Farm Fresh Blog

Even though I sold most of the Dorper sheep, I still have a skeleton crew of sentimental favorites that I kept and these girls are dropping lambs now.

The most unexpected delight of this lambing season has been the arrival of a lamb I didn't think I'd ever see.

Who remembers Roanie?

Longtime readers may remember the ewe who was attacked by Other Half's police dog when Briar was a puppy. The injured ewe and Briar became best friends. Her plucky determination to live made her one of my favorites too.

Sadly Roanie passed away this summer.  Although Roanie had several lambs, she only had one daughter - Chuck.

Chuck was named because as a baby she several times found herself caught in situations where she needed help because she was "Stuck like Chuck."  When I moved the first time and I sold most of my quality breeding stock, I kept Chuck because she was slow to mature and just wasn't that impressive.  She later bloomed into a nice ewe but failed to get pregnant last year, so I thought she may be barren. I seriously considered selling her when I sold this last bunch, but for sentimental reasons (as if retired people without a paycheck can afford to be sentimental!) I kept Chuck. I kept her because I'd finally lost Roanie.

Shortly after I sold the last batch of sheep, Chuck started to bag up. Wonder of wonders, Chuck was pregnant. Thursday Chuck had twins at 6 am, one boy and one girl.  She had a normal delivery and just like her mother, Chuck is an excellent mother.

Meet Roanie's granddaughter - Pepperoni

and her older brother, born 30 minutes earlier, the Caped Crusader - Batman.

Sometimes I ride the Guilt Trip Train when I make sentimental decisions and keep animals that should be passed down the road with others. Like Roanie, keeping Chuck was a sentimental decision. I sold better ewes but kept her, and just couldn't figure out why. But at 0630 hours on 02/17/16 when I saw that my favorite ewe had a granddaughter, I remembered why I kept Chuck. And like her mother, Chuck has lots of personality and is a plucky, hardy girl. I hope they pass those hardy genes on to little Pepperoni.

Like her mother, young Pepperoni has a mind of her own and wanders off with the older lambs in search of adventure. As Chuck calls Pepperoni in a panic over her lost lamb, I am reminded of all the fits Chuck gave Roanie. Clearly Briar and I have our work cut out for us as we try to keep this little lamb out of trouble.