WhirldWorks Farm
A small homestead and Debouillet sheep farm in Central Texas
BIG NEWS, LITTLE NEWS!
In little news we have 3 little peepers that our broody mommas have hatched on thier own. We learned that if two mommas go broody at the same time, while they might sit next to each other on the eggs for weeks, once one is done sitting and starts raising her brood, she will kill any thatvthe other hatches. So we have had to separate the momma that’s done sitting on eggs, and her 2 chicks from this one. And now she has one of her own, that the other one won’t kill:) super cool that this one looks like her too. Not all of the eggs she us sitting on will have been laid by her. We have a good mix of chickens in thier coop so none of these are pure bred.
In BIG news at Whirld Works Farm we have our sheering rescheduled for the 22nd of June at 10:30 am. We need helpers so if you can come and help please let us know.
Whirld Works Farm shearing has been postponed.
Our shearers have come down with a tummy ache and need to rest and regain thier strength.
We will let you know when we reschedule for. Once they are feeling better.
Lavender Orpington chicks
We have hatched our first batch of Lavender chicks for 2022. There are four left. We think we’ll keep them:) Our Next batch is planned for about 6 weeks. If you are interested in pre ordering let us know. These cuties are in high demand. Lavender Orpingtons are a beautiful gentle tempered, good size chicken. They are great layers and great meat birds too. Some get up to 8 lbs. They are very easy to handle a great with children. And we just love having new babies!!!
Whirld Works Farm
Shearing Time is here again!
It is time to shear again! This time it is on a week day morning. Monday May 9th at 9am. If you’d like to help sort fleeces please arrive 15 min early and park in front of the Farren so our shearers can get to the barn. And please send us a message to let us know you will be coming.
Katie and Darian work very fast so I expect they will be done shearing by 11 or 12. Sorting fleeces could take a few hours to se real days depending on how dirty they are and how much help we have. We love our fleece sorting help!
If we know you are coming we will provide drinks and refreshments.
A Cabin in the Woods…
Ever since we bought this place I’ve fantasized about putting a cabin in the wood…
And here it is!
It’s so exciting to see it happen!
I’m going to be very busy finishing the inside, and I’ll be sure to share those pictures when it’s done. But I just wanted to share the excitement with everyone!
Sheep Talk
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. -John 10:27
Sheep really do know thier shepherds voice. And when I call to them, they come to me. When I call to them they know I have something good for them. Sometimes they get confused on which way to go, to get to me, and sometimes, when the grass is fresh and green, they are less inclined to follow me, when I call. But they do come when I call, they know my voice.
Like sheep, I think we must know God’s voice, to hear Him calling us. We must become familiar with Him, His character, His grace, all of His ways, or we simply won’t hear him calling. Or if we do hear him, we won’t listen, because we don’t know how good, the things he has for us, are.
Right before I took this video I will be posting a link to, I had called to the sheep as I hoisted a bale of hay over the fence for them.
I called to them baa, baa and they all came running… and then the dogs interfered. What interferes with our following God? He is always calling, to all who would listen.
Sheep are wonderful creatures, they are so trusting and peaceful, until they get spooked. They teach me so much about myself. Enjoy this little video.
2022 lambs
Well we weren’t exactly expecting any lambs until the end of February but two of our ewes, who shall remain nameless (nott) lol, apparently took matters into thier own hands, before we let them breed. As a result we have two that were born a month early, in January, and we don’t know who thier daddy’s are. But they are healthy and strong and that’s what’s most important. We named them Duke and Darla. And… since we don’t know who his sire was (we had 3 rams at the time), we decided to wether the boy. We like our wethers, they produce some of our very best fleeces and don’t cause us any trouble.
So this past week the rest of the lambs have begun making thier appearances. On Saturday our Ewe named Bonnie had her first lamb, then on Tuesday Wynonna delivered and Wednesday we got a beautiful little ram lamb from Butterfly. All are doing great.
We are still expecting two more deliveries. So far we haven’t had any twins this year, in stark contrast to three sets if twins that were delivered last year.
This morning I went in to band tails, tie ribbons and take pictures. Bonnie was really agitated and kept getting confused about who’s baby was hers and boring away from us when we got close, so I’ll let her stay in the lambing pen a few more days. Some of the lambs were positively posing for the camera. Enjoy!
Duke 1mo.
Winter time Farm chores
Back in the fall I decided to start feeding the chickens and the rabbits only once a day, in the morning, to make the early evening chores (since the sun sets earlier this time of year) easier. One thing that makes this possible is using large enough water and feed dispensers so they have enough to last.
