Sheep Lessons and Lambing

Dear Boys and Girls,

I started my last letter saying how January was a slow time here on our farm. It is interesting how farm life has its seasons. Sometimes there is little to be done and we seem to be in between farm activities. Then there are time when life is so busy we hardly have time to take a breath. April brings with it a very BUSY season for us! Lambing season runs for about three or four weeks in April. This year our first lamb was born to Ina. She gave us one extremely cute ewe lamb. We have named her “Faith”.

"Faith" three days old

Pending Labor

I watch the ewes closely as they approach their due dates looking for signs that they will lamb soon. When a ewe is very close to delivering her lamb, the lamb will shift down low in the ewe’s abdomen. When this happens, their hips seem hollow and well pronounced. Here you can see Ina just a day before she had Faith. See how her left hip bone is really sticking up? Another sign is that their udder will get quite large as it engorges with milk. 

Ina just one day before she had her lamb.

Entering the World

Lamb presenting with back feet first

As a lamb readies itself for entering into the world, it usually positions itself so that its two front hooves and nose come first. Put your two hands, palm side down, just under your chin and kind of stretch your neck out. This is how the lamb comes with front feet first. If the lamb positions itself this way, then the ewe easily pushes it out within about 30 minutes to an hour. When Ina had her lamb the other day, the lamb did not come within an hour. I began to realize that something must have been wrong. After the second hour approached, I knew that I needed to find out what was wrong. I had seen a little hoof appear and then go back in so I knew the lamb was right there waiting to be born.  I discovered that the two back feet were coming out first-in other words, the lamb was completely turned around backwards. 

"Faith" one hour old

The ewe struggles to push the lamb out in this position. I gently but firmly pulled those back hooves bringing the lamb out safely and quickly. Here is a picture of the position that the lamb had gotten itself in. It is uncommon for this to happen. Normally, those little front hooves and nose would be turned around the other way. That is why the lamb is named “Faith”. The ewe had faith in me as she looked to me for assistance to bring the lamb into the world safely.

The Wonders of Wool

 

There are many different things that you can do with wool from a sheep. You can:

·         Spin it into yarn on a spinning wheel.

·         Weave it into fabric on a loom.

·         Felt it into pieces of fabric or 3 dimensional objects or clothing using your hands or special needles.

·         Knit it into sweaters, hats, or mittens with knitting needles.

Warping the barn loom

Weaving on the barn loom

I have been busy all winter knitting and weaving. I do not have time to do these kinds of things in the summer so take advantage of every moment once winter sets in. This summer, I purchased an antique barn loom. Barn looms were made of beams and post similar to timber framed barns. Pegs hold the beams in place so that the loom may be taken apart easily. In the nineteenth century, spinning wool into yarn and then weaving it into cloth were a part of everyday life. Just imagine if you had to make every stitch of clothing you wear from socks to pants to skirts to coats and sweaters. There were no shopping malls to run to when you needed a new outfit to wear. Historically, women were the spinners and men were the weavers and the barn loom is what they would weave on. I am fortunate to have found such a beautiful old barn loom!  I think there is just something magical about weaving on an antique loom. I think about all of the different people who have woven on it-the hands that made it-and the many pieces of fabric that it made. I hope to be able to weave many blankets using our own wool on this loom.

Sheep Coats

Dear Boys and Girls,

The sheep are wearing their coats.

Have you ever heard of a sheep wearing a coat?? Actually, our sheep wear two coats. Their long wool provides a coat which protects them from the bitter winds and snow storms that come to our farm all winter. Their wool grows to be 7 or 8 inches long in the winter keeping them cozy warm. On cold days, if my hands get cold while doing chores, I will take off my mitten and bury my hand under one of the ewe's wool.  There my fingers quickly begin to warm.

We also put a thin coat over top of their wool during the winter months. This coat is made of a special fabric that allows air and moisture to flow through it. This coat protects their wool from getting hay in it. During the winter months, I find that the wind blows most of the time and without coating the sheep, they become covered in hay. The more hay that gets into their fleeces, the less valuable their wool becomes. 

Our sheep are all coated now and love lounging outside especially on sunny days. They do not live in the barn during the winter as you may think. Instead, the sheep stay outside at all times. We do have a three sided shelter they can go into if there is a storm and we have a run-in at the end of our barn with three sides to it as well. Most days and evenings though, the sheep stay in the field or fenced paddock behind the barn. Sheep kept inside a closed barn develop respiratory infections due to too much moisture. Have you ever gotten in your car on a very cold day and all of the windows fogged up because of your breathing? That fog on the windows is moisture. Now imagine an entire barn full of sheep, all breathing and releasing all that moisture into the air. This moisture causes them to get sick with lung infections. No need to worry about the sheep being too cold outside, remember they wear heavy wool sweaters all the time.

Sincerely,


VT Grand View Farm

Sheep Lessons

Sheep Anatomy

Dear Boys and Girls,

 Ruminants digestive system-(bioweb.uwlax.edu)

Did you know that sheep do not have just one stomach like you do? They actually have four sections to their stomachs as you see in the picture below. Animals with this kind of digestive system are called Ruminants. The rumen is like a large storage area for food which the sheep eats quickly. The rumen also acts as a large fermintation vat. Through the fermintation process, bacteria mixes with the food to break it down into a digestable form. This process causes much gas which the sheep release by burping (yes-I said “burping” tee hee). Throughout this process, the food is regurgitated (spit back up into their throats), then re-chewed, and re-swallowed. (Are you totally disgusted by this process? Don’t worry, sheep don’t know any different and have been doing it since the beginning of time.) This is what is called “chewing their cud”. 

