still makes me hobble around in pain, but I will definitely have to treat the goats and the rest of the rams. One untreated animal with lice can reinfect the entire farm and I do not want that! Fortunately, sheep lice do not live on humans, but they can bite humans. Gross! I only got one bite from yesterday, whew! 

Today is beautiful! It is warm and melting, the usual January thaw. It snowed last night, enough of a dusting, maybe 3 centimeters or for those who better understand inches, around an inch and a little bit. But the snow is squishy and soft. I am just finishing my second cup of coffee and will have a cup of bone broth with fat before going out. There is an inch of beef fat on the bone broth in the pot and in the cup, I would say the fat, melted of course, covers the broth. I am attempting to reset my leptin using the Keto diet. 

Speaking or resets, yesterday, after wrangling those sheep, my knees were so painful that I could only hobble. Couple that with the broken bone in my foot and I felt a hundred years old! I have been reading a lot about cold thermogenesis and healing, so I put ice packs on my knees and left them there an hour. The pain and swelling disappeared with no medication and lasted through the night. Today, there is little swelling and little pain. I think there is definitely something to the idea. Long ago I happened to catch a short documentary on open heart surgery in a remote area of Siberia where they had no medication for pain. They used ICE!. The person was put to sleep and then covered in ice until the skin temperature was a certain level and they operated and closed and continued the use of ice until the person was well enough to gain normal function, which was not long and the recovery was nothing short of miraculous. I tucked that tidbit away in my mind. There is an American doctor who is promoting ice therapy, cold thermogenesis, and used it on himself after surgery for a speedy, pain free recovery. I must say, it worked on my old knees! 

Have a wonderful cell phone free day! Ha! Imagine that! Let's see tomorrow if I manage to get the rest of the critters on the farm medicated today. Toodle doo!

The Blue Faced Leicester ram who lived here for 2 years was a very busy lad. He even bred Lily right through the fence! She is a Babydoll sheep, now living at a new home, along with a bunch of others from the farm. But Lily's lamb could not be registered, because the ram thought he would like her instead of the Babydoll sire whom she was with. 

The Babydoll and Blue Faced Leicester ram lamb is very lovely. He will be larger than a Babydoll, I think, though Babydoll genes are really strong and usually the offspring of crosses look much more Babydoll than the other breed. In this case, the ram does look like a smaller version of the Blue Faced Leicester, only chunkier. For a smallholder operation wanted small meat sheep he would be ideal. 

There were 90% ram lambs born this year, the first year that has happened. Usually it has been an equal split or more or less equal. Some of the ram lambs were born early from accidental ram lamb breedings at 4 months of age. So in February there were lambs born. These young fellows are excellent stock and are now ready to breed too. They are wool breeds, with much finer quality wool than normally found on the common breeds such as Suffolk or Dorset. It would be a wise choice to use these rams as terminal rams or to create the famous mules, that is a ewe with Blue Faced Leicester genes and also a chunkier other meat breed. I took a picture of the largest three rams in that pen and was surprised to see how big the Blue Faced Leicester cross lambs had grown. They were huge! Seeing them daily, without a point of comparison, one does not notice that they have grown so big. 

But, the market for these rams would not be here, where most people are only interested in breeds they know and are used to. The cost of transport is prohibitive to most since the Fat Ewe Farm is quite remote compared to where the sheep herds are down south. Still, I will continue to advertise them for sale. Their only other fate is meat and that would be a terrible shame. Rams for sale! Step right up! 

There are a lot of different rare and exotic sheep breeds on The Fat Ewe Farm and 11 different rams. The logistics at breeding time can be quite a challenge. Who will go in which pen where? 

Friar's group of Babydoll ewes were in the middle pen which has large openings. Friar was alert and is a good breeder. The smallest ewe lambs were in that group, though I did not think they were old enough to cycle. None of the yearling lambs have ever bred in the past, so I was not too concerned. They could get out of the pen and run around in the main pen if they wanted and they did on occasion. 

So far 3 of the purebred Babydoll ewes have lambed, one black ewe lamb, one white ram lamb, and twins, one male and one female. Today Lily lambed and she does not have a purebred Babydoll lamb. It seems that the Blue Faced Leicester, who is a tall sheep, twice as tall as Lily, was busy through the fence. Darn! Darn! Darn! Although I am grateful that the lamb is healthy and strong and Lily is a great mother and is doing well, I am a little perturbed with the breeding. It will be interesting to see how the lamb grows and what the fleece will be like. Lily has very short fine fleece and the Blue Face Leicester sheep have one of the finest quality wools possible, not particularly long, but longer than the Babydolls. I am wondering if I should whether the youngster or not. I do not usually do so, but unless he is chosen as a breeding ram for a little backyard miniature flock, the only other fate is lunch. And he is adorable. 