At some point I also made it so that the rams and ewes could re-enter their respective barns whenever they want so that if we are late getting home, they can go into their barns, if they want to, when it gets dark. This has worked out pretty well. The littlest changes can make the routines and responsibilities so much easier!
I also try to divvy out the hay in the evenings when I have time, because it’s warmer in the evening and the mornings are often very, very cold. I have to be sure to wear something over my mouth and nose while I’m outside in the cold. It helps my sinuses and lungs and maybe keeps out some of the cedar pollen. I bundle myself up but I always get too warm before I’m done with my rounds and take everything off.
Just last Sunday we re-attached the wall panels in the barn. We had taken them down last spring to increase air circulation for the summer. It worked really well, although the panels were a bit harder to re-install, than they were to remove. But we put them back up just in time for the lambs to be born and have a nice warm space to be. And we had two lambs born this week,, unexpectedly early,, which means I’m not quite sure who their sires are.. But they are healthy and adorable just the same.
How does the change of seasons change your routines? What things do you do to keep in manageable?
Morning Meditations-Early Fall
This morning it was cool, cool enough for me to wear a jacket and my big rubber (neoprene) boots.
I start by feeding the rabbits. They don’t need a refill on thier water. Now that it’s cooler, they don’t go through thier water as quickly. I admire the work I did on the entryway to the garden. The Hackberry trees work perfectly to create an arch to hold up the fencing and loofah vine trailing over the entry to the garden, it’s a pretty flexible wood. I think I read somewhere that Hackberry was used by Native Americans for hunting bows, because of it’s flexibility.
I work my way to the yellow chicken coop that’s stationary and leads to the chicken run that wraps all the way around the garden. They have two blue eggs, they probably laid them yesterday. I refill one of the two waterers for them and secure the latches on thier doors. I place the eggs in my jacket pocket…hoping I don’t forget about them and crack them in my pocket.
I check on the lavender Orpingtons in the blue mobile chicken coop. No eggs in there and they don’t need any refills on food or water. The three young lavenders in there are looking good. I hatched them in the incubator at the end of August. I think they’re all roosters but not certain just yet. The three older lavendar orpingtons are looking good too. One of the hens looks like she’s getting new feathers. She must be molting, they do that late summer or early fall usually.
Lastly I head to the barn to feed the dogs. After I feed the dogs in thier respective corners of the barn and check to make sure that thier wireless fence collars are charged, I ask Titus to sit and let the ewes out. I keep him at my side, with a handful of treats, all the way down the sheep run and close the gate.
I need to switch the water hose from the donkeys water trough to the ewes water trough. The spicket for the donkeys water had broken last week when the shade shelter blew over, with the water trough attached to the it, it snapped off above the shut off.
My hand i slippery from Titus slobber feeding him treats as we walked down the to the gate. I wipe my hands off on my pants. I also grab a piece of cedar bark to scrub out the water trough before I refill it. It gets full of this redish bound scum all around it. In the summer it’s a green algea, but in the fall it’s more brown. I scrub it out, switch out the hoses and leave it to fill up.
I go back towards the barn and close the gate to the sheep run that leads to pastures 2 and 3, and open the gate to pasture 4. I go over the the ram shack where the rams, and wether are and ask Titus to sit behind the door, with bits of dog food as motivation. I open the ram shack door and let the rams and wether out. I ask Titus to stay until they have gotten through the gate to pasture 4 and the release him and close the gate.
I turn off the water from the rain barrel, grab 4 dog treats and head out of the main barn gate. Titus comes with me and the other dogs stay in. I ask all four of them to sit and give each a treat. They love the dried beef lung treats.
It is nice weather. It’s cool but the wind isn’t biting. I take a peak at our youngest chicks. I think they’re about 7 wks old now. They have thier feathers in but I’m not going to put them with the big chickens until they’re a little bigger. We lost two of the last batch shortly after I moved them and I think it’s because they got picked on too much but I’m not sure. I hope to avoid any more losses with the next transition.
I head back in the house to get the boys breakfast. I take off my boots and slip them under the bench in the garage.. I take the eggs out if my pocket (still inact, thank you). I tell Titus that he’s too dirty to come in. When the grass is heavy with dew in the morning he just gets filthy and I wait to let him back inside until he’s dry and the dirt has a chance to fall off of him, usually after lunch.
Soon the time will change. I’m not sure how that will change my morning routine. It has been raining regularly so I don’t have to worry about watering any plants accept the ones on the porch, infact it’s rained enough that I need to find time to mow soon.
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