Fedora-chewing her cud

Here is a picture of a ewe we used to own named Fedora, she is chewing her cud. I am sure you have all seen animals that stand or lie around chewing. To me it appears as though they are chewing bubble gum and I just wait for one of them to blow a bubble, but they never do. Sheep chew their cud when they are resting and do it for several hours a day. 

From the rumen the food passes into the reticulum where much of the same process occurs mixing with bacteria to break down the food. If you were to cut into the reticulum you would see honey-combed shaped tissues. In the Omasum little digestive activity occurs. It has many folds of tissue. The Abomasum functions much like your own stomach secreting enzymes and acids to break down the nutrients into a form that can be used by the sheep. The best diet for a ruminant is grass, hay, and silage. Sheep tend to graze for up to 7 hours a day! They usually eat around sunrise and sunset each day. I think my son Luke would love to eat 7 hours a day. He seems to always be hungry. Are you always hungry?

One student's drawing of a sheep chewing their cud.

A Letter - From School to Farm

Dear Grand View Farm,

It must be hard to take care of all those animals, shearing sheep, weaving yarn, and feeding them. I was wondering how many times a year you feed the animals? When I grow up I want a farm kind of like yours. Is it expensive to own a farm? If so how much is it including the animals? Thank you for writing us the letter. Have a nice winter. Oh yeah can you tell us about your family?

Sincerely,

B.

Taking care of animals requires a great deal of time and is a huge responsibility. Fortunately, we only have to "feed" the sheep in the winter months when the ground is covered in snow. The remainder of the year, they graze in the fields. Every year I am astounded at how expensive it is to keep a flock of sheep. Our sheep do support themselves though with the help of many yarn customers around the world who buy our yarn! I have also learned that the more time I can put into our farm, the more money it makes for us. I feel I constantly play a balancing game between our farm and our family. Each requires much of my time and balancing the two can be challenging.

Sheep Lessons

Dear Boys and Girls,

I used to think that a sheep is a sheep. I thought they were all white  fluffy animals that looked the same. I was terribly mistaken.  Sheep come in many different breeds just like dogs. Each breed brings their own different personality, character traits, and physical appearance. Sheep 101 is a website you may enjoy looking at. There you will find many pictures of different breeds of sheep and well as information about each one. Some sheep are small. Some sheep are quite large.

Romney sheep come in many colors

Some sheep grow hair and not wool and some sheep are considered "hairless". Some sheep have wool that grows on their faces and other sheep have clean faces. Some shepherds raise sheep for meat and some raise sheep for their wonderful wool. Some sheep have horns and some sheep do not. Sheep come in a variety of colors as well ranging from white to shades of brown, black, and gray. Each shepherd chooses his or her particular breed of sheep to raise based upon what they intend to do with them and where they live.

Romney wool grows long and with much luster

We chose to raise Romney sheep for several reasons. Romney sheep originated in Kent, England. There they lived in the marsh country where the weather was harsh, wet, and cold making the Romney breed hardy and resistant to many diseases. On our hillside farm, winter temperatures stay below freezing many months. The winds blow fiercely up the mountain, and snow piles high in the sheep yard. The spring brings moist conditions as the winter snow subsides leaving the paddock muddy and wet. We needed a breed of sheep that could withstand those weather conditions. Romney sheep also have a calm, and gentle disposition. They become very accustomed to their shepherd which makes handling them very easy. Their wool grows 8-10 inches within a year's time.

Romney ewes are wonderful mothers

One sheep can have as much as 13 to 15 pounds of wool at shearing time. Their wool has lots of luster or shine and makes superb yarn. We also chose Romney sheep for their nurturing instincts. They tend to lamb easily without our assistance and make wonderful mothers.  Our flock of Romney sheep have been a great addition to our mountain fiber farm and give us many pounds of wonderful wool for our yarn!

Sincerely,

The Goodling Family at VT Grand View Farm

Felting with Children~Handmade Valentine Cards

Will you be my Valentine?

Young children can easily make beautiful felted wool Valentines.

1. Gather a small zip lock bag, wool roving, shiny glitz, and  locks of mohair. 



Gather your supplies








Your batt is now ready for felting

2. Pull tufts of wool from the roving and lay them out on top of the zip lock baggie. You will be creating a batt with the wool. Now, continue to pull thin tufts of wool off of the roving and make a second layer on top of your first one. Lay the wool in the opposite direction. Be sure that as you layer the thin pieces of wool roving that there are no holes. You want an even layer of wool. Now lay your tufts of mohair and glitz on top of the batt. 
3. Carefully slide your batt into the zip lock bag. Add several drops of liquid dish soap and carefully sprinkle about 4 tablespoons of warm water into the bag. Zip it shut.

   

   Slide the batt into the baggie.

4. Gently begin patting the baggie. Be careful not to ball up the wool inside the bag. You want all the wool to be wet and soapy. Add  more water and more soap if you need to. Once all the wool is wet you may begin to gently rub the baggie. Continue rubbing for about 5 minutes. Children love to sing a song while they work.

Rub the baggie gently.

    5.  Now begin rubbing vigorously. Rub the baggie for about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Open it up to see if the wool has turned to felt yet. If you can pinch and pull fibers up from the batt then you need to work it a little bit more.

Rubbing more vigorously

     6.  Now take the piece of felt out of the baggie and rinse it under warm water and then rinse under cold water.

Rinsing your felt.

Your wool Valentine!!

    7.  Smooth your piece of felt out and let it dry. It is now ready to cut into a heart shape!

Let your wool felt dry.

Visit our online shop to purchase a supply kit for making your own wool felt Valentines!