Our first lamb - Zinnia's ewe born 3/31/10

After weeks of preparation, and what felt like eons of waiting, our first lamb arrived on March 31, 2010, in the wee small hours of the morning. We knew the lambs could be born anytime after March 25, but weren’t sure exactly when they would show up. Zinnia, one of our four “first-timers” delivered all by herself and her strong, healthy ewe lamb was dry, up and walking when we found them early in the morning. A few days passed, Zinnia and her baby bonded in the jug, and we kept trying to predict when the next ewe would go for it.

Aretha with her twin ewe lambs

Turns out, it was a family affair, with Aretha and Nina (a mother and her daughter from 2008) both delivering early this morning. Aretha gave birth to twin ewe lambs, a yin-yang pair in black and white. Nina had a single ram lamb, our first ram so far.

Mother and daughter are in their jugs with their lambs, bonding and resting after what must have been an exhausting morning. Tomorrow morning we’ll band the tails and put ear tags on these lambs and within another day or so they will rejoin the flock.

Nina with her ram lamb

It’s been interesting to note the color patterns that we’re seeing so far.  Our flock sire this year is predominantly cream with a few spots of light brown.  Three out of four of his offspring have been black with white spots on their heads and white tail tips. The double white spot is a fairly common marking in the Navajo-Churro breed, called “two gray hills”.  The fourth lamb is the opposite, a solid white ewe.  I’m hoping to cultivate some browns in our flock, and it’s possible that some of these black lambs will turn brown eventually, or they could go gray or silver. It is rare that a black lamb will stay solid jet black for more than a year; their fleece tends to bleach to a lighter color in the sun.

Meanwhile, we have three more pregnant ewes still waiting to deliver. I just hope all of their births are as easy as the others have been this year.

Dyed yarns dry in the sun

With no lambs on the ground and a serious case of spring fever in the air, yesterday I took off to Boulder Meadow Farm for a dyeing workshop.  Our host, Lisa, very kindly opened her house to a dozen fiber artists.  The day began with instruction from Melissa Johnson of Green Mountain Spinnery.  After our teacher demonstrated a few different techniques, we were off and running: soaking fibers, mixing colors, and microwaving our way to a rainbow of creative results.

I was intrigued after Melissa demonstrated making a “painted” skein of yarn with many different colors, but for my first experience in dyeing I decided to mess around with a couple of colors to see how I did with consistency.  Melissa had cautioned me that Navajo-Churro wool could be a little hesitant to absorb color.  After my first attempt at “grass green” turned out a little muted, she suggested adding more than the usual teaspoon of citric acid to the mix, to help the dye bond with the fiber.  Her suggestion worked and my second green skein came out more saturated and even.  I then moved on to creating a burnt orange color, which ended up a bit more variegated than my green yarn, but in a very pleasing way.  I didn’t make enough of either color to sell them, but these will make great samples at our booth for events coming up later in the year.  Now instead of just talking about over-dyeing gray yarn, I can show what the results look like, and I can also incorporate accents of color into a few knitted items that I want to make for display.

Though I couldn’t attend the second day of Lisa’s first “fiber weekend” I learned a lot and enjoyed meeting fellow shepherds and fiber enthusiasts, several of whom I hope to see again at this year’s Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival.  Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping my eye out for a free microwave that I can use exclusively for dyeing.

Caramel gets a haircut

With lambing around the corner, we had our shearer out last weekend.  Spring is the most common time to shear, for several reasons. The sheep are less likely to suffer from overheating in summer, and for pregnant ewes its convenient to shear them before birth to keep the fleece clean.

As a long-wool breed, Navajo-Churro sheep grow their wool about one inch per month. With this rapid rate, we shear twice per year so that the fiber can be commercially processed into roving and yarn.  A 6-inch staple length is about the maximum that most carding and spinning machines can handle, and its a length that also works for hand spinners.

