Farm Friend Friday #8-Our Shetland Sheep

Hello farm friends, hope you all are enjoying this first few days of spring. I just got home from Philadelphia and old man winter was digging in his heels up there. He even left me with some snow on my car, this morning. It was the same story at Verde Farm, cold with highs in the 30s. Oh well, one thing is for sure, spring weather will soon take care of old man winter, who will certainly need a few months rest.

This week, we want to introduce a couple of our shetland sheep to you--Rain and Burdock. They came to us from Bluff Country Shetlands and Backyard Chickens. We knew we wanted to add sheep last summer but weren’t sure which breed to choose. Nancy Krohn helped us make our decision. She has a wonderful farm for her shetlands and incredible love for this heritage sheep breed.

Shetlands come from Britain and are called a heritage or heirloom breed. According to the Sustainable Table Blog/Website, heritage breeds were raised by farmers in the past, prior to the rise in industrial agriculture that reduced breed variety among many farm animals. In the past 15 years over 190 farm animal breeds have gone extinct, and 1,500 others are at risk. Amazing huh? Many folks don’t realize some farm animals are going extinct, in addition to animals living in the wild.

"Wait, what’s going on over here?"

"That’s Farmer’s Shoe?"

"Burdock, come smell Farmer’s shoe"

The rams are wonderful and just the kind of animal we like to have here at Verde. Rain has a latte colored fleece and the sweetest bah you’ve ever heard. Burdock, on the other hand,  has a very dark fleece and sounds like he has been smoking a pack a day for years. Hello doll. They have completely different personalities, but agree on treats, running, playing, lots of love and good scratches. They have both been fixed, so they are wethers. Rams that aren’t fixed don’t make great pets and are much more aggressive.

"That smell makes me happy Burdock"

“You know what we do when we’re happy” Butt heads!

Hope you enjoyed our boys and will read up on endangered farm breeds. A few good breeding programs can really make a difference.

Are you ready for Farm Friend Friday? This blog party is a place to share posts about farm life and country living. You don’t have to live on a farm or ranch to participate. Country cooking, crafting, history, gardening, photography and anything else you can think of can be shared. Won’t you join us?

• Click on the “click here to enter” below
• Follow the steps to link your post and picture
• Link back here with a shared link or use the Farm Friend Friday button in my sidebar
• Visit your neighbors by hopping around to all the posts shared
• Say hello, so they know you came to visit 
• We will leave it up all weekend to give everyone plenty of time to enjoy the party

Happy Farm Friend Friday,

Verde Welcomes New Farm Friends

A cool, gray Sunday started with a drive to the southeastern part of the state with my nephews, Cooper and Jackson. It was an exciting day for all of us because we knew we would be coming home with our two new Shetland ram lambs from Nancy at Buff Country Back Yard Chickens. Fortunately, transport worked out well and we were able to pick them up a short two and a half hours from home. What started as an inquiry to Nancy about her beautiful Mille Fleur Calico Cochin chickens evolved into the purchase of a rooster and two hens, as well as the two new lambs.













When we got to the meeting spot and saw the precious lambs for the first time, the boys were smiling from ear to ear. The rams, named Burdock and Rain Man, are small with beautiful coloring. Burdock, a dark brown/black, and Rain a tan, were so soft, we couldn't stop petting them. We moved  them to our truck and put them in temporary crates stocked with hay we brought from home. They settled into the crates well and immediately started eating. They were happy with the hay and managed to eat almost all of it by the time we arrived back at the farm.

Burdock and Rain (Pictures from Buff Country Back Yard Chickens)

We put the trio of chickens in the cab of the truck with us. The boys were tickled to death to have the chickens up front. They fed them some Chex Mix as a treat and the trio were pleased. I mean, they seemed pleased, cooing and looking up at us lovingly, as if to say, more please.

When we got back home, the good hubs and my oldest nephew, Perry, had been preparing the stall for the new arrivals. They cleaned it up nicely and spread a thick coat of bedding so perfect you hated to walk in it. Everything was in order for our new farm friends.

The lambs quickly came out of the crates to examine their new digs. They went straight to their fresh water and more hay. We knew the chickens needed to stay on their own for a few days so we put them in a nice big crate with some corn and a water. They were ready to stretch their legs out a bit and we were able to finally get a good look at them. They are beautiful. I like to say they have "fancy feet" because their feathers stick out all around them. The nephews named the chickens,  Jet for the roo and Dotty and Lola for the hens. We thought the names were perfect.

As the evening settles in, our new arrivals are bedded down in their places and getting ready for their first night at Verde Farm. One of the best things about farm life is sharing the experiences with family and today was one of those great days.

Perry-10

Cooper-7

Jackson-9