Jacob Sheep

All posts tagged Jacob Sheep

Not my favorite sheep today!

Posted by kenleighacres on November 20, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 12 Comments

Reno and Holly are not on my good list today.

Holly wasn’t bred this fall due to the issues she had after lambing this year (she had polio and still hasn’t regained all of her eyesight).  Because she isn’t bred, she spent the day making googly eyes at Reno from a couple fences away.  Reno was determined to not let those fences get in this way!

You can see Holly on the right side of this picture.  All of the other ewes are eating hay in the barn.  She was pathetically calling to Reno and batting her eyes at him.

‘Who me?’

It wouldn’t have been a problem, except Reno was really trying to take the fence down.  You can see the marks on this poor post.

He was also taking his frustrations out on his poor pasture pals.

Yes, you mister…you are in trouble!

It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I finally caught my son’s cold and am feeling like crud today.  The last place I wanted to be was outside chasing sheep around, especially when there was a nice, cozy fire inside.

I couldn’t really be mad at her, but it took me awhile to figure out what I was going to do.  I finally decided that putting her in the front of the barn with a buddy for a couple days would be the easiest thing.  She wasn’t cooperating at first…

but I finally convinced her that it was in her best interest 🙂

Little Emeline was more than eager to come up to the front of the barn with her mom and Avalon decided it looked like a good idea too and I wasn’t up to arguing with her.  So, Holly is confined to the barn for a couple days along with her two buddies.

This isn’t the first time Holly has made romantic gestures towards a ram when I haven’t wanted her bred.  A couple years ago, I wasn’t going to have her bred because she was part of my group for teaching herding lessons.  She had different ideas and I finally gave in and opened the gate for her to join Julian’s breeding group.  In that case, I was very glad I did because I love my Mollala girl…the resulting lamb from that year.   This year is different and I am not giving into her!

We will be putting up the temporary fence at the end of the barn in a couple weeks in preparation of lambing and that should take care of the situation in the future.

In other news…it looks like winter is here.  We have had fresh snow on the hills behind our house the last two mornings.

Time to go back inside and enjoy the fire 😉

A very nice thing to come home to…

Posted by kenleighacres on November 18, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 10 Comments

I had a great time at Fiber Mania, but unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures.  I think I was too preoccupied with the felting Joan and I were doing in our booth – she was making flowers for Christmas gifts and I was making more sheep.  We educated quite a few people on the very addicting craft of needle felting.

This sheep almost came home with me, but practicality won out and I resisted the temptation.

  As much fun as the weekend was, I was very excited to get home and see what was waiting there for me…

 a clean barn and new (old) feeders!

While I was gone during the weekend, my brother came over and fixed 3 of the feeders that were out of commission.  A few of the girls were having trouble eating because there wasn’t enough room at the feeders.

Now there is plenty!

My brother made these feeders a few years ago and I love the design.  There is a spot for each sheep to put their head in (with plenty of room for the horns) and eat.  We have a few girls that like to use intimidating gestures and push the other sheep away, but they can’t do that with these feeders.

Equally as exciting as the feeders, was the fact that my husband cleaned the barn!  This was our annual, clear EVERYTHING out of the barn with the tractor.  It is a pretty big job and something neither of us look forward to, but it is so nice when it is done…especially with shearing scheduled for December 3rd and lambing due to start at the end of December.

Ahhh, now I can take a deep breath 🙂  Thanks guys!

Geez girls…

Posted by kenleighacres on November 7, 2011
Posted in: Jacob Sheep, sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 6 Comments

I knew this coming lambing season was going to have moments of craziness, but I just sat down with the schedule and realized there are 12 girls due within a 3 day period!  I am already having flashbacks to last year when I came home to 3 girls with 7 lambs and Veronica wanting all of them for her own 🙂

Sure enough, Veronica is due smack dab in the middle of the day that 6 of them are due.

We’ll see how many she tries to take this year 🙂

Lambing season is sneaking up very quickly…only 7 weeks to go.

It feels like the calm before the storm.  The girls seem relaxed and calm…you can see it in their faces in this picture.

I finally managed to get a picture of two of my favorites – Mollala and Delight.  They are usually under my feet trying to get scratches.

The younger girls just want fed – thank you very much!

The boys are all just hanging out, getting along…most of the time.

We have them split up into two different groups and for the most part they are all getting along very well.  The 3 younger boys are learning their place in the pecking order from Mac…

and he has no problem reminding them that he is at the top 🙂

Gearing Up!