This year was not a very successful lambing year with 5 ewes being bred in the fall by ram lambs and then the poor quality feed resulting in lots of singles and tiny lambs, strong and healthy, but very small. And now this! That pen is too close for comfort! I sold Quinn, the ram, and the rest of the Blue Faced Leicesters to a family from the south of Alberta. Good thing!

I go through a whole lot of effort to provide safe, dry and clean places to birth the lambs. The sheep seem to have different ideas. Red had twins at the manure pile base. I brought some clean straw and put it down for her. The lambs do not really care, but Red should. The wet lambs get covered with the manure and she has to lick them clean, thereby ingest the feces of the sheep. This is not good for the worm situation either. Red has two beautiful ewe lambs, a dark dark brown almost black and dark red. The girls will stay here on the farm, but Red and Thor, the Icelandic ram will be off to a new home in 3 months when the girls are weaned. 

Enya had her little guy outside, as they all did except the man bred sheep, the Blue Faced Leicester, who had her lamb in the shelter. At least the shelter is quite clean with good straw down and it is out of the wind and dry. It was 5 degrees today, but the wind was very cold. I hate to see the little lambs shiver, so I towel them as dry as I can to give the moms some help, especially if there is more than one. Enya is a primitive sheep, a Jacob, and she has a crossbred lamb, Shetland sired through the fence of all things. The ram she was with missed the mark I guess. Gwen, the BFL is not a good mother and leaves her little girl alone. The baby cries and finally lays down, but Gwen does not come back for a long time and if I bring the lamb to her she ignores her and continues eating. If she does not smarten up, tomorrow I will lock her up in  a stall in the barn with the lamb. I love the wool of the BFL sheep, but they simply do not compare with the primitives and need lots of interventions to be healthy and thrive. They would do well in a warmer winter climate too. 

Lyssa Cotswold had her single lamb, a large boy, outside the shelter.She had a bit of a time with him, making all kinds of noise and demonstrating her discomfort. The lamb was presenting correctly with the head between two little hooves, so I left her and went to finish the chores. When I returned she was still moaning and groaning and the lamb's front hooves and nose were out, but the head was not wanting to cooperate. I gently grasped the feet and pulled very lightly down and the head passed and the lamb slipped out. I am pretty sure Lyssa could have done that on her own, though just a little assistance was welcome. She was licking the air like crazy, but not the lamb, so I toweled him off as much as I could. I watched to see if he could latch on to a teat and drink, but he was a little confused as to where it was, so I laid Lyssa down and clipped the fleece from around her butt and udder so he had a clear path and bingo! He was nursing on his own. 

Obe had her boys cleaned and they were dry by the time I was out of the house this morning, twin rams. She is an excellent mother, only her second time, but her instincts are spot on and she is attentive and is always mothering her babies. I made a final round outside at 9:30 and there were no sheep isolating themselves or showing any signs of labour, so all should be well until tomorrow. They tend not to have babies in the dark. Those farmers who have barns and leave the lights on, in my humble opinion, are encouraging night births out of synchronization with nature. I will be up early to check again in the morning. 

I am grateful for these little babies born today. Lambs are sweet natured, innocent and full of life. They bring joy to my life just being around them and that is why I am a farmer!  The video is Lyssa complaining about being in labour. 

These are the two little Blue Faced Leicester Lambs that were born this spring. The brown/grey one is a little boy. He has remarkable soft tightly curled fleece with a white spot on his left flank and two white "tears" under his eyes. He had a very good start to life, a simple and easy birth and all was well, that is until he got a sickness called coccidiosis. It is a common protozoa that gives animals diarrhea and can make them very weak. He was treated for that and then became anemic because of a heavy worm load. These two little lambs preferred not to go out to pasture with the other lambs and sheep, but to stay in the pen and eat the grass. The problem there is the grass is very soiled with droppings from the sheep and eating the grass perpetuates the worm cycle by ingesting worms in the grass. I would chase them out of the pen and out to pasture and the next thing I knew, they were right back. The little boy got bottle jaw, which is a condition  where anemia causes fluid to back up and collect under the chin. I treated him twice for worms, 10 days apart and in between that time, he began to lose his wool from stress. I did manage to collect it by rooing, or hand plucking his fleece, but he doesn't have a very warm coat for winter. He is no longer sick, but has a lot of catching up to do. 

