Grave Digger

It's been five years since we've buried a ewe because of sickness.

Tonight we lost Francis.  She was only with us for two years but she birthed two beautiful children in her time here.  A week ago she started to act strange.  By Sunday she had lost some weight and was limping.  Tuesday we moved her to the barn so she could eat with out fighting the others and we could aggressively treat her foot which was overcome with hoof rot.  This morning she refused food and tonight she passed away.

The bitch of it is that I feel like I failed.  Like there is more I could have and should have done.  I guess that's always how you feel when you loose an animal.

So in the dark, with thunder and lightening in the distance, Jeremy and I dug a grave.  We buried her in the dark by the light of the open barn door.  I apologized.

R.I.P. Francis

A Boy Named Sue

Here are two videos of Sue, Francis's 4 day old lamb, just after we moved them out of the barn.

Holy Cow ... I'm Mean Lamb!

We got Francis last February from a farm in the Gorge. She is a beautiful, huge Sulfolk. The weekend we were bringing her home was the same weekend we were moving Notag and Lilly out of Junior's pasture because they were both pregnant. We decided to put Francis in with Junior for a while to see if she might get pregnant. It was a long shot.

Ewes come into heat once they are with a ram - it's something about the smell or the likes, I don't really know. But I do know that it can take 2-4 weeks after being put with a ram for a ewe to go into heat. Given that Francis was traumatized by a big move to a new farm and that we only left her with Junior for 4 weeks, we didn't think she would get pregnant this year. No big deal, maybe next year.

Notag and Lilly both gave birth around the 4th of July. Shortly after Francis started to act strange. She would separate herself from the herd and sit in the shade most of the day. Jeremy said "I think she could be pregnant." I'd say "No, she wasn't with Junior that long."

Guess who was right?

This morning Jordan and I hoped out of the car on our drive out to do the routine morning oats and scratch. As I approached the pole barn, Francis was standing in the corner and all the others were across the stall staring at her like she was growing a fifth leg. Then I saw it - a little black lamb sitting at Francis's feet. Francis softly bahhed at me as I walked up. My response was "Holy cow!" Then "Jordan, I'm going to need your help."

Since it was just me and Jordan and we had to get Francis and the lamb into the barn, I decided the best tactic would be to let everyone out, separate Francis and lamb to the barn, and then entice the rest back to the pole barn with oats. Simple.

Everyone left the pole barn just fine. I was able to walk right up and grab the lamb. Francis followed nicely as I walk backwards hunched over holding the lamb until we reach the stall in the barn. I was in heals and pearls - yep, pearls - but I'm a professional. Problem was that all the other sheep came into the barn as well. After securing Francis in the stall, I walked around the rest to push them out the door where Jordan was standing. I guess I spooked them a bit because they started to run at Jordan. Two of them jumped, at the same time, on either side of Jordan and at about shoulder height. Jordan threw her hands up in front of her face and let out a very girly scream. With in seconds all the sheep were out of the barn. We both broke out laughter! Once we regained control, we put the sheep in the pole barn and went to work/summer camp.

This afternoon Francis and lamb are doing great. The lamb is a boy, which we are disappointed about - rams are hard to sell. But he is really cute and eating well. Francis is an amazing mom - already protective and giving lots of encouraging kisses to her baby.

Rag-Tag Crew

It's finally getting warm and the ewes are two weeks from giving birth, which means it's sheep shearing time.

Last fall we bought electric clippers for about $150 (on sale). I got the best one Wilco had - the one the clerk said would gut through any thickness of wool. We didn't have an occasion to use it since the weather was getting cool and wet. It got stored in the barn until spring.

A week ago, Jeremy sat by the pole barn and trimmed Notag by hand. Notag loves the attention and let him get all the wool, even in the tender parts. So that left Lilly and Francis for today. We decided on Lilly first. Her wool is thick and long and she has been panting when the temp gets above 65 F. We had to string a couple extension cords across the driveway in order to run the clippers. We grabbed Lilly, put the halter on her and tied her down to a fence post. Jeremy started to run the clippers and about 20 seconds in, one of the side-to-side moving blades broke right off. It snapped and flew a couple feet, rendering the brand new clipper useless. I sure hope the warranty is still active.

Time to switch gears and start hand cutting. At least we are "pros" at that, having 5 years of experience. We both grabbed shears and started in. Lilly's wool is crazy thick. It took about 1.5 hours to trim her up and she got nicked a couple times. She also peed on my knee. I guess we're not as "pro" as we think. We decided a break was in order and came up to eat left over pizza from the night before. Side note - left over pizza is one of my guilty pleasures. I love it for breakfast and lunch, so I make sure to leave enough.

Next was Francis's turn. Francis is a beast! She is so strong, it took a lot of man-power just to get her tied up. And, as it turns out, she is really fidgety. She hated when we had to get up in her business ("crotching" is the official term). And she pees a lot, particularly when we were around her tail and hind legs. My feet and other leg her covered. A few times Jeremy or I had to bear-hug her around the shoulders to try and keep her still. But her wool is thinner and was much easier to cut through. It only took 1 hour.

