A Long Winter's Rest

Last summer, we wrote of the kittens we found along the side of the road. We took them in with a two-part plan:

1. Help them learn to be cats.

2. Assimilate them into barn life.

Part Two failed. Badly.

Now, those kittens have grown up, and they often steal Mia’s dog bed, curling up for long afternoon naps.

One day, Neeps brought over Mia’s squeaky toy to sleep with. When I walked by, she looked up sleepily and told Mia to find another toy to play with and another place to sleep.

She wasn’t going to miss her all-important cat nap.

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This Week on the Farm

Yesterday was vaccination day for the Shropshires. They were the final group to vaccinate. With off-farm jobs, sometimes we do tasks in stages rather than all at once. The Shetlands received theirs over the holiday break, and now, it was time to finish the flock and vaccinate the Shropshires.

We were eager to finish this process because extra handling of the ewes any closer to lambing could cause them risky, undue stress. By giving the vaccination to the ewe ahead of time, the lambs will automatically receive the same protections as their mothers.

Waiting to treat the lambs separately is an option, though it’s inefficient: they would need boosters scheduled several weeks apart, each requiring valuable time and necessitating more sorting and handling. With ewe vaccination before lambing, the babies will now need only one additional shot at weaning time, which reduces stress on both animals and humans.

After everyone had been treated, we sent them back out to the pasture. Daishin watched as everyone trotted by.

Farm Shop

We are thankful for llamas watching out for our flock! “Snacking Llama” is part of the Light in Winter series. Support our Light in Winter artist, Lydia, with a llama sticker today!