Shearing Side Kick

The weather continues to get warmer! I think Spring is on the way. It's time for Side Kick to get a haircut. He'll be more comfortable in the summer if he doesn't have his winter coat on.

Side Kick has a very thick winter coat!

Almost all animals have winter coats. Cows, goats, dogs, and cats shed their winter coats without any help. If you brush them, that helps their coats shed, but they can shed it without your help.

Sheep can't shed their coats. They have a fleece. Llamas and Aplacas have a fleece, too.

Sheep need their winter coat to keep them warm in the winter. People like to use their winter coat to make clothing and rugs! I love wearing wool socks in the winter. I like wool blankets and sweaters to keep me warm.

Our shearer has a cement floor to work on.
It's easy for him and for the sheep.
He attaches his equipment to the milk stand.
Side Kick was the second sheep he sheared that night.
He sheared the neighbors sheep, too.

A good shearer doesn't hurt an animal. Most shearers to a great job, just like the person that cuts your hair. You can see in the video that Side Kick doesn't mind getting his fleece trimmed off.

Side Kick is all ready for summer.

It might get cold one or two more times this spring. Side Kick will be fine. He has a stomach that acts like a heater to keep him warm. As long as he has plenty of food and water he will stay warm. He also has a small house to sleep in. He and Teancum the goat sleep together and keep each other warm.

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Sadie is growing!

I thought you might like to see Sadie standing close to Echo so you can see how fast she is growing. She's a little over 3 months old. She's going to be bigger than her mom when she's an adult. Yay! We're so glad that Sadie is growing, and that she is strong and healthy.

She loves to follow me around the farm. She's almost like a puppy. It's pretty fun for me to have a calf that loves to follow me and see what I'm up to.

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Mishka is a silly puppy!
Do you see her favorite toy?
It's around her neck.

We've never had a dog that carries her toy around like Mishka does. She is a bundle of fun! She loves to play and run and go for walks. She is starting to herd the cows like the older dogs. Last night she herded Sadie right into her stall for me. What a smart puppy! We're so glad she belongs to us!

She can be sneaky, too.
She can climb in the window to get into the garage to eat the cat food.

People are smarter than dogs so we figured out a way to keep her out of the cat food.

We are getting a mud room on our farm!

When we come in from the barn we can leave our muddy boots and coats in the mud room so the house stays cleaner. That is going to be so nice!

One thing that we decided to do was have a stair that is hinged. Can you see the hinge on the 3rd step from the bottom?

I put the cat food under the stairs.
Our sneaky puppy can't get in and eat it, but the cats can!

Cat food isn't good for dogs. Cats usually need to have their food out all day so they can snack whenever they are hungry. Look at the first picture and you'll see the space between the wall and the stairs on the left side.

You can see the spot on the second picture where they can come in and out of the spot beneath the stairs. The cats seem to like it. I do, too!

Dogs usually need to be fed once or twice a day. They are more like people. They need meals, not snacks all day. Some dogs will eat and eat and eat if there is food. They don't know when to stop eating so they can get over weight or sick. That isn't healthy for them. They aren't smart enough to stay away from the cat food, either. We might have a sneaky puppy, but we found a sneaky place to hide the cat food from her. I think we found the perfect spot!

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather and have a great week!