No! Really! They are just fine!

Hey all! The Livermore Falls police stopped by this morning concerned that there was red on some of the sheep. I suppose I should have put this out yesterday as to warn everyone. Here comes a breeding season lesson for all of you!

We started breeding season about 3 weeks ago. In the past, I have tried to use a marking harness on Hank, our really big ram. He did not like it! But I needed to know when he had possibly bred the ewes. That's what a "mark" is. This year, I switched to raddle paste. It's a natural colored powder that I mix with mineral oil and slather the rams between the front legs. That way, when they mount a ewe, they leave a mark! I go out every morning and record who has a fresh mark so I know approximately when they will be due. The first three weeks, we used green raddle. This next three weeks will be red. The final three weeks will be blue.

So, if you see my sheep near the fence and they have green, red, or blue marks on them, do not worry! It just means we'll have lambs this winter!