Life and Death

Lambing season is a time of new life on our farm - so far, we have 110 new lambs and 9 new goats born since mid January.  Last evening, I watched a ewe deliver twins.  As she delivered the second ram lamb, she continued to clean the firstborn lamb.  I've told our interns that I could tell whether the ewes had started lambing in the dark just by the sound they make to call to their newborns.  The new life we experience this time of year is miraculous.


But this is also a season that involves death.  Invariably, there are lambs and kids born that are too weak to survive.  The normal rate of stillborn lambs in sheep is 5-7 percent, so some are born without ever taking a breath.  Sometimes the weather creates problems for the newborns, as well.  I don't like the death that we must deal with this time of year, but it's something I've had to learn to accept as part of our livelihood.  We try mightily to save the lambs and kids that need our help, but sometimes our efforts go for naught.

Worrying

Now that the first really wet weather of our lambing season has arrived, it's my time to worry.  We've had nearly perfect weather since we started lambing two weeks ago - relatively warm days without much wind, and clear nights with no fog.  Tonight is a different matter - it's cold, breezy and wet.  I worry about the newest lambs on nights like this - will they get enough milk to keep them warm.  Usually my concern is unfounded - our ewes are pretty competent mothers.  Sometimes, though, I arrive at the ranch in the morning to find one or two chilled lambs who need my help to survive.

The help I provide generally involves bringing these cold lambs home to be bottle fed.  We'll generally have one or two lambs that end up in box by the woodstove or wrapped in one of my wool coats.  We then train these little ones to drink from a bottle - a poor substitute for their mother's milk, but better than nothing.

We try to build our paddocks with some shelter in anticipation of poor weather.  Tonight's paddock, for example offers some topographic shelter from the prevailing southeasterly winds.  If we had the good fortune to lamb at home (we don't have enough of our own land), I'd check the ewes during the night.  As it is, I have to rely on my ewes' ability to take care of themselves and their lambs on their own.  My trust is usually well-founded, but I know I won't sleep well tonight!

Mothering

We're in the midst of lambing, as you may know.  We have had more than 70 lambs born so far - we're about halfway through.  Yesterday, the goats started kidding, too - 3 kids to date.

So far, I'm much more impressed with the mothering ability of the ewes.  Most of our sheep are wonderful mothers - in part because we've selected ewes for this trait.  The goats, by comparison, are not as nurturing.  The first goat kid was born dead.  The doe who kidded today took great care of one kid but ignored the other.  He's now on our hearth warming up after his first meal.

Many people say that sheep are stupid, but I haven't found that to be true.  Sheep are simple, but they aren't dumb - for the most part, our ewes are outstanding mothers.  I suppose that we could select goats for their mothering ability, too, but the independent streak that makes goats seem smarter also makes them less reliable as mothers.

Sheep Camp 2010

Last night, we held the first (hopefully annual) sheep camp dinner and camp-out.  All of our interns joined us for dinner at the ranch where our ewes are currently lambing.  After dinner around the campfire, we walked down to the lambing pasture to check on everyone.  After Sami and the interns left, the girls and I went off to bed in the tent.  This morning, we made campfire coffee and tea and ate breakfast around the campfire before checking on the ewes again.

Being at the ranch for 24 hours straight was a great experience.  I saw and heard great horned owls (both during the day and after dark).  The Lewis' Woodpeckers are quite active in the valley oaks, and the frogs started singing to us as the sun was setting.  Today, I spotted both a bald eagle and a golden eagle cruising over the ranch.

I think I could live the life of a nomadic herder.  Cooking on a campfire has always been appealing to me.  Since I usually have to drive for 30 minutes to see the sheep in the morning, waking up and walking to the lambing pasture was a treat!  We always face the door of our tent to the east so that we awake to the rising sun, and this morning's sunrise was especially beautiful.

Sheep Camp will be become part of our annual schedule!

Thanks, Courtney!

Courtney McDonald, one of our two interns for the 2009-2010 season, just completed her internship.  Julie House, our second intern, will complete her program next month.  Both interns have been a tremendous help over the last year, and both have learned a great deal about livestock husbandry, grazing management and sustainable forestry.

We started our internship program as a way to help train a new generation of farmers.  As I've written previously, about two percent of local farmers are 35 years of age or younger.  Courtney has now joined their ranks.  She will be milking four dairy sheep this season, and has started her own small flock of chickens.  She's also become a partner in our firewood operation.  As Julie wraps up her experience with us, she's also contemplating her future involvement in small-scale farming.

Our internship program continues to evolve, thanks in part to the feedback that Courtney and Julie have provided.  We've changed the program to a Shepherd Apprenticeship Program (with an option for additional experience in sustainable forestry).  The program is broken into quarters with a different emphasis each 3-month period.  For more information, go to the Shepherd's Apprenticeship page on our website.

Finally, join us in wishing Courtney the best of luck as she embarks on her farming career!

New Faces

If you've talked to us at a farmer's market lately, or if you've been following this blog, you'll know that there are lots of new faces at Flying Mule Farm this month.

First, we want to welcome Alice, our newest intern.  Alice grew up in Southern California and has worked as a classical musician in London.  More recently, she interned on a goat dairy near Ashland, Oregon.  She's now spent a week with us and has already proven to be a great help and an eager learner.  Be sure to say hello to her at a farmer's market in the near future!

You've already met the latest addition to our Border collie family.  Ernie has become VERY comfortable at our house.  He has developed quite a sense of humor, and the older dogs still don't know quite what to think of him. He's been lots of fun!

The lambs have also started to arrive.  To date, we have 26 new lambs.  They are loving this warmer weather.  This is my favorite time of the farming year - every day is like Christmas.

Finally, just tonight we added a new member of our guardian dog team.  Vegas is a daughter of Boise.  She's about 10 weeks old, and very cute.  She'll hang out with the ewe lambs for a couple of months before graduating to more demanding security assignments.

More lambs...

Here are some photos of Yola's lambs!  Enjoy!