Saturday, April 25, 2009

Extreme Makeovers


These are Shetland sheep. They are one of the smallest breeds of sheep.



The two tall sheep are Suffolk ewes (girls). You can see how tall they are compared to the Shetland on the right. Suffolk are by far the most popular pure breed sheep. They are also known as Black Faces.

Sheep Shearing Video

Cutting or shaving the wool off of a sheep is called shearing. Shearing doesn't hurt a sheep. It's just like getting a haircut. However, shearing requires skill so that sheep are shorn efficiently and quickly without cuts or injury to the sheep or shearer. Most sheep are sheared with electric shears.

In this video Darren Sattler of Chilton WI is shearing one of our shetland sheep. Shetlands are half the size of suffolk sheep but can take longer to shear because they are very restless. Darrin has been shearing our sheep since we opened in 2005. The Sattler Farm also breeds our suffolk ewes.

WI sheep are usually sheared once per year, usually in the spring before the onset of warm weather. Sheep with long fleeces or sheep that live in the south are sometimes sheared twice a year. Many ewes are sheared before they lamb, because it results in a cleaner environment for baby lambs. Shearing before lambing keeps the fleeces cleaner.

One sheep produces any where from 2 to 30 lbs. of wool annually. The average fleece weight in the United States is 8.2 lbs. per sheep (per year).

Info curtisy of Sheep

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Kickin up a Storm

Storm (our 2 week old colt) is so funny in this clip. Our MLF manager, Farmer Cindy, named him. She called it right because he is just a pistol of energy!

He eventually kicks the barn door, scares himself (watch closely he jumps straight up in the air), startles Thunder (his mom) and causes the turkeys in an adjoining building to gobble.

Bad Hair Day

These gals (ewes pronounced yous) look like they are having a bad hair day! But their wool kept them toasty warm during the winter. They already have their haircut appointment (for sheep its called shearing) made for April 25th.

Can you imagine having to wear a wool winter coat when it's 90 degrees out? That's why we have them sheared. It also helps them during the birthing process. Upsy Daisy, the lighter colored ewe, is due to lamb in May. She produced twins last year. We'll have to wait and see if she has twins again this year!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

MLF Family of Friends

Our guests at MLF make up who we are. Without them, well...we'd just be another beautiful farm that graces the Calumet County countryside. Our guests often become like family. Most visiting year after year and many visit several times a year! We are honored when our family of friends share there treasured photos. Recently we received photos of Tad's family and wanted to share them with you. be a child!

A Frizzle Bantam

Thank you Tad for sharing...see you in spring!