The down side of hand shearing is that you can't get a nice even cut. The end result is very patchy, with different lengths and poofs sticking out. Especially around the legs where you can't easily tell wool from skin and have to leave it longer to avoid a serious wound. In the end they were quite a rag-tag looking crew. But at least they are cooler and birthing will be easier without all that wool to contend with.

As for me, I was covered in pee and dirt. My back was killing me. I had a blister on my finger from the shears. My arms were stiffening up quickly. I took a couple pain killers and downed a huge glass of water to try and stave off the impending pain. Then I showered, even though I had to head back out to weed the garden.

Now we are sitting on the back deck, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the last bits of sun shine. We are debriefing the sheep shearing adventure and Jeremy's exact words were "Well that sucked ass." Yep. Maybe it's time to hire out for professional shearing.

Sheep are Stupid

In the move "Babe" the mice say "Sheep are definitely stupid" and would have to agree.

Today I came home from work, Jordan and I change our close and headed down to check on everyone and feed the sheep. We've been checking more frequently because lambs are due this month and Notag has utters showing. We also shifted the sheep around to different pastures and get some of the lush grasses eaten. It always makes me nervous when the sheep are on a pasture that has been fallow for a while - maybe the fence is broken or some poisonous weed took hold. Tonight everything seemed fine at first glance, so we grabbed some oats.

All the ewes came running for their evening treats, all except Francis. Francis is relatively new to the farm, but she is friendly (see previous post) and loves her oats. So I peeked around the corner of the pole barn to see what she was doing. She had gotten her head stuck in the fence and couldn't get out.

The sheep are constantly reaching through the fence to nibble on plants. It's the rule that the grass, or shrubs in this case, are always greener. But 99% of the time, they just pull their head back in and go on about their business. From the looks of the ground around Francis she had been their most of the day, there way pee and poo all around her feet. As I approached she start pulling a bit more vigorously. I have heard stories of sheep doing this and getting caught and tearing their skin terribly. Jordan and I came over slowly saying "It's OK. We're here to help. Calm down." Amazingly, she did.

Francis a very big sheep. She is about a foot taller than Notag and she is solid muscle. (That's what makes Suffolk such a great meat breed.) However, trying force her to lower her head and back up took all my strength and more than 15 minutes. It would have been easier had Jeremy been home from work, but arrives home about an hour after me and we couldn't just sit and wait. I finally got her out but in the process I cut my thumb. I hope my tetanus is up-to-date. Luckily Francis showed no signs of injury. When she was free she stood and looked at me, bewildered and maybe a little thankful, before she trodded off for some oats.

The New Girl

When we first moved to the farm we knew we wanted to raise animals. At first we thought goats would be perfect. They are small, easy to manage, we could do milk or meat breeds and they eat anything. Anything is correct, including the bark right off a tree. I learned, through talking to a rancher at the Clark County Fair, that goats prefer Doug fir bark to grass and will girdle our trees. Since we have many beautiful Doug firs that we would like to keep, we decided goats weren't the right animal. The next in line were sheep.

Our current sheep are a mix of Sufolk, Tunis and Katahdin. The mix is great because, like dogs and cats, mixed breeds are less susceptible to diseases. But I have wanted to start raising full-bred sheep primarily because they full-breeds get top dollar but also if Jordan decides to do 4-H she can show our animals. So today we purchased our first full-bred Sufolk to add to the farm. She is beautiful - black face and legs, thick white wool, except that with all the rain she is gray with dirt. She is 3 years old and proven, which means that she has lamb successfully.

The place we got her from was a tiny hobby farm in Cascade Locks, which is about 1 hour from our place. We don't have a trailer to transport animals. We have a huge cage, like you'd use to move a big, big dog. The sheep just barely fit inside and refused to sit down, so she kept loosing her balance as we drove around corners. Jeremy was afraid the whole cage would give under she shifting weight (approx. 150 lbs). Consequently, we had to drive about 10 miles under the speed limit. Long lines of cars kept getting stuck behind us because Highway 14 is a single-lane, extremely curvy stretch of road. At one point, an impatient idiot decided he couldn't take it anymore and spread around us causing momentary panic but avoided any collisions.

The last leg of the trip was up 164th, which is a main thoroughfare in eat Vancouver. We got many confused stares and finger pointing from passangers in other cars and people walking on the sidewalk.

The topic of conversation on the drive was what we should name our new addition. Jordan's first thought was "Oreo" due to her black-and-white look. But after mulling it over, Jordan announced "I don't like that name." I said "Well, what would fit with Notag, Lilly and Junior?" "It needs to start with an F," was her response. Jeremy said "How about Francis?" "Yeah!" So, Francis it is.

We moved Junior over to Eric's pasture and let Francis loose on Junior's. We figured that would give her some time to get use to the surroundings before Junior starts harassing her. About a week should do it. That will also give Francis time to come into heat. Sheep go into heat when they are with a ram, maybe it's the lovely ram-musky that sets them off. Junior and Francis can sniff each other through the fence. The week will also give us time to appraise Francis. I gave her a shot of dewormer, but you never know what an animal might have brought in from another farm.

Next weekend Junior will be a happy boy again with a new friend.