# Ohiogoatgirl's Escapades & Adventures- Pulse check! pg14



## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 17, 2015)

Tomorrow I am going to pick out and bring home my first sheep! 
To see my pre-sheep question rambling see this thread: http://www.backyardherds.com/thread...-breed-size-and-choosing-ram-questions.32030/

But to reiterate here is a not-so-quick overview of the current situation:
* I am a spinner and basically hobby of collecting hobbies  Long time farm girl and plenty of years of animal experience.

* A woman in the spinners and weavers guild I am in is starting to slowly sell off her flock, which was as I recall nearly 200 head this spring with lambs, and she now has still above 100 head. she has been raising sheep for 30+ years and her flock is a hodgepodge mix of heritage breeds. a lot of Icelandic, plenty of Jacob and Shetland, and a sprinkle of tunis and a couple others from years ago breedings, and a few random mixed sheep of other breeds.

* I have a pasture that is about an acre-ish size. a handful of years ago it was a garden. dad decided to mow the whole thing down after a year fallow (and grown over my head of grass and weeds) and to fence it in with fence and posts from the old smaller goat pen from several years ago. this will now be my pasture. it has been untouched other than a couple mowings in some areas over the last four years. I will be re-taking it and hope to enlist a couple wether goats to help later on. we will be putting in some new fence down the middle of this with a gate to switch them back and forth the two paddocks. their shed will be along the fence line and in such a way as to get to it from both paddocks.

* there is a creek through the yard but not in the current pasture area. and it is fed by a few small springs and sometimes goes dry depending on the weather that year. right now it is dry. workin on a pipe from a spring uphill into the pasture but at first I will be hauling out water for a while until that is done.

* the sheep are being wormed by the woman. when I pick em up they will come home and go into a section of the barn, penned up, to hopefully poop out the most of the worm load they may have before getting to the pasture. this should also give me a good chance to sit in with them and try to get them used to me.
I will be buying 4 or 5. probably yearling+ age ewes and they could be bred and due to lamb around end of February. depending on what I like when I get there I may come home with three or with five. haha. she has a lot and will just be bringing in a big lot of them into her barn for me to look over. so if I just buy three tomorrow I will go back out another time when she has a day to wrangle up some others for me to look over.

* My main interest is wool, closely followed by meat as side interest and I will probably dabble with milking later on. I have many years experience hand milking goats and a few of them with tiny bitty teats and I have the milking equipment. but I need to fix up, add on to, and reorganize that barn plus buy some new milk pails and build a good sturdy stand before that happens.
I will probably do the wool processing myself but when the flock grows I will probably send what I know I cant do all of it to a mill for rovings.
Meat, well the lamb I had at MD sheep & wool festival was really awesome and I would love to have more  but I also don't want to eat craploads of it constantly. so will probably keep a couple wethers or something to fatten up for home use and sell the other wethers. I am trying to feel out the fiber pet market and meat lamb market here that I could fit into. so at first we may eat more lamb and mutton maybe hahaha.

* I haven't fully decided which way I will go with breeding. I will be taking a lot of notes tomorrow at the womans farm. there are some other flocks near-ish me that I want to go visit and see if I like their sheep.
I may keep back a ram lamb with the wethers from any lambs I get from older ewes I buy. I may save up and finagle so I can buy a registered superfine Shetland ram from a guy that has some awesome wool in the spinners guild. I may come across a really lovely ram lamb at the sale or a nice looking ram in an ad locally.
I will definitely be making a list of things I want in a ram and traits I find in the ewes that are less desirable so when I am looking I can make sure to pick a ram that doesn't have those traits too.

* I am very excited that any of age ewes I buy are likely bred! I had been thinking that I would breed to aim for april/may lambing but in getting some feedback in my other thread here some people noted their early lambs do great and their later lambs are kinda sucky. since the ewes if bred will lamb around late February I will see how things go with them. I just cant help but remember all the years with my family's milk goats kidding in February and all the running in and out checking, all the kidding during a big snowstorm, all the bottle feeding kids from 4 days old onward in single digit temps and through waist deep snow, and milking in the dark at 8AM and PM..... I don't want to do that! haha!

ok I think I am done rambling for now!  hahaha. I am so excited to go tomorrow! Woohoo! I will try to get lots of pics!


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## Latestarter (Oct 17, 2015)

Congrats! Seems to me like you are pleasantly overwhelmed  Sounds like you know what you want and are moving in that direction! Good for you! Pics when you can please


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 3, 2015)

Been really busy! there are some pics on the other thread (linked to in original post). now that I have my laptop back I hope to get a lot of pics of the shed and paddocks.

** I divided the original area down the middle. its not even on both sides but good enough. when I move the sheep to the other paddock we have it set up so I move a small section of fence and they still have full access to the shed. pretty awesome idea that dad came up with.

** the first paddock is pretty well eaten down now. and now that the sheep are sheared I feel better about moving them to the other paddock because it is seriously overgrown. honestly I wish I was able to brush-hog it. 

** the white lamb turned out to be a ram. because I didn't listen to my own advice with the excitement of picking em up and didn't check the genders myself. plus in full fleece you couldn't see his jewels hanging! haha!
after thinking it over a lot I decided I will take him to the auction. the flock I bought them from is too closely related. at best he has the same sire as both ewes. and most likely they are all more related than that too. 
pity because I love his fleece. but he is too old to band and I cant afford to pay someone to snip him. and his fleece isn't amazing enough to keep him just as a wether for wool with such a small flock right now.

** keeping an eye on the local ads and B/S/T groups I spotted a post someone who has two ram lambs that's only a half hour drive from me. one is a Jacob/dorper and one is a mutt (known breeds include corridale and tunis). I am interested in the mixed wool ram. I am waiting to hear back from the person but she said he thinks he weighs about 85#. from the picture he looks pretty good. so I am excited to find out when I can go out and get a look at him, and if he looks good bring him home. 
he will be quarantined and wormed in the barn away from the paddocks if I buy him. 

** ???? If I buy him how long should I keep him quarantined? ???? 
mainly I am worried that i'll take the white ram lamb I have now to auction and leaving the two ewes they will be panicking for a while. then i'll need to be able to sit out and watch them when I introduce him to them. 

** since this ram lamb is old enough the ewes could be bred to him. I am half hoping he did so I can have lambs sooner... And half hoping he didn't because of possible health problems and them being so closely related anyhow. That way the new ram could hopefully be raring to go and i'll have some idea of a date to go from for possible lambing.

** I am watching the local ads still for ewes. I think in the spring I will buy some more ewes from the same flock I got my current ewes. but I am learning what I do and don't like about them/their traits/things I want to breed for. 
I am mulling over if I want to try a couple hair ewes if I come across any. for meat lambs. I think I would only do it if they had really good build. one of my biggest cons I have with the current ewes is they are very small and not built for meaty frame at all. hoping that my breeding from them will improve build and still good fleeces. 
if nothing else will have great fleece ewes and great meat ewes in my flock and just go that way with it.

** I am trying to compile a list of TO-DO's and an outline of priority for the big pasture. it is about 5 acres. needs a whole lot of work. once I get that done I can at least get things together to work on a third paddock and recruit some help to get that done.

** I am making a list of things I want to plant in the paddocks behind the sheep. I wont be able to get started with this until at least spring of course. 
any suggestions very welcome!


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## norseofcourse (Dec 4, 2015)

Sounds like things are busy but fun!  Since your ewes will still have each other, they may not worry all that much if you remove the ram.  Has he been chasing them or acting studly?  If not, they may already be bred - didn't you say they might be?
Not sure how long to quarantine a new ram, I did mine for a few months, but that was only because I didn't want to put him with the ewes too early and have February lambs.
I'm still clearing out pasture and need to subdivide it more, too.  I still have one fenceline that is crooked, because it was run where it was easier to hack my way through the brush.  It's going to take awhile to clear where it needs to go.  I have been thinking of things to plant for the sheep also - so far maybe stuff like turnips, radishes, lambs-quarters.  Haven't studied too much on that yet.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 3, 2016)

sorry for the long wait! 

** the ram lamb went to the auction. price I got wasn't terrible.

** I am beginning to worry over the ewes. I have been checking their udders for any development about once a week now. since they could be due early as february and now it is february. 
Pigpig is a 3y/o and has lambed before. you can see her dried up udder but it's clear that nothing was going on.
Midget was born feb-march 2015 so she will just barely be a year old now. and her name is midget for good reason, she is a wee little thing.
Last week udder check I was thinking ehhh feels a pinch different but not really. and determined that i would just have to wait another week and see if things seemed normal again or what.
Today I checked em again. 
I think I am feeling a bit of udder development!!!!
Pigpig I am not too worried about. she has lambed before at least once and she is fair size and health. but she is not fat enough to be carrying much in there so I am a pinch worried about her turning into a skinny thing.
Midget is tiny. I am worried about the possibility of lamb too large for her to birth. and on the other end of it, worried about wee tinier lamb or lambs! although she is more round looking than pigpig.
If they lamb before the end of the month then they were bred at the farm before I got them. Pigpig by the womans herd ram or a sly ram lamb that managed to sneak in.
Midget however was in a barn with a run of weaned lambs all her age. several of which were inches smaller than herself. in which case I would hope that the lamb(s) would have better chance of being smaller too.
If they lamb beginning in early March then they managed to avoid getting bred there and then got bred to my 'oops ram lamb' here. (I sold after getting him shorn. too related.) I am going to be getting a definitely unrelated ram in the fall this year.

