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!

Whew! The last week has been filled, well over-filled with a bunch of too busy days. Some days as many as ten different people came to the farm for one reason or another. There is the John Deere lawn tractor to fix, the smart car got sold, a few looking at the two trucks I have for sale, my new solar fridge arriving, people coming to buy goats and bed and breakfast guests. Some of those days I got up earlier than I would have normally to make breakfast for my guests. And of course, the third to last goat had triplets and today alone, 3 sheep had lambs with one set of twins. Rosy needed help with her single HUGE ram lamb. My goodness he is big! The sire was a Babydoll/BFL and although the lamb looks Babydoll, he is as large as a big Blue Faced Leicester lamb. Too bad it is a boy though. I don't usually make wethers out of the sheep, but I think that one would make a great companion ram for those who have just one breeding ram. I cannot find my elastic applicator though! 

There have been moments of planting some things in the flower beds, painting some new planters, ensuring the sheep and goats do not stay out long on the first green grass of the season and then last night, I stepped on a 3 inch nail. Ouch! I soaked it in the tub along with my old bones and went to the hospital for a tetanus shot this morning just after 9. I got out of the hospital finally , at 12:30. The doctor was in a clinic and only came over for emergencies, my situation, not being considered anywhere close to emergency. So, I visited with my friend Alan, who has brain cancer. He was making plans for his funeral and I tried to cheer him up, but when I arrived he did not know who I was. Sad. 

There will be a few more of these crazy days before life gets settled down somewhat. Once the two trucks are sold, and the old fridge I was using is also gone, and the goats and lambs, then the animals can go out to their summer pasture and life should be quieter. Except there will be gardens to plant and yard clean up to finish, and it goes on. The thing that is not getting accomplished, that always gets pushed to the last, is my own little hovel. It desperately needs a day of cleaning and organizing, but somehow all those other jobs are taking the priority. 

I soaked my foot again in the tub along with my bones, as I do every night and sleep calls. Sweet dreams all. 
​

Romney sheep are an old English breed from the Romney marshes. They are larger sturdy sheep with thick soft wool. The wool is not as soft as Merino sheep, but is easily worked and spun and can be made into sweaters and socks that are worn next to the skin. Romney sheep come in black, which looks brown, or white. The Romney lambs are fast growing and are ready to slaughter for meat lambs by 4 months if grain fed or 6 months if forage based fed. The breed has been in close contact with humans for many many years and is usually quite personable, unlike the hill sheep which were left to their own means of survival for hundreds of years. 

Romney ewes are known for their easy lambing and are good mothers with strong maternal instinct. A Romney ewe sired by a Babydoll ram creates a miniature Romney, a small hardy sheep with longer wool than the Babydolls and a somewhat larger meat carcass too. Both Babydoll sheep and Romney sheep are pleasant to work with and friendly natured. 

These lambs came all the way from Langley, BC, well, actually Whonnock, but no one knows where that is unless they are from that area. The breeder has had Romney sheep for 30 years, has been a judge and has won many show competitions for her sheep. She is considered the foremost breeder of the Romneys in Canada and is well respected and well liked. 

I am pleased to add the two new ewe lambs and ram lamb to the Fat Ewe Farm flock. Currently I am trying to get to know them and have them become accustomed to me before they go off to join their sheep. They do not mind coming to me for food, but are shy when I try to pat them. I think they will fit in just fine, don't ewe?