We started our farming journey in January of 2015 with a small cattle herd on our very small farm. We’ve learned a lot along the way, but have much more to learn. After much searching, we we’re finally able to expand our land-thankfully it was adjacent to our existing farm setup. Then, in 2021, we expanded our operations to include sheep. We have not been the same since.
Every day, these amazing and fascinating creatures teach us about God, our Savior, His great love for us, His wonderful mercy and grace, and His people. We are so very much like sheep. He is so very much the Good Shepherd. We are trying to be good shepherds. This channel chronicles our journey to shepherdship. We hope you find what we share to be encouraging on your journey.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.”
Her shepherd was new and inexperienced. 😢 She got a bad case of foot rot and I tried to treat it without knowing enough about it. We ended up taking her to the vet and he was able to help but she ultimately lost her toes on that hoof. She has managed quite well since. I am designing a prosthetic foot for her. I hope it will work and I can show it in a video someday.
I can't say often enough how thrilled i am that you can call your sheep better than some people can call their dogs 🙂Nice to see that the sheep are having such a good time on the pastures and amazing how quickly they eat everything away there. Windy's new born lamb is such a cutie. I love how it starts complaining at 15:43 because it was scared by the sheep 😅
We can’t say how much we appreciate your watching and encouraging comments! Thank you for that. It is fun to call them. And yes, they can devour a paddock in no time (well 2-3 days). “Walker” (Windy’s lamb) is adorable. 🥰
Awe … Stella. She was sweet. ❤ I like Norman too. 🐑 So nice to see Duck. Thanks for always pointing Duck out. Congratulations on a new lamb. Well, it’s a boy. But, that’s alright. Can’t have all boys or all girls either. Thanks for sharing your sheep adventures.
We so appreciate you! You are so faithful to watch and interact and we also love your encouraging comments. Stella was sweet. I always thought she was kind of a “granny” type. I had always thought she might be the first one we would lose to old age but it turned out to be Cocoa. I miss them both. 🥰 Always glad to highlight Duck. She’s pretty much our mascot. Lol Norman is awesome. He is so gentle (except with Blitzen lol). You’re going to be surprised at the lamb situation in upcoming videos. In a good way. Take care! ♥️🐑
Oh that's a lot of water at the beginning. If it goes on like this you'll need water wings for your sheep 😅I think it's lovely that ducky is still so trusting and comes to say hello and great how they were looking forward to the pasture. glad to see cubby is doing well 🤗
The rains have let up some, but hopefully will continue when we need it. Ducky is so awesome. I love her so much. Cubby is a little miracle himself. ♥️🐑
I could watch your sheep for hours and hours; so calming. Nice to see the regulars. Guess Duck will always have his tilted head. He has such a nice disposition. And Cubby sure is growing. Love your barn briefings. May the breakouts be fewer and farther apart once the sheep are in the pasture. It’s like me walking past cake, or donuts; sometimes I find myself snitching when I shouldn’t. 😢 Thanks for sharing.
Lol, nice comparison! And valid, too! As I read your note, I was filling my plate with homemade blackberry cobbler and ice cream! 😃 Thanks for watching, as always! 🐑♥️
Haha, like kids on Christmas eve... They're going to mow that fresh grass like it's nobody's business! Cubby always seems solo and around you, I think he legitimately thinks your his mom.
I'm just about to let our girls out into our woods. I'm only going to give them about 100 square yards at a time and they've got 40 acres to chew through. 😃
@@stillwatersfarmtn To me it looked like they do good enough. Now Y'All might be able to get into it to at least start clearing some of the dead downfalls. Don't know how much time you have to spend on it,but you can at least start.
@tritchie6272, yep. Having them work out there the last couple of years has made a huge difference. Before, it was almost impassable in many places. I don’t have a lot of time but this makes it possible to be effective when I do.
Awe … Duck and Cubby. Hope they are good buds. The white stocking lamb sure is beautiful. Thanks for explaining about updating the fencing. Guess it’s hard to teach sheep that beggars can’t be choosers. 🐑 Love♥️ watching your sheep.
Lol, they’re a lot better than when we first started this journey 3 years ago. They used to get out all the time. They’re pretty well behaved now. They the routine. But the drought last summer/fall really put a strain on our resources and movement. But today they are happy sheep on green pastures! Those videos are coming soon. ♥️🐑
@@stillwatersfarmtn then your barn briefings with the sheep are helping. 😊 Those summer/fall droughts were nasty. Nevertheless, God will guide you through the rough times. I really enjoy getting to know your sheep and watching them all.
