The "Un"-Breeding Season

For the first time since.... let's see.... about 1987 we aren't going to breed any ewes this year.  We certainly aren't giving up sheep (we have coughcoughmorethanevercough) but we decided to declare a moratorium on creating any more, at least for a year.  There are several reasons, none dire, but we both need a break to catch up on things.  I need to make a dent in this mountain of accumulated wool.  Andy needs to put a new roof on a chunk of the house, make repairs (or just finish started projects) in house and barn, we still have 2 standing silos that we'd like taken down (they have to be cleaned out first) and breeding season, lambing season and growing the youngsters eats up a lot of time and mental energy.  Further, I always seem to keep back several more lambs than I intend because they're friendly or just what I want fiber-wise or bottle babies or been nursed back to health or good quality for breeding stock or whatever. Add to that the fact that it's getting harder emotionally each year to send loads of lambs to slaughter.  Andy pointed out that if lambs from this spring stay in the flock and live their usual double-digit lifespans he'll be into his 70s by the time they go to greener pastures and I think he'd like to not be putting up hay and handling big animals by that time.  We aren't selling any of the rams so we can always rethink things by next year when we've hopefully gotten caught up on at least the big jobs.

The rams are acting rammy with each other but not making a big fuss.  There's a little more pushing and shoving and growling at each other but very little head butting.  They already have a pecking order and there are no ewes anywhere near them to get thoughts stirred up.  This morning they were all standing in the sun (sun! yay!) waiting for us to let them into the larger pasture.

Nigel is one of our home bred Cotswolds.  He carries color and can throw colored lambs when mated to colored ewes.

I still haven't replaced that dratted ear tag but he's not going anywhere.......

Neville is our other home bred Cotswold but he has all white genetics in his background.  His fleece also has smaller curls.  He's super sweet tempered, politely standing next to you until you rub his back and tell him he's a good sheep.

One of my half-British boys from our AI venture several years ago.  I like his square back and rump.  His fleece is very lustrous but lacking in curl, having loose waves instead.  I've been working to get both that shine plus improved curls.  That's one of the most intriguing things about having your own flock (or herd of anything) - trying each year to get the right blend of his traits plus her traits to produce offspring better than either parent.

Here is Titan, left, and BB (aka Mr. B) on the right.  Titan is a colored Cotswold from Break Loose Farm.  He's not as friendly as my homegrown boys but he's certainly not aggressive.  (Middle guy is another half-Brit of ours. Small locks and quite white but not so much luster.)

Wee Little Guy, who was a very sad orphaned lamb who is now a big love bug.

Castillo, also sweet and with really cool hair.  ;-)

The ewes seem rather put out that there are no manly men around.  Mickey, a wether about 3 years old, will talk dirty to them but there isn't much action involved.  The good part of our 'un'-breeding season is that the whole flock can still go out to pasture.  Granted, there isn't much grass left but at least they can get out of the barn and sit in the fields and get some fresh air.  We fill the hay feeders every night and by morning most of it is gone so they're getting plenty either way.

It was so warm (to them) that they all came in off pasture at midday to have a drink and stand in the shade. They saw me in the barn and came storming in, probably thinking I was going to open a side gate and let them into another pasture.  Three days in a tired pasture creates boredom apparently.

"Hey, what's everybody looking at??"

Soon we'll have to really bring them off pasture for good.  Coats will go on and hay will be the only item on the menu.  I love seeing them right now before they get hay trash on their faces and covered up by the coats.

Lots of Cotswold curls.

And not Cotswold.

And lots of sheep with character.

Bunny

Flopsy

Daisy (chewing)

Ashes and Tuxedo

 Angelica

Nugget

Bacardi

Tiffany

Minnie

Matilda

Salsa

Fortune

Lovey

Madeline

Fuzz

Kim

Yup, everyone has a name.  Maybe with more time next spring I'll be able to post everyone's baa-ography.

Waiting on the.... Oh, They're Here!

Saturday was day 145 since putting the rams in with the ewes.  Gestation in sheep varies by a few days among breeds with 145 to 148 days being the accepted 'normal' range.  Everyone stayed quiet that day - yesterday - so I was able to get to my spinning guild meeting.  Thanks, sheepies!  The 2:30 AM check showed no activity, ditto the 5:30 check, but by 7:30 we had a nice pair of twins already born, mostly cleaned up and toddling around.

 
Mom is a Cotswold ewe named Jolly and the lambs are both rams.  Each weighs 9.5 lbs and are quite active and vocal.  The one on the right was quick to nurse but the other guy was a little slower.  He'd push hard on the udder and baa in a frustrated way but wouldn't. take. the. teat.  As it was only 15 degrees out this morning I figured that was too cold to fiddle around so I striped some colostrum from the ewe and fed him with a bottle.  Getting the stiff plastic teat into his mouth was no problem and once there he would suck - which proved he was capable - so he had a good meal.  He still didn't want to nurse an hour later so I gave him a bit of an enema with lots of "return" and five minutes later I had him latched onto a teat and sucking.  Getting a 'full' lamb to evacuate the bowel seems to trigger the "oh, I'm hungry" response.  I suppose that walking around might eventually stimulate him to 'go' but there was nothing good to be gained by waiting so I helped the issue along.

Mom is being very steady and diligent.  Sooo nice to work with animals that are calm and not concerned about the humans.

One of the two has especially fuzzy cheeks and looks chipmunk-esque.

The other ewes don't show immediate signs of lambing but then again one could decide to start anytime.  There are some pretty wide loads here.

Nibbles has a fun 'do going on - fringey ear wool.

"Good grief, I'm creating the miracle of life here and you think my ear wool is cool?!"

Lovey has cool hair going on.  She's still a ways off for lambing.

Gilly, on the left, appears to have not caught this year.  Since she is 9 this year I likely won't attempt to breed her again.  She'll stay on as a fiber ewe - she has a lovely fleece.

She's always had a strong chin and it makes me think of Chester the Cheetah from the Cheetos commercials.

Besides being barren this year she's showing some age in her eyes - both eyes have a bright white cataract showing in the center of the pupil. It doesn't seem to bother her, or else she's just so good at getting around that we don't see a deficit.

Isabelle is 7 this year.  She's the only ewe lamb I got from doing AI with a British ram.  

She still looks like she did as a lamb, at least to my eyes, but then I'm better with animal faces than people faces.

This ewe is carrying her lamb load lower - a sign that she's getting closer to The Day.

Luellen is still fairly symmetrical. 

Then there is the rest of the flock which I didn't breed.  We only exposed 35 ewes this year - down from my all time high of 79 (when I must have been temporarily out of my mind) - and of the 35 it looks like there will only be 29 or 30 who are actually carrying lambs.  It's OK - we're decreasing the lamb crop by design so I have more time to work. on. wool.  Which was the whole point of my having sheep in the first place!

"Didja hear that?  No multitasking - just grow da wool real good!  Woohoo!"

Large Marge - "Suits me.  I loved my babies but I don't neeeed to have more."

Alexi -

"I neeeed somebody to turn up the heat around here!  Sheesh!"

Yeah, me too!