Shaye… you should go check on the little piglets.
No. It's cold.
Shaye… you should go gather the eggs because, baby, it's cold outside, and they'll explode.
No. It's 3 degrees.
Shaye… it's almost the full moon and Nöel is very close to having her lambs and you need to seclude her.
No. Brr.
I did eventually give into that little voice inside my head, the one that was beckoning me out to the barn. The little voice has to be loud these days in order to move me to action – particularly, the action of putting on my poo-covered coveralls, gigantic fleece jacket, thermal gloves, fur hat, face mask, and snow boots. That's a lot of work. But despite the hassle of winter wear, I knew that (at the very least), it'd be nice to have eggs in the morning with breakfast that weren't exploded by the cold.
So went I did.
As I trucked up to the barn, I began to hear a distinct noise in the distance. A noise that we really only hear a few times a year. It didn't take long to start sprinting up to the barn…
… as quickly as one can sprint in a snowman suit, that is.
But sprint I did.
I was right! Surely enough, my ears had heard correctly, and laying amongst the flock of sheep were two fresh lambs. Still covered in afterbirth. Gently bleating for their Mama.
The sheep are kept in a three-sided barn these cold, winter days so that we can keep them safe from predators (that get a bit more aggressive in the cold months when food sources are drying up). The sheep are kept together and at the moment, the pen is overfilling a bit. Five of last year's lambs are due to be slaughtered this coming weekend, so the inn – as they say – is full.
The little lambs lay amongst the flock. Not a safe place to be – especially for a floppy newborn.
Nöel, our winter lambing expert, had done it again.
I quickly ran behind the barn to gather up a hog panel to stretch out – dividing the sheep pen into two small pens – so that I could seclude Nöel and the lambs from the rest of the flock.
Don't panic, Shaye. Don't panic.
Eventually, I succeeded, and was able to separate Mama and her babies safely from the other (inquisitive) members of the flock. I was then able to throw in some fresh, dry bedding, a bucket of water, a few flakes of alfalfa, and a heat-lamp for extra warmth.
Why You Need Sheep
I get lots of questions continually about our flock. What we do and what we don't do. How we enclose them. How we feed them. I hope to share many more details with you (via YouTube) in the coming months. But in the meanwhile, here are a few highlights on why you need sheep on your homestead (in my humble opinion, naturally).
-They fatten on grass.
I love animals that fatten on grass because I can grow grass. Seeds. Irrigation. Sun. BOOM. Grain is something that I can source locally, but it requires more money and more effort. I love that our sheep can grow us meat utilizing the pasture we have available and the hay we can easily purchase from neighbors each year. That's sustainable, baby.
-They're easy to manage.
Our sheep have been very easy to manage – part of this (a lot of it, actually) due to the quality breeding stock that we began our flock with. Sheep aren't the smartest creatures in the barnyard (that's the pigs), but they are fairly predictable. Once you learn your flock and their temperament and requirements, they're easy to care for. Grass. Water. Apple cider vinegar. Molasses, on occasion. Hoof trimmings a few times per year. A wee bit of care during lambing. That's about it.
-They're easy to contain.
Contrary to popular belief, sheep can actually be fairly easy to contain. We've utilized everything from hog panels to barbed wire to electric netting to electric wire fencing – all have worked with great success. They seem to train easy and adapt to new situations fairly quickly. Again, I'm sure this has to do specifically to breed and breeding stock, but our Katahdin's have been easy to keep in bounds.
-Wool, milk, or meat.
Sheep are extremely multi-purpose. I love animals that can contribute in more than one way! Our Katahdins are a hair sheep, meaning they don't grow wool, so instead, we utilize them for meat specifically. We have a growing family and fatten hogs, so a milk cow makes much more sense for us on the dairy front, but if I wanted them to – my sheep could give to us in this way as well! I would love to add some wool sheep to the herd in the coming years.
-They give you a lot of bang for your buck.
Input to output, our sheep are very efficient for us. This year, for the cost of hay, we're putting five lambs into the freezer. On average, that's around 40-60 pounds of meat each! Wow. That's a lot ‘o lamb. If you've never tried Katahdin meat, I'd encourage you to! It's our family's favorite – our “treat” meat. Grill it up. Slap a few slices on fresh pita bread. Top it off with some yogurt sauce and fresh veggies. COME ON!
But back to Nöel…
I always try to not interfere too much with new Mamas – or with nature in general. It's important to take a deep breath, take a step back, and observe before acting.
