We sold the sheep. It was not an easy decision. To put it mildly, it was difficult, and one that we have gone back and forth on for many months. The reasons are not that important, but mostly have to do with infrastructure, priorities and time. We worked hard for three years to build a healthy happy little herd, and in many ways they brought us joy, so it will take some getting used to. I am comforted knowing they went to a good home not far away, to a large farm to be cared for by a young man who knows and loves sheep.
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I should have known it was too good to be true. Every year, lambing brings a new set of challenges. Last year it was ring womb and pulling breech births, and this year its mysteries, cold temperatures and triplets. On Thursday, the second day of lambing, Connor and I found 1302 standing in the shed beside the lambing pen bawling. She had obviously given birth, but there was no lamb to be found. We searched the area for at least an hour in the dark with our flashlights. Jako came inside to use his tracking skills, and sniffed circles in front of the shed door and inside the shed until he found the placenta. I've never heard of a sheep delivering a placenta without a lamb, but I suppose anything is possible. The only plausible explanation we have is that it was taken by a predator, most likely from the air by a large bird. It's very unlikely that it was a four legged type because of the type of fencing we have, 2 large dogs in the perimeter and a donkey inside, and no blood nor signs of destruction. This is a mystery never to be solved, unless the dogs or they donkey decide to start talking. The night time temperatures were in the teens Wednesday and Thursday night. It is always a question and a risk whether to put heat lamps in the barn. A barn fire is a scary prospect and something I hope to never experience. We hoped the temps were not unbearable for 1203's lambs and they seemed to do fine the first night. Much to my surprise and disappointment, Thursday night's temperatures were too cold for them. Friday morning we found the ewe lamb already gone, and the ram lamb barely alive. We rushed him to the house to warm him under a lamp, and put warm milk in his tummy. He revived and is doing fine so far. The next 9 came in a 24 hour period, during the coldest temperatures of the season. Saturday afternoon, 1208, AKA Baby Mama, one of our very best ewes gave birth to triplets. Two ram's and one little ewe. Shortly before midnight, 1406 delivered a single ewe. Temperatures were now moving to the single digits. The generator is running full blast with as many heat lamps as it can handle. Sunday morning, the little white yearling 15112 surprised us with tiny twins, a ram and a ewe. I have never seen lambs so small, and she was not expected to be bred. She was surprised as well and had no idea what to do with them. Her udder is very small, so feeding them is going to be a problem. 1302, still looking sad and having a very large udder and no lamb to feed was put in a lambing pen with her. She happily allowed these tiny babies to nurse on her. Shew, she may have saved the day. By Sunday afternoon, 1214 delivered another set of triplets, two ewe lambs and one ram lamb. Having triplets and very cold temperatures present two separate management intensive problems. The lambs need energy and food to stay warm, and three lambs on one ewe, having only two teats, must compete for food. Frequently, someone gets left out. Besides filling the generator with fuel every 6 hours, we are supplementing and warming lambs to help get them through this critical period. As of this moment, 10 lambs alive and on the ground - 5 ewes and 5 rams - and at least three more ewes to go. Sleep for the weary farmers is temporarily on hold. Exactly 150 days from the day the Ram was introduced to the ewes, 1203 gave us the gift of two healthy little lambs. She had a white faced ewe, and a red ram. When we found them this evening, both were dry, standing, eating well and noisy. This morning I rode up to break the ice before work and there were no signs of babies, so it happened sometime during the day. Its great when they don't need help and things go smoothly. I hope the next 7 are this easy. Judging from their bellies and udders, its going to happen quickly.
