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.

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.

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.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about the switch. Though Marian had given us a chance to practice our sheep-wrangling skills on her flock, this was the first time we’d have to capture an individual on our farm. Sheep are crafty, slippery little buggers. They can jump like deer and squeeze through tiny openings, and I was concerned that if something went amiss we might be chasing sheep all morning.

We did our best to prepare. First, we lured all of the sheep into a catch pen that Rick had set up in the barn. Then Rick and Marian unloaded the large pet carrier that held Caramel, our remaining ewe lamb, and brought it over to the catch pen gate. We cracked the gate a tiny bit, then opened the carrier. After a moment and a little coaxing, Caramel jumped out of the crate to join the other sheep. Meanwhile, I had managed to grab the ram lamb while he and the others were distracted by grain. I was very careful to keep a grip on one of his horns so that he could not flail and jab me. He struggled for several seconds, then went completely limp as I tried to shuffle him over to the carrier. With a sigh of relief I shoved him in and we slammed the door. By this time, the females were all checking out the new arrival, and after the ram was safely loaded into Marian’s truck we let the sheep out.

Our guard llama Kuzco immediately sensed the new arrival and chased her a little, trying to get close for a good sniff. After a few minutes he too seemed to accept the new girl, so we turned the whole flock out on pasture. Marian departed and we turned our attention to other chores.

During the swap process I had been expecting Aretha to put up some sort of protest about what was going on. I’m not sure what I was anticipating, but I thought she might try to block my attempts to grab her lamb, if not aggressively at least by standing in the way or allowing the ram to hide behind her. But it had been very easy to nab him, and Aretha did not seem to notice that I had done so.  Soon, though, it became obvious that she had noticed.

Aretha is our flock matron, and quite vocal. She will “baaah” at me for grain, or to be let out to fresh grass. She will use the same short call to bring the other sheep to her if they are lagging at a distance.  But the call she made after the ram was gone was quite different. It was long, and loud, and persistent.  Periodically and throughout the afternoon, Aretha would launch into her calls, looking around the field for her “missing” lamb. She would graze, amble about, and chew cud as well, but whenever her maternal instinct was triggered (which often seemed to correspond to when her remaining ewe lamb would come over to nurse) she would let out a course of bellows.  At first I felt guilty for having taken away her baby and caused her such stress. But as the afternoon wore on I quickly understood why shepherds complained about weaning time.  Imagine having several, dozens, even hundreds of ewes carrying on like this! On Monday Aretha was still complaining but by Tuesday she had either forgotten about the ram or given up on finding him.  I was glad to see her back to her usual behavior, for my sake too.

We were pleased that the hand-off had gone smoothly, and also glad that Marian approved of our barn and pasture setup. We certainly couldn’t have pulled off the transition to being shepherds without all of her help. Having successful experiences boosts our confidence as well. We’re looking forward to our next challenge: the first sheering day, coming up in September.

Our small barn is located at the bottom of the driveway, and as I do every morning on my way out, on Thursday I slowed down as I passed to have a peek at the animals and make sure all was well. Alarmingly, I saw one of our grown ewes, Anisette, laying by herself at the edge of the barn in a very awkward position with one leg sticking up at a weird angle. My first thought was, “Oh, no, one of the sheep is dead!” This was immediately followed by “Marian is going to kill me!” Heart pounding, I hit my breaks, ready to leap out of the car, when the sound of gravel under the tires caught the flock’s attention. Anisette popped her head up, righted herself, then stood looking at me as if to say “What?” Though I was overjoyed to see she was OK, I was confounded by my misinterpretation.

After hearing this story, a coworker suggested that perhaps Anisette had been interrupted during her morning yoga routine. I thought the idea of a farmer freaking out over her yoga-practicing livestock would make a great one-panel cartoon (a la Gary Larson’s “The Far Side”). Too bad I can’t draw worth a dime, but if any of our readers can I encourage you to use the idea. Maybe it could even be printed on a t-shirt.

Our llamas did seem fairly comfortable right off: exploring the paddock, taking dust baths, lying down, and generally making themselves at home. But they were also humming quite a bit, which we took for uncertainty mixed with a bit of homesickness.  Over the next couple of days we adjusted to the new routine of feeding them their grain in the morning (at two years old they’re still growing), freshening their hay supply, and letting them out on pasture.

Then, on Tuesday, our Navajo-Churro sheep arrived.  We woke up early and met Marian at 7:15 for our third sheep-wrangling lesson. (We have been helping her with shearing and vaccinations to get a little handling experience before getting our own sheep).  This time, the whole flock was locked in her barn, and our mission was to find and capture the six sheep that we were taking without letting anyone escape. We grabbed Aretha (our flock matron) first, then her two lambs.  Next came two more ewe lambs: Zinnia and one of Sombrero’s triplets from this year, who Rick has decided to name “Manta” (“blanket” in Spanish). Lastly, we managed to capture wily Anisette (one of Sombrero’s daughters from last year). Aretha’s ram lamb will stay with us for a couple of weeks until he’s weaned, then we’ll trade him in (so to speak) for a lovely fawn-colored ewe lamb, and this will be our starter flock.

