We have sheep. Because I am an impatient human being, we have sheep. We got sheep less than 4 days after moving in. There was a deal at a local farm that I could not pass up! As soon as I saw them for sale, I convinced Zach to order some Premier 1 fencing, called the farm, and scheduled to pick them up later that day!
So now we have 3 khatadin lambs that we will butcher at 8 or 9 months to fill out meat freezer for the winter. I drool thinking about all the delicious meals that we will make… tagine, meatballs, kababs, stew, rack of lamb… YUM! And when I saw “we will make, ” you should know I mean “Zach will make.” He’s the best home chef… at least he’s better than me.
Of course we will also save a roast for Christmas dinner for my more adventurous family members to try. Many of them don’t appreciate a fine lamb roast, but I’m fine with that — more for me!
We decided to get lambs because they are easier to contain than goats and cows. While we have enough pasture for a cow, it’s not yet fenced in (remember my things to do list? add on perimeter fencing!) I hear Goats are escape artists… and I’m not ready to play that game. We can keep the lambs contained in some portable electric fencing (more or less…) and they stay near by when they get out.
I can hear you asking it: Why not chickens first? Backyard chickens are the classic first animal BUT I haven’t found any for sale that are screamin’ my name. It’s not chick season. I want to raise my own food. And I enjoy eating lamb. So when it just so happened that a nearby farm had lambs for sale, I just couldn’t say no.
It turns out you cannot contain sheep in Premier 1 fencing as well as I hoped. They like to get out. A lot. Especially when the battery is turned off or low on battery. When they see that good good grass on the other side of the fence…. BAM! they’re out. Luckily, one of them usually can’t figure out how to get out, so the other two stick close by. We enjoy herding the sheeps back in with sticks and a good “hi-ya!” It makes me feel like a real farmer. HA! We move them to new pasture every morning so they can get fresh grass. By now they know the drill. Our pasture is not so great — it’s more wild flower meadow than alfalfa. It does have some clover and vetch, which they enjoy.
Overall it hasn’t been a really great experience. Except when they ran through our pumpkin patch, killing many plants along the way. I could do without that. (But as my good friends Jamee and Abbie will tell you — we have too much of that planted anyway). For now, we wait until October when the real fun begins. I’m attending an “on farm butchering” workshop next week to learn how to do the deed. Here’s to more adventure.