Livestock Edition: August 2026

Pictured: Rams in one of their rotational pastures 7/20/26.

Some sad news took us a bit off guard this past month, but on a brighter note, baby chicks have blessed us and breeding season is around the corner! Time to start planning breeding groups and welcome our newest addition to the flock.
Enjoy! Amy

Table of Contents:
~ Sad Day…
~ The Coop: Chicken Updates
~ The Barn: Sheep News
~ The Pasture: Hair Sheep Breeding Plan
~ The Market: Pricing & Wait List
~ The Funnies: Ranch Humor
~ The Blog: Upcoming Editions

Sad Day…

On Tuesday, July 21st, we had to put down our 16-year-old Border Collie/Aussie cross dog, Mollie. She was beginning to have a hard time getting around, but was unable to get up at all that day. With a 100-degree day on the horizon, we found it much kinder to just let her go. RIP old girl.

The Coop: Chicken Updates

We are down to two chicks, from that first hatching, that are quickly growing into what look like a very nice hen and rooster (Shane heard the red one crow a few days ago). So happy they are doing so well! No more coyote losses since we spooked away that skinny critter. I think a Cooper’s Hawk may be the latest chick depredation as we saw one flying around.

We’re starting to get about 7-10 eggs per day again, but with mom, Shane and I eating a total of 7 eggs each morning, not many are left over to sell! It takes a couple weeks just to get full cartons.

Just a few days ago Shane came in excited to tell me a hen and 14 babies showed up to eat scratch grains! Not wanting the massive losses, my daughter, Shane, and I caught 11 of them to put in the brooder. We left her with 3 to raise so she still has some. That same day we bought 3 Bielefelder Kennhuhn pullets from Tractor Supply to add to the mix as well. These chickens are a German breed created by mixing Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, Malines, Amrocks, and Wyandottes. There may or may not be 4 other chicks in this group that are secret hahaha. Chicken math is real!

Down in the barn I noticed a hen is sitting on a nest by my alfalfa bales. I know those chicks won’t be able to get out of there so when they hatch we may do the same thing: leave her with a few and take the rest to put in the brooder. At least it saves us from needing the incubator!

The Barn: Sheep News

Let’s welcome our newest addition to the flock, “Duke”. My teen daughter wanted to call him Dookie because he’s brown. I swear, some days hahaha!

We’re really looking forward to continuing the parasite-resistance and fast growth standard in the flock!

The Pasture: Hair Sheep Breeding Plan

Breeding season is upon us! Starting August 9th, the breeding groups will be sorted and sent out to pasture for 5 weeks. Lambs from these pairings will start around the first of January 2027.

Whether you are looking to add registered stock, percentage-upgraded ewes, or commercial hair sheep to your own flock, here is a complete look at our upcoming pairings and genetics.

Registered Katahdin ram, “Archie” KRK 22846 will have:

Registered Katahdin ewe, “Sugar” HLW 993 (white)
Registered Katahdin ewe, “Poppy” HLW 1001 (Red/White)
Registered Katahdin ewe, “Selene” HLW 1016 (White)
Recorded 66.25% Katahdin ewe, “Nutmeg” HLW 1014 (Red)
Recorded 50% Katahdin ewe, “Mouse” HLW 1009 (Brown/White)
Recorded 50% Katahdin ewe, “Sparrow” HLW 1010 (Red/White)
Recorded 50% Katahdin ewe, “Corvina” HLW 1012 (Black/White)

BRAND NEW Registered Katahdin ram, “Duke” KRK (currently waiting for his registration paperwork) will have:

Registered Katahdin ewe, “Rowan” HLW 1027 (Red/White)
Registered Katahdin ewe, “Serina” HLW 1029 (White, couple tan spots)
Recorded 75% Katahdin ewe, “Rusty” HLW 1025 (Red/White)
Recorded 75% Katahin ewe, “Ibis” HLW 1028 (White)
Recorded 62.5% Katahdin ewe, “Nymph” HLW 1026 (Red/White)

Registered St. Croix ram, “Sparks” Swecker RVR 2517 (white genetics) will have:

