Breeding season has started for the Soay Sheep at Past Thyme Farm.
We have five ewes and three rams which we separated in three breeding groups. In order to do this properly you must have the ability to separate them into three pastures, which must all have "predator secure" fencing, shelters and both frost free water buckets and feeding troughs. This utilizes a lot of area and on a five-acre rotational farm, requires some planning. Everything must be portable.
Remember we also have 2 Donks, 20 laying hens, 4 roosters and 3 turkeys that need all of the above also.
It’s taken some time to design and build-out our farm but every year we seem to take a couple steps further toward our dream of subsistence. I guess this is where I remind myself that Rome was not built in one day!
Back to the Soay’s . . . if everything goes as planned we should grow our flock by eight (4 ewes / 4 rams) come spring. Lambing should start at the end of April early May.