Sick Sheep

Poor Diana is sick.
She either has tapeworms or coccidia.

Both which are not very good....
I will HAVE to go in and get a more powerful wormer for the little lady tomorrow.
She was looking kind of sickly today.

Also might have to separate her from Wendy and the other ewes so they don't get sick!

Also, Diana is back

SHE'S BACK.
We took her back soon, because the ram was young, and I'm not sure he knew what to do.
She was ready, but I don't think the ram was mentally there yet.
He's 7-8 months old, so yes, physically he is able.
BUT HE WAS SCARED OF HER AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO.

So she came home yesterday and was really traumatized because we had to chase her around a lot to capture her.

But she was fine this morning, and enjoyed some scratches and lovin's.
My sweet baby girl is back home and I'm one happy person.
She's such a sweet ewe and she has such a darling face.
Definitely the nicest and quietest and most gentle sheep I have

Her ears are so large and they flop forward.
I hope she passes that trait to her offspring

WHAT A SWEET FACE.
Gotta love those scratches

She looks so pleased

Be prepared for udder pictures

I WARNED YOU.

I've been taking pictures of Wendy's little udder weekly to see if I can tell if there are any changes.
I think I finally have seen some growth!

Wendy lets me take pictures freely, and she'll let me touch her udder.
It felt a bit more firm today than it has been feeling.
.... and yes I feel her udder, and take many pictures.
I hope that doesn't sound too creepy?
I'm just really excited for the possibility of lambs....

HERE ARE THE PICTURES I WARNED YOU ABOUT.

Taken on Dec 10th

And here she is on Dec 18th

I want to say I see a slight difference....

Diana

My cute dainty little St. Croix ewe is currently at one of my neighbor's place!
She has a Blackbelly ram and some Blackbelly ewes.
I'm hoping Diana gets bred by her ram.
He's a younger ram and hasn't bred any ewes yet to my knowledge.

Hoping Diana will breed with him
Blackbelly/St.Croix babies would be interesting!
She's such a sweetheart and I think she'd be a good mama

Let's backtrack a few months...

I just realized that I never posted pictures of the rams that were leased to me.
I hope it's okay posting pictures of them, they aren't mine to begin with!

Duke was the only one who had a shot at MaryEllen and Wendy.
Red is older, and I think the dominance shifted or something.

This is Red. He is a bit older than Duke, a Katahdin, and is just gorgeous!

This is Duke, he's a Dorper and younger than Red.
He's the one that I saw with Miss MaryEllen.

Got a decent family picture

My dad managed to take a WONDERFUL picture of me and my babies.
I AM SO HAPPY

Such a great picture. I love it. It should be a Christmas card.

Notice the difference?

I did not notice how much HAIR Wendy has now.
Compared to when we got her? She's grown quite a winter coat.
TAKE A LOOK

BEFORE

And after. WHOA NOW. I cannot believe this is Wendy.
 She was so sleek when we got her haha.

Meet Eeva

So we have two cats.
Both were from the local Humane Society, and we've had them for about... 2 or 3 years?
I can't remember.
ANYWAYS

The one female we have is named Eeva.
She loves the loft inside the barn an sometimes I forget she's up there when I lock the barn down for the night.
Last night was one of those nights.

When I went down to open the barn doors this morning she was SO HAPPY to see me!
I felt awful, because I was the one who accidentally locked her in there.

She's such a sweet thing....
Except for when she's around our other cat, Ebenezer.
Then she's a terror.
But she's nice to me. Haha.

This picture does not do her justice.
She is much more beautiful than this!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays.
But, oh well.

I decided to give my sheep a treat, so I cut up a small pumpkin and gave half of it to them.

Wendy just licked it.
Pax sniffed at it, then sneezed.
Diana tried to chew on it.
And then trusty #46 ate a whole chunk by himself.
It shouldn't surprise me, seeing as he will eat ANYTHING.

So much for the holiday treat.
How about some pictures instead?

