Aerial View of Stark Hollow Farm

Vanessa uses the Vermont GIS system to calculate pasture sizes each summer. These screen shots taken from a similar source, show the fields and the results of pasture rotation and management on the fields at HOWL. These shots are from August of 2011 and based on the shadow, were taken early in the day.


This shot shows the sheep's movement. The brown area is the most recently grazed. The white dots just above the brown area are the sheep on their second day in a new paddock. They are rotated every 72 hours. The large white dot above the trees is the hay stack we built after mowing and hand raking the top half of the Sundance Pasture. (see this posting for a information on building a haystack: Building a Hay Stack! To keep the grasses healthy and from going to seed (losing nutritional value), we do some limited and strategic mowing ahead of the sheep.


This shot shows the road coming in and the HOWL and farm structures. The line with the round structure further down the road is part of the ceremonial structures of Kunsi Keya Tamakoce, our neighbors. From this bird's eye view you can see the Labyrinth Pasture (lower right), the Pond Pasture, the Upper Meadow Pasture and the Sundance Pasture. These are the names that Stark Hollow Farm uses to identify the fields at HOWL.


This aerial view of the main pastures gives a better overall picture of the fields in their various states of grazing. Proper planning allows for intensive rotational grazing which provides better management of the fields and the animal's health. By understanding the size of the paddocks required for the number of sheep we are grazing, the number of days for each rotation and the rest period, we can really plan the exact movement of the animals through out the summer and into fall.

Stay tuned for dates of our Fencing Systems for Rotational Grazing workshop.

Getting Ready for Lambing

We are busy here at Stark Hollow Farm in Vermont getting ready for the 2012 lambing season, which officially starts this week with Vanessa on vigil, checking on expectant ewes every few hours. It is an exciting time, but one that requires preparation and vigilance. Each ewe's date of servicing has been carefully tracked so that we know within a day or two when she will deliver. Our goal is to be present for each birth and assist if necessary.

One side of the new modular lambing facility is completed, filled with straw and ready to go. There will be several lambing "jugs", small pens for mama to lamb out and then tend to her newborns undisturbed. This allows the mama ewe to properly bond with her new lambs, particularly important for first time mothers and especially with so many ewes ready to deliver. A ewe may "steal" another mother's lamb if she is so close to lambing that her hormones confuse her. When this happens, her actual lambs struggle to compete for milk and may miss out on the all important colostrum. Definitely a situation to be avoided if possible.





Vanessa has put together a detailed and well stocked lambing "kit". The lambing kit is important for quick and efficient birthing assistance and to provide all the proper care for the new born lambs. It contains such items as soft clean rags, lubricant, iodine with navel cup for sterilizing umbilical cords, stomach tube in case intubation is necessary, lambing ropes, milk bottles and nipples, and various other items that might be needed to manage the birthing process.



The first few ewes to lamb will be relieved of some of their colostrum and milk to save for lambs who have difficulty. The colostrum contains the very important vitamins, nutrients and antibodies necessary for the lamb's health and survival. Proper preparation, vigilance and a shepherd's can greatly reduced mortality among new born lambs and reduce the risk of complications in both the lamb and the mother during the days following.

Soon, hopefully, we'll be watching 35 or so of these little guys frolicking in the paddock just waiting to get out on the summer pastures!

Chicks 2012

A new flock of chicks is feathering out nicely in the large brooder Vanessa built. They are cozy under the heat lamp up in the loft with the thumping of the rabbits to keep them company. These are layers, with the first eggs expected in July.

As usual we purchased a variety,including some rare breeds, in support of genetic conservation programs tracked by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (you will also find our Tamworth Pigs, a threatened breed, listed here).

There are Plymouth Barred Rock (recovering breed), Partridge Rock (recovering breed), Dominique (on watch breed), Buff Orpingtons (recovering), Speckled Sussex(threatened breed), New Hampshires (on watch breed), Black Australorp (recovering breed).

Stark Hollow Farm Icelandic Sheep Featured in Recently Published Book

Stark Hollow Farm is featured in Textiles & Textile Production in Europe from Prehistory to 400AD, a recently published book by editors Margarita Gleba & Ulla Mannering. Margarita is an archeologist who specializes in ancient textiles and used a photo of our Icelandic sheep as an example of an ancient breed in her most recently published work. She lectures internationally and will be using samples of our wool and photos of our sheep on her lecture tours.

We visited with Margarita in London last summer in the lab at University College of London. We got to look at the enhanced images via electron microscope of ancient sheep fibers from digs in parts of Western Europe. It has been exciting to speak with her about the Icelandic breed and the wonderful fibers that these animals produce. We hope she will visit the farm soon on one of her lecture tours in the U.S.



More info on the book is available here: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/91563//Location/DBBC

Winter - A Time for Planning & Building

Winter is a time of building, repairing, and preparing. The chores become simplified: feed, water, clean bedding. The real work happens on the drafting table, in the workshop and in budgeting and planning.

A brooder for the 25 chicks that arrive this week is underway. Wood products have been sourced for that and additional panels for the sheep shelter, which will be used for lambing jugs, as well as a new shelter for the six Tamworth piglets that arrive in March. Lambing season starts March 15th and we expect approximately 35-40 lambs. Planning for the processing, packaging and marketing of rabbits will begin soon.

As the days get longer and the new season is born out of the dark of winter, life will abound on the farm. But right now, the earth still sleeps, the sheep bleat and we stay cozy warm by the fire.

Modular Portable Livestock Shelter

Vanessa's custom designed livestock shelters are modular and may be taken apart and moved. No tools required! Panels maybe be added or removed to accommodate smaller or larger quantities of animals. The roof system utilizes a durable panel system that will stand up to the winds and snow loads we get here in the north east. The hemlock boards were sourced from a local mill the next town over. The whole system is designed to have a removable floor and can be compartmentalized inside with simple gate style panels to create smaller pens.



We use this shelter for overwintering of our flock of 25 Icelandic sheep. In the spring, several panels will be added to extend the shelter to accommodate lambing jugs. Ewes will spend approximately 2-3 days bonding with and caring for their lambs after birth before they are turned back out on pasture to make way for the ewe mom.



To find out more about this system, including pricing and delivery options, contact Stark Hollow Farm. See more photos about our simple, sustainable structures by going to our website at www.starkhollowfarm.com

Custom-Made Rabbit Hutches Make for Sweet Living

Vanessa's meticulously designed rabbit hutches make for some sweet living for bunnies at Stark Hollow Farm. Our forage-based meat rabbits are raised in Vermont on pasture three seasons, but during winter months they have a cozy set up in the barn loft with a view of the snow covered fields of Camel's Hump.

These modular rabbit pens provide for easy access for feeding, watering, and cleaning and they offer protection from winter drafts and wetness. The modular hutch-mobile attaches to either a cage, normally used in winter, or to a run for three season foraging. This allows for maximum flexibility in the structure's use from season to season and including breeding.

The trays shown below the cages are for cleaning. Rabbit poop makes great compost. The creative homesteader finds many uses on her farm for items which might normally be thrown away. An old dog bowl makes a great rabbit pellet feeder and an old nursery tray is modified to make a hay feeder.

Inquire about purchasing your own live rabbit(s) with one of our custom-made rabbit hutch-mobiles! These rabbits can also make great pets.