Hello farm friends, hope you all are enjoying this first few days of spring. I just got home from Philadelphia and old man winter was digging in his heels up there. He even left me with some snow on my car, this morning. It was the same story at Verde Farm, cold with highs in the 30s. Oh well, one thing is for sure, spring weather will soon take care of old man winter, who will certainly need a few months rest.
This week, we want to introduce a couple of our shetland sheep to you--Rain and Burdock. They came to us from Bluff Country Shetlands and Backyard Chickens. We knew we wanted to add sheep last summer but weren’t sure which breed to choose. Nancy Krohn helped us make our decision. She has a wonderful farm for her shetlands and incredible love for this heritage sheep breed.
Shetlands come from Britain and are called a heritage or heirloom breed. According to the Sustainable Table Blog/Website, heritage breeds were raised by farmers in the past, prior to the rise in industrial agriculture that reduced breed variety among many farm animals. In the past 15 years over 190 farm animal breeds have gone extinct, and 1,500 others are at risk. Amazing huh? Many folks don’t realize some farm animals are going extinct, in addition to animals living in the wild.
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"Wait, what’s going on over here?" |
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"That’s Farmer’s Shoe?" |
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"Burdock, come smell Farmer’s shoe" |
The rams are wonderful and just the kind of animal we like to have here at Verde. Rain has a latte colored fleece and the sweetest bah you’ve ever heard. Burdock, on the other hand, has a very dark fleece and sounds like he has been smoking a pack a day for years. Hello doll. They have completely different personalities, but agree on treats, running, playing, lots of love and good scratches. They have both been fixed, so they are wethers. Rams that aren’t fixed don’t make great pets and are much more aggressive.
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"That smell makes me happy Burdock" |
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“You know what we do when we’re happy” Butt heads! |
Hope you enjoyed our boys and will read up on endangered farm breeds. A few good breeding programs can really make a difference.
Are you ready for Farm Friend Friday? This blog party is a place to share posts about farm life and country living. You don’t have to live on a farm or ranch to participate. Country cooking, crafting, history, gardening, photography and anything else you can think of can be shared. Won’t you join us?
- Click on the “click here to enter” below
- Follow the steps to link your post and picture
- Link back here with a shared link or use the Farm Friend Friday button in my sidebar
- Visit your neighbors by hopping around to all the posts shared
- Say hello, so they know you came to visit
- We will leave it up all weekend to give everyone plenty of time to enjoy the party
Happy Farm Friend Friday,
55 comments:
Snow? Ugh, it just doesn't want to let go this year! We are expecting a freeze tonight, there go my flowers!
Interesting about your sheep, are you going to get some ewes and maybe have some little lambs running around? Or are these fellas fixed? I love the color of Rain! Such sweet faces too!
Love these sheep. I could so have some at our farm -- :)
Hello!!
I did my best this time and used a real farm related topic! Girls CAN drive tractors!!!
Oh and you asked last about Real Farm Wives of America... you can find us at:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheRealFarmwivesofAmerica
Look up Cris or Heather (they are the founders of RFOA and they can tell you all about us. My picture and linky thingy should be added sometime this week so you can find me too!
Thanks for hosting!!!
Leontien
oh almost forgot your sheep look fantastic!
These two looks so precious and I love the expression on the face in the first photo.
What cute sheep!
I thank you for posting on how livestock breeds are at risk,most people have no idea how much trouble some of these breeds are facing.
Shetland's are a wonderful breed,we have a Shetland Cotswold cross,MoMo,she is quite the gal!
Love the pictures! :)
AW Rain and Burdock are gorgeous!
Beautiful photos. Love the last one - amazing that you got the shot! Happy Farm Friend Friday!!
Staci
HOW WONDERFUL TO SEE THE BOYS PLAYING! i bet you'll get some really yummy fleeces from those two!
Just for the record, you might want to let your readers know that burdock and rain are wethers ~ not breeding rams, as breeding (intact) males do NOT make good pets...
said the lady who's still so doped up she can.t type or spell. (i misspelled 'voice' in my fff entry.
;-)
I even love their names...
Blessings
I have wanted a couple of baby lambs for a long time....what are the best kind to raise as pets?
Linda
Gorgeous little wether sheep! And I love their names! Look at the fur (wool) in that last shot! :)
totally made me smile =0) love it when you post about your animals. i tried to check out the minis on your side bar but no link. they are super cute too.
marilyn
I kinda feel like I've been head-butting goats, but that's from allergies! Cute pics, the sheep look like a lot of fun-enjoy:@)
I love the sound the sheep make - as you described - smokers lungs - lol.
Do you shear and keep or sell the wool? Good for you for having this breed.
Hey Amy,
Yes, I'm well aware of all the farm breeds that are extinct or on their way. It's so sad and so unnecessary.
Your new guys are very handsome!!
They certainly do look like they are having fun butting heads! Good looking guys.
How very sweet. The look like very nice sheep. Have a great weekend.
Just found your blog and sheep on the day I found it. I had a sheep as a child - love them.
