Farm Life

Out the backdoor

Posted by kenleighacres on February 23, 2011
Posted in: family, Farm Life. Tagged: , , , . 8 Comments

My son and I have been sick, so we have been spending a lot of time looking out the backdoor. 

Luckily, we have a lot to look at! 

A pair of Canada geese.

They are here most of the time and have even started eating the leftover duck food. 

We have had a LOT of rain and the wild ducks are taking advantage of the extra water.

The ‘open’ (not bred) girls have been kicked out of the barn and are complaining to me daily.  They liked the cushy life and extra good food the mammas were getting.  I keep telling them there are sheep who don’t see green grass for months and they should feel very lucky 🙂

We have a trio of pheasants that are constantly teasing me.  I see them all of the time, but as soon as I put a camera up they are gone!  I finally got a couple of pictures of them.

Not the best pictures, but still sharable.  I love the roosters and all of their colors.

Probably the funnest to see, are the baby nutria!  I am not a fan of nutria, but the babies are kind of fun to watch.

I am FINALLY feeling better and my son should be feeling better soon after a trip to the doctor this morning.  Just in time for the forecasted snow!  I have mixed feelings about the snow, especially with more lambs due soon, but a little bit of snow would be fun.

A fine winter morning!

Posted by kenleighacres on January 10, 2011
Posted in: Ducks, Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, Lambing, sheep, whippet. Tagged: , , , . 7 Comments

I love this kind of winter morning…crisp, chilly, and beautiful!

The ducks managed to keep a little spot of their pond open overnight and they were enjoying the sunshine this morning.

The girls were all happy to see me…

but were quickly on their way.

I’m not sure what makes the thistles so delicious on these frosty mornings, but they are a favorite.

Would you like to know why Duchess is smiling this morning?

Holly finally had her lambs last night and now she has some friends!

She had a very large boy, weighing in at 10.5 lbs.  His name is Ector.   

Sir Ector was a knight of the Round Table and Arthurian legend says that he was King Arthur’s foster father.

The little girl is a bit more dainty, weighing in at 5.5 lbs. 

Her name is Emeline. 

The name Emeline is old German for ’embracing everything’.  It was a royal name in medieval England.

Paisley of course thinks it is a fine morning to stay inside and enjoy the warm fire.

A change of plans…

Posted by kenleighacres on January 7, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, Lambing. Tagged: , , , . 8 Comments

I have decided to change the naming theme for this year’s lambs.  There are several reasons for the change, but it all started with the lack of inspiration I was feeling with the previous theme.  A couple things happened today that pointed me in this new direction.  The most important being that Queenie had her lamb! 

She had a ewe lamb.  A ewe lamb that needed a name similar to her mother’s, Queenie, and grandmother’s, Princess.  I watched a King Arthur movie this afternoon and then I read Mud Ranch’s blog about Castles today – see the theme?  So, the naming theme for this year is going to be Medieval names… 

and this girl’s name is going to be Duchess.

Queenie looked like she was getting close this morning, so I decided to check on her and do the afternoon feeding before I headed into town to pick-up my son from school.  She looked closer, but not imminent.  I continued feeding and was headed out of the barn when I saw her laying down.  I did a double check and saw that her water bag was hanging out!  Wow, a lot closer to lambing then I thought!  ‘Good timing Queenie, I have to leave right NOW!!!’  I was concerned about leaving because she is a first time mom and I would be gone an hour.  I didn’t really have a choice, so I told her to check in with the older girls if she had any problems and rely on her instincts. 

She did a fantastic job.  The lamb was cleaned up and nursing when we got home.

I moved them to a small pen and gave mama some hay and dipped the lamb’s umbilical cord. 

The rest of the ewes were very interested in what was going on…

and poor Holly was really wishing it was her lamb!  Soon Holly, soon…

 

Anticipation and Excitement!

Posted by kenleighacres on January 4, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, Lambing, sheep. Tagged: . 8 Comments

Lambs are almost here!!! 

I love this time of year.

The girls are starting to get very big and the anticipation is mounting.

The bellies are hanging a little lower…

and a lot wider.  This is Althea and she isn’t due until the 20th. 

