Latest Posts
Ask the Shepherd~Livestock Guardian Dogs with Hannah Smith
Part II~Protecting Your Flock-LGDs In my first post about guard animals for livestock, we explored protecting your flock of sheep with the use of miniature donkeys. Today, I have asked Hannah Smith of Vinegar Ridge Farm to talk with us about LGDs or Livestock Guardian Dogs. I first met the Smith family at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival about 11 … Read More
Ask the Shepherd ~ Guardian Donkeys
Throughout the years, I have had many people ask me questions about guardian animals for their flock of sheep. Guardian donkeys make excellent guards against outside predators. Today, I have invited Jennifer King of the Sachem Farm in Connecticut to talk with us about her guard donkey, Georgia. Tell us a little about your farm and flock of sheep. I live … Read More
Playtime for Lambs
In the evenings, the lambs get playful. Yesterday, I had left the bucket I used to haul water sitting in the paddock. After filling the hay feeders, I went back to get the bucket and found the lambs having fun with it. Finally, the hens in the barnyard could not resist any longer. They had to come over … Read More
Vermont’s First Gotland Lambs
As I flew west to visit my daughter in college, a new lamb arrived to our farm. I knew the night before I left that the ewe would soon deliver. She had that motherly look in her eye. My husband and son played tag team to keep an eye on her all day. As my son left for baseball practice … Read More
Springtime in Vermont
Friends and family are the first to tell us that spring has arrived. They boast of warm sun, daffodils, blues skies, and buds on trees. We have to leave the farm to experience this kind of spring. For while spring has come in full force in other parts of the country, it stops and hesitates here on our Vermont farm. … Read More