The UC Hopland Research & Extension Center owns the only University of California range sheep flock which consists of about 650 adult ewes of the Western Targhee breed. This breed is medium-sized in stature making them very suitable for grazing the steep North Coast terrain as typically found at HREC.
Typically the ewes are "flushed" during late summer ... that is they are placed on a higher protein level of feed ... to trick the bodies into "believing" that it is a good forage year and the body is ready for multiple births instead of singles. This all has to do with hormone balances triggered by the high protein level of feed. The flushing is carried out by placing the ewes onto pastures with high amounts of residual subterranean clover, or by supplementing the range feed with alfalfa pellets.
This management procedure prepares the ewes for the breeding period which typically takes place in August, as you see here.
