SheepGirl's Journal - Photos of the sheep 4/25

[SheepGirl]

Thanks guys!

aggie, nope, he said he was a purebred Texel...he's actually an inch or two shorter than my 1/2 Montadale ewe but yeah he was telling me that he got Texels to cross on his Montadales because he wanted a "short, wide, low" (his words exactly ) animal.

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It's been busy, busy! We got the majority of the brush pile cleared and Hank is on 3/4 lb of grain, but it will be increased to 1 lb tomorrow...I've been doing 1/4 lb every other day. I'm debating on whether or not I should up it to 1.5 or 2 lbs. But anyway, I have the vet coming by today for health papers for my sheep because I'm taking my two lambs to be on display at The Great Frederick Fair in the Fiber Optics tent. (So if you're in the area, stop by ) I'm debating on whether or not to keep them there the entire time or drive them there and home every day (mainly because they are so small and portable, I don't want them stolen or messed with).

So, I think that's all my updates.

 

[SheepGirl]

Just kidding, forgot one thing

We had to put Tigger down on Monday. He was so weak and he didn't drink or eat for two days so we went to the emergency vet and put him down. It probably could've been fixed by upping his insulin, but the $90 bottle was supposed to last 10 months, but after 5 months it was pretty much gone, and his health issues cost us more than what the fence for my sheep cost and we couldn't afford to 'fix' him again so we just put him down. And his underlying illness that gave him a consistent fever that wouldn't go away with any of the four or five antibiotics we tried made him just skin and bones so there really wasn't much left to him.

Unfortunately I don't have any recent pictures of him but if I can find some other photos of him, I will upload them.

 

[neener92]

Beautiful texel ram! I really want a few texel ewes, they are such pretty sheep.

 

[autumnprairie]

Congrats on going to the fair for you. on Tiger I am sorry to hear that

 

[bluebirdsnfur]

I like Hank. He is quite the handsome dude. Really sorry to hear about Tigger. That's always tough...makin that decision. Hope you have fun showing off your lambies at the fair. If it was me and it's not too far of a drive, I would probably haul them home each night. Like you, I would be afraid of something happening to them.

 

[SheepGirl]

I'm back from the fair! I'm sooo exhausted. Those 9 straight 12 hr days at the fair being bored all the time really drains you out lol

Well I think I sold my entire lamb crop next year thanks to Katy Perry & Lady Gaga! I have one lady who was interested in buying 2 feeders and 2 breeder lambs from me next year, so we exchanged information and then there was another man who wanted to buy one or two lambs for his daughter so we also exchanged information. Both are new to sheep but they seemed to love asking me questions about raising them and feeding them out to butcher. Then I had a couple people offer to buy Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, including the pony ride guy in the midway I said no since it would've been half my ewe flock and I didn't want to rush around trying to find some ewes and waiting for them to be quarantined before I could breed them. He even said he would be willing to pay anything

I'm not gonna have any lambs left for myself

I also met Bridgemoof & Tim she fell in love with my babies hahaha

When I got home last night I put my lambs in Billy's old pen and they will stay there for a week or two, since they had to be evacuated to the sheep barn on Tuesday because of the storm that flooded out the Fiber-Optics tent. They had nose-to-nose contact with some market lambs so they're in quarantine.

butttt today my mom and I ran some errands and we came home and we started building a legit (but cheap) sheep shelter. It's 8x8 and only 4' tall, but it's just temporary (we're going to be building something bigger probably early next year). It might be used as a shelter for the ram if ever gets his own pasture in the future. We got three walls built and we started on the roof, but it got dark and we only have one extension cord long enough to go from our house out to the pasture and we needed a light and a drill to make holes in the wood so we could nail them easier so we quit for the night and I'm going to nail the roof on tomorrow and when my mom gets home we are going to put on the tar paper and shingles (we were going to get metal roofing but the stuff at the store was really flimsy and my mom didn't think it would hold up well in the snow). Most of the materials we used to build it are left over from building our two sheds so we only needed to buy five more 2x4s, two pieces of sheathing for the roof, one piece of plywood for the siding, and tar paper. Luckily it will be light enough that four or five of us can pick it up and move it if we need to, or even drag it with our truck or car.