Many visitors to the farm ask what we do with the wool.  Last year, we took our clip and combined it with wool from a neighbor who also raises Navajo-Churros.  We sent off two batches to Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, VT to be processed into beautiful yarns for weaving and knitting.  This year we decided to send the fall and spring clips to Boulder Meadow Farm to be processed into roving (washed and carded fiber ready for spinning or felting).  We expect to have this fiber available for sale sometime in May.  Meanwhile, check out more photos of spring shearing.

Pregnant ewes beg for bagels

As lambing time draws ever closer, we feel good about the steps we have taken to get ready. Our shearing date is booked and the supplies are ordered.  The last step is to construct lambing jugs.

A “jug” is a small pen that you put the newborn lambs and ewe into for the first 24-72 hours after birth.  Closed quarters help the ewe bond with her lambs, provide shelter from cold and weather, and also protect the newborns from being kicked or stepped on by other members of the flock while they are learning to stand and walk.  The jug also ensures that the ewe’s udder is within easy reach at all times.

As I mentioned in Part 2, you can buy jug panels from your local farm supply or a national store, or you can build your own out of scrap wood.  We opted to build our own jugs both to save money and build to the exact dimensions that work in our barn.  The design is for a two-sided panel that can be fitted into a corner of the barn, in our case the corner between the hay feeder and the back wall.  The feeder acts as one wall of the jug and also allows us to provide hay to the ewe without setting up a special feeder for her. The back of the barn acts as the second wall, and the two walls of the jug complete the 4×4 foot enclosure.  (Jug sizes typically range from 4×4 feet to 6×6 feet, depending on the size of the breed, likelihood of multiple births, and available space.)

These instructions can be modified to fit your preferred jug size and placement. For example, if you can not attach your jug to your hay feeder, you can use a corner of the barn as two walls of the enclosure. Or build a 3-sided jug and attach it to one wall of the barn.

Step 1: Attach Hinges

This design folds flat for easy storage in the off-season, and is small enough that one person can lift and carry it.  We built two sets of jug panels to accommodate two ewes birthing at the same time. You should build one additional jug for every 8 ewes in your flock.

Materials

• Two 4-foot x 8-foot 5/8″ plywood sheets, or comparable product of similar weight and strength
• Six 4-inch strap hinges with wood screws
• Eight 3-inch hook-and-eye latches

Directions

Step 2: Mark latch location

1.  Cut the two sheets of plywood in half to make four 4×4-foot panels.  Lay two panels on a flat work surface so that the edges abut. Secure three hinges spaced equally along the common edge.

2.  Place the jug in the barn at the desired location, and mark locations for the hooks and eyes for the latches. For added stability and security, place two latches on each side, at the top and bottom of each jug panel.

3.  Affix the hooks to the jug panels and the eyes to the barn wall or feeder. Repeat the process using the remaining panels and hardware to build a second jug.

You must also make feed and water available to the ewe while she is in the jug with her lambs. Because we use our feeder as one side of the pen, delivering hay is easy.  How you set up the water is very important. You want it easily accessible to the ewe, so that she will drink enough to produce a steady milk supply.

Step 3: Install latches

However, you don’t want the water too low, or the lambs could climb into the container and drown.  A high-sided bucket is one option, although there is a risk that the ewe could knock it over accidentally.  We decided to purchase some inexpensive bucket holders from an online livestock supplier, in order to hang the smaller buckets that we get for free from a local business.

To accommodate the hanger, we cut a slit in one wall of the pen and slid the hanger through the opening.  There are other options for watering that may be better suited to your setup.

A few days before your first possible lambing date, clean the barn thoroughly and set up one of the jugs. This will keep the inside of the pen clean, so that the space is ready to go as soon as the first lambs are born.