** I had upped their feed a pinch. If they lamb I will up the feed a little if they seem to need it. Midget definitely will be getting supplemented if she lambs.

** I am extremely worried if Midget lambs since she and the ram lamb had both gotten Valblazen when I brought them home......  

** Got a finger on a farm I will be visiting sometime to look at sheep. Very likely to get a ram from there this fall.

** need to get a date settled to go back to the farm I bought these girls. Might be getting some more ewe lambs. And this time triple checking sexes myself


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 3, 2016)

Nutz coming in for his close up. "whats this? can I eat it?" taken the week he went to the auction.



 
Pigpig with her paranoid look. She still doesn't like me. But she lets me touch her a little while she eats feed.
Nutz in the middle. this was taken the week he went to the auction I think.
Midget looking as tiny and adorable as ever.


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 4, 2016)

Question.....you said that the flock you were buying from was a mixed flock with a good bit of Shetland in them? 

If so, I wouldn't worry about Midget's size too much. She looks like she has a lot of Shetland influence. She does look rather skinny though.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 4, 2016)

purplequeenvt said:


> Question.....you said that the flock you were buying from was a mixed flock with a good bit of Shetland in them?
> 
> If so, I wouldn't worry about Midget's size too much. She looks like she has a lot of Shetland influence. She does look rather skinny though.



yes that's true. and the woman who sheared them for me is familiar with the person and flock and said it wont hurt to up the feed (which I discussed with her) and that's just how that flock is, don't expect them to get fat.
***Also noting that when I go back to the farm to check out more ewes I will only bring home ewes that are plenty bigger, build wise, and will bring home wool wethers before I bring home more tiny ewes. learning my lesson here.

I am worried about Midget because she is even smaller than she looks in the pics. tomorrow I am going to bring my measuring tape and get some numbers on them both. I am going to rig a weigh sling but I know she is smaller than the ram was and the receipt from the auction he was a little smaller than 40#. Midget is quite noticeably lighter than he was.

And today I realized that Midget and the ram had gotten Valblazen the day I brought them home. Pigpig didn't get it because she was possibly bred. So now I am mainly worried that if Midget is pregnant that I can pull her through, with or without a lamb, and get her fattened up a bit. If she does lamb I can milk her some and freeze it and dry her off with little stress. Thank you dairy goat experience.

Could Valblazen have the same effects as warned about on the ram? I mean the ram got Valblazen, and if he bred Pigpig could the lamb(s) be deformed?

On the lighter side, I have a few emails out that if I do end up with mommas and no lambs I have some tabs on bottle babies.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 4, 2016)

These pics are Midget. All taken Jan 7. She looks more evened out now, I think. in these she was bulge-y like she swallowed up a milk jug. now she is round-ish but not so bulge-y looking. Will try to remember my camera tomorrow morning too for updated pics. lol hopefully they will stay still a moment for some decent ones.


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 5, 2016)

Do you have any idea what percentage Shetland she is? Who old is she?

If she were mine, I'd feed her up well (not an excessive amount during late pregnancy) and see where she is next fall for breeding. If she handles lambing and raising baby(s) well this year and bounces back health wise, I see no problem keeping as long as she fits into your breeding plans.

I also wouldn't stress about the Valbazen. I was told by my vet that you don't want to use it just in the first 45 days of pregnancy. I've never heard anything about not using it in rams during breeding.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 5, 2016)

purplequeenvt said:


> Do you have any idea what percentage Shetland she is? Who old is she?
> 
> If she were mine, I'd feed her up well (not an excessive amount during late pregnancy) and see where she is next fall for breeding. If she handles lambing and raising baby(s) well this year and bounces back health wise, I see no problem keeping as long as she fits into your breeding plans.
> 
> I also wouldn't stress about the Valbazen. I was told by my vet that you don't want to use it just in the first 45 days of pregnancy. I've never heard anything about not using it in rams during breeding.



nope no idea what amount of anything is mixed in there. she was born feb/march 2015.

thanks I will just keep reading up on lambing and things I would be able to watch for and help with if needed.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 5, 2016)

ok I managed to rig a weigh sling with an old towel. She weighs about 37# and at the shoulder she is 22 inches tall. from rump to chest she is about 23 inches, give or take she wouldn't stay still for me. Did manage to get these two quickly of Midgets girly-bits. Pigpigs are swollen etc the same, maybe even more so. 
so the question is, in heat or preggo?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 24, 2016)

They don't seem to be preggo. it's up in the air until april but I am extremely doubting it. still keepin an eye on them though, just in case. it appears they went into heat. midget seems to be over it but pigpigs girly bits are still holding out being a tad swollen looking and pink. not as pink as they were but still hanging in there. it looks rather funny going from her rather dark ebony-like skin around her rear and then PINK! Hahaha.

Had several really nice days here with really warm weather. still pretty warm now but cool and been raining off and on all day. mud all over. ugh. they are going through quite a lot more hay on rainy days and when the snow was here than on the nicer days. Once I have the pastures fixed up nice things will go a lot smoother with much more forage!

the one nice day that it didn't rain and wasn't miserably muddy I went out with an old garden hoe and was knocking down the remaining standing weedy stuff in paddock 1. now that they are in paddock 2. can already see where they have been making a difference. 

paddock 1 is getting overseeded soon as I get the weedy stuff knocked down and all. maybe by next month if it doesn't snow again  or continue with the rain. ordered a few pounds of several things to overseed in there. 

paddock 2 is still crazy overgrown. It will get overseeded as well but not until I get my helper out to work with me and chop a lot down. gonna be a hell of a long day when that happens. thankfully the sheep are workin a good size area pretty well that got pushed to the ground under the last snow we got. 

I talked to the farm woman who I got my two ewes from. I am probably going to go out there and help her out around the place. she is going to take off the price of the sheep for me working with her. I am really excited!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 9, 2016)

This first pic is the current set up. two small paddocks and one big 5(ish) acre mess. white dots are the main spots to fix. the yellow squiggle section is completely overrun with multi flora rose. wasn't even going to think about attempting to climb through it.




This second pic is how I am planning to have the big pasture divided. The yellow is where gates will go at. the black and white squares are where buildings are at/will be at. some of the funky fence lines is due to the hillside shape.
Already have water piped to where the center building will be at. The little section there will be a decent little 'yard' area to easily have access to water and the building and yet easily open or shut the gates to give them access to different paddocks. 
I am still fiddling with this so it's not set in stone but this is pretty close to how the paddocks will be divided. give or take a few feet here and there really. This division of things will give me paddocks with lots of grass and also paddocks with woods and brush that can be grazed at their own time intervals. That way I don't have them just in the grass and not touching the wooded area or just hanging in the wooded area and not touching the grass! 

 

*down trees to roll down the valley
*crappy trees need cut down
*standing dead need cut and hauled to the wood shed
*building to plan
*building to repair
*brush to mow
*fence to repair
*posts and fence to put in
*posts and gates to put in

geez I am certainly gonna be busy!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 28, 2016)

The ewes were shorn November 25, 2015. Finally got things settled with a shearer and got lucky that someone is going to be by this way tomorrow and not late next week at best. So this is about 7months wool growth on them. I think I need to get things figured out and have them sheared closer to 6 months. The wool is lovely but with the heat I really need a better timing for it. Because now I would think shearing in spring like April/May time.. except now 6 months away is December and April is 10 months away. With how the weather usually is I am hoping I can get away with early March would be 8 months plus some. Then after that if I sheared say.. early March then early Sept.. then that would be pretty much even split. I would just have to hope that we don't get crazy cold in March. Here though February will hit us hard if nothing else but other than the odd real cool year it's been fair for spring weather.

In other news.. I bough a 2y/o Shetland ewe (black) and her ram lamb (chocolate brown with a white forehead, born march 2016). The sire was quite nice looking so for now he keeps his nuggets and I will see what lambs he can make. He is a lovely color and they both have nice dual coated fleeces. so neat to see how they are similar and yet different than Icelandic fleece with the dual coat.

Didn't end up with any lambs from Pigpig or Midget. I think it was mainly me worrying just in case to be ready for any. Pigpig still doesn't like me and can only touch her if she has her head in the feed. Midget warmed up to me but with the new ewe (named her Millie) she decided I couldn't be trusted and no longer lets me give her some scratches or pets on her face. I think it is because Midget used to be the sort of leader, Pigpig would follow her around. But with Millie and the ram lamb Pigpig follows them half the time and Midget lost her 'powers' or something haha. Its amusing because for the first several days Pigpig would keep checking on the lamb as if it were hers. I wonder that she took to him and not Midget because Pigpig has lambed before and got a bit mother-y instincts.

Speaking of mother-y I am hoping to get a chance to setup to look at the Shetland sheep farm (woman in the spinners guild) and see her flock. She has all very fine wool shetlands and I am very interested to buy a young ram from her towards the fall.
Right now I am thinking if I put in the ram the second or third week of October then they should lamb about early March through mid April. And that would work with my shearing in early March? Maybe? I am going to have to see if I can find again I thought people like to shear a month before lambing.. crap.. I need to think on this more..


