Half-Time

No, I'm not talking about the Super Bowl, I'm talking about ewe gestation. The ewes are a little over half way to lambing, and I can't wait to see what they give us just under 9 weeks! The girls are starting to show slight bulges through their thick wool, and I'm anxious to see just how big the bulges are when the wool gets removed in four weeks. Now is the time to start preparing for the new arrivals and work on animal groupings and housing logistics.

The ewes are head-deep in hay. Here are six of the seven bred ewes expected to lamb in April.
Maggie, the only first-time lamber, seems to be particularly wide compared to the other ewes.
Crystal is starting to get barrel-ish.
Mocha shows off her baby belly bulge.
Now that Cedar's completed his job, he spends most of his time hoarding his flake of hay and ignoring the girls.

The non-breeders are making it through the winter eating hay and growing wool.
Here are Claire and Edna looking rather wooly.
In a few weeks we'll have another seventeen fleeces to process! We still have over 200 skeins of bulky-weight yarn we had spun in Richmond, Vermont last summer. And although we've taken up knitting (at least casually), I don't think we'll ever get through our initial batch, at least not in my lifetime.

Here's my first hat, and the first thing I've knitted - ever. I used a combination of Kira and Poa yarn on size 7 bamboo needles.
On a related note, we got back the four sheep skins we sent to Bucks County Tannery after Thanksgiving. One skin has 8-inch plus length wool, which makes the skin especially sheep-like. I'll post pictures of the skins in a future post.

As for the goats, Grant has successfully established his dominance over the ladies without causing injury, in part due to his fantastic head-gear. Yes, he is wearing duct tape, tennis balls, and a wooden dowel on his horns. After researching integrating horned goats with dis-budded (non-horned) goats, this was the best contraption I could create. Grant shamefully wore it for about a month before it started to fall off, just long enough for the girls to learn who was boss.
Aster and Gertie seem to have adapted quite well to their new living arrangements and roommate. Aster seems absolutely smitten with Grant, while Gertie seems she'd rather do without the competition for top goat.

In an attempt to give Grant some extra special attention, we decided over Christmas break that he might want to go for a walk. He seemed to enjoy getting out of the barn and away from the girls, at least until he realized it was freezing out and he was far from any easy food! Once he got to the top of the hill he quickly turned around and lead my sister back to the barn. Gus patiently watched from my side, and the sheep even seemed amused by the ordeal.

Lastly, here's one of my favorite pictures of Gus from this winter. He loves the snow!
After the wool is removed from the ladies, I'll post pre-lambing pictures and estimated due dates.