Fluctuating Flocks...

So October's come and gone, and November is half gone, too. Again, there's never a dull moment on the farm, and the past week has been no exception.

Last Saturday was slaughter day, and five ram lambs were processed on site and are now in the freezer. Their pelts are salted in preparation for tanning. Because these boys were quite shy, I wasn't able to get a sense of their wool until it came off. Overall it is much better fleece than last year with very crimpy roots and a super soft feel. I can't wait to shear the ewes in February and see the lambs in March!

Of the seven ram lambs we decided to keep two over the winter to see how they would develop. If things get out of control we can always use more burger; Shepherd's pie and curried lamb burgers - yum! If not, then we can try to sell them next year.

After being exposed to the girls for a short 23 days, Cedar was swapped for Winston, a grey ram with an impressive set of horns. While he won't get to prove his worth this breeding season, I think this ram will add great diversity to our flock and bring in some new colors. He seems to be settling in well with the wethers and ram lambs.

As for the girls, they're all grouped in our largest grouping yet - 19 sheep! Eight were exposed to Cedar, and if he was fast enough, they will lamb between March 15th and April 6th. A ninth, Annie, was exposed to Nelson (the little moorit that was held over) for 48 hours. I don't have much faith that she took, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying on Nelson's part. If she did, she'll be due around April 1st. The girls are getting along well, and it's so nice to have them all in one place!

So the sheep flock has certainly changed, but perhaps not as much as the chicken flock...

In the last few days we've had to remove two weasels from the barn after they'd collectively killed at least seven birds, including this year's rooster. (At least I didn't have to eat the rooster.) Ermine, weasel, what-have-you, these nasty creatures were dropping our flock numbers and out-smarting our wired coop walls. Of course they couldn't have helped us rotate our flock by knocking off the old ladies, but instead they went right for the new girls and took at least five of our pullets and yearlings. So our egg numbers are down, and now I'm not sure how many pumpkin pies I'll be able to make. I guess custards and quiches are off the menu for the foreseeable future. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there were just the two, or else we'll really be out of eggs for a while.