glad to see that cubby is doing well. also montana is such a cute (and loud) lamb. would also make a good cow with that markings 😅 i know in the videos we only see the nice things and see little of the probably sometimes very hard work. but whenever i see your videos i think, the office job was not my best idea. but i probably wouldn't get anything done most of the time anyway because i would be cuddling with the sheep and lambs all the time haha 🤣
Cubby is doing great! Montana is gorgeous! Yes, there is a lot I don’t get to show just because it’s not always easy to film while doing. I do try to show some of the more difficult and challenging aspects of shepherding a flock, but all in all it is mostly good stuff. I sure love them. ♥️🐑 Lol, ditto on the office job thought. I still have a day job but I do long for the day when I can be more present with them throughout the days. I could just lay in the pasture with them. 😂
@@stillwatersfarmtn you can see that & that they all love you to & I’m so glad cubby is doing so well because when I first saw him I thought he wasn’t going to survive bless him
@mj3026 I was very concerned for him. Mainly that he would either not ever be able to stand or end up with pneumonia from being down so much. But boy, he had fight in him. As a shepherd, you have to honor that and do everything you can to help him survive. And he’s doing great today. 🐑♥️
Awe … Cubby looks so cuddly, and is so adorable. I guess maybe just from the hard birth something could have triggered an issue? Cubby sure loves you and is depending on you for that motherly nurturing. And Ducky, he’s still adorable. ❤ 🐑♥️ Ducky can help Cubby. Thank you for sharing. I’m still keeping you and your family, in my prayers.
Nice to hear from you and to see that you are all doing well! I have been eagerly awaiting a new video! I think it's so amazing how you can just call the whole flock and they follow you. Your sheep feel really comfortable with you and i had so much fun at this moment! Also i am really glad that little cubby made it. He was soooo big for a lamb! It was so heartbreaking to see how he struggled. I hope everything is ok with him apart from his impairment? He is also holding his head very crooked and his posture looks very restricted. I hope he is not in pain the little one. Aaaaaand from minute 13:00 i am sure I can hear the little cubby calling out from the crowd all the time haha. I think cubby thinks you are his "mum" because you fed him so often with the bottle. when he was at your height, he became very calm. i think he was always calling for you all the time. Such a cutie! I wish him all the best because he is such a cutie <3 ps: i hope cubby had a lot of fun on the tracktor ride
Thank you so much! ♥️ I am sorry we have been so long getting another video out. We’ve just been so busy, but I have footage from February onward. More coming as soon as I can edit. Also, Cubby is doing GREAT! Yes, his head was bent back for a long time and still had a slight crook to it, but it is much better now. His shoulders are not level but he seems to be comfortable. He’s now staying with the flock in the pasture and is down to one 1/2 bottle per day. Thank you do much for staying with our channel! ♥️🐑♥️
@@stillwatersfarmtn don't worry about the frequency of when you post videos. You certainly have enough to do with so many awesome sheep and also your own family and those are all things that are more important. But of course i am happy when a new video comes out and i would say it was worth the wait. I wish you all the best 😊
Silly lambs in the hay. They sure love to explore, squeeze through tight spots and find what they want. So much rain. And running water is so powerful. If only there was a way to collect that water for rough dry seasons. But we know that God ❤will meet our needs tho. You’re doing an amazing job at managing your sheep during this challenging, wet winter. We can only guess what type of weather our winter will look like, and be prepared the best we can. Thank you for sharing your story with us. 🙏🏻♥️ Duck is still so lovely. 🐑♥️
There's water everywhere! 😯I hope it doesn't get any worse. But it's nice to see that the sheep enjoyed the little walk and the lambs have already grown so big! I hope you have a good start to spring and don't float away 😃
6:55 that little lamb is like "i don't care. i have my milk" 😅 Thank you for the upload and nice to see that you are enduring the cold winter and taking such good care of the sheep. I think it's uncomfortable for short hair sheep (is that the correct term in english?) in winter, depending on the temperature. But you even gave them heat lamps ☺
So nice to see Ducky. 😊 Gotta love ❤ the barn briefings. We had warm weather on those days, and I am further north than you. 😮 I heard sheep tend to eat more to stay warm in deep cold temps. Yes, we learn and move on from losses and mistakes. Thank you for an update. Miss you all, and your sheep. ♥️🐑♥️ God bless. 🙏🏻♥️
It's so funny how at first no sheep want to go in and as soon as the first one is in, they all want to go until there are so many that their bums are already peeking out of the hatch 🤣
That's Ducky in a Box!!! 🥰😃I am so glad that I found the video. Such a little cutie! Even if the little lambs would of course be better off with their mother, i think it's a great experience to be lucky enough to raise a bottle lamb and to shower it with love and attention. I am sure that ducky enjoyed her childhood very much and that you were a great replacement for her mother and she is certainly grateful that you were there for her when her mum unfortunately couldn't be. Also i'm a little jealous! I'm sure it's wonderful to have such a lovely little lamb around you 😅 I'm sorry that her sister didn't make it but i'm sure that she too will have their place in god's eternal kingdom. He will never forget and never betray his creation. Especially not such innocent creatures that had to "cover" our sins for so long before he sent us the son who brought us forgiveness and redemption too. "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine." (Psalm 50:10-12) 🙏