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## Latestarter (Jun 29, 2016)

You know, it has been said: "the best laid plans of..." Always more variables... Hope you get it sorted through


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 29, 2016)

If I put in the ram on the first of November then lambing could be soon as the end of March. And if I'm right about shearing the month before then I'd need to shear end of Feb/very early March at the latest.

The two ewes were shorn this morning. Went well and the guy who sheared was (*swoons*) like nice looking model guy meets cowboy shearer. Hahahaha. 

So needless to say I have been up since just after 6am, chores, getting the area ready for shearing, the shearing, picking fleece, help dad with baling the little field (50-odd sq bales), back to picking fleece,... and now I am finally giving in to my stomach growling like sasquatch and making some food! 

Midget's fleece was 3+ lbs. Skirted to 2lbs.
 Last year it was 1+ lb. I am very glad to see how she is looking under all the wool. she has gained a good amount of size but I think she is just going to always be little. 

Pigpig's fleece was 5+ lbs. Skirted to 3+ lbs.
Last year it was pretty much the same but I couldn't use it at all last year because it was all felted at the tips and had sooooo much VM in it PLUS there was a break in the wool. So I didn't even bother with it at all  So I am very excited to work with this fleece from her.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jul 11, 2016)

UPDATE  

I have done the math and if by my averaging I will need 50 sheep to be able to sustain myself with an income. With my current setup and starting amount of sheep I should be able to breed up to that many animals by spring of 2019 while selling off extra rams and bringing in some unrelated ewes. From this point I will need to maintain this number of stock, get rid of the lesser animals, keep better lambs, make sure my pastures are handling the amount of stock on it, and hopefully really have my rotation and stocking and fencing nailed down. 

I have a sales idea started and if all goes well I will be able to have some of these ready by April, spring 2017. 

Small fiber box: 
-8oz fibers 
-mix of: batts, locks, rolags, washed fibers, etc. 
-$22 plus shipping 

Large fiber box: 
-16oz fibers 
-mix of: batts, locks, rolags, washed fibers, etc. 
-$37 plus shipping 

Small Flock Box: 
-8oz fibers 
-mix of amounts raw fibers 
-$16 plus shipping 

Large Flock Box: 
-16oz fibers 
-mix of amounts raw fibers 
-$32 plus shipping 

I also have an idea for a small and large 'yarn box' but do not have the particulars figured out for that yet.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 6, 2017)

It's been a long time. Mostly been kept too crazy with work and some family drama. 
I Millie to shepherds error, very sad about it and hope to avoid all these problems next year by having all the fence and paddocks up and going.
So now I have:
Pythagoras- year old shetland ram
big ram- (yet unnamed) about 4 y/o cormo/shetland ram who looks mostly cormo
Midget- dual coated fleece and getting more grey/silver by the day, about 2 y/o
Pigpig- lovely blue grey fleece about 4 y/o
Midget and Pigpig last shearing (summer 2016) was quite lovely and I am looking forward even more to their fleeces this spring! You wouldn't believe the length on Midget's wool. And with the longer time between summer shearing and now Pigpig's wool has a real nice length to it as well.

I had been freaking out. I was searching and searching, asking questions on all the facebook groups, asking the people I know with sheep,... No one could tell me if sheep stop the appearance of cycling (ie, I'm looking at their girly bits and they appear to be cycling and coming into heats) after being bred.
With goats if you know what you are looking at they usually show coming into heat, slight variation with the few days of standing heat, and then fades out. If not bred they cycle back into it and repeats. 
I have been checking the ewes at least once a week, and for some periods every day for three weeks straight. They appeared to be cycling. Right now. They appear to be cycling.
EXCEPT. I hadn't checking in probably nearly two weeks. If they were goats I would have told you 110% they were not bred. BUT now both ewes have udder development! WHAT?! So I am going with the assumption of them being bred about the time I got the big ram (Nov 1). Which gives me an estimated due date of March 28. So they could pop anytime between next week and next month. 

So of course, three days ago I got the ok from a friend in the spinners guild that she already is shearing for someone not far from me and could shear mine that afternoon. So shearing will be saturday (march 11) and the weather says 60% chance of rain last I looked :/ Darn. So I'll be trying to convince them all to go into the shed instead of standing out in the rain!

I don't have much for updated pics right now. If anyone wants to check out my instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/girlwalkswithgoats/


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## Latestarter (Mar 7, 2017)

Just an observation but both screen names are centered on goats and yet you seem to have more to do with sheep...  Hope the breeding thing gets straightened out for you.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 8, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> Just an observation but both screen names are centered on goats and yet you seem to have more to do with sheep...  Hope the breeding thing gets straightened out for you.


Grew up with dairy goats. After high school I had two milk does of my own. I think my old thread for some goat things is still on this forum. I am hoping to get the sheep and all the fencing, pasture, etc into gear and get a couple goats in the next year or so.


Rained a lot here today. Weather forecast changed a little in the days since I had looked at it. Low chance rain Thursday. 80% chance rain Friday. Saturday is 10% chance rain at 1AM-4AM. 

I really need to get things into gear. Need fence up and be working on seeing about a new barn. Current sheep shed is going to be fine for separating out the rams but.. I think after lambing we will be past capacity for the little building.
So much to do...
So little time and sanity...

Of course with the high chance of rain and some storms next week I am wondering how early the ewes might lamb. Goats most always waited for weather change to kid. We will see what happens. No change in their udders from the last few days. I am checking their behinds now for discharge.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 11, 2017)

Waiting for the shearer to get here. Cant wait to see the fleeces off of the sheep. I am anxious to see how they look under all the wool. The ewes, since I know they are going to lamb soon. 
And the rams because they are sires to the rest of my growing flock for probably the next two years. I have been thinking not to keep back any ram lambs intact until I have at least one more lambing under my belt. Once I have more ewes I can better decide on narrowing down the rams and what I want in a yearling to keep on for breeding.
I have been thinking quite a bit on what I want to expand my flock. And things I want to work toward going forward.

*good wool for hand spinning
*hardy sheep
*good mothering
*prefer open faces and legs
*tails not past their hocks (prefer not to dock tails)
*friendly, easy to handle 
*polled / nice horns

CULL POINTS
*worm issues
*aggressive
*bad or problematic horns
*ewes that don't take breedings (excepting shepherds fault injury/illness??)
*ewes that always need lambing help
*ewes that prolapse or repeat mastitis

*EWES: early on keep all ewes. later can par down to the better ones and be more selective of keepers. only cull ewe lambs early on for big health problems.

*WETHERS: early on keep wethers with nice fleeces but not worth breeding (for wool and if more, nicer wool wethers come along can eat the year or two year wethers.. plus hides and skulls). wethers with less nice wool will get butchered. ones with nicer wool probably be held out longer and replaced with nicer fleeced younger animals. likely to always have several wethers growing out for this purpose as well as good to have with the rams when separated the month before breeding, like I plan on doing for the future years.

*RAMS: don't want to keep back any lambs as rams from 2018 lambing. still have two good rams. (unless something happens to one of them) decisions on intact ram lambs past that need to decide later.. depending on number of ewes and minor goal changes.. right now I don't think I should need to keep back any ram lambs in 2019 unless one is REALLY spectacular, and in that case it might become a replacement for one of the current rams. I don't want to have a lot of rams.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 11, 2017)

Sheep are all shorn! It has been a very full day here. I am taking a break and making some food then clear off the table and skirt fleeces!

The person who sheared for me said the big ram is almost definitely a rambouillet cross.. and definitely not a cormo or shetland.. In their opinions (wife and husband do shearing side jobs together) he is definitely rambouillet cross. Very nice fleece. 
They also said they would band the ram lamb, Pythagoras, shetland. He is small, he is spunky, he likes to pick a bit of a fight with the big ram and end up heavily bonked on the head or runs off realizing he is out-done. Also, he had a rise and was about to start to roo out! 
I feel like the peoples points are good points. BUT...
I still like Pythagoras' fleece. I am really looking forward to working with it. Yes, he is a little sheltand but I don't mind having some smaller size sheep.
I want to keep him on, intact, at least until next breeding season. If he stays real small and I decide I don't like that, I know other people with shetlands who might want him. Also want to see next spring if he roos out and keeps a nice fine wool. I understand this is genetic and he can pass it on to his offspring. 
If I get some ram lambs that look really great this lambing I can see changing my mind and leaving one intact to replace Pythagoras after fall breeding. Like, keep him just through October and if he breeds any early ewes that's fine, and leave the rest of the ewes to be bred by the big ram and the new ram lamb.

I am going to be breeding using a "modified multi-sire management" (aka wild flock system). 
Right now I'm torn between the exacts of how I want to take things. Hopefully after lambing and seeing how they look and are growing will help me decide. 
* White Ram:
+ more meaty type, bigger
- bigger can mean harder to handle
+ super terrific fleece!
+ bigger and heavier fleece
+ expecting better growth rate of lambs
- have to watch lamb traits if want to keep away from wooly legs and faces
* Pythagoras (shetland) :
+ nice fine fleece
+ lovely natural colored wool
+ nice horns, don't look to be too close to his face and nice big arc to them
+ smaller and easy to manhandle
- smaller fleece and harder to shear
- smaller and lighter meat lambs, longer grow time 
- ewes kept back from him may not as easily cross to heavier ram (??)
+ could use him on ewe lambs in the fall, would be smaller lambs (??)


