Dairy Sheep Diary Part 3

       

          We have had our dairy sheep for four years now. If you are just catching up, check out "Dairy Sheep Diary" and "Dairy Sheep Diary Part 2". A lot has happened with the sheep in the last 6 months. We are still really enjoying our girls and milking them more and more. This year we are using some of their products to sell at our farmer's market booth, along with selling the rams for meat.

Flushing For Fertility!

     

      Flushing is the practice of increasing feed concentrates before breeding to increase conception rates. Last year we fed the girls grain three weeks prior to breeding and then four weeks into the breeding season, with a week of tapering off. We had more multiples with that protocol this spring. Also we are breeding for late March lambing. The weather is more fair by then and hopefully I won't have to house so many lambs! I expect a lot of goats in the kitchen in the spring of 2021 due to an errant buck....so space will be limited. The downside to this will be that the parasites will be stronger by then and I might encounter more problems with them.

       We also sold our crazy ram this fall and brought in a new fellow from the folks at The Farm And The Fiddle. Meet Henry!

        

        Henry is one quarter Awassi. I will have to deal with some horns in his ram sons, but the cross is a good one. Awassi is a Middle Eastern breed prized for its thriftiness. They aren't as fussy as the East Friesians about grazing and have good dispositions. You can read more about Awassi here. Meanwhile, let the breeding begin!

Hand Raising vs Mother Raising Lambs

         I love watching mother's raise their own babes. There is just something special about seeing them together...snuggling and nursing and bouncing in the fields. I raised a few this past spring due to chilly weather as this breed (or my particular flock....not sure which) does not handle the weather well as little ones. I have lost too many lambs to chance it. So I only leave one with the mother in cold weather. I just refuse to take a chance any longer. Daniel grumbles as the kitchen fills up in the spring with babies of all walks. He loves babies as much as I do, but the smell of barn in the kitchen does get wearing after awhile! But my motto is "no regrets". I can handle a stinky house but frozen calves/kids/ lambs just break me.

This is Huckle and Finn is in the corner! LOL

       I love how friendly the hand raised lambs are, though! They are so much more personable than their mothers. Huckle Berry and Finn both have sisters that stayed with their mothers. My hand raised sheep are so much easier to work with, in comparison.

Putting The Sheep To Work!

       I have had so much more time this year to experiment and spend time with our sheep. I began making sheep milk soap using this recipe and then adjusting it to my preferences. I was so thankful to have this little recipe and blog to give me the encouragement to try soap making out. Milk in soap can be a little tricky as it can burn and have a smell. Also it adds fat overall. After making a few batches and a few mistakes, I understand what rules can and can not be bent!

Sheep Milk!

      I have to wash my hands a ton with all the farm work we do. I don't know anything about cosmetics or soap, really. But I have noticed that this handmade soap does not dry my hands out, even after repeated washings. 

       I began felting some soap a year ago. I love the texture. It is like using a sudsy scrubby! When the soap is gone, I still can use it for dishes or a soap scrubby for washing my walls or buckets. 

      My favorite technique for dyeing was covered in this post, though I use a different dye for wool that will be on soap.

Dyed roving for felting soap.

       Dyeing the wool in such a way that it doesn't bleed under the constant pressures of a basic ph and heat....two things that wool do not like!....has been a challenge. I spent hours upon hours researching dyes and wool, emailing dye companies, and tons and tons of trial and error. I have quite a selection of failed dyes! Many times I wanted to quit and throw in the towel. I about went crazy trying to squeeze out dye and trying to pin down when I had made some improvement to the process. Sometimes I thought I was just plain crazy! But Daniel encouraged me to keep trying. After many, many failures, I have enough failed soap bars to scrub and army and a process that is successful, most of the time. I try to make sure I test all the dye batches before any go out, just to be sure everything is correct.

      I know there are some that went out the door and were sold before I even figured out there was a problem. And for that I am so sorry! If you have ever bought a soap from me that bled all over the place, PLEASE contact me so I can send you a new one! I think I have it down, now! 

       As a relief from fretting over dye and as a way to use up my soap scraps, I started needle felting sheep onto soap. WOW! That opened up a whole new world of possibilities! Needle felting can create so many amazing three dimensional shapes! Plus, I am using only natural colors (with the exception of the irises) which relieves any anxiety about dye bleeds. It is just a relaxing project I enjoy in whatever quiet time I have....which is why, if you ever stop by our booth, you might notice that there aren't very many of them! (LOL)

  All in all, I still highly recommend East Friesians! They are so much easier than goats and very productive. They have their own sweet personalities and are not overly flighty. Give me a shout if you have some and let me know what you think of yours!