We seem to have a break in the lambing right now with two ewes yet to go. I guess they are going to be some long term hold outs at this point. That takes a little of the pressure off my time crunch since I don't have to band, shoot and tag any more babies but I am still so far behind I can see myself going right now.
The "not yet fenced" pastures are growing weeds like no ones business and need brush hogged now. I am behind on cleaning the chicken coop along with a million other things and I need to start building some more bee stuff like NOW. I am getting reports of swarms here and there but so far nothing in any of my traps.
I can't be certain but I think I have finally made some progress on getting the dogs to stop killing the chickens. As I said not sure they are totally broke of it yet but these pictures do show the dogs at least are not as enthused about chicken chasing as they once were.
I also need to get the partial bale of hay I have left in the big field moved into the barn lot so it doesn't just go to waste. The garden needs tilling, I got about 20 loads worth of barn waste that needs spreading out and after the rain we got today I am sure I will need to mow again by Sunday.
I also had a new post I was working on that once again did not get finished. There just are not enough hours in the day right now I am afraid to do anything more than snap a few photos and write an update every other day or so.
Anyway here are also a couple of shots of the main type of lamb we been getting from the new Ram. Mostly black boys with partial or almost full badger faced markings. They sure are cute little buggers I must say.
What amazes me about this batch of lambs though is the fact that the about half the mothers don't really seem to care all that much about where their babies are. In the past it seems when one got out of direct eye sight the ewes would start bawling until the lambs were found but this year it's the other way around.
The moms lead the lambs out the gate to what I have taken to calling the day care center and leave their babies there in the shade. The lambs seem content to hang out there together and every so often mom will come by to check on them. Occasionally however one will lose his mom or siblings and start screaming at the top of his lungs. All the while mom, who I KNOW can hear the distressed lamb, ignores it until I get so sick of hearing it I grab the lamb and carry it out to it's mother.
Today's cry baby award went to this little guy who I have taken to calling Frosty for obvious reasons. His mother is not very attentive at all and he was running all over the place looking for her. She was way out in the middle of the field with his two brothers so I guess maybe she figured only missing one still put her ahead or something. This guy was afraid to leave the day care center to look for mom but just ran around crying at the top of his lungs.
Anyway sorry I am behind on comment replies and posts I will try and catch up a bit more tomorrow.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!
If those cuties taste as good as they look, I may have to consider adding lambs here!
ReplyDeletejewlz - Oh they sure do taste good. I love lamb to me it's like the best beef out there although few agree with my opinion on that matter.
DeleteLooking good. Too hot to chase chickens!
ReplyDeleteSf - It really hasn't been very hot yet. I think those dogs are just getting old and lazy :)
DeleteLambs are cute and very very noisy our bottle reared ones would yell there heads off everytime they saw some-one in the hope they would get a bottle, now they are weaned off the bottle they still holler although now with there mouths full of grass
ReplyDeleteDawn - Ya the bottle babies do get like that. The adults start screaming for grain when they see us too.
Delete.....and so it goes on! This time of year is so busy, and I hope you manage to find some time out to recharge your batteries.
ReplyDeleteVera - Yes busy and expensive and for some reason lately I been having a harder time getting motivated and been feeling more tired than usual.Not sure whats going on there.
DeleteSyrah never showed the least bit of interest in the house rabbits. Would happily chase down the outside hares though.
ReplyDeleteTB - I think the dogs have finally figured out the chickens belong here just like the sheep. I hope...
DeletePP,
ReplyDeleteAll the pictures you've place on your blog of the new baby lambs are adorable. Did you end up picking up the little lamb and bringing it to it's mother?
Plenty of moisture down here, grass has been cut twice in a 1 1/2 weeks. Getting ready to cut again, that is as soon as it drys out.
Sandy - Ya I carried him out to her and his brothers. It was quiet for a bit :)
DeleteWe have gotten some rain but not near the amounts we should be getting yet. I am a bit worried to be honest but I said that last year and then we got like 22 inches above normal.
I find the whole thing fascinating. You are totally at Nature's command. So are we in Texas. Can't stick our heads out for the rain. We are concerned about the trees that are putting on heavy leaves and won't be able to maintain them in our hot, dry summers. We are so not in control! Julia
ReplyDeleteAnon - Yes we are actually listed as in the abnormally dry section right now. I am worried about going drought once again. Rain is the most precious resource although I complain about it when it does rain :)
DeleteI just found your blog...I enjoy your style very much...and there really are never enough hours!
ReplyDeleteAn extra comment...I was reading your info about food storage and saw you used pails. We do too but Ralph found a marvel called a Vacucanner....he got one and we are evaluating it this year starting with oatmeal and flour storage.
ReplyDeleteFiona - I wrote that up so many years ago I don't think the vacuum canners were around then. I do use a hand held vacuum to suck the air out of the milar bags though. Thanks for the kind words!!!!!
DeleteThat's the problem with this time of year (as much as I love it). You may think you're completely prepared for spring but it shows up and then all of the sudden everything should've been done yesterday! Impossible to keep up!
ReplyDelete