New Sheepies!

The last sheep were so easy to raise, and so tasty, that we decided to get some more sheep. This time, we want to get ewes so we can breed our own sheep instead of buying feeder rams every year. The initial expense is greater, but over the next 2 years they should pay for themselves, if we can get them bred.

We also decided to go with katahdin sheep. One of the issues we ran into butchering the last sheep was the thickness of the wool. While we could shear the wool and try to use if for another income stream, we don’t have the experience or the equipment to make it profitable, and more importantly, we don’t have the time to develop that experience.

Katahdin’s naturally shed their hair every spring, and they are hardy and easy tempered, so we think they will be a good fit for our homestead. We picked out two breeders online to buy from, and arranged for the purchases, but then we had to figure out how to pick them up. We do have a horse trailer, but hauling an 18 foot horse trailer two hours north through Seattle traffic seemed a bit overkill for an ewe and two lambs. So we made do. Daddy built a wooden livestock cage for the back of the truck.

But you know Daddy, if he is going to build something, it is going to be overbuilt and superfunctional. In this case, it is custom fitted to the bed and walls of the truck, comes apart in five sections so it can be stored for future uses, and the top section comes off and attaches to the back door to form a ramp if necessary.

The tarp is unlovely. When I take it apart to store it I will find some plywood panels to replace it with, just as a windbreak to keep the sheep more comfy at highway speeds.

Then Daddy and Seppi and Winnie drove up to Snohomish and picked up an ewe and two little ram lambs. Turns out we didn’t need the ramp. We just picked them up and set them inside the truck.

They are not interested in carrots.

Back at the farm, waiting to go into their new pasture.

Temporary holding paddock for a week or two. They were triple de-wormed, but still, a quarantine isn’t a bad idea.

Winnie said, “Daddy, thank you for bringing me my new sheepies!”

Daddy and Mommy and the kids are all in Tennessee this week to make sure Uncle Matthew gets married successfully, but Uncle Adam took another drive, this time south past Olympia, and picked up another ewe and her ewe lamb.

This brings our total flock to three ewes and two rams. We will try to get the ewes bred this fall for a spring lambing, and butcher the two rams next spring. God willing, spring of 2027 we will have 3 to 6 yearling lambs to butcher and/or sell.