Our Luck has Turned

Finally! We were due for a smooth and easy birth here on the farm and yesterday we got one! We have a small flock of Painted Desert Sheep and yesterday Weed Whacker gave birth to twins without a hitch!


This was her first time to have babies and with our string of misfortune lately I was a little anxious!

The Boy and I were out in the yard taking advantage of the nice weather,getting some outside chores done, when I hear an unusual baaa.I look out at the sheep pasture to see Weed Whacker assuming the" position" ! So we go out just in time to see the first ones feet sticking out!






Soon came the second one!



The first,chocolaty colored, is a little male.The second,the tan one is a female.





The sheep are a close family,they were all near by waiting! Once the little ones were born and up the herd all came over to get acquainted! They all let the little babies nuzzle them and said hello!



Charger was the typical proud daddy!



He stood still as the little babies checked him out.He also stayed close and watched over mom and babies,seeming to take care of which ever one was straying off!






I have not talked a lot about our sheep.They are not fiber sheep.They have a moderate winter coat they shed in the spring.They are strictly raised for meat on our farm although many people raise the males for game ranches as their majestic heads look good an walls.I personally do not believe in trophy hunting unless you eat the meat, then it is just hunting I guess! They do not taste like the lamb from fiber sheep. I know, it is not fair to show you pictures of cute newborn baby critters then tell you we eat them! That is the way of homesteading! If we didn't eat them this would be an expensive petting zoo ! Their meat doesn't have that smell of lamb from fiber sheep nor is it greasy or fatty. In fact they taste remarkably like venison! You cook it just the same way as you would deer,only you don't get that gamey taste that you sometimes do with deer! They eat very little grain if you have good pasture.We put ours up at night to protect them from predators. They can also jump fences pretty good although ours never have,I see people raising them around here in just a plain old barbed wire fence.I would recommend a guardian dog if they are not behind a tall fence because, believe me, everything thinks they are tasty! You can easily dress these out at home,we have.If you can process your own deer you can do these sheep. Basically they raise the same as goats only they are not smart and mischievous like goats! They are not escape artist and are content wherever they are.If you have good pasture rotation,worming is minimal and they may need and occasional hoof trimming.Oh,and yearly vaccinations that you can do your self if you want to,we do it and we are rookies at farm life !

So, I am so thankful for the blessings of new babies! They take us one step closer to being successful homesteaders!