“Oh yeah, he definitely loves the sheep,” admits his father, Brian Centala.

Fynn is no different than any other child growing up on a family farm. He is being introduced to their way of life at an early age. Fynn got to watch shearing of the sheep take place in January, and again in April. He would rather have been running around the shearing room which is the former dairy cow milking parlor converted to meet a need for a different species. But, instead, he got to hang in the swing above the chute, or be held in his daddy’s arms, and watch the activity. The shearing room is heated, so while wearing winter clothing, it’s not a baa-d place to be.

On their Wilson Township farm bordering Hubbard Lake Road, is the pasture. Several people have

commented to me about how they enjoy seeing my son’s sheep in the field as they drive by. But, while the view is peaceful, behind the scenes there is a great deal of attention to nutrition, maintenance, health care, housing, fencing, and marketing.

Courtesy Photo Caryn Centala holds son Fynn Centala in the barn at Hit n' Miss Farms.

Hit n’ Miss Farms, owned and operated by Brian and Caryn Centala, has 160 breeding ewes, four rams, and around 200 lambs, with more coming.

This year’s second lambing season is winding down. The first lambing of 100 ewes was in late

March. At Hit n’ Miss Farms, “lambing seasons” are based on the ideal shipping dates for the best market price. Gestation of a sheep is five months. Ewes that ran as one flock during the summer months get divided into two flocks for the breeding season — those to lamb in February/March, and those for May/June. Rams are housed in a separate barn outside of breeding season and put with the first set of ewes in September — the second flock in December.

Because of an efficient gate system, as well as multiple watering pipes and feed bunks, the barn is adjusted according to needs: maternity areas for first-time lambers and a separate one for experienced ewes, a community pen, ram pens, and an area for lambs preparing for market.

Field fences are set up for rotational grazing. The eating habit of sheep is to graze, eating the forage to the ground. Parasites are at ground level. If a pasture is allowed to be overgrazed, sheep have a greater chance of ingesting parasites: round worms, barber pole worms, liver flukes, and lung worm. Rotational grazing allows sheep to be moved to fresh growth and helps break the parasite life cycle.

Courtesy Photo Shearer Matthew Potter, of Charlotte, shears the sheep at Hit n' Miss Farms, while Brian, Fynn, and Mike Centala are in the background, available to move sheep along. As one sheep finishes, the next is put in place to keep the process in motion.

As you look into the primarily Polypay/Targhee flock, you will notice that most of the sheep are white, and look alike, aside from the occasional black or spotted one. If it weren’t for painted numbers on ewes and lambs, as well as a precise tagging system and records, figuring out who is who would be nearly impossible.

Farm identification tags are mandatory in our country for tracking possible scrapies disease. Each farm is assigned an identification number by United States Department of Agriculture. In addition, each farm assigns a number to each lamb born on that farm for identifying purposes.

Tagging is a part of the routine when lambs are born. After a ewe lambs, giving birth to either a single, or a set of twins or triplets, the mother and babies move for a couple days into a small pen called a jug — where they get to know one another, including their scent.

Also, in the jug, before the ewe and babies graduate to the next stage of their life, they are

vaccinated, have their tails docked for health reasons in our climate, and males get one additional procedure; they are banded as part of the castration process.

Courtesy Photo Brian Centala and 16-month-old son Fynn spend time in the barn with the sheep.

From the jug, the family advances to a community area. Usually a lot of baaing takes place there, as mothers call their babies, and babies yell for mom. The P.D. Eastman story book, “Are You My Mother?” comes to my mind during this early part of a lamb’s life.

When a lamb gets separated, even by just a few feet, it gets confused trying to figure out which one of the udders is their momma’s. What keeps a momma from letting the wrong lamb nurse from her? Smell. Identifying the particular smell of one another is a process that takes place in the lamb jug.

Sheep grow well on pasture with the right mixture of forage. At Hit n’ Miss it’s timothy, orchard grass, meadow fescue, white clover, red clover and alfalfa.

During the winter, the flock eats hay that Brian grows, cuts, bales, and wraps during the previous summer.

Some grain with minerals that is mixed specifically for sheep to promote optimal growth through

Mary Kelley Centala

proper nutrition is fed as a creep feed to lambs. A creep feeder is a pen designed with a smaller entrance that prohibits adult sheep from entering. It also acts as a type of relief for nursing ewes raising growing babies.

When lambs are weaned, they graduate to a lamb-only pen. This takes place for older lambs in May, and in August/September for the second set. Select ewe lambs will be kept for replacement breeding stock. Castrated males, called wethers, and ewe lambs that won’t be retained, get shipped.

At this point, Hit n’ Miss Farms can’t accommodate local lamb sales. The decision to not offer local sales because of a lack of manpower is reinforced by the current market at the sale barn; a higher price is offered for lambs in the 80-pound weight range, verses the butcher weight of 120 pounds.