Completed jug with feeder and water bucket

Allow the ewe to complete her labor outside of the pen, and wait until all of the lambs are born. Then move the ewe and her newborn(s) into the pen and lock them in. Add a little molasses to the ewe’s water to entice her to drink it, and make sure she has a constant supply of hay available. Leave the new family in the jug for at least 24 hours, or longer for a first-time mom, or lambs that seem to be on the weaker side. If it is very cold, you can suspend a heat lamp over one corner of the jug to help the lambs stay warm.

A toolbox keeps supplies clean and organized.

In anticipation of our first yeaning (birthing season) I purchased some lambing supplies which arrived a few days ago.  With an “unimproved” or heritage breed such as the Navajo-Churro, lambing should be easy with no assistance required from the shepherds.  A good ewe will give birth on her own and clean and claim her lambs immediately, making sure that they find the udder and learn to nurse within their first hour of life.

That said, it is always a good idea to be prepared for unexpected birthing difficulties, weak lambs, or a first-time mom that rejects her lambs.  It is also a good time of year to stock up on vaccination supplies, which will be needed at shearing time (for the adult sheep), plus two weeks and again four weeks after the lambs are born.

Standard Lambing Supplies

• Nutritional gel supplement
• Digital scale & sling (for weighing newborn lambs)
• Heat lamp, bulb, & thermostatic plug (for lambs born on cold days)
• Notebook & pencil (for tracking birth weight, color, sire/dam, ear tag numbers, and potential names)
• Ear tags & applicator (both farm ID tags and official USDA tags)
• Ring expander & O Rings (for docking tails)
• Sharp scissors (for cutting umbilical cords)
• 7% Iodine solution (for sterilizing umbilical cords)
• Latex gloves
• Old bath towels
• Molasses (nutritional supplement for ewes)
• High-sided water bucket (tall to prevent lambs from climbing or falling in)

Emergency Lambing Supplies

• Digital thermometer
• Antiseptic lubricant (for easing stuck lambs)
• Shoulder-length gloves (for obstetric work)
• Powdered colostrum (instant first-milk for newborn lambs)
• Large syringe & rubber stomach tube (for force-feeding weak or cold lambs)
• Powdered sheep’s milk formula, bottle, & rubber teat (for rejected lambs)
• Prolapse harness & retainer (for treating uterine prolapse)
• Rectal ring (for treating anal prolapse)

Vaccination Supplies

• Chalk (for marking lambs after vaccination)
• Dewormer
• CD/T vaccine serum
• Rabies vaccine serum
• Disposable syringes and needles

In addition to the supplies listed here, there is one more item that should be purchased or built. A lambing “jug” is a small, private pen that you put the ewe and newborn lambs into. This gives the mom a chance to bond with her lambs, and gives the lambs easy access to her udder in the critical hours after birth. For large farms, it may be easiest to purchase jug panels from a supplier, however for a small farm such as ours, this is expensive and unnecessary. My next post will show you how to build your own lambing jugs.

Caution: Wide Load!
(shepherd shown for scale)

Lambing has been on my mind a lot lately as we prepare for the next phase of our shepherding adventure. Keeping adolescent and adult sheep has, thus far, been easy and fun. Even locating, selecting, and bringing in a breeding ram has been a relatively straightforward experience. We anticipate that raising our own lambs from birth will also be a lot of fun, and of course challenging and exhausting. So we’ve been doing our best to get ready. Although the ewes aren’t due until the end of March, there are details to attend to now.

Diet

We’ve been feeding a high-quality hay during the fall and early winter, and will continue this through the remainder of the ewe’s pregnancies. It’s important to provide enough calories and nutrition without letting the ewes get too fat, as tubby sheep tend to be more susceptible to stuck lambs.

Shearing

I’ve just called our shearer to set up an appointment. Spring is the busiest time for shearing, so it’s important to make arrangements early. Shearing two or three weeks before the ewes are due is important for several reasons. First, it allows us to be able to get a clear view of the sheep’s body, to determine whether they are, in fact, pregnant. Sheep are interesting in that they keep their fetus(es) small until just before birth. Combine this tendency with a winter coat, and it can be difficult to tell who is pregnant, and who is just fuzzy.