This looks so pretty and comfy with the sheep in the snow. I wish it would still snow where i live but the last real snow here was years ago. If you don't live in south-germany (towards bavaria for example), snow has become very, very rare here. When i was a kid, we could go sledging every winter. Now the kids don't even have sledges here anymore. I've got lucky for work-related reasons and used to live in bavaria for a few years back then and always loved all the snow there. It was also the first time in my life that I saw happy cows running around in the pastures. Before that, I only have seen cows that stood depressed in the pasture 🥲 Also i do love the fact that the little rascals also have heat lamps in their stable to keep them warm. 🤗 I particularly liked these two passages: 2:22 "Wait! Is that my bottle? Here comes the flash!" Totally cute! Almost inhales the bottle away 😅 13:49 "Hey what's that? Let me say hello too!" 😂 Anyway! Thank you for all the great videos. I look through some of them every day and am always very happy to see the lovely sheep and little lambs. I hope you continue to upload videos. because soon i'm sure i'll have seen them all ahaha 😆
It's so beautiful how the little lambs call for their mothers and try to sort themselves out until they find them. 7:04 So funny how the little lambs try to jump over the big sheep (and almost succeed!) 😂 9:26 Oh is that Ducky from the video from January 2023 ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m0EUWFrvG0U.html )? Has already become a big sheep! I hope Ducky is now taking better care of the electric fences. I also flinched at the zap in the old video and just thought "awww no cutie im sorry" when it zoomed away 😅🤗
Lol, yep that’s Ducky, all grown up! She got bad sick in June 2023. She’s ok now but her head tilts a little to the left, apparently permanently. She’s so sweet. And yes, she learned her lesson with the fence! 🥰
What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? (Matthew 18:12)
Every day, there is something from scripture they bring to mind. I often say they are like little scriptures running around the pasture. 🥰 They remind me much of what our Lord Jesus has taught us.
Oh that is a nice comparison. For me the sheep also remind me of our own position somehow. When we close our hearts to jesus and his message, then we lose our shepherd and we go astray and lose ourselves in the trivialities of the world. It was jesus himself, as it is written in the bible, who was filled with mercy when he saw us like this. Helpless and tired, like sheep without a shepherd. Sometimes i think we can learn a few things from the sheep. They are one of the most cheerful creatures and truly innocent. Full of trust in the ewe and the shepherd, the lambs live carefree into the day and spread so much joy and life. It's amazing how it was those woolly and wonderful creation of god that led me back to a path directly into the arms of jesus and his good message 🐑☺
18:50 This is so beautiful. I really wonder how you get your work done at all. I think I would have to stop every two metres to admire the little lambs and give them some cuddles.I follow many (sheep-)farms on RU-vid but what you show and how well the sheep, lambs (and also the donkeys ofc!) are doing makes me very happy. May god protect your family and all the animals you take care of.
Trying to see why you bottle feeding a lamb that obviously old enough to be weaned an already eating hay…About time to wean the lambs if they’re eating pellets.Enjoy your videos keep them coming
His mom died when he was 3-1/2 weeks old on Jan 1. Tomorrow, he will be 2 months old. While he “could be” weaned, it costs me next to nothing to carry him a little further. If his mom were alive, he would not be naturally weaned fully until 5-6 months of age (sometimes longer). The two bottles/day is inconsequential in terms of cost and effort and helps him thrive. The connection we have created as a result also compensates some for the emotional loss of his mom. As his “mom” now, he still has a surrogate mom to some degree. How much that helps cannot be measured or proven, but in the 10 years we have been raising livestock, I have become convinced they have emotional connections as well and perform better when those needs are met. And, perhaps as importantly as anything mentioned prior, I feel it is my duty to provide the best life I can for them while managing costs. I am their shepherd, not merely their owner. I truly appreciate your watching the channel and for your comments! ♥️🐑
Wow! You got more snow than we did all winter up here in my part of PA. We just don’t get those 30-40” total season snowfalls anymore. Norman is something else, at times. 😊 Tried looking for Duck, just couldn’t see clear enough. Yep, huddle down in tight quarters helps sheep keep warmer. Hoping you all and the sheep and donkeys are doing well. Thanks for sharing. 🐑❄️🐑♥️
I just found your channel. Love it! We have Katahdin sheep and are growing our flock. Our lambing is not til March and April. I name all of ours too. We only have 15 so far . So I have written down some of your names for spring. Thanks for the videos! God bless you all!
Please stay warm. Oh, sheep? The pastures will be back once the cold weather and snow ❄️ is gone. Till then, stay cozy in the barn and listen to your shepherd. That includes you too, Ducky. 😊 Your shepherd has experience and is a wise man.