Scenes from Saturday. By afternoon, most of the storm was over. According to my measurements, we topped off at about 10 inches in Scottown, which was fine with me. There was no getting up the hill by any means besides on foot. So, it was a long walk for John to get the tractor so he could push a path down through the trail. It was the right thing to do, because once it was at the bottom, it would not go back up. After adding a couple buckets of gravel in key slippery spots, we were able to drive the gator up to feed and water the sheep an horses. Its times like this I REALLY wish I had more flat land. The goats were fine and happy, and their electric water buckets working well. The chickens are staying in the coop. Callie, the abominable snow dog. She loves playing in the snow so much, I couldn't get a still picture. By the end, she had very large snow balls covering all four legs and her belly. She went straight to the tub. Jako rolls in it and eats it, and it falls right off. Today, sunshine, a driveway and clean vehicles. So, as I said after my first attempts, soap making is not difficult or scary as long as you respect the lye and follow strict safety measures. It is definitely a skill and a craft with many fine details an endless possibilities. The more I have read and experimented, the more I have found there's so much more to learn. I have barely scratched the surface. I'm learning about properties of the various oils and butters used for soap making, and searching for favorite recipes. Meanwhile I have discovered the magical properties of essential oils and natural additives to add color and dimension to my creations. There are so many choices and combinations, its fun to experiment. I am committed to using all natural products, so I will stay away from artificial colorings and fragrances. Since my last soap post, I've made 5 more batches. Each was different, and a test for a new skill. All were made using the 'cold process' technique which requires a 4 - 6 week curing period. As of yesterday, I think I have officially graduated from 'beginner' to 'intermediate'. Unscented Goat’s Milk Soap Goat’s Milk, saponified oils: olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, castor oil, sodium hydroxide. 12/20/15 Ok, it wasn't originally intended to be unscented, but ended up that way because of poor planning. When I was preparing my materials, I had forgotten to take my essential oils to the basement (workspace). I didn't realize this until I got to the point of adding them, and things happen so quickly when the soap begins to thicken, it was too late. So, it became a beautiful bar of unscented soap :-) Lemon Mango Butter Soap with Loofah Goat’s Milk, saponified oils: mango butter, olive oil, palm oil coconut oil, castor oil, sodium hydroxide, lemon essential oil 12/20/15 I tried out a different mold for some of these, and adding the loofa presented an interesting new challenge. Even though I used pure (expensive) essential oils, the scent has already started to fade. This led me to explore additives that will 'fix' the fragrance so it will last longer. Vanilla Almond Soap Goat’s Milk, saponified oils: olive oil, palm oil coconut oil, castor oil, beeswax, sodium hydroxide, vanilla essential oil 1/1/16 This was the first time using bees wax. It causes the batter to thicken quickly, so it was difficult to evenly mix in the essential oils at the end. It gelled in the center, which accounts for the dark circle and halo effect, but I think its kind of cool. Cocoa Soap Goat’s Milk, saponified oils: olive oil, coconut oil, Cocoa butter, Shea butter, grape seed oil, sodium hydroxide, cocoa powder 1/1/16 Hershey's cocoa was added at the end for a chocolate effect. The result is a light brown color and a mild chocolate scent. All four batches were put in the freezer to harden. The purpose was to prevent the lye from heating up and causing the 'gel' effect, which darkens the soap. When lye reacts with the goats milk in the gel phase, it causes the soap to become an orange color. Avoiding gel gives the soap a creamier look. I had just enough of each batch to fill one mold half and half for a chocolate + vanilla layered effect. This one was made yesterday (1/16/16) and I'm so excited to see how it turns out. I thought about it and planned it for days. Not only does it have natural colorants (titanium oxide and bentonite clay) to color the soap and fix the fragrance, I attempted layering a effect and insulated the soap for 24 hours to let it gel. My impatience got the best of me so I tried cutting one small piece. Its still a little soft, so I'll let it sit another day to harden before unmolding and cutting the rest. From what I'm seeing so far, I'm very pleased, and the fragrance is better than expected! It will be ready for use in 4 - 6 weeks. Moisturizing facial bar Goat’s Milk, saponified oils: Canola oil, Coconut oil, Palm oil, Shea butter, Avocado oil, castor oil, sodium hydroxide, bentonite clay, titanium oxide, essential oils: lavender, rosemary and patchouli. I'm calling it a facial bar, or could also be classified as a shaving bar, because of the luxury oils - shea and avocado, and it should have a great lather. Bentonite clay is used as a facial mask, and should also give it a 'slip' which would make it a good shaving bar. Remember the first batch of soap with a 0% superfat? It is being used to make laundry detergent. It smells good and cleans really well, maybe better that the store bought detergent I had been using, and best of all it contains no chemicals and it is very inexpensive to make. As usual, Fuzzy doesn't miss a chance for a photo bomb. I'm sure you're thinking, "what is she going to do with all that soap??" Good question. So far, I'm using it, giving it away, and maybe some day when my skills are good enough, I may sell some. I don't think I will go into business as a soap maker, but it is a nice value added product from the farm and if it works out, may pay to buy more soap making ingredients.
