Erbcroft Farms

The ups and downs of being sick or hurt while trying to farm

2012-03-09T18:52:00.006-08:00

With 2 months having gone by with Tim working full time off the farm, things have been busy here. We are just about done lambing, but as spring approaches, means other task that need to get done. Chicken pens need to get built, brooders need to get cleaned for chicks and ducklings that will start to arrive in April. Sheep need to get sheared, barns need to get cleaned out and the crops need to get planted.

I digress a bit. About a month ago I hurt my shoulder, and convinced Tim I needed to rest it for a couple of days. I Thought my shoulder was feeling better and went back to doing the chores, only to hurt it again. I had to get it checked out this time because of the pain and my doctor said I needed to rest it for about 2 weeks. Its been a long two weeks and just about impossible to not have to do chores sometimes. With Tim working long days and the teenage Son working nights and doing Co-op there are times when I can't avoid chores.

These are the woes of farming for us as we have no staff to pick up the slack so we relie on each other to fill the gap when we are sick or hurt. In most cases we can't even call someone in because of the learning curve to get someone up to speed as feeding the ewes change depending on gestation, amount of ewes in a pen etc. Unfortunately with everything costing more these days, a regular staff member just isn't possible.

I did have a helper for a couple of years when I boarded a horse in exchange for chores, but he has moved in to bigger and better job that earns him actual money to pay for all those fun teenager toys. There are days I really miss him.

I'll be back to visit my doctor this week and he said if it wasn't better after the two weeks, he would do an ultrasound to see if it is just inflamed or a torn muscle. I'm hoping for just some inflammation as it may just take longer to heal with some chores thrown in, but if it turns out to more serious, it may put a damper on the summer plans for the extra poultry and ducks I was planning on raising. The sooner summer comes, the more we can feed outside using the tractor to feed hay verses needing to carry it by fork to the sheep which will help give the shoulder a much deserved rest.

Weaning day!

2012-02-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

It's very very loud in the barn today. We weaned this morning, moved the moms out to what we call the cattle shed. It is part of the old bank barn we house the sheep in that Tim's dad used to keep the cattle in. It's big, open and on the cooler side and was addition to the bank barn. This part was moved from Wartburg Church which was used then to tie the horses up in when they came to church.

The lambs were left in the main barn (the old bank barn) which is warmer, well not so much tonight since we took out all the moms. The sheep provide enough heat in this part of the barn to keep it warm enough (even in the colder winters) to keep the water troughs from freezing. We have to figure out who to put back in in a couple of days once they settle down.

All snug in the calf hutch

2012-02-17T08:12:00.001-08:00

The tamworths were moved last week to an outside lean to with a calf hutch and lots of straw and I can honestly say, I think they are happier. They were starting to escape everyday from their pen inside which then had them hanging with the sheep. They were a bit too bullish to keep them there, so, now they are sharing with the horses.

I'm currently looking for a boar so I can breed my female gilt too this spring so we can have baby Tamworths running around, however, that task is proving more difficult then I thought it would be. Anyone who currently has them, doesn't seem very willing to part with any breeding stock. So, the search will continue and my plan may have to include crossbreeding them with another heritage breed.

You never know what.......

2012-02-07T10:50:00.001-08:00

.......... you may see when you come to the farm. Laurie, my website designer, marketing person, customer and friend arrived Sunday around lunch to purchase some eggs. I was in the barn cleaning chicken pens so Tim sent her down to find me. As we were chatting away about the current on-goings in the barn, Tim noticed that a ewe had just had a lamb. This ewe had not showed any signs that she was even in labour!! I had been in the barn a couple of hours and didn't even hear a peep out of her or see any signs such as standing off on her own, pushing or pawing. Some of the things we look for when we do barn checks when we know ewes are close to lambing. Some ewes can be very vocal when they are in labour too! But not a sound from her.

As Laurie was admiring the new baby I made the comment I thought she was going to have a second. Laurie rushed to get her daughter who was playing outside with Aaron so she could witness the birth of a baby lamb. They arrived back in just the nick of time as the mom laid back down and pushed out the second baby with ease. A pure black boy.

A new mom is up within minutes, if not seconds to start to clean off the new baby. This new baby was attempting to get up within minutes and was looking for some colostrum to get a good start in life. The first baby was a bit slower to get moving but with a little help and a warm sweater to keep some of its body heat in, it was also up and drinking on its own.

Both mom and babes are doing well and integrating into the rest of the herd after two days of bonding in what we call a jug.

Picture by Laurie Knechtel

Lambing

2012-02-03T18:26:00.001-08:00

In the last couple of days, the ewes have begun to lamb again. With that means more time in the barn and night checks. DS#1 who is 17 has been doing that for me since his return home since most evenings he is down at the shop tinkering away with his mechanical projects.

So far, we have had 3 sets of twins and one huge single. Unfortunately I don't have a weight as my scale broke. We weigh every lamb within 8-12 hours, as each newly born lamb needs a shot of vit E/selenium as here in Perth County we are selenium deficient. That means there isn't enough in the feeds that we produce to feed them. Every pen has free choice mineral for the moms and the creep feed (pelletration) that the lambs only eat has this supplement in it. We also provide kelp as it is a great supplement with natural vitamins and helps when shearing the ewes in the spring. I have yet to find out exactly why this is, but for some reason they shear better so there must be something in it that helps keep the wool healthy.

This weekend, the boys (rams) will be removed from their current group of ewes they have been with over the last 6 weeks so we can ultrasound in a months time too see who is pregnant. This helps us when feeding so they get the proper diet and so we can put the rams back in with the ones who didn't catch during this cycle.

The other project that is soon to be done is weaning. This is one task that isn't pleasant for a couple of days. :-)

A New Year, New Routines

2012-01-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

It's fitting that I start this blog now as we enter into a new year and Tim returns to work full time off the farm. We tried to farm full time after his lay off back in early 2010 but today's farming small or large scale present too many challenges to succeed and replace two incomes. I often wonder how some farms manage to support not just one family but in some cases two. I figure their best friend is their bank. :-)

So that being said has Tim goes off to work now everyday, that means the daily farm chores fall on me. When we did chores together most of the time we could complete them in good time and every other day fill lamb feeders, bed everyone down, and get extra things done that needed attending too. Now pretty much all the chores get done by me. One lamb feeder takes seven 25kg. bags to fill and at this time, we only have one but as lambs grow, we will need two. We would alternate them so we didn't have to do both on the same day but, I think I will carry a couple bags everyday as those suckers are heavy. I guess I won't be needing the gym anymore.