Community gets toMeet the Lambs
Hopland Research and Extension Center held its annual Meet the Lambs event Saturday, giving thepublic the chancetolearnmore about the sheep and lambs that live on the Extension Center land.
Sheep and lambs grazed on the land outside, while newborns were inside the barn area, getting to know their new surroundings. The public also got to see the dogs that are used on-site to protect the sheep and lambs. Coyotes are themain threat to the sheep, and the dogs stay with the sheep throughout the year to make sure they protect the sheep frompredators like coyotes and mountain lions.
After seeing the sheep and learning about them, kids also got to enjoy time working with sheep wool in the Rod Shippey Hall and learn about its different uses in making clothes, blankets and yarn.
The Hopland Research Center has three breeds of sheep: the Dorset, Montadale, and Targhee. The Hopland Research Center used to have mostly Targhee, although they now have more Dorset andMontadale because of the genetic characteristics of the two
breeds. The Research Center uses them to graze on different pastures to keep wildfire risks down and to manage the landscape around the site.
They also sell the wool they get from the sheep across the United States and study them.
While the Research Center in the past had hundreds of sheep, this year, they had around 125 in the summer after a sale in sheep following a reduction in funding from the University of California system. Over a hundred sheep have been born since lambing season started in November, and female sheep usually have one to three lambs with each birth.