Update Conclusion

And finally...

Here is a recent photo of the ram, Xavier. I'm still monitoring his horn growth as it approaches his jaw line. The ends seem to be straightening and curving out slightly, and I'm hoping they'll make it past the danger line so we can continue using him for breeding.

He and Otto are pasture-mates in our big field. 

Here's Sherman on the rocks. 

Hops has an itch. I guess those horns serve some purpose. 

And finally, for Shula, a picture of our friendliest sheep who thinks she's a dog, Crystal. This was taken in January, but since I haven't posted an adult picture of her, here she is. Crystal always greets us with a "maaaaa" and a tail wag. She even braves the goats for a chance to get a scratch or a little treat. She is everyone's favorite sheep. 

Lamb Update

Three months ago three of our ewes gave birth to five lambs. There were four rams and one ewe. There were four moorits with white face markings and one katmoget. Of the five we plan on keeping two and freezing three. Here are the two we plan on keeping. 

This first lamb is our only ewe lamb for 2010. Margaret Chase Smith, or Maggie, is out of Wynona and Xavier. Fortunately, she does not have her mother's unpredictable nature, and she's become quite curious and friendly.

Here is Maggie at three days old. She had the most white on her of the four moorit lambs. 

Here she is at two months enjoying some grass in the back field.

And again at three months. 

Maggie has actually become friends with Clover's ram lamb, George Aiken. Here's George at two months. George has always had incredibly silky-soft fleece and large, nicely-shaped horns. He is also the most curious of the five lambs and the most macho towards the other rams. Of the four rams he is the one we're considering keeping. 



Here is George at three months. His horns are continuing to grow in a favorable manor. I'm hoping to use him this year to improve our fleece in future lambs. 

Other Farm News

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, so here it goes...

The triplets are all grown up. They're enjoying the new fencing  in the big pasture that was completed in May, and they spend their days rock-hopping and munching on a variety of shrubs and grasses. Here they are getting some garden treats from my sister. Gus greets Penny through the new fence. 

In February the sheep were sheared and their fleece is STILL stacked high waiting for processing. This is Otto's fleece on the skirting table. We've got a lot of cleaning to do before it gets shipped off. Hopefully we'll get some of it out before Labor Day. We did get a loom last month, but now we just need to get the fleece processed to weave - and learn how to assemble the loom!

Here is Gus sitting very attentively. He still loves herding the chickens and helping with chores. He's just started working in the meat bird pen, and he's been a huge help nudging chickens out from beneath the coop at night. He's also been enjoying the company of a new friend, Supai. She's a yellow lab and the newest addition to the farm. 

The layers are still laying. From 24 birds we get about 15 eggs per day. Here is our nameless rooster. He's a Silver Spangled Humberg. This June we hatched some of our own eggs via an incubator and got some beautiful black and white birds. 
After my last posting (lambing!), we bought three piglets. Here they are about two months after we got them. They're growing quite large and enjoy rooting up their wooded lot. In October we'll have bacon!
Sheep posting coming up next...