Almost done!

It's amazing how the day can be so calm here with the animals when the sun is out and there would normally be rain or some other fall or winter cold. Today the sun is out and the blue skies are very beautiful to enjoy. Even the sheep and the other animals are seeming to be enjoying all of this wonderful weather we are having. I know that the weather will turn at some point, but it is great to have the ability of getting jobs finished with the sun out rather then having to confront the cold or wet.
I have two little ewes that I thought would be too small this year for mating...I was wrong. Today I noticed they were actually going to get big enough. If they are not a certain size, I would normally hold off breeding till the following year. Things are never the same. 
Well, this is going to be a rather small blog post today as there is some cocoa with crushed peppermint candy waiting for me. Yum.

All done...sort of

Well, today was the day to shear and it happened without a hitch, almost. I had the ewes in the barn all night long and knew that they would at least get done if the rain came. Awoke to the sound of a light rain, which is not good if the other sheep, the rams are outside. Fortunatly, it did no harm to the ram lambs. They all got sheared and the beautiful raw fleece is going for sale to interested people.
The kids helped to get this chore done, they can be very helpful.
My husband is up in the mountains at this moment hiking down...he is going after an elk buck or a deer. We'll see. I'll be happy with either so he can get the hunting out of his system for the year. Although, the elk meat would be great in the freezer.

Just doing what has to be done to get it done...

Even though it is now pouring outside the fences still need to be finished. This Monday the sheep will get the shearing for the mating season to begin and at the end of the month will go out to new pasture for a month or two. Then the waiting game begins for the new lambs to make thier arrival to our farm. A few lambs have been spoken for as dinner entries,they make a great meat selection.
The geese and ducks are just getting started and the chickens are busy producing but will increase the number of them to around 250 as the demand for our eggs has grown alot. We never seem to have enough eggs to go around. We can have 250 to 300 chickens with lots of space for them to roam around.
What is really cool about living on this farm is how we have all come to depend on each other. The animals all recognize my voice and I even have come to know each different personality that each animal has. At night, I stand by the coop and yell "bedtime", to find all of the chickens from all parts of the farm come running to get inside for the night. At first, it was just plain funny to witness, but now it's just part of the routine of our life here.

Fencing in the rain...

Woke up this morning to the sound of the downpour of rain that had decided to fall before the fencing was up. The good part is that we had a wonderful person we had hired to help come out in the rain to work with us on our little project. Just as we were starting on the job all of the rain clouds dried up and now we just have an overcast day to deal with, which is great, as then it's not too hot. God was kind to us today.
This Monday the ewes and the rams will all be sheared and ready to go into the new areas for rut season to begin. All seems to be falling into place!
shepherdsharvestfamilyfarm.com

The upcoming weather.....

Just found out the weather is taking a turn for the colder and rainier. Oh well, gotta get the 3 fields up before too bad and today I am going up to the mountains to collect more fire wood for heat for our house. We've put fencing in the start of snow so a little rain should be sort of OK...I hope. The sheep are no worse for wear and are waiting to get sheared for the winter rut season. Icelandic typically get sheared 2 x's per year. This is the fun time.

So far this year on the farm

At this time we are grateful for the fenced area we had and now are getting the new areas finished for the 2011 season. We now have three new ram lambs to add to our farm for the mating season. Last year we lost Bandit and decided to keep two of his offspring for breeding as he was an amazing ram. It appears he passed all of the good qualities besides the great conformation and fleece.
One of the hard parts of having a farm with sheep is that you have to be willing to cull, no matter how cute they are. If there is something off then you have to stop it from being passed to the next generation. The justification is that the icelandic make great meat that is gourmet. I just hate being the bad guy sometimes.
We are into October now and almost ready for the rut season to begin. Got everyones hooves trimmed and now they have to be sheared then off to their enclosed fields. Can't put harneses on these guys as they are too small compared to other sheep for marking when they are breeding, but a raddle powder mixed with oil on the ram chest does the trick. They are very shy breeders so this coloured paste is great so there are no mysteries as to who is or isn't mating.
I was happy to have them in the mating game at the end of October and new lambs at the end of March. This way I also know that by the next breeding season, the new lambs will be big enough to mate also. If the ewe lambs are not big enough then they don't mate, as simple as that. The ram lambs can start breeding at 5 months, no problem. I have 2 ewe lambs that should be bigger at this time and are not so I don't see that as a good prospect for future breeders, I wouldn't sell them to another farmer either. They are even too small to butcher at the moment and should be bigger compared to the others who were born after them. This is where hard decisions come in.
I have found that working with the standard medicines when needed is the right path to take on a sheep but I also have found that my own desire to incorporate herbal methods and go the natural way is good. A marriage of both. They get molasses and Organic apple cider vinegar in the water. During the season when they are waiting for the birthing to begin then I have the molasses tubs for them and salt with selinium. I have used dandelion root powder and garlic for their intestines to help digestion and ward off parasites.
The fortunate thing about this year is we are going into winter slowly, must be nature keeping pace with slow me, or at least feeling sorry for me and taking it easy on me. Thank you Mother Nature!