The Objective: To farm in the most wild natural way. In the fall, we round-up again and bring all the ram-lambs and runt-ewes in off the island for butchering.
These sheep thrive on kelp and other sea weeds washed up by winter storms, spruce buds and dried grass, drink from natural springs and in the warmer months,enjoy lush grass, predator free. In spring, we visit as often as possible to keep an eye out for lambing which ideally takes place during May and June. Always, but at this time especially, there are absolutely no dogs welcome on the Island, and
any visitors are encouraged to watch sheep from a safe distance. Mid summer is the first round-up of the year during which (IF) we are successful herding the sheep into the pens we shear the adults (leaving them enough time to grow a nice thick coat back by winter) castrate any ram-lambs, and dock the tails off the ewe-lambs (this is for easy reproduction later on as well as being able to tell the gender of the lamb from a distance). We leave the healthy animals out to weather the winter. These sheep are smart, and if it happens that we miss a ewe or two, we don't waste our time attempting to pen them. The fleeces will be no good next year of not shorn this year, but it is a small price to pay when the other option is returning another day to try it all again with a fresh group of volunteers. If any ram-lambs are missed during either round-up attemps, extra effort is made to get back out to the Island and try again, for the safety of the ewe's breeding times. It's natural for 1-3 old ewe's to die on the Island per year, they often end up finding a peaceful, remote location for their final resting place and while it tends to be emotional for us humans, the sheep are the healthiest, hardiest of any we've met. As close to Christmas as possible (for gestation timing) we take a ram out and drop him off. Merry Christmas Ladies (and Ram). The feeling of rounding up the sheep is amazing. Working together with a group of people in a physically and mentally demanding way to achieve a common goal, the feeling of hunting as a pack almost, is just powerful. Every round-up we rely on volunteers to help, facilitated throughout the years by Ron Wentzel, passed on to his son Kurt of Wooly Mountain Farm and eventually on to Kurt's son Jake Wentzel, the current Caretaker. We are accountable to the sheep and responsible for their overall safety and for making decisions based on our knowledge of animal husbandry. There may be years that shearing isn't possible, and may be times that taking a ram out isn't in the what the flock needs, either based on numbers management or events in our personal lives that make it impractical. We appreciate that the concerned public respects our judgement in these matters, with confidence in our tending of the lovely strong ewes that are cared for regardless. Please feel free to email any questions you may have, or stories you have to tell about the Island so that they can be posted for others to read. Thank You, Jake and Melissa and Perin Wentzel
