For Bloganary today’s prompt for writing was “what does it mean to live boldly?” I think to live boldly means to be a participant in your life and not just a passenger on a journey to some unknown destination. A few years ago, I made the choice to live my life and not just go through life. In order to make this change in my life, I had to change my perspective of a day in my life. I had to stop focusing on my past and enjoy the moment I was currently living. I started taking time to enjoy the animals I raise. Pet the horses when I fed them their grain everyday. Take a minute or two each day to watch my lambs play, jump sideways and run. I started actively participating in what I was surrounded by each day, each moment.
Last year, I made a choice to boldly raise sheep. I had been watching the you tube channel of Sandi Brock from Canada. Sandi put up vlog or a video blog of her sheep farm and what she does every week. Watching the methods and how Sandi raises her sheep encouraged me to be bolder in my planning and raising my sheep.
In the area I live in, most sheep farmers keep the ram with the ewes year around. The weather does not get very severe, so ewe lamming anytime during the year is very possible. I decided I was only going to have the ram with the ewes for breeding and to have my ewes birth their lambs in a planned month or time schedule.
Along with having set lamming schedule, I started keeping better records. I recorded on a calendar when each ewe lambed and the sex of the lamb or lambs. In a notebook I recorded the ewe’s tag number and I tagged the lambs and wrote the information down. After a year, I learned I had ewes that did not have lambs. I started weighing my lambs at birth, at weaning and every two weeks to record how fast they were growing. I learned my lambs reach 55 to 60 pounds in eight weeks when I wean them. By weighing my lambs at weaning and every two weeks after, I can know which ones are ready for the sale and which are not.
My being more active in scheduling and recording the information, I learned which ewes grew fast growing lambs, which ewes produced twins and were good mothers. I was able to cull or sale ewes that were not very good mothers or milk producers or did not have lambs.
Instead of being a passive sheep farmer, I was becoming a bold active sheep farmer. I was directing of the production of lambs for market not watching and waiting. The more I participate in recording and scheduling, the more profit I have from raising sheep.
Take a look at your management of what you are wanting to make money doing. Are you passive or are you bold with your participation in your business?
Granny
Granny's Homestead 