Right now, our farm animals consist of a mixed bag – 2 llamas, 3 ewe (female) lambs, 1 adult ewe and 25 chickens (and 1 rooster). While the llamas (Dunkin’ and Murphy) are cute, they actually have a job to do. They are guard animals for our sheep! If any predator (or any dog) dares to approach the pasture, the llamas run to the fence and threaten the would-be attacker. Knock wood – they have been a successful deterrent so far.
Our sheep are a relatively rare breed (Clun Forest) which originated in northwest England. We bred the adult ewe (Dandelion) last fall, but sadly the breeding didn’t take, so no lambs this spring. We plan to acquire a ram (male sheep) and a few more ewe lambs this year, so we’ll breed the younger lambs (Columbine, Rose and Wildflower) this fall, and (fingers crossed) we should have some baby lambs in the spring of 2022!
Our hen breeds are Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks and NH Reds and our rooster is a Barred Rock named Rocky (I couldn’t resist!). Life on the farm wouldn’t be complete without Charlie (the farm Border Collie) and our dog Pip, who we call the Wonder Dog (since we all wonder what breed she is). We’ll add barn cats once we have a barn for them to mouse in!