Second, shearing before birth keeps the fleece cleaner, and at the same time, provides a clear view of the action during labor and birth. Ewes are also more likely to choose a sheltered location to give birth if they are without their thick sweater. Lastly, shearing provides the added benefit of ease for…

Vaccinations

It’s easiest to administer subcutaneous injections when the sheep are freshly shorn and already restrained during shearing. In the Spring, we administer a CD/T (clostridium types C & D and tetanus) vaccine to all adult sheep. This acts as a booster shot and also ensures some protection for newborn lambs who will get the antibodies from their mother’s milk, before receiving the standard course of inoculations.

There are more details to address before the lambs arrive, so stay tuned for information on supplies and the construction of lambing pens.

Blaze strikes a pose for his registration photo.

“Blaze” is a two year old Navajo-Churro ram that we purchased from Orion Rising Farm in South Royalton, VT. When we were first looking for eligible bachelors for our ewes, he caught our eye with his beautiful and well-balanced rack. After the sheep were shorn in October, we were able to get our hands into the fleece, which contains soft, lofty wool and the correct proportion of wool undercoat and hair topcoat.

After he was shorn we could also see that Blaze had a nice solid shape and good body conformation. He was a perfect gentlemen with our flock, and has an easy temperament when being handled. This is an important trait, as offspring will often inherit the disposition traits of their parents. Nasty sheep don’t get to stick around; they matriculate to the freezer.

I wanted to pay tribute to this beautiful ram, who today went to his new home at a small farm in New Hampshire. Though it’s difficult to tell for certain without resorting to expensive ultrasound testing, the ewes are looking bred and healthy. I can’t wait to see what the lambs will look like.

It’s been far too long since our last post. In the intervening year we’ve gotten our little farming business off the ground. In the spring we fenced a second pasture to give the sheep more room to graze. We sent our first batch of wool to Green Mountain Spinnery in August, and sold yarn at the Tunbridge World’s Fair and the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival. Our yarn is available for sale via the shop, and in the next few weeks we should also have some washed and carded fleeces available for hand-spinners. If you are interested in grease fleece or roving please contact us for colors and prices.

The big news is that we’ve bred the ewes and are expecting our first crop of lambs in late March. We’ll be posting pictures of all the lambs as they are born, and accepting deposits for breeding stock in April and May. We may also have locker lambs for sale. Please contact us with any questions about our products, sheep for sale, or for more information about raising Navajo-Churros.

I’m pleased to report that the state of the flock is excellent! Winter has certainly posed its fair share of challenges, but so far we are weathering them. Below are a few observations on our experiences:

We have had snow on the ground since about the middle of November. As most visitors to this site know, we love snow; however, snow poses a number of challenges for us. We must keep the paddock gate area clear so we can enter and exit, and a path open from the paddock gate to the hay cabin, where we also store the grains we feed the animals.

Most of these things we anticipated before the snow fell. What we didn’t know was whether the llamas would beat their own path from the barn to their community loo, or whether the animals would have any difficulty getting to the water bucket around the back of the barn. What we found was that in heavier snow storms both the sheep and the llamas preferred to stay in the barn. Now, some readers might think that’s a “duh” moment, but we also noticed that the llamas like to be outside while it is snowing … on them. The llamas would beat a path to the potty site, but in a significant snow storm we found it useful to shovel a short path for them so they wouldn’t go in the barn.

Speaking of such things, the sheep—unlike the llamas—aren’t as courteous, and go wherever they happen to be. This meant that in order to keep the barn clean we need to be able to get the wheelbarrow to the barn and then to some other destination. While it was warmer, we started our first manure … err… compost pile in a spot we believed convenient for us and a safe distance from the creek. Maneuvering a wheelbarrow full of pre-compost through the snow created new challenges, but we identified a spot just across from the hay cabin (where we store the wheelbarrow under the lean-to shed) on the other side of the driveway, which should easily get us through the winter.

