Simply Sheep

So- I think I'll raise a few sheep she says.  Simple, right?  Well- I grew up in the city and missed out on that Future Farmers of America deal early on.  And I don't think they had a Girl Scout badge with the 4 S's (Sheep Selection, Shearing+ Slaughter) so I've been kind of learning on the hoof - so to speak.

When our family moved to this patch of land in 1992- we basically needed a few lawn mowers for 4 acres of pasture.  We acquired a motley crew of  sheep and goats and raised the small herd up to 30 animals at one point.  I lambed quite a few, sold some to those aforementioned 4-Hrs and had several end up in our freezer via commercial butchers or from a friend's skilled knife.
I kept the herd going for several years but life sort of got in the way and I stepped away from having livestock just as I was climbing the learning curve.   But I decided to start over again just last year.  I bought a few ewes via Craig's List  ('Have lambs.  Will sell or trade') and borrowed a ram from old Joe Otero down the road.  (His family has been here in the Rio Grande valley for 400 years at least and they've been raising sheep for much of that time)  I picked up another ewe or two and was up to 10 in the herd.  We bred them and wintered over waiting for the spring lambs.  Well- Christmas Eve with 2 dog attacks and 3 mortalities (life on even a small farm can be brutal at times) shrunk the herd.   But we lambed with all the girls having twins this spring and the mini-herd is now back up to 10 again.
We ended up with just one buck and I must say he is quite the handsome fellow.  He has some new girlfriends now as we recently found a new home for him.

The herd is still not big enough so we won't be doing any of our own butchering this year.  You gals are free to munch that nice pasture and enjoy your little sheep lives- for the time being that is....!

This must all be very boring (unless you're in to sheep I suppose) but my point is...(what is my point?)hmmmm... that train of thought just left the station....
Anyhow- I have been trying to educate myself about the livestock so that I can be a better steward instead of just winging it- like I did in the past.  (remember- no Future Farmers of America training here)   I have learned more about proper pasture management (more on that later) and more about doctoring and maintenance of the animals.  (More on that later too!)
So - to finish- here is a sheep joke for you:
  Farmer #1 'Why didn't the ewe get pregnant?'
  Farmer #2 'She was under the wether!'  
Get it?   If you're a real farmer you can explain the joke here - on this very blog!  Let's hear it!