ABOUT OUR FARM
- We have raised Katahdins since 1990. We chose this breed because of not needing to shear them.
- We now manage a ewe flock of around 50 ewes each season.
- We have around 30 acres of primarily fescue pasture in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
- We use 2 to 3 flock sires each season.
- We lamb once a year beginning in mid-February.
- Our gross lambing percentages have typically ranged around 1.75% to 1.9%. This year was an aberration and we averaged 2.13%.
- We lamb in the barnyard and jug all ewes after they give birth until mothering is firmly established and lambs are observed as healthy and good to go.
- Ewes with triplets are kept in a separate pen to allow less competition at the feed trough.
- Lambs are fed a small ration of creep until the entire flock gets turned out on pasture.
- We wean between 90 and 110 days usually.
- We leave males intact which can present management challenges for pasture space.
- Lambs are weighed at 60 days, vaccinated with C, D, & T, and FAMACHA scored.
- Weights and FAMACHA scores are taken every 2-3 weeks during the summer months to monitor parasite impact/anemia.
- We are members of the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) and therefore all the weight data is submitted for Estimated Breeding Values (EBV).
- Our post-weaning weights are taken sometime between 120 days and 150 days. Once this weight is taken all lambs are available for sale (minus replacement ewe lambs). Having a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.