Registered St. Croix ewe, “Tiny” HHR 1003 (white genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Midea” HHR 119 (white genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Gillian” HHR 1012 (unexpressed color genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Starlet” HHR 1033 (unexpressed color genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Gita” HHR 1032 (unexpressed color genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Devany” HHR 1016 (loud color genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Melva” HHR 1020 (loud color genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe, “Duvessa” HHR 1026 (loud color genetics)

Registered St. Croix ram, “Akoyo” Summit 1230 (loud color genetics) will have:

Registered St. Croix ewe, “Kin” DMN Dominion 0104 (white genetics)

Keeper ewe lamb group (no rams):

Registered St. Croix ewe lamb, “Titania” HHR 1035 (white genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe lamb, “Iva” HHR 1036 (white genetics)
Registered St. Croix ewe lamb, “Betsy” HHR 1037 (white genetics)
Recorded 83.125% Katahdin ewe lamb, “Clove” HLW 1030 (Dark Red)
Recorded 75% Katahdin ewe lamb, “Paloma” HLW 1034 (White)
Recorded 64.0625% Katahdin ewe lamb, “Salty” HLW 1031 (White w/ tan spots)
Pending paperwork Katahdin ewe lamb, “Spookie” (Black/White)

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St. Croix Color Genetics Descriptions

Loud Color Genetics:
Sheep with these genetics show highly noticeable coloring, ranging from almost no white to mostly white with spots larger than a quarter.

Unexpressed Color Genetics:
Sheep that carry color genetics from a parent with loud color, but visually present as completely white themselves.

White Genetics:
Sheep with no colored spots larger than a quarter that visually appear pure white, with no history of color expression in their immediate lineage.

The Market: Pricing & Wait List

📋 Reserve Your Stock for Next Season!

Breeding stock goes quickly. Tap the links below to view pricing or secure your spot:

👉[Click Here for Our Hair Sheep Price List] (Prices subject to change)
👉[Click Here to Join Our Waiting List]

Available Categories Include:

Registered Stock: St. Croix & Katahdin

Commercial Breeding Stock: Crossbred High-Percentage Katahdin

Market Stock: Feeder Lambs

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Why I Price Commercial Breeding Stock the Way I Do?

Here’s my take on why a breeding stock commercial ram should be worth more than meat prices from our flock, or any flock that values data and phenotype.

In our flock, only the top 10% of ram lambs are ever eligible for breeding stock. They must have the top numbers for growth using the adjusted growth calculator AND possess the best conformation of all rams in their group. All other ram lambs are sold as meat lambs.

If the elite rams come from registered stock, they become eligible for registration. If they come out of commercial recorded Katahdin ewes, they will be sold as commercial rams.

Meat prices for 60–90lb lambs have been at least $3/lb for a while; this makes them worth $180–$270. Selling a breeding stock commercial ram for less than $300 is therefore selling him for meat prices after all the effort that’s been put into his breeding and genetics.

I see so many people selling commercial animals for $200 and all I can figure is they just want them gone—buyer beware. They likely don’t have any data to back them up, so buyers have no idea what they’re throwing in with their ewes.

If you are “just after meat lambs” and don’t care about anything but making lambs, here’s a thought: wouldn’t a data-driven ram with good numbers for growth give you more pounds of lamb in the long run rather than just lambs on the ground and hoping for the best? Wouldn’t a ram with superior parasite resistance allow for your ewes’ offspring to perform better on a pasture-managed environment, saving you money on dewormer and unthrifty lambs?

The Funnies: Ranch Humor

The Blog: Upcoming Editions

We’ll see you all again on September 1st for our next Livestock Edition, where we will discuss how breeding season is going!

Hope you enjoyed the Gardens & Nature posts that I’ve been doing separately from the Livestock Edition!

The next series of Gardens & Nature blog posts will be every Monday in August, as the world is alive with gardens and woods walks!

Here are the links to the July ones in case you’ve missed them:

As always, I deeply appreciate every like, follow, and subscribe. You can find our Social Media links below!

~ Thank You! ~