08 Mar Thu 2012
Spring is in the Air
Winter lambing just finished here at Kyle Farms and it was a great season!
The ewe flock stayed out on pasture all winter, and barely had to deal with any snow! During regular winters we bring hay and grain (if needed) to the ewes daily starting in December, since even stockpiled grasses are covered by inches of snow. This year? barely any snow means the ewes haven't wanted extra feed, even on the days when we thought they needed it!
To make sure the non-lambing girls are looking their best during breeding for May/June lambs, we offer a specially formulated mix of haylage and corn silage to supplement the pasture during the winter. The fermented feeds are a bit more appetizing to them then dry hay, which helps get them to eat it even when theres lots of stockpiled winter grass for them. We're glad for the extra grass to help feed them, but winter dormant grass doesn't provide enough nutrition for our hard working ewes.
That said, with 50 degree weather here in upstate NY the past couple days, I'm thinking that spring is coming up quick.
Soon we'll be thinking about shearing and ultrasounding for pregnancy the ladies for our late spring lambing (we like to shear 3 weeks before the first ewes are due).
Before then of course we have lots of lamb sausage to sell locally and at the Rochester Public Market on Saturdays, and lots of baby lambs to watch grow fat and healthy!