Breathe, Shaye. Just breathe.
I watched as Nöel began to lick off the little ones and as they began to stand and nurse. I observed her placenta that was still inside of her, taking note of the time, so I could ensure it passed properly. I observed her actions with them, a bit frantic at first, as many women are who just survived the pain of labor.
Two little ewe lambs – “Caterpillar” and “Jooles” are now active, healthy additions to the barnyard. Nöel always gives us the strongest, healthiest, largest lambs and I am ecstatic that this year, they're both female! If we choose, we can keep both of them for breeding stock next year.
Gwen, Nöel's ewe lamb from last year, is bred and due to lamb for the first time this spring. She's gorgeous. I can't wait to see what kind of lambs she throws us!
… and secretly, I'm trying to figure out a way to keep Dill, her ram lamb from last year. He has grown into a magnificent beast that I would be proud to use as the sire in my flock. But Hamish is still the King around these parts and has a few good years left of breeding in him. And alas, two rams for a flock of five ewes is simply one too many.
Spring starts NOW, y'all. This is simply the most exciting time to be a farmer!
Three more ewes will be lambing in the coming months.
New chicks are hatched and growing.
The cow is bred and due to calve in April.
One sow has given us a litter of six healthy piglets and the other is bred, due to farrow in April.
The garden seeds will be ordered and started in the coming weeks.
The new puppy, Rex, is getting settled into his duties.
The new flock of ducks will be arriving from the hatchery in but a few days.
It's bustling and I simply can't get enough!
This is great it’s nice to hear about successful times when I’m all stressed out. We had oopsie piglets this morning. And the other sows went on a trampling frenzy. One of the moms was even eating the live babies (naturally she has a date with freezer camp) my sister in law helped me save the survivers and pen the mom off but the sow. Our best mother. Won’t get up and is not taking an interest in her babies at all. Of course the hubby is at work so he can’t help. If all my neighbors and the blogs I follow were also having problems i would throw in the towel. But ya’ll give me hope. Just breathe it gets better!
Oh man. Moments like this are SO HARD! Keep the faith, Camille!
Please bottle feed those babies you can do it
Please bottle feed those babies you can do it! A friend of mine actually drove two twins around and his car for a year and a half like they were dogs.
Please bottle feed those babies you can do it! A friend of mine actually drove two twin sheep around in his car for a year like they were dogs.I love you Shay Elliot I wish I was your neighbor you are awesome! I always wanted to live that way unfortunately I could only afford a townhouse.maybe one day we can live next-door and share recipes and drink coffee. Keep the faith girl !
Absolutely love this update! Can’t stop looking at your beautiful sheep pictures! Hoping to add Finnsheep or Katahdins to the homestead soon….just need to figure out if i can successfully keep the ewes with my does…so many differing opinions! <3 from Maine!
I agree!
We are considering Tunis….. for THIS REASON:
Lambchops, loinchops, lamb roasts, ground lamb, etc, etc, etc
YUM! We have a source and just need to get the pasture figured out. Homesteading is addictive -and it all starts with a chicken. 🙂
-Candi
I love this post as I love all your blog posts. I really like the Katahdin sheep that you have on your farm. Their names are especially darling. Happy Spring, there’s nothing better than watching the different seasons come and go from a farmer’s (farm) perspective. I look forward to more of your vlogs.
Thanks for being here, Kim!
I love my Katahdin sheep – I have about 25 now – and you are right – they are so easy to care for. A bit harder in the winter, but still nothing to complain about. Give them hay and water – job done. My big ram Cam decided no fence was going to keep him away from his girls – so, I had 2 sets of twins around Christmas when I usually expect lambs around mid-March! Sadly, we lost one of the twins – but still have 3 healthy lambs running around – 2 ram lambs (Dasher and Donner) and one little ewe lamb (Snowflake). When it is warm – I bring out the chair and just watch the lambs – better than ANY TV! The whole group will start running in tandem – I call that the “LAMB 500” – like the Indianapolis car race!! It is HILARIOUS! I should have 50 – 60 sheep by the time all the girls lamb! YAY!!
I love this! Bring on the sheep!
Im jose how much are the sheep male and female
I was going to ask about the breed of your sheep but you mentioned it. The “grass fed homestead” also raises that breed. It’s always interesting to see what people are doing in my same general area.
question: how old are your lambs when you butcher them? we butchered ours at around 9 months & we got about 25-30lbs of meat. they are a bit smaller than our mature sheep, but not by much. 40-60lbs sounds amazing!
