First 8 Sheep

On January 9th, 2023 I borrowed a truck and trailer from my boss and went to pick up 8 Icelandic ewes from a producer by Cochrane, AB. This was an exciting day but also scary as I was solely responsible for these animals and I had never owned livestock before, only pets. As well, I lived in Blackfalds, which was half an hour away from the land were my sheep would live. This meant that once I left, I wouldn’t be able to check on them. I was very nervous, especially since the property where the sheep would be was right beside a major highway (Hwy 2). Regardless, I was excited to pick up the animals which would be the start to my own operation.

Original 8 Sheep in the trailer, heading home

I named this girl "Dolly” since she is a sweetheart, she likes rubs and cuddles.

This picture was taken right after I had unloaded the trailer and put out some hay. The girls adjusted easily.

Getting adjusted to their new home, I seemed to care more than they did as long as they had nice hay in front of them.

After unloading the girls and getting them settled, I nervously left to head home. For the next few days I would make the trek back often to check on them. After a while I became more confident and would go out just once a day to put out more feed and fill their water trough. Luckily for me, none escaped and they all lived happily within the pen I had fenced. This was our routine until the snow melted, at which time I began fencing again.

To be continued…