Posted by kenleighacres on October 21, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Felt Scarf, Felting, Fiber, Jacob Sheep, sheep. Tagged: , , , , , . 10 Comments

I have been madly preparing for a couple shows coming up in November.  The first show is Fiber Mania in Grants Pass, November 12-13.  I am really excited about this one because my friend Joan from Mud Ranch is going to come up from California and share a booth with me.  The second event is a Handmade Holiday Sale in Eugene, November 26-27 at the Spencer Creek Grange.  This is the first time I have done any shows in November, I am trying really hard to stay ahead of schedule (instead of putting things off until the last minute) so I don’t feel overwhelmed with Christmas just around the corner.

Here is what I have been working on…

Felt Soaps – If you haven’t tried these, you need to!  It is your wash cloth and soap all in one.  Wool is an excellent exfoliant.  Your soap will last longer and you can reuse the wool scrubby when the soap is gone.  The scents I have done so far are – Lemongrass, Honey Almond, Lavender, and Jasmine.

Dyed Silk Scarves – I have been dyeing these silk chiffon scarves that will then be nuno felted.

Here is what the finished scarves will look like.  The wool is felted through the silk resulting in a very lightweight scarf.

Awhile ago I sent a LOT of wool off to Zeilinger to have processed into Batts.  The Batts are VERY large, so I have been sorting them into smaller, 4 oz. batts.  I have approximately 20 of this dark gray and…

20 lilac packaged.

I haven’t started on them yet…but I have a lot of bag ideas circling around inside my head 😉

and last, but certainly not least…are all of the little felt sheep that are occupying my office!

We have the natural colored crew – all made with wool from jacob sheep.

The colored crew – made with wool from jacob sheep and wool from a friend’s border leicester and a little bit of dye.

and the ones that wanted to be a little special.

A little scarf to keep them warm this winter 🙂

Please come say ‘hi’ if you happen to be at either of these events!

The stories she could tell

Posted by kenleighacres on October 20, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

Over the last couple of years, we have added sheep from a good distance away…Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nebraska, and California – but this girl gets the award for farthest traveled…


Huntsberger Venus.

Her story starts back in 2003 when Jaime Huntsberger contacted Betty Berlenbach to see if she knew someone that could help him roundup his Jacobs and move them off Butter Island.  The sheep had been living there for 7 years with very little human interaction. Royal Unzicker heard about this opportunity and I haven’t known him to turn down an adventure, so I’m not surprised he said ‘yes’.  In the middle of July, they took Jaime’s lobster boat 1 hour off the coast of Maine and set out to capture approximately 80 jacobs that had complete reign of a 300 acre island.  7 people and 1 border collie headed out and by the afternoon they had 65 Jacobs caught.  I can’t imagine what that would have been like and I wish there was video of it 🙂  The escapees were left on the island for another time.  Jaime was moving the sheep because he lost the lease he had for the island.

The sheep were moved to the lobster boat and loaded up for the trip back to the mainland.  They moved them from the boat up the dock to the trucks…that must have been a sight!  From this roundup the sheep went to several different locations and Venus made the trip first to Pennsylvania with Royal and then to Oregon with Ingrid Painter.

While I was visiting Ingrid in August, I saw that Venus was for sale.  She is up there in years and has only had 2 lambs for Ingrid, but I thought she was worth taking a chance on.

Photo by Joan Gross

This is Puddleduck Button, owned by Joan Gross at Mud Ranch Jacobs.  She is a granddaughter of Venus, isn’t she pretty!

Since Venus has been here, I have really enjoyed her personality.

She is a watcher and a thinker.  While the other sheep are grazing away, she is always aware of what is going on.

She isn’t overly flighty, but she always knows where the exit is and stays close to it.  She is last in the barn at feeding time and she prefers to sleep outside, even when the rest of the sheep are inside.

She is never far from Cleora, another ewe from Ingrid, and at night they can be found sleeping next to each other – Cleora inside and Venus outside.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she has lamb(s) next year.


When I look into her eyes, it is apparent that she would have many stories to share if she could.

Wow!

Posted by kenleighacres on October 6, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

I received an email that I just have to share!

“My name is Charles and I wanted to let you know that ‘Stories from the Farm’ was selected to our list of Top 50 Farm Blogs based on recommendations from other farm bloggers and because we think your blog provides great content for people interested in farming. You can read our review of your blog and see the list at http://www.seametrics.com/blog/top-farm-blogs/

They write – ‘Jacob sheep endowed with ombre shades of wool and remarkable quadruple horns are arguably the stars of “Stories from the Farm”, rendered even more magnificent by blogger Shannon’s camera skills; snapshots of barn swallows, bees feasting on blooms and scenes from the fair provide a glimpse into the everyday joys of an Oregon farm family.’

