If you ever watch a professional sheep shearer shear its pretty amazing they can shear a sheep in minutes and make it look easy and painless.  The truth is for a novice shearer its a slow, painful process and I chose to leave the shearing to the professionals and hired a shearer.  With the 90 degree weather leading up to shearing day the Ewes were hot and ready to lose the wool.  Getting ready for shearing was an easy process we simply had to catch the sheep in the morning and let them fast for 12 hours.  Empty bellies makes it more comfortable for the ewes while they are sheared.  

​Hog Island wool varies from medium to medium-course.  The fleeces are easy to card and can be spun or felted. Wool from Hog Island Sheep is very nice for hand spinners.  Raw fleeces are available for a limited time.

We are very spoiled with being able to grow produce year round and always having our own fresh veggies and fruit to eat. Spring harvest is underway and the young greens, peas and strawberries have been such a treat this past week.  We are making room for summer plantings of zucchini, cucumbers, string beans and winter squash.  With this weeks rain the potatoes are growing fast and are ready for hilling.   The first artichoke of the season is ready to be picked, I always have such a tough time deciding should I eat it or let it bloom.  Spring flowers are in full bloom and new seedlings are popping up that will be our summer cut flowers.

At last Mila had her lambs.  She has been impatiently waiting for her lambs to be born, so impatient we thought she might steal a lamb from Topanga.  Topanga has been a very laid back mother letting her lambs run wild and often wondering off and leaving her lambs behind.  Aunt Mila came to the rescue several times and reunited lost lambs to an unconcerned Topanga.  Mila went into labor late in the evening.  Our sheep are normally very quite so a baa during the night means something is wrong.  We headed out with flashlights in hand to check on her and just our luck it was a difficult lambing. Mila's first born Abigail was very small only 6.3lbs and wasn't moving, our smallest lamb to date was 10 lbs at birth.  As Mila continued to try to get Abigail up and nursing she was also struggling to give birth to another lamb.  You don't realize how much you miss electricity until you have to pull a lamb in a pitch black barn while trying to hold a flashlight.  Mila's second lamb was an even smaller 5 lb male lamb that we named Adams.  Adams may have been small but he was very strong and started trying to stand shortly after Mila cleaned him off while his older sister was still laying limp on the ground.  In the end I had to hand feed colostrum to Abigail and after several feedings she was able to stand on her own.  

Mila, Abigail and Adams could only go out on supervised visits to the pasture the first two days.  A hawk took notice of the small size of the lamb and he quickly got the idea they would make an easy to catch for lunch.  After two days of chasing off the hawk he finally gave up and moved on.  Mila was still nervous to leave the lambing jug and would not leave the barn at all.  She would go straight back to the lambing jug after only a few minutes of freedom.  Finally this weekend Mila must have decided she was tired of hiding in the barn and came out into the pasture with the rest of the flock.  The other lambs were excited to meet Abigail and Adams and they received a few good headbutts from Mila when they got to rough with her lambs.

This has been a busy week on La Bella Farm.  Not only are we in full swing getting spring produce planted and seeds started but four Hog Island lambs were born a week early!  
Sedona gave birth to two lambs on Sunday.  We named them Leslie Lee and Washington.  Sedona is an old pro at raising lambs, this is her 7th pregnancy and she needed no assistance.  On her own she found a cozy spot in the barn and gave birth, cleaned up the lambs and fed them with no help from us.  She is a strict mother with her lambs and always has them close by and in line.  Washington is constantly pushing the limits and getting himself into trouble.  He likes to explore, clime on things and is constantly testing the fence line and try to wriggle under the gate.  He is also a lover and is the first one to try to clime in our laps.  Leslie Lee is very serious and she mimics everything her mother is doing.  

Topanga gave birth Tuesday afternoon to twins Jefferson and Martha.  This is her second pregnancy. During her first pregnancy she only had one lamb and struggled to take care of it on her own and was given assistance in caring for her lamb.  Topanga gave birth to both lambs with no problem but in a less than ideal spot in the pasture.  She started caring for her first born right away and then gave birth to her second lamb and quickly abandoned him to care for her first born.  It appeared that she was rejecting Jefferson.  By this time she had cleaned Martha off and fed her. We stepped in and moved Jefferson in front of her and each time she ran off and left Jefferson.  Fearing Jefferson would suffer from Hypothermia we stepped in and cleaned him off.  We wrapped him in blankets and rubbed him to get him warm.  We then made one last attempt to get Topanga to accept Jefferson.  This time we placed a halter on Topanga and led her back over to Jefferson with Martha tagging behind.  Jefferson started to baa and at last Topanga started to sniff him and accepted him as her own.  It's been 3 days and Topanga is carrying for and feeding both lambs but she does't appear to have a rule book for her lambs and they run wild.  Often Sedona and Mila have to step in and discipline Topangas lambs.   

Sedona and Topanga taking the lambs out for their first walks around the barn.  

During the first week the lambs had to have their tails docked and we did this on Thursday.  I know it sounds horrible but if the tails are not docked flies will lay eggs under the tails and maggots will hatch and cause the sheep significantly more pain. Research has shown that docked tails greatly reduces the chance of maggots developing under the tail, making docking more humane than leaving the tail on.  I know people will say 'but its not natural' keep in mind sheep were domesticated over 10,000 years ago and no longer resemble their wild ancestors.  After much research and discussions with our vet we decided to dock by banding.  The lambs only showed discomfort for a few minutes then happily went back to playing with their siblings.

Mila is due the end of May.  She has been taking the role of Aunt seriously and helps keeps Jefferson and Martha out of trouble.

Today we took a drive down to George Washington's Mount Vernon to pick up the newest addition to our farm, three Hog Island Ewes.  Mila, Sedona and Topanga will be the foundation Ewes for our breeding program to help increase the population of this breed. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy characterizes the status of Hog Island sheep as critical, meaning that less then 200 Hog Island Sheep are registered in the USA and only concentrated and sustained effort can save them from extinction.
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​During the 1700's colonist brought a flock of sheep to Hog Island, a barrier island off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula.  Over time the sheep of Hog Island evolved in response to the island’s natural selection for hardiness, foraging ability, and reproductive efficiency shaping the sheep of Hog Island into a distinct breed. 
During the 1930’s a string of hurricanes washed across the island destroying much of the island.  By 1945 all of the residents had left Hog Island leaving the flock of sheep behind.  The sheep that were left behind continued to thrive on the island.  
During the 1970's the Nature Conservancy purchased the island and relocated the sheep to Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg.