Ewes, rams, lambs and wethers. Lovely ducks and beautiful chickens.
Photo Credit: Peter Hellberg
Our Sheep
Who knew how much I would love these amazingly lovely sheep! In 2012, we found ourselves the owners of 17 not-so-healthy ewes, two rams and a wether. We worked hard to get them back to good health—and they became a robust crew! Lambing in our first year was amazing: mostly twins and triplets. Life and death...the incredible reality of nature and life cycles.
I cared deeply for our herd. They were carefully watched; well-loved, fed and tended. Frankly, I spent tons of time with them. I knew them—their names, when they were born, who their brothers and sisters are. (Old note: “We currently have six sheep in the barn: 2 rams, a wether, 3 ewes. Because they were heroes of personality, I want to note the original crew of winter 2013: Clover, Charles, Ceclia, Mary, Gray, Mary's Momma, Fro, 007 and Lamb. They were mixes of Dorpers, Dorsets, Tunis, Texel and Suffuck.”
Photo Credit: Mitya Ku
Our Chickens
We started raising chickens in 2008. Just 10—the usual Bard Rocks, Buff Orpington's and Rhode Island Reds. Totally fell in love! I recall walking the property with chicks tucked under "my wings"—chickens on my lap at sunset. At Stowell Farm, we had between 15 and 50 of many varieties. They free-ranged (behind the sheep) and lived in a lovely, brand-new coop (third we'd built and maybe perfected).
Photo Credit: dimnikolov
The Ducks
Anconas are a rare breed. We were eager the help re-vitalize the breed and determined to succeed in keeping them happy and alive—and a vibrant part of the farm. We re-built two coops and re-fenced the property to keep them safe from predators. When we left, we had only two Sweedish Blues, a Pekin and two Rouens.
Ducks have fabulous and fun personalities. The eggs are fantastic.
Daisy (an Ancona) was a favorite (pictured left).
