Winter and Breeding

As the air turns cooler, and the nights are longer, we here at Fossil Creek Farm have been in the throes of preparing for the winter-to-come.

No denying this is a happy lamb!

Not being able to predict how the winter will be, we've learned quickly to prepare for the worst and if it is lesser than that, Amen and So Be It.

As newbie shepherds living in Central N.Y. we had no clue what the weather would be like and initially underestimated it, with unpleasant consequences. No more!

The Finns like the cold and take it well, especially with their thick, long fleeces. Snow doesn't seem to faze them, but the wet, rainy conditions together with the cold, those are the winters that make me worry.

I find it fascinating that ewes can maintain their own body condition while growing fleece and lambs during some of the most inclement conditions of the year, and all this on the pasture they managed to take in before fall and they hay we provide during the winter.  What efficient creatures God has made!

Our system operates with several different enclosures set up with hoop house shelters that require re-assembling every fall to fortify them for the high winds we have here. I would say that among the most treacherous conditions we encounter, the high wind, relentless for days and nights on end is the singularly worst one. Combined with freezing rain and its simply a nightmare.

We lay in stores of hay, switch the wheelbarrows and wagons for sleds of different sizes, go from hoses to deliver the water to buckets filled from a frost free spigot, and outdoor chores can take as long as an hour and a half morning and evening if its just me, by the time everyone has been fed and watered. On the shortest days of the year it feels as if I've just come in from morning chores, when its time to return for evening chores.

But along with the hardship of winter is the blessing of breeding season and the excitement generated while putting together the breeding groups and envisioning the lambs to come. This, aside from actual lambing time itself, is the best time.

Second best to lambing time is shearing time, when the long awaited fleeces are finally off the sheep and once again the process of envisioning what they will become is how I pass my time.

Then finally, comes the time for the lambs to leave for their new flocks. My personal goal is to match lambs with shepherds' goals to the best of my ability so that I feel confident both will reap the best rewards from the partnership.
To this end, I can be picky about potential buyers. I have invested a great deal in bringing the lambs to this point and don't intend to simply hand them off to the first person who comes along.

Maybe not the best way to reduce the numbers, but I'd rather send them to the slaughter house directly myself, and know what their outcome is, than send them to an uncaring shepherd who may neglect them and let them fall prey to illness, disease and abuse.

Part of this process has led me to meet and become friends with many small homestead shepherds who do love their flocks at least as much as I think I love mine. Practices may vary from mine, end goals may be different, but the love of Finnsheep is the same and in the end, serves to facilitate knowledge, sharing of info and love of shepherding that might not otherwise have been possible.

And so we say, to those who have purchased from us in the past and share our passion for Finnsheep a hearty THANK YOU!!!!


Regards,
Kathryn