Just bits this week

My solid moorit ewe Lily's udder is even fuller and teats are full....yet no lambs. Four days ago, she became very affectionate and I thought OK  soon.....still waiting. I am hoping for at least one ewe lamb from her, so this fall Tulla will have a pen mate. If not I have to buy a 2nd ewe lamb so Tulla is not alone. They can spend the winter growing and not be bred until their second fall.


I love my Shetlands, so much so that any crossbreds I had have been sold. I will have a grade yet pure Shetland flock. Good friend Gail says she will have a nice selection of Shetland ram lambs.....as I am splitting the flock between Tundra and another ram.......so the whole flock is not all bred to the same ram.

Oh Tundra, he has coal black eye lids and nose, a creamy white fleece, his brown spots and the skin of his underbelly by his back legs is black.......so a modifier is at work?.......any opinions are welcome 


Yesterday I walked my pasture. Its green but needs to grow some more. I know we got 2 1/2 inches of rain, but we could use another couple of inches. We are on sandy soil, neighbors joke there is mo loam to it. The native grass and a bit of grain keep the ewes happy all summer. Yes I feed a bit of grain each day so they all come up for a good look over. Toward fall the hay feeding starts perhaps a bit soon, but I expect twins and ewes that have a bit of reserve on their backs to milk well.

I water my garden all summer so it stays green and blooming.  Last year we mowed lawn only four times. From mid July on the grass went dormant.......and we didn't mow again. And we keep it neat.....still just stayed short.


My chickens continue to lay extremely well.......8 hens and I am getting 6-8 eggs a day on very little bag feed. They love their morning cooked rice (at 20 # bag at $5 lasts 3 months) and table scraps.......in the afternoon they get a small soup can of scratch grain and layer pellets.....free range hens is the way to go.......I count my hens each day.....I hope and pray no predators come for a fresh meal.  My 3 month old Easter Eggers are large for their age, mostly dark red with lots of black, they get layer pellets, some chick feed, scratch grain and morning rice. They love the rice they all stand on their pen door waiting for me to give them the rice. I have to walk through the 3 month olds to get to my second brooder pen...I scoot the 3 months olds away from pen #2's door, so they get handled every day so they are pretty tame.

This morning Bella, Tundra and Tulla got released from the maternity pen to join the flock. They have bonded well and they can't spend their whole summer in a pen in the barn.  I noticed that Lily and Bella nosed each other and rubbed necks as to say hello (they recently came from Teri's  flock)
Next time hopefully new lamb pics
Till later


Jerry