Our sheep and goats, Mama

After coming into work an hour early yesterday so that I could leave an hour early, when 3 pm rolled around, I forgot about my early dismissal. I ended up leaving work about 3:20. Mama called me on my way home. She had Leo and Nathan with her because Krystal had a lengthy prenatal visit at her doctor’s office. The boys are not allowed to wait in the waiting room without supervision. So, Krystal took Norman with her and Mama kept the younger boys. We were planning on taking them with us to get the sheep, but as it worked out, Krystal was done by the time we were actually leaving Decatur, so we met her and got the boys back to her. They wanted to come but we did not know how late we would be getting home, so we thought it best for them to stay with their mama. Mama and I were not sure what Krystal has in mind for their evenings and bedtimes. It probably would have been okay. Maybe next time.

We ended up getting to the seller just before dark. It was still light enough to get a good look at the ewes. As expected, three of the five looked very good. The other two, thinner and taller with shaggy wool coats, were not as impressive but all were bred. The one we thought about not taking had kidded twice before, producing twins both times. The sellers assured us that she was a good mommy. So, she came home with us as well. None of the ewes are pure blood Dorper, but if all of them give us lambs in the next three to four weeks, we will have done well. Victoria helped us unload, but mostly the ewes jumped out of the bed of the truck on their own. They are not too graceful. The two that got out without my help did faceplants as they landed. They quickly recovered and scampered away. We were offloaded and parked by 8:15. Much earlier than I expected.


Mama and I stood outside and watched for a few minutes to see how the goats and sheep would integrate. It does not appear that it will be a problem. It is far more of an issue to integrate a new goat into this herd. The hours upon hours of head butting required to establish the proper pecking order frustrates Mama. The sheep immediately started grazing. They will find plenty to eat in this paddock. The goats checked out the new arrivals but quickly dismissed them. The only thing the goats were curious about last night was what the sheep were finding to eat. Mama will update me on the integration later this morning. It was too late to get pictures and I did not think about doing so when we got to the seller’s farm. Mama is excited about the prospect of little ones being born on our farm. Now we have to arrange to get our goats bred so they can kid in the fall. Meanwhile, both of our heifers are with a bull now. Hopefully, they will calve in October or November. This could be a productive year. Time will tell.


Tomorrow, Mama and I will work in the garden; working the ground and planting onions, spinach and Brussel sprouts. This weekend, I will work on getting the rolling doors on the goat barn and putting up the rolling door on the back of the shop. That will take two projects off my list. Now that we have both sheep and goats, I will get the second paddock ready. Mama and I talked about putting the goats in that paddock and letting the sheep have the goat barn paddock. The sheep are grazers and there will be plenty of grass in the paddock with the goat barn because our leech bed is in that area. With the goats in that area, Mama had to mow the grass in there every time she mowed the yards. The goats do not eat it down. They only nibble at the tops of the grass. The sheep, however, will eat it to the ground. There are plenty of leaves and briars in the other area. That is what the goats prefer to munch on. Feeding arrangements and shelter will be worked out as I develop the area.


Mama worked at the school yesterday. There was a special day of competition so there were several churches there. Mama was judge, organizer, food service aid and general helper. She spent a lot of time on her feet, so she was hurting that evening. Our drive to get the sheep was less than a two-hour trek so we only stopped once on our way there, but Mama struggled to get out and walk when we did stop. She had lamented about not working at the school because of the loss of her weekly spending money, but yesterday was a clear reminder of just why it is best for her not to be there every day.


Mama will rest a bit today even though she will be taking Aubrey to the library for Story Time.