Kristen Judkins grew up spinning and knitting, but didn’t have her own fiber farm until she won some angora goats in an online essay contest. Join us for a chat about all things fiber and learn about the small mill where Kristen also processes roving and yarn for other shepherds. You can find Kristen’s work
Articles with the Tag sheep
13: Linda Doane, Shepherd of Shetlands
Linda Doane is a national treasure in the shepherding world. After sampling some imported Shetland fleeces, she decided she had to have a flock of her own. The problem? No one was raising this breed in the United States. Working with a Canadian partner, Linda and her husband Tut imported the first flock of Shetland
Our flock: a mixed bunch of different breeds
Over the years, we’ve kept different breeds in our flock, as our knowledge of sheep and wool has grown. Starting with a specialty breed, the Navajo-Churro, was fun and informative, but marketing the specialty wool was difficult. After a few years we explored Shetlands, and most recently got a couple of retired show sheep who
Getting started with sheep farming
When we bought our house in 2006, we knew the building was sound, but the land needed improvement. What to do about the ice-slalom of a driveway? How could we plant a vegetable garden if the front yard was full of pine trees that blocked out the sun? The idea of driving a tractor on
Fall Update, 2011 – A Lot to Look At
It’s been a busy fall season at the farm, and this is the fall update 2011. After taking most of the summer “off” (due to our decision not to breed last fall) we have been to a slew of fiber shows. The Tunbridge World’s Fair was a great success despite the impact of Hurricane Irene.
Winter into Spring – Time to Take Stock
With pouring rain outside as we go from winter into spring, it’s time for another farm update. After the fall shows and shearing were completed, we settled in for Winter. We had already decided not to breed this year, given the economy and a lack of interest in breeding stock, so there was no ram
Our First Lambs on the Farm Come with Lots of Lessons
After weeks of preparation, and what felt like eons of waiting, our first lamb arrived on March 31, 2010, in the wee small hours of the morning. We knew the lambs could be born anytime after March 25, but weren’t sure exactly when they would show up. Zinnia, one of our four “first-timers” delivered all
Spring Shearing 2010: Shearing the Pregnant Ewes
With lambing around the corner, its time for spring shearing and we had our shearer out last weekend. Spring is the most common time to shear, for several reasons. The sheep are less likely to suffer from overheating in summer, and for pregnant ewes its convenient to shear them before birth to keep the fleece
Lambing Preparations: Part 3
As lambing time draws ever closer, we feel good about the steps we have taken to get ready. Our shearing date is booked and the supplies are ordered. The last step is to construct lambing jugs. A “jug” is a small pen that you put the newborn lambs and ewe into for the first 48-72
Lambing Preparations: Part 2
In anticipation of our first yeaning (birthing season) I purchased some lambing supplies which arrived a few days ago. With an “unimproved” or heritage breed such as the Navajo-Churro, lambing should be easy with no assistance required from the shepherds. A good ewe will give birth on her own and clean and claim her lambs