Flirt and Queenie are two of the three first-timers we have lambing this year.  Queenie is due any day and I can’t wait to see what she has!

*Sorry for the non-flattering shots! 

Holly is the next one due – sometime this weekend.  She has only ever had singles, so I am curious to see if she has twins this year.  Nice sized twins is much easier on them than BIG singles. 

Azera just keeps getting bigger and bigger…

and lower and lower.  She has to wait until the 20th.

Here is Amber with her daughter, Allegany, from this last year.  They are so cute together.  Every morning when I go out to feed they are snuggled together and they are always with each other. 

Hopefully I have lamb photos to share soon!

Just a skiff…

Posted by kenleighacres on December 30, 2010
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, sheep. Tagged: , , , . 5 Comments

but it was much better than the deluge of rain we have been enduring the last couple of days.

Our pastures have turned into a wetland and the local waterfowl have been enjoying the accommodations!

I think the sheep enjoyed the little bit of snow we got because it was accompanied by just a touch of sun.  It was a very welcome sight!

The bellies are really starting to show now and the girls are kicking up their heels a little less and spending more time in the barn.  Much to their disappointment, I make them leave the barn while I feed.  I assure them that exercise is good for everyone!!!

Most of the girls go along without a complaint…but there are a few…

that have to tell me what they really think…

poor Rae-Ann really wanted to be heard this afternoon.  She has always been a vocal girl and today was no exception.  Soon they were all let back in the barn and started chowing down on dinner. 

It was also time for Queenie to take her rightful place – her throne.  She is not shy about telling all of the other sheep that they are not allowed on her throne and she is very good at telling the llama to find somewhere else to eat.  Another one of those cases where the name really fits the animal.  I am going to have to draw the line if she requests a nursemaid when her lamb(s) arrive next week 😉   

Precious Moments

Posted by kenleighacres on December 20, 2010
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , , . 12 Comments

On the morning of shearing my son asked me how much it cost to have each sheep sheared.  I told him that each one cost $5.  He said ‘ok’ and walked away.  I thought it was a little random, but didn’t give it a lot of thought.  A little later he came out of his room with a $1 bill and 16 quarters.  He said that he wanted to pay to have Precious sheared 🙂  He had counted out enough money from his piggy bank to pay for his little ewe lamb.  My heart melted.  I helped him get a ziploc bag and he put his money in it.

He wanted Precious to be sheared first and he watched very intently.  Instructing the shearer the whole time…’she likes to be talked to’, ‘she doesn’t like to be held like that’, ‘she may be a little wiggly, just be patient with her’, etc.  It was very cute.  As soon as she was done, he handed his baggy of money to the shearer and told her ‘thank you’.  Once again my heart melted.

Precious was happy with the hay, but my son was very concerned about her and quickly grabbed a little bit of grain.

She was happy with his idea and the two of them shared a quiet ‘precious’ moment.

Who knew a little ewe lamb named Precious could teach him so much.

Shearing day!

Posted by kenleighacres on December 19, 2010
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, shearing. Tagged: , . 5 Comments

Shearing day was originally scheduled for November 21st, but due to circumstances out of our control it was delayed for a little while.  Luckily, we were able to reschedule it for the 16th of December.  I was getting a little concerned because the first lambing date is getting very close!  I like to shear the ewes before they lamb for many reasons – everything stays cleaner and the barn stays drier, the ewes are more likely to bring the newborn lambs into the barn when it is raining, it is easier for the newborn lambs to find the udder, and the fleeces are beautiful – before the lambs have a chance to climb all over them!

We used a new shearer this year and I am very pleased!  She handled the ewes with care and the fleeces look great.

The new chute was a very big help.  I was able to load a sheep in it while she was shearing.  When she was done shearing, she released the sheep and they exited through an open gate and I swung the gate open on the chute and she grabbed the sheep.  It worked just like I was hoping it would – I love it when that happens!

My son had 3 weeks off for Christmas break, so he was my big helper.  It was a bit chilly when we started…

 

but it turned into a beautiful day!