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 12, 2017)

Honestly, instead of running both rams together with your ewes, I'd be selective and put certain ewes with specific rams. You will reach your goals much faster this way.


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## norseofcourse (Mar 12, 2017)

purplequeenvt said:


> Honestly, instead of running both rams together with your ewes, I'd be selective and put certain ewes with specific rams. You will reach your goals much faster this way.


^^  this - you'll also be able to keep track of who is related to who, which will help avoid inbreeding.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 12, 2017)

Also, I'd recommend you rethink the docking. If you are using a Rambouillet type ram, you are going to get lambs with long wooly tails. 

You don't have to dock really short, lots of people band at the caudal fold which leaves enough tail to cover the anus and vulva. 

Your shearers won't be as happy to shear your sheep if they are having to deal with long, sometimes gross tails.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 21, 2017)

Midget had a lovely ewe lamb 3/18/17. Definitely dual coated by the softly "hairy" tips of her wool. Short tail and white on top of her head like Pythagoras. Grey-ish spot on her belly sides just like Midget did when I got her. So I am expecting she will most likely silver out like her mom has. Be interesting to see if she is much finer wool like her sire though.

Pigpig is holding out. Watch pot never boils, watched ewes never lamb? She really looks like she is going to start labor at any moment.

Pics.. Still working on getting pics on the camera to post here. Havent got all the net and apps figured out on my new phone.. Which somehow ends up getting most pics taken with it..
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRyk8REB0ky/ 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRzvO1lh8NF/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR3lgrZhVuX/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR3lz42Bs_M/


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 21, 2017)

Congrats on the girl!

She looks moorit (brown) to me.


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## Latestarter (Mar 21, 2017)

Congrats!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 13, 2017)

Boy things haven't slowed down! Sorry for the long lapse in posting. I have been so busy with work and trying to get things done. Still so far behind.
March 25 Pigpig lambed a nice black ram lamb. His name is Fitzwilliam and he is practically as big as Midget and Pigpig now. He is intact and has a lovely fleece and great temperament.

The ewe lamb from Midget was lost. I believe that Pythagoras turned to butting everyone and was having a napoleon complex about being top of the totem pole. I also believe that is also what happened with Millie and how she died as well. It is very disheartening but I am hoping to learn from these mistakes.
I also figured out that both lambs must have been sired by Pythagoras. On the bright side, knowing he must have bred them in mid- to late October I am planning this years breedings.

The cormo/shetland ram is nice but I am not fond of him and he has earned himself the name "Butthead". I am so not fond of him that I have decided to breed him to most of the ewes and sell him after spring shearing.

That brings me to the other news. I am at 12 sheep now. mid-June I bought a group of sheep from a woman in the guild who was getting rid of all her sheep so she could start fresh with registered shetlands. She gave me a great deal and even worked out delivering them for me because dads truck was broken at the time.
The new sheep are:
*dark dark moorit shetland wether (horned)
*black shetland ewe (white spot on her forehead)
*black shetland/cormo ewe
*four white shetland/cormo ewes
These all come from the farm that works with the farm I bought Butthead from. They are all pretty fine wooled, finer than I generally like to hand process actually. They are all proven mothers. The shetland/cormo ewes are from breedings of cormo/shetland over shetlands ewes, and then a couple are daughters of those ewes bred back to a shetland. They look very shetland in type.
Then... I also worked out buying a ewe from another girl in the guild. Katahdin x Romanov x Finn ewe, proven mother. She definitely has a hairy "fleece" and is very katahdin looking. She was in with a babydoll ram before coming here so we will see when she lambs if she is seasonal breeder or not. I am hoping to get some nice meat-destined lambs from her. If I am not thrilled with how she does, her lambs, etc. I will probably sell her and just have more room for wool ewes. It will be very interesting to see the comparison though.

I am aiming to separate Butthead, Fitzwilliam, and the wether on Aug 28. Aiming to put breeding groups together on Oct 5. So lambing will be aiming for beginning of March.

I waffled a lot over who to separate with which ram for breeding groups. Up until last month I was thinking to keep Butthead and Fitzwilliam for definitely this fall and next fall. Breeding one group of ewes with Butthead and a second group with Fitzwilliam, and next year switch the groups and add the ewe lambs from the other rams offspring.
Really looking at my goals though I was making a points list for both of them and realized that while Butthead is nice and meaty; I am not so excited about having really fine fleeces, about his attitude at the feeders, and with putting those traits into a bulk of the lambs.
While I do like his fleece for several reasons and I like his size... I also want sheep that are good to handle and that have fleeces I want to process and spin. I don't like to process really fine wool. I would rather have medium wools and lots of character.

So I came to the conclusion of putting Butthead with the majority of the ewes while still giving Fitzwilliam a couple to prove himself with. I will have lambs from both to evaluate as they grow and help me with more decisions next year. I will likely keep most or all of the ewe lambs. If I sell any ewe lambs it will probably be ones with real fine fleeces that don't really fit my goals. I am very excited to see what Midget and Pigpig throw bred to Butthead though! So here is my breeding groups-
*Fitzwilliam: black shetland ewe, black shetland/cormo ewe.
*Butthead: Midget, Pigpig, 4 white shetland/cormo ewes, katahdin/romanov/finn ewe.
I am excited to see lots of lambs since Butthead threw mostly twins at the farm I bought him from.

Next year I think I will breed Fitzwilliam to all the ewes. Then I will probably sell him and decide on different groups based on the ewe lambs I keep and if I keep any ram lambs or bring in a ram. I definitely hope to bring in some more ewes next year though. I have my eye on some nice ewes from a neighbor who has mostly-Icelandic crosses. And I would really love to get a nice ram lamb from someone I met at Great Lakes Fiber Show who has Jacobs.

I will try to add some pics from my Instagram. Until I get to that though, you can see for yourself if you would like. https://www.instagram.com/girlwalkswithgoats/


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 15, 2017)

I just ordered a bunch of stuff from premier1. Oy vey there goes a third of my paycheck! But I am excited for the items I got. 
Lamb sling (for weighing)
Hanging scale (up to 110lb! and digital!)
Clipper oil & screwdriver (for electric shears)
Applicator & 60 ear tags (that should last me this year and next lol)
Ram shield

I really waffled about the ram shield. I am going to need it for the wether when I move the rams and him to the other paddock. When I first put the new group with the others he and Butthead had at it and Butthead knocked off the outer part of his scurs. He has healed up but it was gross. I will be putting it on the wether and watch them for a good while when I separate them. 
The shield isn't something I want to ever need to use. But for right now I do have a need for it. I would rather have it on hand in case I ever need it in a pinch. But I hope to move the flock in a direction of never needing to use it.
Plus the cost of it put me over the $100 mark to get free shipping. Without it I would have been paying more than half it's cost as shipping so might as well get it.

I am also planning to sell the wether after spring shearing.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 17, 2017)

Much thought-y-ness stuff to follow.. In no particular order..

* I think I have decided that come spring I will be watching for a Border Leicester or Romney ram. And next fall the ewes will be divided between Fitzwilliam and that ram.

*Lamb weights-
Birth, 30days, 60days, 90days, 120days,....?

*Record keeping-
With the rabbits I put breedings and due dates on my phone calendar. So far with the sheep I have put dates of births, buying/selling, etc in my phone as well. I should look for a calendar for farm stuff with big squares. I also need to dedicate a notebook to notes of sheep stuff and dedicate it to a certain spot (and the calendar).

*When I get these tags in I want to put the first on Fitzwilliam. So every lamb born here will get tagged with these.

*Currently I am REALLY thinking lambs from Pigpig x Butthead are going to have awesome fleeces. I am considering if she has a ram and keeping him if he has a great fleece and type. Or if he has a great fleece but some other fault about him I will very much consider keeping him around as a wether for a while.
If I did keep him then it would have to be as replacement of Fitzwilliam as breeding ram here. Because I don't want any one animal having too much genes in the whole flock.

*If all the ewes only have one lamb I could end up with about 9 lambs. Probably about 3-5 ewe lambs. If all the ewes twinned (unlikely, but just to throw numbers) I could end up with 18 lambs. Probably 6-10 ewe lambs.
So next year I could have from 12 to 19 ewes. Plus I want to buy some ewes from the neighbor with high % Icelandic crosses if nothing else.

*Considering it so likely that I will be multiplying my numbers like this it seems very likely the hair cross ewe will not be staying permanently unless I really get some meaty lambs that grow amazingly from her this spring. Enough to warrant keeping her just for that really.
As for the other ewes, I feel like I will probably be phasing out these current ewes to make room for the ones born here. And to a smaller extent a few ewes I will probably bring in of different breeds.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 19, 2017)

SQUEEE! My box from premier1 got here ON FRIDAY! So happy with how the ear tags look! I will have to get a pic and share it here. So glad that I went with numbers on one side and (slightly abbreviated) farm name on the other side.
And the hanging scale is really accurate I will be able to weight fibers with it! YAY!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 26, 2017)

Sooo.. I wanted to have the rams separated the other day.. Of course I gotta wait until payday and coordinate with dad to get the cattle panels to make the squeeze. So hopefully next week they will be separated. The last two days have been notably cooler. I am just hoping no one has decided to be an early girl to want it yet!


