Q: Can you tell us how you care for your sheep? Specifically what support you give month by month.

A: So the previous post about our Fall Harvest focused on products and how a flock will fuel both the entrepreneurial and artistic spirit. Icelandic sheep are incredible for that. There is a natural artistic beauty to them so I’ve found they lend themselves well to the projects of idealists, poets, homesteaders, makers and artists. Yet everything you can harvest, from meat to wool, does not include the care of the flock. The below is a quick run down of what we’re doing through the year to offer the best care possible to our flock. I will use brand names on some products simply because that’s what I’ve found works, but there are usually a few choices so don’t hesitate to search yourself, and ask questions, before paying large shipping fees.

Beginning of September:

Decide on breeding groups and mentally or on paper designate pastures or pens.

Mid-September:

Separate the rams from the ewes.

One final weigh in for entire flock.

Get cut requests back from grass fed lamb customers

Check FAMACHA.

Administer a second Santa Cruz COWP to lambs.

Give Mayo 5-1 bolus and Santa Cruz Cobalt bolus.

Give a shot of BoSe to all breeding ewes.

First week in October:

Shear (it can be done up until beginning of November but adequate shelter is important the later you wait).

Trim Feet

Take live weights on meat lambs before going to the butcher.

Mid-October:

Rest the pastures

Run the ewes in the woods as much as possible- plant diversity, oak leave tannins, pumpkins are all excellent for parasite resistance.

Start hay, alfalfa/grass mix.

Be extra conscientious with minerals.

Send three retained livers (preferably one lamb and two adults) for testing. This will provide excellent information on any mineral deficiencies and in the long run saves money on supplemental minerals or sheep that aren’t thriving due to a deficiency. Ask your vet or call a state university with a veterinary program. It’s easy and provides details you can’t attain otherwise.

First week in November:

Separate into breeding groups and a maiden pasture (these are the 6-7 month old ewe lambs. I do not breed ewes under 12 months old).

Leave together for two cycles (34 days). I do this because I do not like lambing for months on end. My life requires solid bookends at each end of lambing. I also like to not have breeding pens to deal with over the holidays. I have less then 2% of the ewes not take. You can add one more 17 day cycle if you want to be careful.

The 34 days includes carrying a lot of buckets and juggling water heaters. It’s also my favorite time to get to know the ewe lambs. I spoil them a bit with alfalfa pellets and this helps to socialize them. After 34 days I usually have them following me around and this in turn makes their first lambing the following year much easier. Removing the fright factor helps me in the long run to offer them better care. Friendly mothers give birth to friendly lambs is what I’ve found to be true.

Mid-December:

Remove the rams

Do the bachelor cram. This process deserves its own post, but quick summary is placing the rams in a confined space where they can reacquaint themselves and lose the ewe scent. This space needs to be small enough that they cannot get a good run at one another. This will help prevent them from hurting one another. Send the rams to a pasture they can’t see the ewes from.

Combine all the ewes and settle in for winter. Switch to high quality grass hay for the gestation. We won’t introduce alfalfa mix again until the lambs are delivered. We do this primarily to monitor the size of the lambs and specifically the horn buds. The one down side to wide horn sets is difficult lambings.

We aim for 7-9 lb lambs. Anything bigger can carry complications.

Our experience (with digital weigh-in data to confirm) is that lambs with good mothers, who are fed an alfalfa mix hay during early lactation, gain those couple extra pounds back quickly. I prefer a 10-12 lb lamb shortly after lambing, not during lambing.

Early March:

CDT shots for the ewes.

Any hoof trimming that’s needed. Occasionally crutching if a ewe has grown extensive fleece or wasn’t sheared in the fall.

End of March:

The lambing kit is restocked.

Anticipation is high.

Depending on breeding dates lambs could be arriving. We used to breed for early March lambs, but the weather in Northern Illinois is unpredictable. Our survival rates are 95%+ since delaying lambing 4-6 weeks. In the fall when we’re taking live weights before leaving for the butcher I sometimes dream of that extra month of growth, but lambing is much harder (especially if you pasture lamb) in March. If you haven’t set up a butcher date already, definitely do it soon.

April:

Lambing ❤️

Early to Mid May:

Ear tagging, shot of BoSe, and first CDT shot for the lambs.

Shearing.

Hoof trimming

Administer Mayo 5-1 bolus and Santa Cruz Cobalt bolus to all adults.

End of May:

Return to pasture.

Ewes and lambs go out before the rams.

All sheep and any lamb over 20 lbs get a Santa Cruz 4g or 2g COWP.

CDT booster for lambs.

Bi-monthly lamb weigh-ins and FAMACHA checks begin June 1- Sept 15 (total of 7).

Beginning of June:

Flock is all back together. One of my favorite things about Icelandics. You can run them all together.

Mid June:

Any remaining lamb that wasn’t 20lbs + receive a COWP.

At this point I try to run the sheep in the woods (non-pasture) as much as possible because I feel silvopasture provides key nutrients and plant diversity. This is not possible to do once their fleeces grow out because it’s impossible to keep clean fleeces unless they remain on pasture. So from early June to beginning of October I’m constrained to areas where burrs and weeds can’t destroy their fleece. This ensures marketable fleeces and quality sheepskins.

Summer:

Pasture Rotation.

Fresh water with a little bit of ACV added.

Minerals accessible (I’ve tried a lot. Many work well. Back in Balance, Redmond 10 w garlic, Redmond 90 w selenium, Selpex, Thorvin Kelp, Premier 1 sells a number of specific mineral/vitamin packets you can add to target specific issues. The liver test guides you in your choices).

August:

Watch for problems.

Add alfalfa pellets 1-2x a week if more protein is needed due to depleted pasture or lack of rain. Alfalfa mix hay will also work and is usually more economical, but the pellets help to maintain clean fleeces.

Keep minerals topped off. August is the month I’m on guard. I feel everything is a bit tired of the heat- grass and sheep.

Watch FAMACHA scores and administer a second COWP if needed.

I deworm very little at this point, but just in case you’re in trouble: my treatment for barberpole (very pale eyelids, bottlejaw) is Cydectin, Valbazen, COWP (check date for last administered- if it’s more then 4 weeks out give another), shot of Vit B and a shot of BoSe (or the gel equivalent of these will work too), a syringe of nutridrench or homemade substitute, and a syringe of red cell.

As mentioned above. Things not on here include all the value added product tasks: collect and prepare skins to take to the tannery or tan yourself, skirt fleece and market raw wool or send out to fiber mill, arrange for lamb meat pick up or delivery, create any products made on the farm ie soap, balm, candles, finished wool products.

You can stay as busy as you want! Remember it’s about the journey and not the destination. Spend the extra time to slow down 10-15 minutes each day and just observe your flock. Get to their level and don’t ask anything of them. This will pay off many times over. You will begin to ‘see’ a problem before it becomes a calamity. You will have sheep that you can handle more easily so the likelihood of a missed FAMACHA will decrease. The list goes on. Spend a little time with your flock and they’ll reward you with easier manageability. Yes, they’re independent, intelligent Icelandics but they can be a joy to manage.