I have always been a maker of lists, as long as I can remember. To do lists at work, to do lists at home, grocery lists, Christmas lists, packing lists, short term lists, long term lists, even bucket lists... the list goes on. My favorite thing about to-do lists is checking them off... DONE! I have learned some things stay on the list forever, because they are never fully finished, or because they lead to adding more items to the list, which is commonly the case. Looking back at my posts for 2015, I was surprised to see I didn't post a list as I had in 2014 - although there were many written on paper. So, I'll post it now, with the things I can mark off as DONE Accomplishments for the house: 1. Gravel driveway 2. Concrete porch 3. Concrete driveway pad 4. Rock on front of house 5. Grass seed planted 6. Porch stained Accomplishments for the farm: 1. Blueberry bushes planted 2. Apple trees planted 3. Strawberries planted 4. Planted grapes and built a small arbor 5. Garden fenced 6. Beginner crop of garlic harvested, and larger second crop planted 7. Goat area fenced 8. Goat barn remodeled to add milking room, chicken coop with brooder pen, and goat room 9. Enclosed porch addition to goat barn (my babies needed more room) 10. Rotational grazing paddocks fenced on hill 11. Built (temporary) hay tent for storing round bales 12. Added a new buck and a new doe to goat breeding program, and added a few born here 13. Successful year raising lambs (only lost one due to worms! that's a big improvement over 2014) 14. Milked non stop for 7 months (stopped due to vacation) 15. Learned to make cheese 16. Learned to make soap 17. Successful egg sales (chickens earned their keep) So, what's in store for 2016? Finishing things on the old list, and starting a new list! There's plenty more to do. Meanwhile, Happy New Year! Footnote: The purpose of this blog is to document our progress and day to day adventures as we create this little farm, and to share with those who enjoy a taste of farm life without getting your boots muddy.
Two weeks have passed since we completed step 1 of our science project, checking and treating the sheep with either anthelmintics or Copper oxide. Today, we re-checked them using FAMACHA score and fecal samples to see which treatment was most effective. Where's my hay? These little kids are spunky and growing like weeds. December 13 was a great day to mow the lawn, one last time for the season.
This project has become more fun and interesting than I originally expected. Fear of lye has become determination to master. The first recipe I tried on 11/30 turned out to be lye heavy, The reason, is I selected the wrong type of coconut oil when running it through the lye calculator (who knew there was a difference between 76 degree and fractionated coconut oil? not me). I realized something was wrong when I tried using the soap and it left my skin feeling very dry, not moist as I had expected. I re-ran the lye content using the correct (76 degree) coconut oil and discovered I had used almost a full ounce too much lye. This created a 0% superfat level (meaning the lye used up all of the oil in the soap leaving no extra) which is too harsh to use on the skin. All is not lost however. I found a way to use it to make laundry detergent by shredding it up, adding baking soda and washing soda (soda ash).
So, since the first recipe was a flop I had to try, try again. My second attempt was a 8% superfat (moisturizing) with additives - oatmeal and local honey. I can't wait to try this one. Next was a basic 5% cleansing bar using fats and oils that can be purchased in the grocery store. Both of these were made using the hot process technique so they can be used (and gifted) by Christmas. They have been pH tested, so I feel much more confident this time. |
AuthorMy name is Christy Franklin. Archives
February 2021
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