The Ladies

In the late summer of 2023 I was contacted by a lovely woman who, due to medical circumstances, was no longer able to safely care for her small flock of three Icelandic Sheep during the upcoming winter months. She had made the difficult decision to find them a new home where they would be cared for in the fashion they were used to and brought them to my farm to be rehomed in September of 2023.

Since then I have taken in a second group of sheep that were rescued in January of 2024 and a third group of rehomed sheep was brought in during December of 2024.

The Ladies were all hand raised and have continued to be utter gluttens for scritches and treats since their arrival. They can be nervous around loud noices and the more hyper-active guests so talking softly and moving slowly works best around them.

Every year in Nova Scotia you will hear on the news, far more often than I would like to see, stories of animals being seized and removed from terrible conditions.

Too often in our province (and it is by no means a problem unique to Nova Scotia) people with farm animals will gradually slip into a situation where they are no longer able to care adequately for them. Sometimes this is due to financial trouble, sometimes it is due to a change of schedule and lack of time, and in many cases it seems to be that the very well-intentioned owner is no longer up to the physical demands of caring for them.

They slip gradually into a cycle of being able to do less and less until the animals face horrific living conditions – and some of the news stories make for very uncomfortable reading.

But this isn’t about those types of people or animals in that situation. This is about a very kind-hearted and thoughtful woman who loves her animals dearly. A woman who recognized that an issue with her leg that required surgery, the recovery afterwards, and her current physical mobility meant she would not be able to care for the sheep in the way they deserved.

She made the very difficult decision to find them a new home and say goodbye to her babies at a time and place of her choosing. Although she knew she could care for them during good weather, winter would be too challenging.

Making a tough decision like that should be applauded and I’d give her an award if I could.

If you know anyone who is in a situation that makes animals difficult to care for properly, please be supportive and start the appropriate conversation as early as possible.

It’s often easier to see a problem that has developed over years when you are on the outside looking in rather than standing in the middle of it.

At the moment I primarily breed North Country Cheviot for lamb, The Ladies being here for farm tours and as such are largely used for their fleece.

For the health and comfort of the animals, every fiber sheep needs to be shorn at least once a year while breeds such as Icelandic Sheep are best shortn twice a year (spring and fall).

I do barter the wool each spring with interested local crafters and hobbiests. Typically each sheep will have a fleece substantial enough to half-fill a well packed 55lb feed bag.