I will get pictures when it's all done I still need to upload pics of my sheep shack, which no longer exists lol. As soon as we laid the roof on the top (we didn't secure it), my mom was like 'okay, your sheep have a roof so we can finally take down this awful sheep shack piece of crap'

eta: a rant and a fun fact.

first, fun fact: I got my scrapie tags in the mail I got them I think a couple days before fair started.

second, rant:
My grandfather is driving me crazy He is constantly telling me how to raise my sheep, saying I'm 'not a farmer' and he was a farmer, so he knows how to raise them (he only HELPED out at his uncle's farm as a kid...at most he was a farm hand...he never lived on a farm or even had his own livestock or crops). Heck, I've asked him what kind of sheep he raised and he didn't even know...if you don't know what kind of sheep you have then what the heck kind of farmer are you? ughhhh He tells me hay isn't food and it's just a filler and there's no nutrition in it. I then bring out my ASI Sheep Production Book and turn the nutrition chapter to the nutrient composition tables and show him that the only difference between timothy grass and timothy hay is % moisture and there is a slight difference in protein. And he tells me that book is full of $h!t. I also take out all my sheep books and everything and point out that hay is a perfectly good feed for livestock And he tells me that I need to feed grass clippings to Hank (umm no...I have him on a diet to get him to gain weight and I don't need grass clippings throwing off his protein and fat intake...plus that is a potential source for him to get listeriosis) and then he tells me I need to mow my pasture because the weeds will take over. And I'm like NO I don't want it mowed...my sheep will do that and they spend more time on the weedy half of the pasture anyway. Plus I don't want them grazing close to the ground because they'll get wormy. Even my mother said she doesn't want the field mowed. My neighbor mowed the pasture once a year in June or July, but even then the grass was cut to 7 or 8" tall. I even told him that and he was like "well he was neglecting them." And I'm like "the man's been raising sheep for 75 years...I think he knows how to manage a pasture better than you." So guess what he does? He freakin' mows the field while I'm away at the fair I can't tell you how mad I was. And to top it off, he used the setting on the lawn mower so it's as tall as our lawn grass, so it's only 3" tall which is wayyy too short for them to be grazing, especially since it is humid and wet outside, perfect conditions for worm infestations. And Ali has started to produce cowpie manure since him mowing the pasture (though she doesn't have a manure stain--yet--on her butt). I want to make him pay for deworming medication since all the stuff I have is 3-4 yrs expired but I would feel bad for my grandmother since they can't afford it. I'm half tempted to move them onto a dry lot and feed them hay just to make my grandfather mad. I also want to put a lock on the gate so he can't get in there and mow it in the future. I also wanted my grass tall so it is enough for the sheep to get by on in winter, but I'm not sure if it will grow enough in the next month for me to feel comfortable with. ohmygosh he makes me so mad. I can't wait until he leaves for the winter.

 

[Bridgemoof]

I DID fall in love with your babies! I would be more heartbroken than you if you sold them, lol. I can't believe you spent NINE days at the fair. Agh, with no internet access, how boring!


As for your grandpa, well, pffft. Don't listen to him, you are a GREAT farmer! And boy, I sure would be mad at him for mowing.

Glad you are back, we missed you on the board. Your shelter sounds great. You and your mom are something else! You gals sure do get a lot done.

I want to build a few shelters, too. So post pics when you can!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Is your Grandpa your mom's dad or your dad's dad? I'd have them talk to him, and tell him NOT to interfere with your sheep. I would absolutely put a lock on the gates! I'd be mad as heck if I were you. I'd have a serious talk with him (if your parents won't) and tell him to get is OWN sheep if he wants to be in charge of sheep. If he doesn't want to get his own, tell him to BUTT OUT of your sheep. You are the one responsible for them, paying for them, taking care of him, etc. It is not his business. If you want, give me his phone number and I'll tell him for ya.

What fair was it that lasted that long? I didn't know any fairs but the State Fair went that long!

Oh, and maybe you can sell some of my lambs for me next year. I should have 6 (hopefully) and I won't be keeping any unless I get a Southdown ewe that's really nice. I was thinking of taking some to the feeder lamb show/sale at MD Sheep & Wool.

 

[SheepGirl]

Bridgemoof - lol yeah it was soo boring. But I'm glad I'm home!

aggie - my grandfather is my mom's dad. My mom's parents live in one of those drivable RVs and they park it in our front yard and they stay here spring, summer, and fall. In winter they travel out West or down to Florida. And they live here for free. But my mom talked to him on Sunday morning during breakfast while I was out feeding the lambs and Hank. I don't know what she said but I hope he starts to mind his own business.

but the fair was the Great Frederick Fair, Sept 14-22. It was really like 8.5 days, but still

haha I would love to try But with that new clubby ram of yours, I think you'd have some nice lambs to take to the feeder sale!

 

[SheepGirl]

poor Ciqala is scared to death of their new shelter. She spent all day yesterday in the sun because 1) she didn't want to go near the shelter at all and 2) she's not smart enough to go sit under a tree. I can't even get her in there with grain! I'm flushing my ewes with about 1/2 lb of grain each...Ali comes right on in but Ciqala's like uh-uh noo wayy. And that girl loves her feed but she doesn't want to go near the shelter at all.