Felted Fence

We know it’s spring on Walking Water Ranch by the annual felting of the fence.

With the exception of a couple of cross breed ewes, our flock is made up of Katahdin Sheep.  Joe and I researched extensively before we chose this breed.  They are particularly suited to our area and terrain.

In the winter they grow a thick fleece that amply protects them from our sub zero temperatures and blasting winds.  These resilient animals will even lamb outside in twenty below conditions.  I know personally as they usually choose to lamb at 2 AM and I have often been roused from my cozy warm bed to assist birthing in the freezing night.

Now lambing is over and winter is over.  With the coming of spring all our fuzzy sheep seem to suddenly have lost 10 lbs as they start to shed their winter wool.  At first it looks as if some dreadful disease has struck the entire flock, then they look like deranged poodles.  As they rub and scratch on any and every available surface they are finally left with a small patch of wool over their shoulders that resembles the ratty old stole that crazy Aunt Milly insists on wearing.

For the entire summer our sheep look more like goats than the fluff balls we all think of as sheep.  In fact, my mother keeps referring to themas goats and when I correct her she calls them elephants instead.  Without their thick wool our sheep are more than able to handle our hot summers without stopping to seek out the shade as their woolly counterparts.

By the end of this process of shedding all the fencing around the sheep’s paddock is covered with a thick layer of felt.