Another thing we learned is that the sheep will take hay from the feeder in the barn, but that they prefer to “graze” outside. We also learned that the added benefit to this is that if we feed them outside they don’t soil the barn as much. We mind the weather, but if it is sunny we always put at least some of the hay outside the barn.

Easy enough, right? Well, we learned two new things and realized that we couldn’t just throw the hay in the front of the barn every time. For one, see above where I speak of the sheep and their lack of civility. But we also had to be cognizant of where the snow on the roof would shed. Snow accumulates on the metal roof, and can come down without notice, much like an avalanche. The snow shed travels further than one might think, and we watched from the house as snow fell from the back roof and nearly trapped Caramel, who was using a path we had cleared. We couldn’t tell if she was hurt or not, but as I started toward the barn Sarah saw the lamb push her way out of the snow and jump to a clearing. The sheep was fine, and now we know where we can and can’t dig paths or put hay.

Even if it isn’t snowing, the low temperatures here pose challenges for the humans and animals. After a brief Christmas thaw, we have had a very cold January. Over the last few weeks we have seen overnight temperatures dip to -30°F (-34°C) and about zero (-17C) during the day. When it gets that cold the animals—and especially ruminants—need a little help to keep their energy up. On the advice of Marian White, we gave the sheep a mixture of grain and whole or crushed corn kernels. For us, the cold temperatures mean we have to bundle up to do our daily barn chores, and it takes some effort to work chains and latches when one is wearing gloves.

One of the things were are glad we learned of before winter set in is the heated water bucket. This thing is awesome. The water bucket we have has a thermostat built in and keeps the animal’s water from freezing. When we built the barn, we had an insulated wooden box built around the water pressure tank that helps brings our water from the well we dug this summer. The box has thick blueboard foam walls on the inside and a 100-watt light ball attached to a thermostat to help keep the space warm. We thought that the insulated box coupled with the heated bucket would work for us. When the pipe that brings the water from the well head across the drive way to the barn was installed it was buried a good distance. However, the day before we were to leave for South Carolina for the holidays the water didn’t flow when we turned the faucet on. Luckily there was plenty of clean snow for our farm sitter to throw in the heated bucket, but it was equally fortunate that the temperatures reached the high 40s (~8C) while we were gone. Now we let the water trickle at all times to keep it from freezing up on us again (see video at right or on Flickr), which makes for some interesting ice sculptures.

Otherwise, most everything is good. We still have a good supply of hay, and all the animals are healthy and growing lovely winter sweaters, which we plan to shear off in March.

Speaking of the farm, all the animals and the farmers seem to be settling in to their various roles. The llamas know their routine and the sheep theirs. At first we had to plan how we were going to trick the llamas into going to the barn when we wanted. Now we can get them to go to the catch in the barn without uttering a word. For good or for bad the sheep are quite easily attracted to us as well. They are all motivated by food—and specifically the knowledge that we bring it to them—but we don’t care if it gets them to do what we want. This is especially good for us now that the weather has started to get colder.

For the most part caring for the animals takes between ten and forty-five minutes a day of either of our time. In the morning after the dogs are fed, one of us walks down to the cabin and gets grain to give to the llamas. As soon as the animals see us enter the Magic Food Cabin^TM they gather as near as they can. When we eventually come out they walk the fence line to meet the food bringer at the gate. I usually put the metal coffee can full of grain under my sweatshirt or jacket to buy myself a few seconds and to help keep prying noses and mouths from getting a sneak taste.

The sheep are pushier even though they don’t get a daily ration like the llamas—who are still growing boys…err…geldings. I have to bop the sheep lightly on their foreheads with my fist to deter them, and they still persist. Once I manage to get into the paddock, I take a direct route to the gate that closes the catch. The llamas, knowing the procedure, make their way into the catch and leave it to me to attempt to keep the sheep at bay.

