I turned all the sequestered ewes out into the pasture yesterday. The older ewes have been in the barn for a month; the younger ones, for two. It’s roomy enough in there, they aren’t overcrowded, but it’s likely boring. Each evening as I prepared their grain, they’d kick up their heels in anticipation, doing fancy twists and sideways jumps. Life is easy in the barn, and yet, it’s just not the same as being outdoors with room to roam, apparently.
I chose not to use a dog to move them, as I don’t like to risk some kind of a rodeo with pregnant ewes if I don’t have to. I just led them out with a grain bucket, which is enough of a lure when they’re going someplace positive (often not enough when heading someplace perceived as undesirable). Halfway down to the pasture, they broke into a canter on their own, eager with anticipation to rejoin the other sheep.
I took a shortcut and led them over a six foot wide wood bridge. They were in such a rush, they pushed and shoved over the bridge, and several of them slipped and fell down. So much for going gently without a dog… I hope no fetuses were harmed in this operation. 
But likely not at this late stage; fetal development is most fragile in the early stages.
Once in the pasture, an hour of celebration ensued. Much sprinting in circles racetrack-style, bucking, sideways kicks and vertical leaps. Alas I did not have my camera with me to capture the acrobatics. There was also some scuffling with familiar ewes, and the boys offering the newcomers a little romance, just in case. And then, things settled down to their regular late pregnancy repose.
Much of the rest of the weekend was spent cleaning out the barn. Kirk’s skilled tractoring made fairly quick work out of removing the 8 inches or so of bedding which has accumulated over the past year. But that’s still a couple of hours of plodding-speed driving back and forth, one bucket full at a time. Boring. The bedding was woven together like a mat, so at least we could get a very large bucketful at a time.
Then there was sweeping, lots of sweeping, emptying water buckets and putting things away. It will be good to let the barn air out for the next month. I set up a few lambing jugs, in case I need them in April. But my hope is to keep the sheep mostly outside, where nature can do their housekeeping, instead of me! Indoor farming is a construct of modern agriculture, and of climates which mandate it. It presumes cheap labor, fuel and materials; none of which we have here (arguably, nobody has those anymore). And as is obvious by their joy at being released, the sheep would rather be outside than cooped up.
The other luxury for me is cutting chore time in half, by feeding one set of sheep instead of two. I am pleased with the condition of the ewes I fed in the barn though, they look good, so hopefully the extra labor and expense will translate to robust, good-sized lambs. Ah, welcome spring! Five more weeks to go until lambing starts.
February 25, 2013 at 3:51 am
Good luck! I completely appreciate the work, the time gained by consolidating groups, the prep…never a dull moment. So exciting! Love lambing. It’s gotten to feel as though it wouldn’t be spring without it.
February 25, 2013 at 4:27 am
Tammy, I know, lambing is a lot of fun. I always so look forward to it, but toward the tail end, I’m ready for it to be done!
February 25, 2013 at 4:52 am
I hear you both and my ewes are due to lamb the middle of March. I too love lambing and can’t wait to hold and pamper my babes. Your barn looks so tidy and huge, lucky you. The feed has been so high and we fed so much due to extra dry season. Watched the $$$$ fly. Good luck!
February 25, 2013 at 5:14 am
Joan, me too, I am about to buy more hay to make it through. Bummer. The grass is growing, but not soon enough!
February 25, 2013 at 4:31 pm
Though a quarter or less of the size of yours, our barn cleanout last weekend was still time consuming, especially so through the muck of the northeast US. Just in time for the first set of twins! Now to keep it clean. I appreciate the work you do and your insights into shepherding. Thanks.
February 26, 2013 at 5:37 am
Thanks Maggie- I think *any* barn cleaning is too much barn cleaning! Outdoor sheep are worth their weight in gold…
February 26, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Hi, Michelle, I so love reading your blog! My grandparents and several aunts and uncles and cousins were or are still farmers in England, and I love seeing what’s happening on their farms (and helping out where I can).
I saw Kristin Kimball speak recently (she’s the author of The Dirty Life), and enjoyed her perspective, which I share (at least from the distance of living most of the time in the city). I’d be interested in hearing how your farming is going–are you making a small profit, squeaking by? I am so concerned about the loss of our small farms, and love hearing about those like yours that seem to be doing well. Here’s a post I wrote about the farm where my father was raised–sadly, no longer a farm: http://theyearoflivingenglishly.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/an-open-letter-to-the-woman-who-has-my-cat-lucy/ Best wishes, Virginia
February 27, 2013 at 5:50 am
Virginia, thanks for the comments. Our farm is currently profitable when just considering expenses, though it takes longer to pay off the infrastructure investment of fencing, breeding stock, equipment etc. We are in growth mode, so are still investing in gradual expansion. I haven’t spent any time calculating my own wage for time spent, though I think most/all farmers actually make a poor hourly wage when you look at it that way. Farming seems to require unavoidably long hours, but I think most people don’t mind since it’s enjoyable, diverse work that’s on your own terms.
But I do anticipate at some point I can quit my job if I choose and make a living just off of the farm. I’m in no particular hurry to do that, however, so am growing the farm at a slower pace that’s lower risk- just building capacity, experience and market. I have friends who have quit their day jobs and gotten loans to grow their businesses quick enough to make an immediate living, and that seems to work well enough for many people. But is a little higher risk, since a lot of small businesses that are heavily leveraged end up failing. I am a little more conservative, and I like my day job too, so am more apt to wait until the farm is performing consistently well, then maybe consider scaling back to part time work, before choosing to finally “retire” to only farming!
This is one point upon which I agree with Joel Salatin- for people who have good business and technical savvy, I think it is possible to make “white collar wages” by farming (again, maybe not hourly wages, but salaried wages- tho salaried people often end up working plenty of hours too!). Probably the other factor is farming in an area where you can benefit from a high-end clientele. I’m not sure if it can be done in every part of the country or not…
February 28, 2013 at 12:23 am
As to keeping ewes in the barn for a month!! nope they only get in the barn if it has been raining for days and I can’t stand the muck and feel they can’t either, and then it is only a NIGHTLY stay in the barn till they lamb. Mucking the barn is easier for me this way, as it doesn’t pile too high that I can’t give it a fast clean each day.
February 28, 2013 at 5:32 am
Joan, I know what you mean. Eventually I will probably build some secondary pens to accommodate these little groups I have that need different feeding regimens etc, so that they don’t need to come in the barn. And even that, I try to minimize as much as possible, as it doubles the labor to manage more than one group. But one infrastructure change at a time… I keep mentally toying with the idea of what it would take to move to year-round lambing; but it seems like juggling multiple groups would require SO much extra labor and carved up spaces to keep them all separate!