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 27, 2017)

It sounds like ya have things moving right along for ya there. Do ya have a good market for your fleece?....or is it just for you to work with?.....


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 27, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> It sounds like ya have things moving right along for ya there. Do ya have a good market for your fleece?....or is it just for you to work with?.....



Thanks. I am a handspinner so some of it I will hand process and spin, some will be sent to be milled for sales, and some will be for my personal stash  I have some people interested in raw fleeces, some people interested in milled yarn, some people interested in milled top,...


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 2, 2017)

All that I wanted to get done today.. I got exactly one PART of one thing of that done.. HA! 
We are getting rain from the storms from Hurricane Harvey up here and it was overcast and raining pretty much from 2am 9/2/17 through until right now.. Still raining and sprinkling off and on..

So I got some wool carding done for selling. Went to town and got the cattle panels. Got home quite a bit after dark. Hoping that in the morning things will be dry enough to pull the truck up the hill and unload them near the paddocks. Monday is supposed to be nice and warm back up. Hopefully not get too warm that I won't want to go out and get things done. I am off Monday and should be a big day for the local auction sale. Hoping to drop some stuff at the auction and come back and do the separating and all with the sheep. 

And I will be shearing Fitzwilliam.. And possibly Midget, hers is definitely long enough to shear but I would like to just clean up around her face and see her fleece in the spring with a full years growth. I have been shearing her and Pigpig twice a year. Pigpig's wool is shorter this year, I think due to her lambing whereas last year she wasn't pregnant or raising a lamb. 

I am going to cut back on the rabbits. Just keepin a couple. Signs of rat in the barn so got some traps. I really need to sort out things and get a shed built for the rabbits to avoid predator problems and setup issues. Keeping the pet doe from my cousin (thank you familial guilt), the minirex doe, and the silverfox buck. 

I lost a few of the chickens and am at 2 hens and 2 roos. Bantams. I need to build a mobile coop to have them out in the pasture with the sheep. I would like to get some more hens but that is on hold until I get stuff caught up with everything else.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 3, 2017)

These little bugger seed-burr things are the current bane of my existence!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgVKiDHrdf/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Fitzwilliam being a lovebug (two parts). I am SO EXCITED to see lambs from him and how he grows next year. Right now the plan is that most likely he will breed all or almost all of the ewes next fall. After that it depends on how he grows and if I don't find a ram I just gotta buy and keep myself from holding back all the ram lambs! HA! It is going to be a struggle!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgTt9QHCkK/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgT7yMHdHh/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Midget being nosey and lovey too (two parts). I get so excited with everything that I can forget how much I just love these critters. I really love the character of Midget's fleece. It might just be bias on my part  But I am really excited to see what lambs she throws with Butthead.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgUKMYHlqq/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgUYJbH-l-/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

And Pigpig.. Her attitude is that half-feral-cat that you feed through the winter and let it sleep in the garage and it meows at you and maybe lets you pet it twice a year for five seconds... Yeah.. That's her.. Surprisingly she is mom to Fitzwilliam! Hoping he passes on being sweet to his lambs!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgUuEGHUr_/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

L to R- Midget, Fitzwilliam, Pigpig. I am glad he seems to have gotten his growth from Pigpig rather than Pythagoras, who was quite small. I think under all the wool he is, right now, probably very similar in body size to Midget. 
I can't wait to see lambs from him and what traits he passes on! Pythagoras was moorit (poooossibly carried spotting?) and Pigpig is an unknown kind of black/grey something. And he will be in with two black ewes with unknown what they carry. Obviously I am expecting black and hoping to see if anything else pops up though. Next year with him breeding most/all of the ewes will really show though.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYgU1_pnPMo/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 3, 2017)

Generally in the mornings I am greeted by the "clearly starving" sheep. Once in a while I sleep in a bit and can sneak out without being spotted and mobbed. Those mornings I enjoy the small gift of being able to simply pour feed into feeders without a crowd of wooly heads trying to eat it before it can get there. 
Then of course I look up and watch them graze.. And finally call them in to eat and be rushed by them. "Clearly starving" they will tell you. They simply don't listen to my claims of other sheep that only get feed through the coldest of winter.. Or sheep that NEVER get grain at all! *Gasp!* The horrors!  
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXpP68xFNcF/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 5, 2017)

Sheared Fitzwilliam and separated the rams. I am sooooo stoked for lambing!
I did bring out a comb and tried picking the little burr things out. Wasn't happening. It'll be easier on me and Fitz shearing and me combing the tips clean. If it wasn't so bad with them it would probably be fine.
(copied from the following IG post)
I sheared Fitzwilliam today with the scissors. I waffled about it but I already needed to wrangle everyone for separating anyway. And his fleece wasn't getting any cleaner... So here it is. 23.6oz Skirted more heavily than usual due to the state he got into with the tiny burrs. And he will still need a bit of a clean-up around his face and butt. But we were both tuckered out and getting cranky 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




I am going to comb the tips out as that is really the only VM. I hadn't realized the gorgeous crimp he grew into! At birth he was a bit wavy curly. I tell you what there is some fiber-gasm crimp 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and the deep rich black 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	










 It is interesting to note the texture change in his britch wool. Not unpleasant at all. While shearing it was the oddest sensation with the change of it. I can't quite put my finger on it. Somewhat like going from a medium fine shetland to a fine dorset lamb?
I am even more excited to see what kind of lambs he throws now. And I checked over the black shetland-cormo ewe that he will be breeding (and the black shetland ewe). She has nice wool and it will be really neat to see if he passes on the long staple length.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYpbXSBnvTU/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

I want to keep the vm and bag the combed tips good wool, then weigh both. I know there is many oz of those darn things and at least one regular burr


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 6, 2017)

I keep waffling about keeping Butthead another year. 

For next year-
~I don't want to breed him to the shetland/cormo ewes again. I will have them and all their daughters to breed to Fitzwilliam.
~If I keep him I would probably breed him to Pigpig and Midget again unless I get something I really don't like.
~If I keep him I would breed him to the Icelandic cross ewes I want to get from the person a few miles away. I really think he would throw some amazing lambs with those ewes.
~I will be keeping my eyes open for a nice ram of other breeds still but I would be holding that back for the following year most likely. I am going to have such a hard time not keeping everything!
~If I do decide to keep him another year he will definitely be sold after breeding. I will have too many options between keeping back ram lambs and buying to keep him longer. I have a lot of things I want to try and see what I get and what does well here.

So... Tentative breeding groups for next year would be something like-
~Fitzwilliam- Shetland/cormo white ewes (x4 of them), Daughters of Butthead, 
~Butthead- Pigpig, Midget, Hair cross ewe (If she stays), Icelandic cross ewes


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 7, 2017)

The more I think about it... I am most likely going to keep a ram lamb back from Butthead, so it wouldn't make sense to keep him. I would like a bit more of his meaty frame but I can work on that more over time. I am hoping his high twinning rate holds true here! 

Keeping a son of Butthead would work well for what I would be planning for him if he stayed. Plus I hope to raise him to be a gentleman, like Fitzwilliam is so far (fingers crossed! knock on wood!!!), and I won't have to deal with Butthead's annoying behavior. Although, to be fair to him, I haven't had to really reprimand him since mid June really. In the spring I pinned him to the ground and pretty much sat on him several times, then in mid June he thought he'd pull a fast one on me (tryin to eat ALL the feed instead of just a portion for him) and I had to kick him out the shed.. And in kicking him out I gave him a good what-for and flipped him a$$-over-head out the doorway. Since then though it is mainly that he tries to bully everyone at feeding time. When I start putting out hay again (real feedin out, not just for snacking) we will see if he starts up trying to hog all the hay too.

So...
Depending on what happens with me keeping a ram lamb this spring.. The number of ewes I end up with total after lambing.. And if I get the barn built in the spring/summer..
I could see bringing in some of the Icelandic cross ewes and maybe some Border Leicester ewes (or other more longwool breed) in and just using Fitzwilliam and whatever ram lamb I keep back.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 12, 2017)

Have I mentioned I waffle about decisions?  
I am sitting here reviewing the blog posts of Buttheads offspring the last breeding he was at the farm I bought him from. Five ewes, all twins, 2 rams and 8 ewes lambs. Half white, half colored patterned. 
Also I forgot she mentions his age, so now I know for sure he is 5 y/o. 

