As we take time to reflect on this lambing season and compare it to past ones, one thing is abundantly clear, it was definitely a year of changes and advancement for Kristie Sheep Farm. From welcomed visitors to advances in technology, change has definitely been on the agenda.
The first order of change was to mix up our breeding season to have a handful of ewes lamb in January with the remainder of the flock in February. With that said, a new batch of Lincolns, commonly referred to around here as our little hippies arrived right on cue during a warm spell in the middle of January. They could be seen sunbathing on a daily basis and just as the sunlight spurs on the flowers of the spring it seemed to help this group of babies blossom into a beautiful and uniform set of lambs.
February arrived and although there was a time we thought we were going to have to wait forever for the burgeoning group of mommas to pop, once they started it didn't take long for the storm to pass and leave in its wake a bouncy group of new babies.
After a long debate between family members and a great deal of lobbying on my part, we made a major decision and after 30+ years of hiking to the barn to check ewes in the middle of the night we chose to invest in a lambing camera. As the night supervisor, not only did this great little invention save me time and effort, but it also enabled me to keep an eye on the ewes without being invasive. It wasn't long before the lamb channel became a hit with the family and even gave us an added bonus of being able to watch the new babies play in the barn. The only drawback appeared to be when we had a ewe go into labor during the Superbowl. Needless to say I went back to checking on the ewe the good old-fashioned way...via foot power.The fina
l technological advance came in the form of a used 4-wheeler my husband and father bought and fixed up. It combined with the little utility trailer mom bought for the lawn mower a few years back have been a blessing as old man winter has flexed his muscles over the past week or so forcing us to change up some of our feeding patterns.Although the new technology was a welcomed advance, it was perhaps a dose of good old-fashioned elbow grease that quite possibly helped me out the most in the end as my mother-in-law graciously agreed to spend a week with us helping out with the household chores. It was so nice to come in from chores in the barn to find my girls excitedly entertaining their grandmother with the stories of their day and a warm dinner on the table.
My dad, who has always been the barn supervisor has embraced the changes and been so supportive through this lambing season, as has my mom. As usual we have taken on our roles and somehow survived another year!
