Blog

Twin Corriedale Ewe Lambs

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:22:00 -0500

This morning our first corriedale ewe lambs were born. Sired by MG 97 and out of a ewe that mothered one of our National sale entries last year. Another set of big lambs. Real excited from what we are seeing out of this sire so far. Spent most of the day jockeying sheep around and making barn space for the close ewes.

First Corriedale Lambs of the new year

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:11:00 -0500

This afternoon we finished putting the north wall on the building. Only two more walls and a roof until we finish. Later this afternoon we got our first set of corriedales this year. Twin Ram lambs. Sired by our Big home raised ram (MG 97). Both lambs are big. One is smart and the other one is little slow and dumb. A little snow has set in this evening and now we are just waiting for the blizzard to get here. Great timing too, Right when we get started with lambing a large group of ewes. Got a whole bunch that look close enough to lamb tonight. Penned up one that was real suspicious, She more than likely will lamb by morning. So, I better head back to the barn and make sure thing turn out alright. Already I'm lacking sleep and i got at least another two months of nightly barn checks.

Finally More Lambs

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:23:00 -0500

Lately i have been a little busy and fell behind on my blog entries. For the most part though there hasn't been much news to report. Most of last Tuesday was spent working on my websites and updating information and pictures on them. Wednesday, we installed seven new mineral feeders in our barns and spent the rest of the day pre-cutting building materials for the barn. Thursday, was spent putting up half of the south wall of the building. Then my good friend Dan Davis brought guitar hero over after it got dark and we played video games the remainder of the night. Friday we finished the south wall. It then started to rain/snow that evening. Yesterday morning we fed a few round bales to the ewes. I snapped a few photos of our first lamb and of our building progress and plan to post a few of them here soon. As soon as I work out a few technical difficulties i have been having with my computer. Last night i went to a bowling fundraiser in Rockford with a bunch of friends and got home quite late and went to the barn to check on the ewes. This morning we finally got another set of lambs. Twin montadale ewe lambs out of a ewe we call Lily. She was supplemented on the bottle as a lamb and would like to sit on your lap and take a nap so she became one of the rarities on the farm and acquired a name. These lambs are the first lambs on the ground sired by "Big Time" our new Montadale Stud Ram. Judging by his first set of lambs i think we have a lot to be excited about. Big, Tall, Long, Straight, and Pretty is what i see and they are only a day old. Later in the day we started putting steel on the north wall of the building and put in one of the windows in the north wall as well. Hope to finish that wall tomorrow. Well, I better head back to the barn for another late night check of the ewes. I don't believe i will be waiting another entire week to get my next set of lambs!

What a Beautiful Day

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:13:00 -0500

Today, was a fantastic day. Spent the entire day outdoors. Did my normal chore routine then worked on the building all day. Still just a few more boards till we have them all up! Fed the big group of ewes a bunch of round bales and did some more chores. Wish, some of our ewes were lambing today with the great weather. Probably, will get real crazy in a week to ten days and the temperatures will probably drop drastically by then. The first lamb we had on saturday couldn't be any happier he has been jumping and running all over his pen. Can't wait to get him someone to play with. Lets hope for some more great weather this week as well

Baby New Year

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:10:00 -0500

Yesterday Morning we had our first lamb of the new year. A montadale ram lamb out of one of my original White Birch ewes that i started my flock with. She has been one of my best montadale ewes i have ever had and she is by no means a big sheep. She actually is one of the smallest ewes i have. She surely can outproduce herself though cause she has raised one of the biggest ewes on our farm, as well as a ewe lamb i sold at the national in 05, and has had one of my few fall montadale lambs. I think I could have high hopes for this little lamb, He was born half as tall as his mother. Sired by M.U.S.D. 4-49(My RR Ram) and knowing that the White Birch ewe has had RR lambs in the past. If i were to guess this lamb is RR. I know he is only 2 days old now but i think he is going to get big. Yesterday we did shear a group of about 25 ewes and found out that a bunch of our young yearlings are coming along pretty well and will be lambing sooner than we think. Also got our last loads of rock and have the new building leveled off. Now, we are ready for the tin work and a couple of the last boards. Hopefully we will have it in use by Feb. 1st. Last night, I received good news from one of my customers from the 2007 National sale. He informed me that the ewe lamb he had got from me had her first set of twins that day. As for today, we took it a little easy for the day and I caught a little of the football playoff games and caught a small nap and went to the gym to play basketball with a friend before he heads back to school.

Counting Down to 2010

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:37:00 -0500

Another day gone, If the days keep flying by at the current rate we will be ringing in another new year before we know it. The way i see it, a change of pace is nowhere to be seen. The next 3 plus months will be spent almost entirely in the barn welcoming new lambs into the world. When not in the barn we will be putting the finishing touches on the new barn. April and May should most definitely slow down but i know we will still be lambing a little. Then May and June will be spent getting sheep ready for upcoming sheep sales. July and August will be spent at local sheep shows and state fairs. Then with a little luck will we spend the next 2 months fall lambing before heading to Louisville in November. There also is so many other things i have failed to mention like Fieldwork, Hay making, Harvest, and much more to add in along the way. Maybe, next December i will get a chance to relax, or just maybe we will decide to build another building in the middle of winter. Which i might add is not a brilliant idea as i am currently learning. However, i think i have become imune to the cold. I no longer seem to notice it and i know it surely hasn't been much warmer. As for today we almost got enough rock in the base of the building to get it leveled off. A few more loads tomorrow and that should be done. Plus, if all goes well we plan to shear at least 20 expecting ewes tomorrow as well. Lets Hope i don't Blink and miss all of 2009

Gann Farms New Blog

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:00:00 -0500

First of all, Happy New Year to all. To start the new year I decided to start a blog to keep all my friends, family, and interested sheep producers informed on the happenings at our family farm. The new year brings a newfound hope and excitement of the things to come. Especially the anticipation of a new lamb crop that is due to get kick started at any moment. With, nearly 160 ewes due to lamb in the coming months there is plenty to do around here in order to be ready. Not to mention, that we are currently in the middle of building a brand new 40x72 building to help house all of our ewes and lambs. With a little luck we may get that feat accomplished in a couple weeks. We do already have lambs on the ground this fall we got 23 lambs (22 purebreed Corriedale lambs and one Crossbred wether) We are real excited about this group of fall lambs and are hoping to offer a fine set of ram and ewe lambs for sale at the farm and at sheep sales during the spring and summer months. Today, we spent much of the day filling the new barn with rock and gravel, a few more loads of gravel tomorrow and then we should be ready for the tin work. Time to sign off on my very first blog entry. Remember to check back and keep up with the Gann Clan