While I don't have any sheep, I really enjoy reading about them, seeing their pictures and enjoy posts like this and I feel like I've learned something--I guess you can teach an old dog something new! :-))
oh what cuties they are....you really have some great animals on your farm...
Too funny!
Happy Friday Amy!! How handsome they both are. I follow another blog and her ram is always chasing her. Your two look sweet though. Do you have someone come in and shear them?
You captured some nice pictures of your sheep...love the action shot at the end!
Sorry I won't be able to join FFF this week...I'll be away :) all weekend, but hopefully I join you next week again!
What fun to watch them play. I don't remember seeing my grandparent's sheep play like that. Did I just miss seeing it, or don't most sheep do that?
They are beautiful! Burdock is sooo handsome!
They have the sweetest expressions. Lovely.
Oh your boys are so sweet looking...I can't wait for sheep...We are also looking into heritage breeds for our area...
Hope you get a break in the snow soon...but in the meantime you can pop over to my place and enjoy a little Florida sunshine...we had plenty to spare this week..
Blessings Kelsie
Love your boys! We have three wethers and they are much like big dogs. Thanks, once again, for hosting the 'party'. Anxious to visit with everybody.
Very nice pictures of your boys! They look like they are enjoying themselves despite the snow ;)
I feel like Burdock and Rain where looking right at me in the first photos. Just goes to show they love the one behind the lens. As I love Verde Farm too!
~G~hugs to you Amy
The weather is one of the few things we ( man) cannot control no matter how we try, and often the best minds cannot predict it accurately, winter in spring, spring in winter...
I like Shetland sheep. Icelandic and Shetlands would be my choice if I did not already have a fair size flock of Jacob sheep.Your Shetlands are so cute.
Burdock's and Rain's faces are the sweetest!
Great post....they are so photogentic!!! Fun to read about them...and look at that snow...ugh!!
I cannot believe how much snow you have! Rain and Burdoch are adorable. You piqued my interest in sheep..
Loved the pictures and the story!
Have a great weekend! :)
Very nice to meet your boys. We are one of those places old man winter refuses to leave. Since I am snowed in (literally the house doors were frozen shut 2 mornings in a row!) I am making house messes and hoping to get something accomplished by next week. If we get warmer weather I would love to work outside.
Can not help myself - in between tasks I must visit blogs on your hop.
Yay! Fiber sheep! My great-Aunt had some sort of sheep that was pretty rare.. she has a ram, but he's blind and really docile. Your sheep look lovely- good thing they produce fiber even though they are fixed!
When I was 8 years old our ram Glenny butted me up against the barn! Lambs are cute I remember our spring lambs.I miss having farm animals some day in the future Papa and I are going to have our hobby farm we are striving for it. Awesome photos. Have a great day !
Girl, what magnificent action shots ya got!!! I'm impressed!!!
Your Shetlands are just beautiful.
God bless ya sweetie and have a fantastic Friday!!! :o)
Theyre so cute & fluffy :) Love the buttheads pic. lol
Thanks for hosting...first time here! Great series of shots of Burdock & Rain butting heads must be tradition...and very interesting history too. Thanks for sharing~
I LOVE sheep: their sweet curious personalities, their lanolin soft wool, their sweet smell...glad my sister-in-law keeps them so I can go enjoy some: wish I could have some, too! Thanks for the fun trip to your farm today. And also for the fun way to visit other farms! :) Have a great weekend!
They look so very happy in their new home!
Nancy - Sheepless in Iowa
Give Burdock a hug from me. I'm in love with him! Tell them to wag tails and make friends...be nice and stop fighting! Peace out Sheep.
Cindy Bee
It's neat to see other breeds of sheep. We have Kahtadin sheep, which do not need to be shorn. Which is VERY helpful. Ours shed all on their own, and look alot like goats in the summer until they get their heavy coat back. We raise ours and sell the boys for meat. They are VERY easy to raise. We love them, and they all have names, of course!
I am delighted your FFF is growing. It is such a pleasure to visit so many farmers and what they produce.
Thank you for creating this.
I'm always amazed at the gorgeous animals you have!
We were enjoying spring weather before spring was even here.. then a few days after it was official, we had a snowstorm, go figure! So I can relate with old man winter not wanting to leave just yet.
Hi Amy, thanks for dropping by my blog. I love your blog and am definitely coming back often.
Thanks Amy, for hosting FFF. I'm enjoying getting to know everyone.
Love your sheep, very handsome,
You're the best. Your animals and pictures make me so happy! I hope Spring starts working its way across the country a little more quickly!
Hi Amy, love your beautiful Sheltand Sheep!... what gorgeous creatures they are... I would love to see them butting heads like that!... xoxo Julie Marie
Your Shetland sheep look so at home in the snow. They are a beautiful addition to your farm family. I really appreciate the heritage breeds and know how important it is to preserve them.
Have a great week.
Velva
I need to visit all the links when I get more time. Your sheep are handsome!
Oh, what fun! I love the head butting shot.
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