The female, white ewe lamb, did not get coccidiosis and I kept a close eye on her, because the two of them hung around together. I have no idea how they know what breed they are, but they are the only two Blue Faced Leicester lambs born this year. It is rather strange that they stayed together. None of the other lambs did such a thing. Then the little girl developed bottle jaw rather suddenly, however; she responded quickly to the medicine. She is a bit ragged because it appeared she had a run in with a coyote or fox, but the dogs likely came to her rescue. If they stayed with the flock, I am sure that would not have happened, that is the attack on her. She has not lost her coat, thank goodness. 

The Blue Faced Leicester lambs were the only lambs to show any signs of illness or worm overload this year. I did not have to treat any of the other lambs and they are all healthy and robust. These babies were out of excellent stock, some of the finest Blue Faced Leicester sheep around. They ram was selected for his fleece, his genes for colour, though he is white and for his genetics. The two ewes were also selected for their superior fleece and they come from excellent genetics too. It was certainly strange that the two lambs did not fare well. 

At least, I can say that they are well now, but both have to do some catching up. I think I will put coats on them to help them retain some body heat. Then they don't have to fight with the available food just to grow. Keep going, little lambies! 

I have a trio of special Blue Faced Leicester Sheep. The ancestry is directly from England, where they are more popular and are used to create hybrid sheep with the more hardy breeds. These new hybrids are mules and then are crossed again with a terminal sire, that is, a ram that will produce meat sheep and all the offspring will be butchered, hence terminal. The theory is great, but the climate in Engliand is not the same as the climate here in the frozen north. 

The sheep simply do not do well in the winter here. They need coats, or rather, parkas, to stay warm. One of their attributes is their very fine fleece, which is much sought after by hand spinners. It can create a warm wearable next to the skin garment with no prickle or itch and takes dye very well too, so it is popular, that is , if it clean and free of debris. My fleeces are not so far. Already I am seeing an improvement using hay nets though, so my fingers are crossed for next shearing. 

So, the Blue Faced Leicester sheep do not thrive in the winter. They eat a lot just to try to stay warm, but they are always cold. I will get them old parkas for this winter. It is just not fair to have cold animals and rather than heat a building for them, I will dress them for winter. They are for sale though and some people have been interested. The drawback is usually where I am located, which is a long drive for most. So, they are still here. 

The two ewes had lambs this spring. One is a ewe lamb and she is normal. They are slow growing and slow maturing, taking a full year or longer to grow to adulthood. The ram is three and has just reached his potential. Now he is rather impressive. Last year he was used as a sire to produce some spectacular fleeces without the openness factor that is the reason the animals cannot stay warm. The best cross is the Tunis with the BFL. The fleece is amazing, a creamy white, thick and luxurious. I might use him again with some of the sheep, but I also have a Romney ram this year, a prized wool breed. Some planning will definitely have to be done. 

The little ram lamb that was born has failure to thrive. Right from the onset he was weak and small. I have treated him for various problems since birth and he is so small. He lost his fleece after a bout with both cocidia and worms, so he definitely will require a parka. I cannot sell him, only hope that he grows into a decent adult in time. The other ewe had a ewe lamb who is right on track and much stronger than the little ram lamb.

So, basically, the sheep would be better in another warmer winter location. They do very well in summer, gain a lot of weight and stay quite healthy, but winter usually means that they are losing weight and by spring are quite thin. This winter, the sheep will be supplemented with a little grain, which will be help, though it is contrary to my belief that animals should be grass fed if they are runimants. The hay was just not very good this year, so to give proper nutrition for our long winter, the grain supplement will be added. 

I am tempted to keep one ewe and the ram if the parka idea works. Quinn, the ram, is really strong, friendly and quiet, all good temperament traits for a ram. The coloured ewe is very nice too and they both carry genes for colour so their offspring can be coloured or white, even though the ram is white. I do have some one interested in them currently. Here is hoping they can find a new home for the winter. Still…one more year of that lovely fleece would be so nice. Hmm. 

She is an incredible escape artist. Even with Robbie, the border collie and the two livestock guardian dogs looking for her, plus my son and I, we were not able to locate her and her lamb. The past two nights she was out long after she should have been. This is not a safe area for a sheep and lamb to be out in the night. Travis heard her around midnight and sure enough, she was there with her lamb. I got her back to safety with the other sheep in the pen. Then last night, I thought I had accounted for all the sheep and at 2 pm, heard a baa where there should not have been one. You know, when one has livestock, it is like when one is a young mother. Any sound out of place wakes the instinct. 