First, I have to say thank you to those who recommended my little blog! I don’t know who you are, but it’s greatly appreciated.  Seeing the list of blogs, with many that I follow and love, is humbling!  I look forward to visiting all of them.

Secondly,  this has inspired me to be a better blogger.  Several posts have been floating around in my head and I am going to sit down and do a better job of following through…but posting doesn’t do any good if no one reads it, so thank you to those who do!

Lastly, a thanks to Seametrics – they are a water flow measurement company that helps farmers to reduce water use and save money.
A critical part to agriculture, whether it be crops or livestock…efficient use is so important!

and because I just can’t do a blog post without a picture…

here is a picture of little Emeline (not so little anymore) and her new friend, Izzy – more about her soon.

Making it work!

Posted by kenleighacres on October 1, 2011
Posted in: Jacob Sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 4 Comments

Sometimes you just have to make it work and that is exactly what I am doing with my son’s wagon…

My poor wheelbarrow has a VERY flat tire and I haven’t made it to the store to buy a new one.  I have tried pumping the tire up, but it only makes it halfway to where I need it, before it is flat again!  The tractor is leaking hydraulic fluid and is out of commission until it is fixed and the 4-wheeler’s starter is bad.  That saying ‘when it rains, it pours’ is so true!  So, I have been reduced to using my son’s wagon for the time being.

Luckily, this hungry mob doesn’t really care how I tote their hay around.

Delight would really like it if I stuffed some hay in my pockets 🙂

Good boys!

Posted by kenleighacres on September 18, 2011
Posted in: Jacob Sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

In my last post, the boys were spending a little time in the small pen to become acquainted again.  The next day we turned them out in the pasture with some alfalfa and crossed our fingers that there wouldn’t be much fighting.

They were so good!  It is always a tense moment when we take their halters off and turn them out together.

Since Wrangler left a few months ago, Reno has been top dog and he wasn’t ready to give up that position.  He was a little on edge and ready to defend it.

He thought Ringo was going to give it a go…

but he was only looking for a scratching post 🙂

Reno thought Ironside was looking at him a little funny.  There were a few stand offs, but they were all half-hearted.

Ironside decided that eating was a much better use of his time.

I thought Ringo and Ironside would fight over the next two spots in the pecking order, but they didn’t seem to care.

Within 10 minutes, they were all eating together.

What good boys!

One big happy family…

Posted by kenleighacres on September 15, 2011
Posted in: Farm Life, Jacob Sheep, sheep, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 6 Comments

or maybe not so happy!

Breeding season is over and we have consolidated the sheep from 9 pens to 3 pens.

Here are the ‘not so happy’ boys.  They are in this small pen to become friends again.

Reintroducing the rams needs to be done with care.  A pecking order has to be reestablished and a lot of head bashing and general unpleasantness can take place.  To cut down on potential injuries, we tie the boys up in a small pen for 24-48 hours and then turn them out together with very enticing food.  We tie them up so they can’t hook each other with their horns.  We have had good success with this method.  When I checked on them this morning, they were relaxed and laying down with each other.

You may be asking, where are the rest of the rams?  Well, the ram lambs are all turned out together…they aren’t big enough or serious enough at this age to be a problem.  There was a little bit of pushing each other around, but they quickly got over it.

and lucky Mac is out with all of the girls.  We are using him as a ‘clean-up’ ram, just in case someone wasn’t bred.

He spent the evening checking out the new ladies…

and whispering sweet nothings to them.

He is a happy boy 🙂  He will be with the girls for another couple of weeks and then he will spend the winter with the ram lambs.

The girls were very happy to be reunited.  Friends were together again and mothers and daughters soon found each other.  I get a kick out of watching them interact with each other, when they have been separated for a while.  My friend Lisa, brought her 4 ewes that she bought from us here to be bred and they quickly found each other and have been stuck like glue ever since.

This group of girls will have to wait to be reunited because I don’t want them bred.  It includes the ewe lambs and the two retired girls – Holly & Dolly.

It also includes our two new girls Puddleduck Cleora and Huntsberger Venus.  They are waiting for our new ram lamb to arrive…

Byeburn Hector is coming from New Jersey and should be here next week.  He will be the 7th ram we are using for breeding this year.  To view all of the rams and ewes that were bred this year you can click on the 2011 Breeding Line-up page.

I am looking forward to the day when all the ewes are in one group and everyone truly is ‘one big happy family’.