As a long time shepherd, my husband has loved everything sheep since he was a young boy. He started raising his own sheep when he was thirteen, owning a variety of breeds, and trying his hand at many different ventures to make a "farming" profit with them.
Always interested in trying new things, we milked our first sheep in 2013, mostly just for the fun of it! We experimented making our own, sheep milk yogurt and ice cream. Yum!
Over the next few years, we toyed with the idea of someday making some sheep milk soap as a sustainable small farming option. I began researching the soap making process and how to make a business out of it.
We did not own our own property at that point so having a soap business had to be put on hold. However, in 2019, we were provided with a ''fixer upper'' house. Though, it was still in the "fixing" process, we had the opportunity to start to build our business.
Over the years of not having the space for our business, I was able to do lots of researching and experimenting with the process of soapmaking. It was intriguing to myself and Stephen. We definitely have had a lot of ups and downs making our soap, but all in all it is very rewarding and fun to do together!
When we first began milking sheep, all we had were Katahdin/Dorper hair sheep. While they served us well enough to get started with our sheep milking and soap making, they aren't "milk sheep."
So, with our continued development, last year we bought two Finn Sheep ewe lambs, Holly and Ivy. Finn Sheep are well known for having several babies at once (usually between 2-4, though some Finns have had up to 9). They are also very milky, some giving up to .5 -1 gallon of milk. We love the disposition of our Finn ewes; they are very friendly. We are anxious to see how they do when we begin milking them this coming season!
We are excited to see what God has in store as Appalachian Shepherd grows!
Comentarios