Grace & Grit Farmstead

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

A little sweet treat motivation for the sheep

10/02/2026

Sheep have no concept of personal space…..

09/30/2026

I am sharing this because I think it’s important as a responsible shepherdess to be transparent . I also think it’s important because no matter how experienced you are in raising sheep , there is always more to learn and experience . A few days ago I noticed our 6 month old ram lamb Puddin just not acting right . He was visibly swollen and down and not his usual happy self. I got him up and noticed he was having problems urinating . My first thought was urinary calculi or a bladder blockage. I knew this was an emergency and he had to go to the vet. My vet was able to see him and he had to have a few traumatic , invasive procedures because he did in fact have a bladder blockage . He is not completely out of the woods yet but he is doing much better today, His abdomen is not nearly as swollen as it was although due to the procedures his urinary tract is still swollen and inflamed . He had medication to dissolve the blockage and medicine to help with the pain . I’m sharing this because this can happen in intact rams . Not just wethers . Puddin is a young intact ram. It can happen in rams that do not get much grain . Our boys don’t get much grain and when they do , our feed has ammonium chloride in it to help prevent this from happening . They have been on hay and pasture grass. We did all the things and it still happened . So please know the signs and know your sheep’s normal behavior so that you know when things are not right . Here is a pic of our sweet boy the morning he wasn’t feeling well .

09/28/2026

Remember our tiny little 4 lb lamb Malibu (AKA Granny )? She’s the only lamb I kept this year from our batch but she’s doing great. She will stay on the smaller side but she is a cutie . She is an AP generation harlequin .

09/24/2026

A friend of mine made me a shirt representing the farmstead . I ❤️the way it came out .

farmstead

09/23/2026

Fun Fact :

Did you know miniature harlequin sheep and most sheep in general recognize familiar faces ? Sheep are capable of learning and remembering people and other sheep . So yes, go ahead and talk to those babies and read them some murder mysteries . They know who you are. They also have their favorites . I hadn’t seen mine in a few days and let me tell you quite a few came up to me to let me know they had some complaints while I was away .

09/22/2026

Happy Fall Y’all! The girls got to celebrate with their first pumpkin of the season 🎃. They really enjoy their pumpkins

09/22/2026

Today I want to showcase our Lily. Lily was our first harlequin lamb we ever purchased and the start of the farmstead . I just knew there was something special about her and the harlequin breed . We went from purchasing her to now having a herd of 19! The first picture is when we got her as a little lamb and the second picture is of her and her set of twin lambs from 2025. Lily is the definition of being a great sheep mom and it is her absolute favorite thing in the world . We had talked about retiring her this year but she’s been working hard to convince me to give her one more year to be a mom. She is the herd boss and everyone loves her . You will often see her with lots of lambs as she is back up sitter when the other moms need a short break. She is patient , she is kind and she is so gentle . She is never leaving this farmstead .

09/21/2026

Look at the beauty of the wool and staple length . Harlequin sheep are a dream for fiber artists . I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to learn to spin it and create some beautiful things .