Sure enough, at 2 am last night, she was there with her lamb again. It was a very good thing that she was fine. The night is not the worst. It would be early in the morning light when the predators wake up and are hungry. She and her lamb were safe again, but I got eaten alive by mosquitos 2 nights in a row getting her to safety. 

Tonight I was not about to let her out of my sight. Travis, the dogs and I were out to find her and there she was with a group of lambs. The group was moved to the pen by the border collie, Robbie and I assumed she was with them, but no, when I looked for her and the lamb, she was not in the pen. The dogs and Travis and I hunted for her and could not find her. I put the dogs in and went out again and there she was! 

So, braving those mosquitos one more time, I chased the pair into the pen and closed the gate, then into the night pen and whew, she was safe and it was only 10 pm, not 2 am. I will watch her more closely tomorrow so I do not get eaten alive by the mosquitos later while rescuing her. Silly ewe!

The Blue Faced Leicester ram was the main sire for this year's lamb crop and it sure does show. They all have the BFL influence with the long legs, deer like ears and wide set eyes. Although the Blue Faced Leicester sheep is not very hardy on its own, when crossed it creates a wonderful hybrid with almsot any other breed of sheep. When crossed with Shetland sheep, it creates a larger lamb with spectacular fleece for hand spinning. When crossed with the Tunis, the lambs are the Tunis red but have a finer fleece than Tunis and the tyical BFL handsome face. The second in from the right lamb is a Coswold/E'st a Laine Merino and BFL lamb and perhaps the best of the bunch. It is somewhat stocker showing superior muscling, has a thicker fleece more in keeping iwth the Merino breed but it is fine as the BFLs and the face is slightly less long. 

In winter the cross lambs will probably perform much better than the pure bred ones. The black one on the right and the middle one are purebred BFL lambs. Unfortuantely for them, they have a slight single coat of curly wool that parts easily and is not rich in lanolin. They need to eat more to stay warm and benefit from being in a warm barn. The cross lambs should do well with their three sided shelter and a normal amount of feed for winter. The BFL sheep, being a breed created specifically by man and not an evolved breed that adapted on its own, also benefits from grain. Since my sheep are not fed grain, they must eat a tremendous amount more to just maintain body condition. They are not the best sheep for this forage based farm, but I sure do like the cross babies. Perhaps good winter coats will help this winter. I will see what I can do..maybe go the thrift shop and find some old down winter parkas. We shall see. Just a few more weeks and the lambs can be weaned from their mothers and sold. They sure are cute right now though, aren't they?

The babies came fast and furious today. Celia finally had quints, but one was stillborn I think, though I missed the brith. I just went in for supper and by the time I was done, she was done. She has 4 beautiful baby girls and the one that passed away was a girl too. The quads are black and white, but Celia is brown and white. They are adorable. 

But that was not the only birth today. Obe and kaon, the Shetland girls had little boys, both by themselves. They went into the barn, most likely because when they first arrived that is where they lived for 2 days and it felt like a safe spot. They had their babies, cleaned them off and had them nursing in five minutes total. The Blue Faced Leicester, on the other hand, which is a man created breed, needed assistance. One leg was back and she was not able to get the little gaffer out, so I pulled him out. She did lick him clean but would not let him nurse. I left them to be in a stall in the barn and when I checked later, he had managed to nurse. I brought her food to distract her and make her stand still and the rest was up to him. It seems to have worked. 

But then, just as I thought I was going to bed, I checked the sheep pen and one of the wild things had a teddy bear. She was bred to Tuck, a coloured Old English Southdown Babydoll and she is part Icelandic. The baby is white and black spotted and absolutely adorable. The mom is wild. I don't know why. Some sheep are, almost no matter what you do. She will teach her baby to be wild too. The baby is a girl. Her only saving grace is that Babydoll sheep are born friendly, so perhaps once she is weaned she will tame down. Her mom is going to be sold or go for meat, even though she has a lovely fleece.

So finally, it is nearing midnight and I can go to sleep. I am pretty sure there is no one in labour at the moment. I will be up early to check again. I don't have any more man bred sheep to deliver, thank goodness, so the rest of them should be fine on their own. One of the quads that Celia had is very small and weak. I tried to bottle feed her and she did not want anything to do with me so I left her with her sisters and mom. 

And so to bed. Another day comes tomorrow.