Spa Day

When working with my dad in the barn as a teenager, he would often say, “It’s all about the system.” We would experiment with different pen configurations and livestock handling methods.

Jeff and I do the same. Since the beginning of Sylvanmore (four years ago at the end of this month!), we’ve been refining our system for raising livestock and growing Christmas trees. We’ve had in mind the three legs of a farming stool: efficiency, which helps us complete tasks faster; economics, which allows us to continue farming; and the environment, working with nature rather than against it.

When our flock was smaller, we easily cared for herd health with the animals out in the pasture. I trimmed hooves with haltered sheep attached to a gate panel and gave medicine while they were in a fold. Now that we’re growing, we’ve implemented a chute system in the barn.

We can bring the sheep to the barn with a trailer and place them in the chute, which leads them to a tilt table and scale. The tilt table secures the sheep comfortably between two panels, then we can gently lean the ewe to one side so that we can easily and safely reach their hooves and give her a manicure and pedicure.

The sheep are comfortable and they will feel better after their hooves are trimmed. Once they’re done with their mani/pedi, they’ll be weighed and receive an overall health check.

With a chute system, we can keep both the shepherds and sheep safe. This is a system we’re excited about for the growth of our flock!

Thanks for Reading!

And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:

• What new system will you implement this week?

Share your answer and this newsletter with a friend or family member who will assist you.

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This Week on the Farm

Another part of a good system is preparing animals for summer, especially fly season. Thursday, a llama shearer came out to shear all three llamas. The shearing needs to be done early enough that the flies are not biting too hard yet.

It’s rained a lot so far this weekend, so we’ll be keeping an eye on the weather to see if it’ll be a good week to work in the pasture or a good few days to catch up on paperwork.

Farm Shop

This week’s featured fleece is from Milis! This Shetland ewe is one of the friendliest in the flock and often bleats hello when I visit the pasture. Click the photo below to check out the Etsy listing.