Whenever I look at pictures of Wendy, she always looks chunky...

This is what the sunrise looked like a few days ago. VERY LOVELY.

Diana actually let me get close to her today.
Close enough to take a decent picture.

Ewe update

The two new ladies are fitting in just fine.
They get along with the alpacas, and MaryEllen, and the butcher wether that we have.

The only problem is Wendy.
She is definitely at the tip top of the totem pole.
I feel sorry for Diana and Pax... especially Pax.
Wendy is constantly shoving Pax out of the way, even when Pax is not doing anything.

*sigh*

The weather has been absolutely lovely lately.
It's cold, and the leaves are falling, and the sun is out.
This probably won't last for long, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

The alpacas like it too.
They jump around like deer??? I suppose that means they're happy.

Hoping that there is a bun in the oven.

Wendy has developed quite a fluffy coat!

He is quite handsome with his mustache!

Victors usual expression.

Roman Goddesses

Got some new ladies today!

Named them both after Roman Goddesses.
It sort of fits them... ???
Pax is the black and white Katahdin, while Diana is the smaller white St. Croix.

Anyways, they are fitting in just fine at the moment.
They are in a smaller separate pasture at the moment.

Diana on the left, and Pax on the right

Diana and Pax again

Pax

Diana

New addition

It's been a while since I've posted on here (not that anyone follows me yet...)
But I've started my first term, and I'm taking Spanish, and Interpersonal Communications.
My schedule allows me to take care of my animals in the morning though!

We gave the two rams back yesterday and bought a small wether in return.
He was the offspring of one of the rams we had borrowed and he's SO CUTE.

I'm calling him #46 right now, because he is strictly for butchering in the Spring.
I'm so attached to him already and he is such a wonderful little lamb!
Shouldn't be attached to him though.... :(

Wendy and MaryEllen are not sure what to think of him yet.
He follows Wendy around like a little duckling though.
The alpaca boys chased him around a good lot when #46 arrived.
Which is good, because I guess the alpacas were just doing their jobs, chasing a foreign creature and separating it from the rest of the herd.

Poor #46

Exciting things are happening!

*angels sing*


MaryEllen stood still for Duke this morning!!
I couldn't be happier. Totally saw the action happening, and I'm sure he's still all over her.

Red is quite upset, but Duke won't let him near MaryEllen.

I was surprised that they weren't interested in Wendy, until the lady I purchased Wendy from said she might be bred already.
Wendy was with a Blackbelly ram for a while, and was most likely serviced by him.
I do not believe she is in heat, or has not been since we've gotten her.
And it's been a few weeks.

BUT I guess I'll know when the lambing starts!

Little Update

I can't believe it's already been a week since the rams got here! Seven days sure went by fast. The rams are incredibly interested(obviously) BUT the ladies are not cooperating yet! Maybe soon :-)

Miss MaryEllen, looking lovely, as always!

Wendy, the mother of MaryEllen 

And here we have Red, with an uninterested Wendy

Much to my surprise...

THOSE GIRLS GOT OUT LAST NIGHT.

I must have forgotten to lock their gate, because Wendy and MaryEllen were over with the rams when I went down to check on them this morning.
They got into the grain.
And my alfalfa/orchard grass.

I don't think they ate too much though.
HOPEFULLY.

Rams

At the beginning of the week, we took home two rams that were leased to us.
They are currently running around with the girls.

Maybe some magic will happen soon?
The older ewe, Wendy, seems interested in both of the rams already!

And needless to say, both the rams are quite pleased with the ladies as well.

Let's Begin!

And here is where I start documenting my journey :-)

Let's start with and introduction to my small starter flock!
It's small, but I'll have more Katahdin ewes coming later this year.

Here we have Wendy, and MaryEllen, the mother/daughter duo.
Wendy is in the front, and her babe is in the back

These are my flock protectors. Both boys, and both good at their jobs. Victor is up close, and Soundwave is in the back.