Once the llamas are isolated from the sheep, I give them each their allotment of grain in their individual feeding buckets, which we’ve mounted on separate walls of the barn. If the llamas weren’t isolated the sheep would stand on their hind legs and attempt to get to the grain with their noses or by knocking the feeder off the wall. This is exactly what they do when the llamas are done with their breakfast, and I have re-opened the gate to the catch. They push through the opening before the llamas can get out and while I am still opening the gate.

Lately, I have adjusted the process by throwing a bale of hay over the fence before I enter the paddock with the grain. The more aggressive sheep—Zinnia, Manta and Aretha—will still try to crash the llama’s breakfast, but it is still easier than when the six of them work together.

Once everyone is occupied with their breakfasts, I check on their water supply. Until recently we used a hose and a Coleman cooler for their water, but we knew this method wouldn’t work for the winter. A few weeks ago, on the advice of the president of the Hooved Animal Sanctuary in Chelsea, Vermont, we ordered a heated bucket that also has a thermostat. Now the water will not freeze, and the bucket will only turn on when the temperature falls below 35°F (1.7°C). The cord is tucked under the bucket and I was able to feed it under the barn to plug it in to an electrical outlet. The cord also has a spiral of wire around it to deter the animals from chewing on it. I made some small modifications to the barn so that the cord will not be an enticement for the curious crew.

After the water, I do a quick sweeping of the barn’s floor. On the advice of Marian White, we decided to use stall mats instead of straw bedding. Straw bedding makes for dirtier fleeces, and more work when it comes time to cleaning the fiber before it is processed. Some people simply throw more and more straw on the barn floor and then wait until mud season to muck all of the manure and straw in one back-breaking chore. Since we are shooting for clean fleeces that we don’t have to clean as much once it has been shorn, we prefer to sweep the barn every few days and take the manure to a pile just outside the paddock. The pile will make excellent compost for our gardens and pastures. Luckily, llamas prefer to do their business outside of the barn in a community pile. Every few days or so the piles can be removed with a shovel and wheelbarrow. One of the great things about llama manure is that it can be applied directly to a garden even during the growing season as it will not burn like other high-nitrogen manures. We figure if we don’t sell enough fiber we can go into the llama poo business.

At this point, during the warmer months, I normally open the gate to the upper pastures and allow the animals to graze; however, with our nascent pasture already a bit weak, we gave it the winter off starting in late September. In the spring we will begin to use the temporary fencing to allocate strips of grazing areas, and the animals’ manure will help enrich the soil and build a better pasture over time. Each week we move the fencing around to give the animals a fresh area to nosh. In the fall we would normally apply some outside source of manure (cow’s) to fertilize the soil, but we did that this past summer before the livestock arrived, so we’ll do that again next autumn.

As I make my way out of the paddock, I tick off the various completed chores in my head, and check that the electric fence is on—and strong—while I lock the paddock gate behind me. If the voltage has dropped for some reason, I check the fence to see if a plant is leaning against it, or if some other animal has broken a wire.

In the evenings, one of us goes down to the barn and checks on the animals again before leaving them for the night. If we hadn’t cleaned the barn in the morning, we do it at this time. Overall, the chores are rather invigorating, and I personally find that I can work through the things I have on my mind while doing them, making the time pass quickly.

This past weekend, we administered the deworming shots to the llamas by ourselves, which was interesting. We have had some experience giving shots to our dog Mickey, but it isn’t nearly the same. Llamas are pure muscle, and finding a fold of skin loose enough to administer the shot subcutaneously was difficult. Ultimately, I ended up pulling at the animals’ fiber to give me enough room to insert the needle, while Sarah calmed each animal and attempted to keep them still.

I think we are doing okay, so far. Now, if we can all survive the winter. Wish us luck.