Even though the sun came out, I think these girls were talking about how lucky they were not to be on the shearing list.

Queenie is the first to lamb on the 4th of January.  For a firt time lamber, she has a pretty big belly and udder already.

Holly is next on the list and is due on the 8th of January.

Poor Azera isn’t due until the 20th of January, she is definitely the biggest of all the girls.

I love seeing how crisp and clean they look after they have been shorn!

This pile seems a little overwhelming at the moment…

but I love looking at what is inside 🙂

Lessons learned!

Posted by kenleighacres on December 15, 2010
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

Have you ever looked at something that needed done and said ‘I’ll get to that later.’?  Have you ever regretted not taking care of that something when you first noticed it?  I did just that this afternoon while I was doing chores. 

There was a section in the ram’s fence that they had pushed the bottom out of.  You know the saying ‘the grass is greener on the other side’… well, they were trying to reach that green grass.  Instead of fixing it or having my husband fix it the ‘right’ way, I tucked it back and had forgotten about it.  Until I headed out to do chores tonight and there was Reno schmoozing with one of the ewe lambs.  Luckily, there was a fence between the two of them, but still…he wasn’t where he was supposed to be!  My first thought was, how in the world did you get there?  I didn’t see any holes in the fence and Wrangler was still in the pasture, so my first thought was he jumped the fence, but it didn’t seem likely.  As I scanned the fence I quickly found a big hole at the bottom, right where the problem was that needed to be fixed.  The really scary thing is that this hole led out to the driveway, out to the road!  I am so thankful the cute little ewe lamb enticed him to turn left instead of right. 

If it had been any other ram, I would have been a little concerned with getting him away from the ewe lamb and back into the correct pasture by myself, but this boy has such a nice temperament!  I slowly walked up to him with my hand out stretched and he stood there and let me scratch his chin, he then let me walk him (very reluctantly) back to his pasture.  I then grabbed a hog panel and fixed the fence 🙂  I will not be putting projects like that off!  Thank goodness he didn’t head towards the road!

The other lesson I learned was to double triple check the gates in the barn before I head back to the house.  As I walked into the barn to feed the ewes, I noticed that my wheelbarrow was knocked over – weird…I then noticed sheep poo in the aisleway – uh oh!!!  Sure enough there were sheep on the hay pile…naughty girls.  I was sure I locked the gate when I left last night and I was more than willing to blame the barn sprites, but I guess I could have just swung it without double checking that it locked.  Luckily, the grain was all locked up and they didn’t make that big of a mess. 

Infiniti says that she had NOTHING to do with it! 

A bunch of pregnant girls and a bag of grain could have spelled disaster!

Hopefully my lessons learned will help you!

A happy corgi!

Posted by kenleighacres on November 10, 2010
Posted in: Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Farm Life, Llama. Tagged: , , . 3 Comments

Darby loves to chase.  Once upon a time, he actually ‘herded’ and did a really good job.  He earned a couple ‘high in trials’ and made me proud, but it wasn’t what he really wanted to do.  He really wanted to chase them away and then run back to bring them to me at a dead run.  You should see the glee on his face when he gets to do this.  Unfortunately, because of the stress it causes the animals that are being chased, he doesn’t get to do this often (ever). 

The other day I had a job that had ‘Darby’ written all over it!  Magoo, the llama, has been giving Kate a hard time.  He wants to stay in the tall, green grass instead of going to the barn at night with the sheep. 

I had already moved the sheep and headed out with Darby.  He didn’t need any direction or coaxing from me. 

He was quick to run out. 

I love the look on Magoo’s face – like ‘really’???

Then Magoo had a change of heart.  He decided that the little gnat was pestering him enough…

and Darby had a change of heart too.  He lost a little bit of his bravado, but only for a minute…

Then he was back.  Darby at his best.  Corgis don’t know they are short.

Magoo finally started moving the way that he should and I figured they had had enough fun, so I did my best to call Darby off.  His hearing is very selective 🙂  There are times when I think he is going deaf, but then I will shake a food bowl from around a corner to discover that his ears work just fine 🙂

Pure joy on the old man’s face!