Sooooo...
Reasons I want to keep him-
~twin rate!
~beautiful fleece
~heavy fleece
~meaty type
~scurred
~I can breed him to medium wool ewes and get fine, medium/fine, medium wool lambs that I want
~if I keep him one more year I will have that many more lambs from him and not feel so bad about it once I have the flock numbers up

Reasons I don't want to keep him-
~he gets annoying at feed time
~his wool is finer than I am aiming for overall 
~now and then he tests me and I have to kick his a$$ 
~I know I am going to want to keep everything (don't blame me they are so cute and I love wool! )

Tentative breeding plans for 2018 would be...
Fitzwilliam- 4 white shetland/cormo ewes, black shetland/cormo ewe, black shetland, Butthead's daughters
Butthead- Midget, Pigpig, hair x ewe, Fitz daughters (from the two black ewes), and probably some Icelandic x ewes 

From there I would most likely keep back a really nice ram lamb (or two )... Sell Butthead and either sell or butcher Fitzwilliam... And depending on my numbers and what sort of fleeces I end up with at that point I will decide on what else I want to bring in and ewes or a ram.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 21, 2017)

The boys are gettin musky! This morning everyone was damp from the heavy dew thanks to yesterday evening light rain. So you could really smell it.
Butthead got his face all dirty but wouldnt let me get a decent pic. 
Breeding groups go in together about two weeks away! Already cant wait for #lambinglive2018 Lambs everywhere! 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZTbWwtH04f/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Every day the sheep lick the feeder clean. Every day Midget and Pigpig have to check the bucket and make sure I'm not holdin back any extras! (video clip)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZTadvCnvmy/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 25, 2017)

I just realized that Fitzwilliam will be 6.5 months old when breeding groups go together. His dad (Pythagoras) was a bit younger and much smaller when he bred Pigpig and Midget so I have faith in him 
And got my fingers crossed for Butthead to keep his twinning rate up! So stoked!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZZHsKonkCG/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

My handsome boy! Fitzwilliam seems anxious for his girlfriends 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZd80Y4Htp8/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 26, 2017)

I was just reviewing the farm blog of the person I got Butthead from. Not many pics of his lambs prior to 2016 lambing. But looking at the ewes and lambs color and pattern I am hopeful that I have good odds of at least getting some color and/or patterns from him even though most of the ewes are white. 
And for Fitzwilliam I am thinking the odds are highest for black and moorit lambs. And given the mystery background of Pigpig (his mom).. and that the shetland ewe has a white spot on top of her head.. and that Pythagoras (his dad) was moorit with white on the face (and Py's dad was moorit and plenty of white on head and body)... I do have fair odds of getting some pattern and color from him as well.
I do not understand much yet about the color and pattern genetics but I am going off of what I am seeing and learned so far. Plus thankfully some things are similar to rabbit genetics which I know more of.

All in all I am estimating lamb color/pattern vs white to be either 50/50 or 60/40 leaning to more white lambs. Since I don't know the background of the white shetland/cormo ewes this is really just guesswork and daydreaming 

8 or 10 days until the breeding groups go together!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 27, 2017)

This is how excited I am about lambs you guys... 
Last night I had a dream that I went out to do chores.. And there was a lamb!... I do some more stuff.. Start walkin around the paddock.. Another lamb!.. More lambs!.. FOUR MORE LAMBS?!...LAMBS.LAMBS.LAMBS.LAMBS!!! hahahahaha! Lambs everywhere I looked! Way more lambs than I could get with nine ewes.. Unless everyone had triplets and quadruplets  Hahaha which is unlikely.. I do realize it is unlikely to even get all twins, even if it would be really awesome 

So given the funny dream.. I was thinking.. If I get one live lamb from each ewe I am looking at (statistically 50/50 or 60/40) somewhere from 3 to 6 ewe lambs to keep. And in the (unrealistic) odds that I got twins from everyone I would be looking at somewhere from 6 to 11 ewe lambs to keep.
So without buying any I would be at anywhere from 12 to 20 ewes this time next year. And I do want to bring in at least a couple ewes from one person next spring if nothing else.
Which brings up another reason to keep Butthead another year.. I may get a few ewes that I get a ram/twin rams from and not ewes. So keeping him another year adds to his ewe lambs I will be able to keep back. Especially if I end up with a ram heavy lambing this spring.

I guess I talked myself into keeping him eh..  I may have also been imagining fleeces of his offspring a lot.. And fleeces of his possible offspring bred to some IcelandicX ewes.. And his offspring bred to a border leicester..   Don't blame me! I am a sheep AND fleece addict! I cant help it!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 28, 2017)

7 or 9 days until breeding groups go together! Y'all gonna be like Hahahaha..

~2017 breeding (2018 lambing)
Fitzwilliam: 
-black shetland, black (dark moorit?) shetland/cormo
Butthead: 
-pigpig, midget, hair x, 4 white shetland/cormo

Following breeding groups as of my current goals and mind wanderings.. Hahahaha..

~Possible 2018 breeding (2019 lambing)
Fitzwilliam: 
-Butthead's daughters 
Butthead: 
-pigpig, midget, 4 white shetland/cormo, black (dark moorit?) shetland/cormo, black shetland, hair x (depending on her lamb/s this year),... And possibly Icelandic x ewes I buy

~Possible 2019 breeding (2020 lambing)
Butthead son:
-Fitzwilliam daughters, others depending on wool qualities
Border Leicester ram ? 
Icelandic x ram ?
Jacob ram ?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 30, 2017)

Current ram breed interests for the future.. In order of current interest level.. Actual acquiring of sheep of these breeds will probably be based mostly on if a really good deal comes up and I can pinch the pennies haha.

~Border Leicester
~Icelandic
~Finn
~Jacob
~Tunis
~Blue Face Leicester
~Suffolk
~Corriedale
~Merino


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## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 8, 2017)

Breeding groups went together 10/3. I have been so crazy at work that not much has gotten accomplished. On my days off I don't even get caught up on stuff that needs done in the house, let alone working on fence or any of the other big projects that need worked on. It is getting me down 

This weekend is the festival that I take part in every year with the spinners & weavers guild and the historical society. So from Thursday through Monday I will be at the Mill grounds as early as I can get there (after chores) until things are wrapped up in the afternoon/evening. I am so excited, this festival to me is like being a kid and having a four day birthday party.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 9, 2017)

More rambling...  You guys be glad I don't post *all* the ramblings in my brain, just the ones I narrow down to...

I was thinking about ram lambs and future plans and considering if I keep a 2018 ram lamb sired by Butthead. Then after 2018 breeding I can sell him and still have a son from him that will be a fine wool to breed to the Icelandic and Jacob ewes I would like to add in the future. So even if I don't bring any in this spring I can have him to breed to them in later years. And hopefully avoid the feeder-hogging-push-n-shove that I deal with Butthead currently. 

I was also thinking what am I going to do with Fitzwilliam if next summer I can't narrow down ram lambs to keep vs wether. I don't need a ton of rams. And his 'package' is already hefty and I don't know that you could get a band over it now, let alone in several more months. I could see if someone in the spinners guild would want/need him in their flocks. And while I am a little attached to the lovable lug I think I could put him in the freezer if it meant keeping a few really promising ram lambs. 

Wethers. I am going to be so tempted to keep every lamb!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 10, 2017)

In other news.. I am playing with this seed mix calculator. Really cool! You can sign in and it will tell you your approximate first and last frost dates, average yearly rainfall, and hardiness zone. Then you can put in your goals with three priorities and it will help you make and calculate out a seed mix. You just use the drop down choices. And it is a seed company so it tells you price per lb, seeding rates,... And you can fill it out and order your own seed mix based on what you need. As you fill it in with the drop down choices it recalculates and shows you percentages of how well those crops do as far as drought, nitrogen fixing, frost tolerance, diversity,...
https://smartmix.greencoverseed.com/

So today while cleaning I have been re-watching (mostly listening to) some speaking events about cover crops and grazing, etc. The mixes I have come up with while messing with the calculator have been at about $80 per acre (plus shipping). I would really love to try an acre or two half acre sections! But so much to do and no time to do anything it seems. Plus I don't know with these areas if it would be worth it because I would have to be hand broadcasting this, most likely.


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## Roving Jacobs (Oct 10, 2017)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes around and around with breeding plans! I originally had 7 breeding groups selected and then decided that was way too many and have cut it down to 5 which keep getting reshuffled.  

If you ever want a jacob, cormo, or longwool cross ram I can hook you up  I met some nice finnsheep this year too.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 10, 2017)

Roving Jacobs said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes around and around with breeding plans! I originally had 7 breeding groups selected and then decided that was way too many and have cut it down to 5 which keep getting reshuffled.
> 
> If you ever want a jacob, cormo, or longwool cross ram I can hook you up  I met some nice finnsheep this year too.



Ha! I feel like if I don't rein myself back that will be me next year! Let alone the future years...

Thanks, You were definitely on my list of hopeful ram shopping!  And those *Gorgeous!* fleeces at Great Lakes fleece show 
I have yarn from a Jacob lamb fleece you had in 2016. Really lovely to work and spin!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Oct 19, 2017)

The breeding groups have been together 16 days now. Going by estimated heat cycles of 13-19 days.. And assuming at least two long cycles, so say 40 days from introduction.. That would be Nov 11.. So I could put the sheep back all together in mid-November and mark the date for clean-up breedings and late lambs with mystery fathering. Or I could wait another cycle and put them together in early December.. 
I would like to know who fathered which lambs.. But I also don't want to be doing all this extra chore malarkey  Right now I am leaning toward putting them all together mid-November and crossing my fingers.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 9, 2017)

Since I separated the rams Sept 5 if anyone managed to get bred before that they'd be due by the end of January. If anyone managed to get bred like ASAP of putting the groups together than earliest lambing should be the last week of February/beginning of March. Anytime after Monday will be time for two cycles to have passed. Which would make lambing as late as first week of April. On October 26 I definitely saw some flirting, tentative wooing, grunting, and flehman lippy-ness going on with Fitzwilliam. And a couple short flirting bits with the ewes peeing then skittering away.
So now I need to decide how to go about ending the groups...
Do I leave them until the end of the month or longer?
Do I pull the rams into the smaller paddock (like before breeding groups went together) and hope they don't force through?
Do I put Fitzwilliam and his two ewes back with the main group and just have to figure out baby-daddy-whodunit if I get lambs later than mid-April?

