It’s lambing season at Mike and Diane Schneider’s acreage near Adams.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002

It’s lambing season at Mike and Diane Schneider’s acreage near Adams.

Mike is the one who is in charge of the sheep. He has 35 ewes and 11 sets of twin lambs so far. He expects the 14 other ewes to each have a set of twins in the upcoming weeks. Schneider decided to raise lambs after they moved to their acreage 12 years ago as they have 13 acres of pasture.

"I didn’t know anything about raising sheep. I took a course on raising sheep through an agriculture school out of Pipestone and this helped me a lot," said Schneider.

While raising sheep is not for everyone, Schneider always liked being around animals as he grew up on a farm. He works full-time at Wilber Vaults and he wanted to raise small livestock that would keep the pasture grass down, yet not be hard to manage. He also wanted his three sons Tim 17, Curt 15 and Daniel 12 to have the experience of taking care of animals.

Schneider’s son Daniel takes the most interest in the sheep. He checks on them often to see if any have lambed or are close to lambing.

He helps his dad with detailing them and castrating the buck lambs. Lambs are detailed as this helps them put on weight quicker, as fat accumulates in their tails.

Detailing lambs also keeps them cleaner. Daniel will be showing sheep at the Mower County Fair this summer. Most of the lambs the Schneiders raise are Dorset but Daniel will be showing Suffolks at the fair.

"I bred two Suffolk ewes to have the lambs earlier than the Dorset ewes. The lambs we show have to be certain weight. I like to have all my lambing earlier than in March but my two older boys are in basketball and that takes up a lot of time, so I chose to have the lambs after basketball season," said Schneider.

Lambing season is an intense time. The sheep have to be checked on during the night. Sheep usually lamb in the early evening and it is vital for the a new born lamb to get the first milk, colostrum within a few hours after birth or they die. Schneider has been averaging four hours of sleep a night with constantly rising to check on his herd.

He has several heat lambs set up so the newborns can sit under them. The building he has the sheep in is well protected and out of the wind.

"This time of year is a lot of work. I spend my weekends running around getting hay as I can’t grow enough hay for the sheep on our acreage," said Schneider.

While Schneider says he isn’t an expert on raising sheep he has learned that nutrition is extremely important to having healthy lambs. Four weeks before the ewes’ lamb he feeds them corn every day and continues with

feeding them corn while they are nursing. He also has the sheep sheared

before lambing as this helps the new lambs find their momma’s milk bag

easier.

"It has been good for my boys to help take care of he animals. There are

always chores to do. If the water hose is frozen they have to haul water

from the house. I really enjoy the sheep. I get a good feeling when I come

home and see them on pasture, " said Schneider.

While Schneider says he isn’t an expert on raising sheep he has learned that nutrition is extremely important to having healthy lambs.

Four weeks before the ewes’ lamb he feeds them corn every day and continues with feeding them corn while they are nursing. He also has the sheep sheared before lambing as this helps the new lambs find their momma’s milk bag easier.

"It has been good for my boys to help take care of he animals. There are always chores to do. If the water hose is frozen they have to haul water from the house. I really enjoy the sheep. I get a good feeling when I come home and see them on pasture," said Schneider.