Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[frustratedearthmother]

Love the way a man's chest swells with pride when he is able to do something for his woman. I bat my eyes and fawn over him.

The things we do for THEIR self-esteem, lol!

 

[Ridgetop]

The things we do for THEIR self-esteem, lol!

They are so cute!

No lambs in the pen this morning. Fed the horses and rams, then came back through the jugs to open the gate and let the ewes out. A ewe, 8189, was already out and at the hay roll. What?! How did she get out, usually the sheep are in the pasture and get into other areas. Went over and she had a new lamb cuddled up in the fallen hay!

Apparently, she didn't come in last night and stayed out to have her lamb. She must have been way back in the far pasture. Last night the dogs were raising a ruckus back there an I could hear coyotes howling. Shows the value of a good LGD! Anyway, it is a nice ewe lamb. Put her in a jug, then got on with the feeding.

I am considering buying some square bales of hay since peeling hay off the round bales is very time consuming. Also I have a lot of Honey Locust thorny branches in the bales so I have to pick through the hay and remove them. When the men get back I will talk to DH about buying some square bales and also moving the 6-8 alfalfa bales into the side barn so I can feed the lactating ewes. I have to hang a gate on that opening to keep the sheep escapees out.

I walked among the flock today and wrote down tag numbers to compare with paperwork. I seem to have more ewe lambs from the 2024 lambing than I thought. Some of them are a very good size so they may stay or I can put them into starter flocks to offer for sale with some of the new ram lambs.

Next year I will have to flush the ewes since many of them singled this year. Some of them are very thin while others are well coonditioned. Another thing to make ntes on since they are the ones that parasites probably have not hit as hard. When the men return I will worm the ewes that have lambed and the open yearlings. Also want to shear some of them when the weather is more stable. Some have big bath mats of wool hanging off them. Most have lost their wool, but some are horrible looking. LOL When I can I grab trailing clumps of wool and yank on it, but some of the mats are too large and won't come off.

I found some x-pen fencing from when I showed dogs that will do to fence off the trailer from wire lambs. I have 4 sets - each one is 16' so enough to do 2 sides of the trailer and use the garden panels or pieces of stock panel on the ends.

DH called and they are heading back today.