I had been planning on the last one, just putting them all back together. But I want to think about it now if there might be good reasons to do otherwise.. Or if I should wait longer before putting them together..

In other news Midget is still smitten with Fitzwilliam and I seem to catch her a lot being friendly with him at the corner of the paddock fencing where they can see each other and kind of nose through the fence. Of all the ewes it wouldn't surprise me if she has thwarted Butthead's 'affections' and would hold out to for Fitzwilliam. She has seemed to bond with him oddly. I am guessing because Pigpig lambed just after she lost her lamb. But Pigpig doesn't seem to care much about him now and Midget does seem to. Silly sheep.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 16, 2017)

11/14 I put the sheep all back together. There was a bit of chasing and running and rebel-rousing. But I watched to make sure no one was getting too wound up and then put in some fresh hay, spreading out pats of a square bale across a big section of the paddock and they seemed to all calm down. Since then there hasn't been any ruckus amongst them so I am crossing my fingers that the ewes are all bred to their respective beaus.
Now I just have to worry about everything else until lambing starts! 
I have been feeding them a mix of sweet mix, cracked corn, and alfalfa pellets. I only started with the alfalfa pellets when I separated the rams, and since the grass isn't really producing now. A mix of 2-2-1 respective as they were listed. Which I recently calculated to come to about 11.5% protein. I wanted to up that a bit now. 
I am considering switching it to 2-1-2, which raises the protein calculated to 12.8%. I wasn't sure if I would need to adjust it again to give the ewes some more protein in later lambing or not. Like mid-January? Since I am aiming for lambing in March to early April.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 24, 2017)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
I was busy as a bee yesterday but just had to drop in before I head to work today. Hope everyone had a great day with family and friends and safe travelling!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 1, 2017)

I'm tired and hope to post more intelligently tomorrow but needed to get this off my brain now...
~Butthead.. Keep him another year and deal with his idiot-ness.. Keep his best ram lamb (or two) to replace him?
~Fitz.. Love this sweet guy but considering he won't fit a lot of my goals going forward.. Selling him vs wether him and keep him a few years vs possibly find a spinners flock who would want him as a wether?
~Hair ewe.. She is katahdin, Romanov, Finn (Eventually I'll remember that!).. So all those breeds are not very seasonal breeders and she is likely not either.
She is looking pretty barrel shaped and rounding out. If she was bred the last possible day before coming to me she'd be due.. literally any day now.. And since I didn't separate the rams until September she could have been bred by either (though much more likely Butthead) she could be bred and due basically anytime. Only thing to do is count back from whenever she lambs. 
Also, depending on how her lambs turn out I need to really think about if she will stay on for producing meat lambs or to sell her on so I can focus on the rest.
~OhEmGee, For Realsies, how am I ever going to narrow down all the lovely lambs in the spring to decide on wethering or selling any?!


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## Latestarter (Dec 1, 2017)

decisions, decisions... You can always enjoy the babies up till they're grown or gone.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 5, 2017)

July 25, That's 'Hairy' in the front at the beginning..
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW-psxeF6T8/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

This morning! If I had any doubts about her lambing early they are gone now! No udder development yet but I am thinking depending on how many she is hiding in there.. Last minute 2017 lambs or early 2018 lambs.. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcU7ILNn0ec/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Also this morning.. She had quite the pose and I couldn't resist that round belly. She is carrying up by her ribs still so I will try to watch if her belly seems to shift toward the rear.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcU7DZNHmUp/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 7, 2017)

Since she was here mid june, meaning due 11/09 to 11/20? if bred at the previous farm ...she has been with the rest of the flock (both rams until Sept) and then in the breeding group with Butthead.. So I am guessing that she got bred by Butthead sometime between 8/1 and 9/1.. which would mean she is due sometime around christmas?! Maybe?? If nothing else I am guessing she is no later than early January going to lamb. So unless things are way off of that, her lamb(s) will be weaning when the rest of the ewes start lambing.

Now that I am expecting lambs out of my planned schedule.. I am wondering how this will go and if I will keep her or not for the future. And depending on her lamb(s) and growth if there would be anything to consider keeping on or just sell 'Hairy' and keep it/them for freezer. 
On the other hand maybe it will work out having her. If she makes great lambs maybe I could consider her and eyeing up some local suffolks and hamp crosses.. And if she raises some nice lambs and then lambs again in the fall..? It could work..


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 18, 2017)

Lambing watch will officially begin February 20. Earliest expected lambs Feb 24. If any ewes were bred after reintroducing the flock all back together they will be due starting April 7. Hoping to get lambing all done in March. Latest lambs should be over by mid-April though.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 19, 2017)

Hey @Roving Jacobs  how would you compare the cormo to the CVM wool? (Totally unrelated to me checking out those rams you have for sale  ...totally... ) 

I was talking with a couple people at guild meeting and after reviewing my notes... Pigpig lambed 144 days after bringing home Butthead.. So it is possible that Butthead could have sired Fitz. I am hoping that Pigpig's lamb this spring will help clear it up. If the lamb(s) are very different than Fitz I will have to assume the tiny shetland was his dad. If they turn out very similar I will have to assume that Butthead sired him.
If it is the case that Butthead is his sire I am even more curious what all the lambs will look like.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 26, 2017)

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy holidays of all sort to you all!

No lambs from Hairy yet. Watching for udder changes and she seems to be getting rounder and wider all the time!


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## Latestarter (Dec 26, 2017)

I seem to be having that problem as well... getting rounder and wider that is...  getting older too...  Happy holidays to you and yours.


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## Deidria (Dec 28, 2017)

Do u sale rabbits


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 28, 2017)

Deidria said:


> Do u sale rabbits



I do now and then but I sold down on my rabbits for this winter. I won't breed anything for a while.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 13, 2018)

Ack.. Everything is crazy here. I keep meaning to jump in here and make a decent catch-up post but it hasn't happened. Still waiting on Hairy and just waiting to see when she does finally lamb. Or if she just gets huge stupidly early and lambs along with the rest 
Lambing is scheduled to start soon as... February 24. Which suddenly feels like I only just put them all together and now lambing is counting down! It's a good thing I bought the lamb stuff ages ago or I'd be a mess! Forty-two days and counting!


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## Bruce (Jan 15, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> I seem to be having that problem as well... getting rounder and wider that is...  getting older too...  Happy holidays to you and yours.


Maybe you'll have twins @Latestarter


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 19, 2018)

Thirty-six days and counting! All the ewes got noticeably more hungry this week so I've upped the amount of feed. They aren't going after the round bales I just put out though and I'm not sure why they seem to pick at one bale but devour another. All the round bales are from the same field and I don't think it has much variation for them to be this finicky between them? Odd. But they really hoard after the square bales I put in the shelter so I'm not real worried about it. They are getting plenty and all look fat.

SO EXCITED for lambing and shearing!

Tomorrow is guild meeting and a small group of us are doing a "handspinning fleece judging" class. I am so happy to have found this guild and to know these wonderful people! I can't even put it in words!

I am putting together a list of what will go into different runs to be milled. I want to have it all skirted and washed and sorted into different runs in time to drop it off at the Zielingers mill booth at the Great Lakes fiber show in May. One run will definitely be yarn from the cormo/shetland white ewes and butthead's (his 2017 and 2018!) fleeces. I still have to go through the others and decide what to put together. I definitely want to send some for a roving/top run of natural colored wool. And I want one to be natural colored and off-white fleeces for a roving run that will blend up as a grey. And decide if a couple fleeces will be nice enough and well enough together to put into the fleece show at Great Lakes fiber show.

And then I had to go do a thing... I bought dyes... And some cheaper sock yarn... So I will have that to play with and see if I want to do some yarn dyeing or just go with fiber dyeing. Either way I am adding to my investments and need so much more time than I ever actually have! And somewhere in there find time to feed myself and clean house as least a little bit... Hahaha!

Butthead is being.. especially butthead-ish.. He needs a ram flock or to go in the freezer. I hope to find a few minutes to list him on a couple groups but haven't gotten to that yet either. The wether keeps getting a stay of execution but he will be going in the freezer for sure. He is still a nut. Nice wool but too much hassle to be worth dealing with one fleece. Especially when I will want to keep every lamb as it is! I will be keeping the ewes for sure. And probably the two best looking ram lambs will keep their 'family jewels' to be possibly sold and possibly kept back for breeding here next year. The wethers I hope to sell. 

And lambs from Hairy will probably be freezer bound. I still can hardly believe she is holding out! I know she has lambed just fine at least once before so I don't have much reason to worry. But the bigger she gets the more I worry if she has a huge single and possible birthing problems. But I am really hoping for a lot of twins from Buttheads group.