We usually do between 12-15 months.
Thanks for this post! I’ve been dreaming of raising sheep for meat since we had “the most delicious” lamb at a restaurant years ago, but every time we have purchased lamb from the store, it has a “goaty” taste to it that we can’t stomach. We are not on land yet, but hope to be by next year so that we can finally start our dream mini-farm (I was raised on a farm and want to get my kids out of the city!)… I’m going to tuck away this info for future reference!
Beautiful photos! love hearing about the pros of having sheep on a homestead… we are planning to move near the Methow Valley this summer and I would absolutely love to connect with you and see your farm, possibly purchase some animals from you if there are still any babies available you might sell? We are planning to homestead on less than 5 acres, but I have more questions than answers right now! We currently have over a dozen laying hens and 3 dairy goats in Texas. Let’s stay in touch! We found you after watching Justin Rhode’s recent vlog about adding your farm to their tour! Your cookbook looks fantastic 🙂
beautiful photos! Wow 🙂 love hearing about adding sheep to a homestead!!! Been considering this one for awhile, but now I know what type of sheep I will look into first! Thanks for sharing your experience and helpful insight. I just found you from a clip I watched on Justin Rhodes youtube the other day, about the Great American Farm tour stopping by at your homestead this year! So exciting! We are also currently pursuing an opportunity to move to the central Washington area, (near Methow Valley) so I was really intrigued when I saw your farm is near that area 🙂 cool beans!
I was not considering sheep for my homestead until reading your post and comments from your followers… now I’m insisting we need some! I’ve actually never had lamb before. How would you say it tastes? I don’t care for game tastes or soft meats (like duck). I do love chicken, pork, turkey, and beef… I hope you will move to daily vlogging! I love watching your family on YouTube!!
You forgot the most important reason; absolute adorable cuteness! Wish I had more than my one measly acre. Sheep are #1 on my super unrealistic homestead dreaminess wish list.????
We recently started raising sheep as well, and so far it has been a great experience! They are very docile and easy to keep. We got a surprise lamb right before Christmas and I panicked a little, but they ended up being fine without my interference.
Your sheep are beautiful! We have Coburger Fox sheep (a German breed) and the lambs look a lot like yours!
How sweet! What a treat to wake up to! Do you have any tips for the butchering? I feel like I would get too attached and have a hard time with it.
We have North Country Cheviots and border collies to herd them. Still working on training the dogs like my dad did. Taking on the shepherds staff from him and had our first lamb harvest. It’s bitter sweet. I’ve never appreciated a piece of meat so much. We sold 8 and averaged 50 lbs. We took the skins to be tanned too.
Love life on the farm.
Our family lamb recipes. Enjoy!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ctgalmwpzg1leur/Lamb%20recipes.pdf?dl=0
6 foot high unclimbable fencing for sheep. Clear down to the ground with something to reinforce the bottom. I lost 22 breeding ewes one night to a pack of dogs. The dogs didn’t even kill them, just maimed to the point of no return.
My choice of sheep is Romney. Wonderful flavor. I called the butcher at 12-14 months usually.
Oh the stories I could tell about lambing season, involving pampers, beds, bottles, alarm clocks, and maiden ewes. Just too cold to do the every two hour feedings (my lambs never scoured) for the first 2 weeks.
How many acres are ya’ll on? I’ve been considering sheep, but I’m only on 4 acres and here in Colorado it’s pretty dry. So LOTS of hay… I got your cookbook too, I Love the pork shoulder roast recipe!!! And I’ve cooked it in the instant pot. YUM!
New to this homesteading thing, and looking to get sheep- loves this article! I do have one question- are the males you have for breeding stinky and aggressive like goats (bucks) can be?
I wish I may I wish I might have the farm of my dreams this life! I didn’t consider sheep before but I do now. My hubby won’t eat anything but beef, chicken and pork. Anywho we’re still working on getting our acres but you reinspired me. Can’t wait for what will be!!
Hey Shaye! As we look into getting a flock of hair sheep, I wanted to know what you think the best resources are for general sheep knowledge. Everything from feed to fencing to breeding. We know basically nothing but are so excited to get started! Also, if you wanted to post a blog or video with this info, I totally trust your knowledge as well!!
Chickens really are the “GATEWAY DRUG” to farming.