We drove Marian’s pickup truck to our place and Rick backed it through the barnyard gate skillfully. Then we threw open the tailgate with gusto and waited expectantly to see sheep come bounding out.  But there was no bounding, so Rick duck-walked into the covered cab to give the group some encouragement. Once the sheep had landed on the ground, they remained in a tight bunch while exploring their new digs. They quickly found some hay and grass and noticed the llamas but didn’t seem very interested in them (having been raised on a farm with a guard llama). The llamas however, were quite startled by the sheep.  The initial reaction seemed to be “What the hell are those things?” followed by the realization that at least they didn’t seem to be predators (seeing as how they had spindly legs, lacked sharp teeth, and enjoyed eating hay).

Rick and I watched the interaction for a bit, then decided to leave the animals to make their own introductions. By the time we had returned from dropping off Marian’s truck and grabbing a quick breakfast, Kuzco’s curiosity had gotten the better of him and he was approaching, sniffing, and even chasing the sheep. Guinness, being the more reserved llama, was still unsure of the new arrangement and kept his distance while observing and smelling his new barn-mates.

We wanted the sheep and llamas to get used to hanging out in close proximity with each other, so we limited them to the paddock for their first day in order to force the acquaintance a bit. When we let them onto pasture the next day, we were very pleased to see that the whole group stuck together, with either Kuzco or Aretha leading everyone around. Kuzco also practiced his new-found herding skills, guiding the occasional errant lamb back towards the adult ewes. It has been amazing to see an untrained animal’s natural instincts for protection and leadership come out in such a strong way.  And though it has taken Guinness a little longer to ease into the shepherding role, he is definitely adopting his new status as flock co-guardian. He and Kuzco even take turns lying down or acting as lookout. And once the sheep adjusted to being in a new space the flock noticeably relaxed and has been more spread out while grazing or taking an occasional nap.

So ready or not, we are farmers, and the first week has been a blast. Granted, we haven’t been presented with any complicated situations yet, and we have a miniscule number of animals compared to anyone who raises sheep for a living. But this is the start of yet another new adventure. Not only are the sheep and llamas fun and amusing, but we have met so many awesome people in the process of acquiring them. We are very lucky to live in such a supportive and close-knit community and only hope we can be good shepherds, good neighbors, and good stewards of this beautiful place.

It’s a funny thing when Rick and I start brainstorming about the projects we want to take on. Our ideas have a way of growing and expanding.

After our first winter living in Tunbridge, we decided that we really wanted to have a garage (so that we would not have to dig/chisel out our cars every time we had a snow/ice event). But why pay for just a garage when, by adding a rental unit on the second floor, we can make back the construction cost? So while we’re at it we asked Dick Robson to design in the perfect apartment for a law-school student, and asked George White & Company to build it. Rick hatched a brilliant scheme to document the project, so you too can follow along with the progress on the construction cam .

Of course one major building project was not enough for us. Oh no. When we cleared the invasive white pine trees from the front of our property, we had in mind that it was not only to improve the driveway but also to provide a sense of open space and an area for a big garden. Keeping land open in the self-reforesting climate of Vermont is no easy task, nor is converting the thin, acidic soil into a medium to support vegetables. So we started thinking of solutions to both of these problems. What would be the most economical, environmentally friendly way to keep the land open and improve the soil? Why, animals of course, specifically sheep. (Besides, I’ve become enamored of knitting and having wool producers would be an added benefit.) Fortunately we met Marian White of Land & Lamb and she introduced us to her Navajo-Churro sheep , a rare breed that is diminutive and hearty. We’ve raised rare and heirloom vegetables, so why not sheep while we’re at it?

Before getting our sheep, we realized we need to provide shelter and protection for them, so we enlisted the help of our friend Justin Ferro to build a small pole barn to shield the flock from summer sun and winter winds. We’ve also contracted with Gordon Barnaby of the Corner Rail Fence Company to install an electric fence for us. But, after further research, we weren’t sure if an electric fence would be enough protection for the sheep. Sure, it would keep them in the pasture, but would it keep predators out?

While we’re at it, we decided to enlist the help of a proven guard species: llamas. Llamas have demonstrated their ability to intimidate and literally stamp out livestock predators. They are naturally curious and instinctively move towards anything "new" or threatening. Their large size is a deterrent to coyotes, dogs, foxes, and even bear. Several shepherds I’ve talked to also said that their guard llama(s) move the flock into the barn at night, or herd them to different grazing areas during the day. And unlike sheep dogs who require months of training, llamas work purely on natural instinct. It took several weeks of searching before we found the right llamas for our situation, but thanks to Don and Sue Mellen of Autumn Mountain Farm , we found two males (Guinness and Kuzco ) who we think will be excellent guards for our starter flock. (They have excellent fleece to boot!)

When we moved to Vermont it took a while to find a small, well-built house on good property. It took longer for us to both find jobs that we enjoy. Now we’re looking forward to our new roles as landlords and farmers. There is a lot to learn, and sometimes we feel overwhelmed by all of the changes. But we moved here not just to escape city life, but to have new adventures.