Posted by Jim Ross | Posted in Critters | Posted on 08-09-2010
Grandma speaks for all the ewes and sometimes the cows and pigs too. When a gate needs opening so they can access greener pastures, she lets us know. When the grain portions are skimpy, we hear about it.
The Lead Hand
When moving sheep, you only need to get the ‘Sheep Steward’ moving in the right direction. Grandma is that sheep. When they escape the fences or gates, neighbours are amazed that I can call her by name and she charges up like a big woolly dog with everyone in tow. Sheep have great facial recognition and I use my got-something-good voice which is likely why she comes. I don’t know that she actually knows her name but I keep up the charade. The Accidental Farmer/Sheep Whisperer.
As her name implies, Grandma is the oldest ewe on the farm. She came with two other ewes, Cousin and Auntie, that were stock from an old time sheep farmer, John Braun. John had decided to get out of the sheep business in his 80’s after over 50 years of raising sheep. John’s ewes and their ewe lambs form the basis of our small flock and one other in the Winlaw area.
We were told Grandma was “about 9”, 3 years ago so for a ewe, she is old. She is still the first one to the grain or spent plants and weeds that get tossed out of the garden. She is the largest sheep I have ever seen and is very close to our ram is size. Grandma’s lambs are the largest on our farm weighing between 60-80 pounds, hanging weight. We have not had a ewe lamb from Grandma yet which would be nice.
We know she is old so we watch her closely. As my sheep farmer friend Brian says, “If she is eating, keeping weight on and not moving stiffly, she’s a keeper.” Brian says that ewes can lamb into their mid teens if they are healthy but Grandma is the exception.
[...] in a week or so. Soon we will have a barn full of cute lambs. Whenever I go to the barn, I touch Grandma and ask the sheep gods for two girls. We think this may be her last winter and she has only ever [...]