Fitzwilliam has filled out a bit. His head looks more.. mature? He is a handsome guy and his fleece seems softer now than his lamb fleece was. More of a softer hand, where his lamb fleece is almost sproingy feeling like a down wool in a way. I am really interested to see how his lambs turn out. And to see how Pigpig's lambs turn out, if there is a big difference in them and Fitz to help guess if he was sired by the tiny shetland or by Butthead.

I could go on for a few more paragraphs but I've still got to gather my things by the door for in the morning. 
I hope everyone's critters are doing well! I will have to go look for lambing threads! And start one for my own!!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 30, 2018)

Everyone got wormed yesterday... By that I mean we actually got some in the pen and after the first three I figured out how to hold them and the best way to put the syringe in their mouth. The rest I had to do some feed blackmailing and got in some lucky grabs to dose. There was two ewes and the wether left to dose but they were just getting really anxious and running around. 
This morning I managed to get the two ewes in the pen during feeding time. So the only one left to do is the wether but I know he will be really difficult so I'm not going to try to get him until at least my next day off work when I know I have time to wait him out and grab him.

I tell you what though if I had my barn built this would have all been done in an hour or less! Not over three hours and two days, plus however long to grab the wether... Live and learn I guess.

Hairy is getting quite taut-bellied and her back end looks to be getting puffy. So I just now checked the date I removed the rams... 9/5/17... which puts the latest due date for her (before my planned breeding groups) at... Today! What?! For some reason I thought her due date would have had to been like two weeks ago. Apparently I didn't check the dates and check it, I just thought it was a week or more passed already... So she could very well pop anytime from today through Saturday if she got bred the last day or two before separating the rams... Life sure stays interesting around here!

I ordered the combs and cutters that (fingers crossed!) should be the last of what I need for shearing! And that should be here on Thursday 

Also made a lambing thread.. https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/ohiogoatgirls-2018-lambing-thread.37337/


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 9, 2018)

I've been really thinking about this... I will be listing butthead and if he doesn't sell soon after shearing he will probably go in the freezer. Fitz will have longer opportunity to be sold unless he develops some shenanigans issues himself (knock on wood!) but I am not planning on keeping him.
I will be watching the lambs and evaluating. All ewe lambs stay (barring health issues). The best ram lamb (or two) will stay, preferably of twins and one white and one colored.
This fall those two ram lambs will go in with all the ewes (2018).
Most likely keep all those ewe lambs and cull the older cross ewes after weaning (2019). If one of the 2018 born rams really grow well and have great fleece I may keep one back.
2019 I will be on the lookout for a BFL or Corriedale ram.

At least until I decide otherwise


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 14, 2018)

VICTORY NAP! 
....or laundry and a shower and getting ready for work.. *grumbles*.. go adulting.. 
But the rams are in the lower paddock! 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfL090anPFe/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 18, 2018)

With the boys separate now I have upped the feed a tiny bit. Only because they are all looking so big and with less than a week until the first possible due date they will be working on building up those udders! 

Speaking of.. This morning I checked Midget and her udder has grown significantly! It will be interesting to see what order they lamb in and who shows an udder sooner or closer to lambing. I am trying to remember to take notes on all of this for future years. 

I talked to Hairy's previous owner and last year she lambed late February with a very big single ewe. Said she was big as a bus. I told her she's been big as a bus since December!  So I am really hoping for twins rather than a huge single. Although I think with the katahdin in her she will probably tend to throw bigger birth weight lambs.

Speaking of weight I gotta remember to put the scale and lamb sling and all the 'goodies' in a dedicated bag to have all set. I bought bands but hoping dad will find the bander.. Somewhere..  If not in the next couple days then I will buy my own to add to the bag.
Lambing goody bag:
bander, bands
ear tags, applicator
notebook, pens
scale, lamb sling

Very open to suggestions of anything else I should probably add to the bag.

Also thinking about when is the best time to put in ear tags and band tails. I want to wait a couple days at least for the tags because it seems like their ears are too delicate right after birth. 

I am planning to wait to do any banding of ram lambs 'jewels' until at least all the lambing is done and I know what I have. The plan is that real tiny rams would get banded first or if any had a serious fault or health issue (especially genetic). Other than that I want to let them grow some and evaluate them.

Also hoping to keep up with weighing the lambs regularly. I know most people seem to do birth weight, 30days, 60days, 90days. I want to at least do those. When they are smaller I may do like every second week for a while. Help track their early growth. Partially for my own interest and partially to see if it helps me decide on keeper ram lamb(s).


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## Latestarter (Feb 19, 2018)

I've read and heard a lot about banding males early vs late. Though my investigation was dealing with goats, I'd suspect much of it would hold for sheep as well. The testes of a male contribute to male health, growth, build, etc. In addition, the urethra needs time to mature as well... Banding/castration too early can cause it to remain very small/narrow adding concern for urinary calculi (crystals blocking the urethra). From what I understand, leaving them intact for a while aids in enhanced growth, thicker build/more muscle, better health, stronger animals. With my goats, they become breeding capable about 3 months, so I wait till just before that to band them. I know my intact buck is much thicker, stronger, larger than my wether and they are about the same age.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 19, 2018)

HAIRY HAS UDDER DEVELOPMENT 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfYyNexnZAg/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

The shetland ewe. Her belly is the most obviously round (after hairy) apart from her small frame. There was a bit of late flirting from Fitz with her and the black cross ewe so they may go about the same time as the others or a while later.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfYy1FtnWQy/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Hungry boys. They were not happy about the rain.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfY1lYEHW5C/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Fitz has recently started having these grey (?) hairs around his eyes. We shall see if he starts changing color a bit.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfY2dnLHZOV/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 20, 2018)

I'm not sure if I actually * need * a stethoscope or I just really really want one now that I saw it... I don't think any of the ewes would let me sit there and listen to their bellies... Except maybe Midget 

http://www.lancasterag.com/Stethoscope/item/014118000


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## Bruce (Feb 20, 2018)

Ah heck, it is only $16. Go for it. You can listen to your heart and lungs if the ewes aren't willing to be "investigated".


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 20, 2018)

Posted this in the lambing thread but figured it should go here too.. I'm sure I will keep going back over re-reading my posts for things I'll forget like I already do now.. 

With the white ewes I am considering possibly options if they lamb close together. As the ewes do not have tags or any notable differentiation other than the younger looking two and the older looking two. I was really hit with this when I wormed them and had to have hands on the next ewe as not to double dose any of the white ewes... 
Thinking that I will be banding tails will help. If one lambs in the morning I will hopefully have checked them and banded tails, taken weights, etc. before the next one goes. So the newer lambs won't have tails banded yet.

However after the first couple days if I end up with many white lambs I will have to rely on the lambs going to the correct ewes. I was planning to put in ear tags at a couple days old because newborn lamb ears are just so.. new and soft and tiny.. I hate the idea of putting tags in their tiny ears and having one rip out  I know that may happen but I want to try and avoid it.

I hate marking crayons but I was thinking if I got one I could do something like mark the first set with crayon mark on top of the head, then the next mark on the tails, the next on front legs, the next on back legs,... And I would make note of it in my notebook I have added to the lambing kit bin. This will help me to keep track of the lambs until I tag ears and then I can keep sort of track of the white ewes that way too. In case any have any sort of problem I can mark it as whichever number lambs mom. That will also be good to watch for in keeper ewes if any have problems I will know which ewe line is culprit.

Am I a little overboard with the ear tagging? I was thinking definitely before a week old.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 21, 2018)

We do ear tags by 3 days old but ours might be a bit larger than your lambs.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 23, 2018)

The belly stare... Short clip of three of the white cross ewes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfjqiwLHhWO/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Guesses as to who will have how many?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfjrpRUnUj7/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

Hairy, twins. Pigpig, single. Midget, single. Shetland ewe, single (tiny twins??). Black cross ewe, twins. Two older white cross ewes, twins. Two younger white cross ewes, singles. 
Think pink you guys! 

Today I cleaned out the stalls.. I know, last minute  but there is only three of them and I have 9 ewes. And right in front of them is all the square bales. I am hoping tomorrow to move the bales around and make some room. I would really like to make enough room to bring over the panels and be able to have all the ewes in that barn once they lamb. They wouldn't have pasture access for that time but since everything is a muddy mess that is really what they need. It would also give me a nice little area to keep an eye on them all and not off on a wild chase with the wily ones. I want to work with the lambs plenty so that the replacements will all be plenty tame to work with going forward. 

Also it would give the paddock time to not be trampled and hopefully dry out!  And the ewes will be easily accessible to be grabbed and shorn. Which hopefully will be enough room for me to do the shearing in there too... Ugh I hope...


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 28, 2018)

Just posted this in the lambing thread as well..


*** WARNING ** graphic explanations ** WARNING***

Well I called off work today. Went up to feed this morning and Hairy was way out the side of the paddock and was holding her back legs oddly the way she stood. She totally ignored me and the rest of the ewes walking toward the shelter for feed. I figured she either has a stuck lamb or prolapsed.

Sure enough she prolapsed. I had checked about 11:30 last night so happened sometime between then and about 10am. She was having none of me trying to get close to check her out. I had closed up the other ewes in the shelter so as not to rile everyone up trying to get Hairy. I ended up having dad come up and help me catch her. Finally got her with a cattle panel weir fishing trap sort of deal in front of the shelter. I thought my legs were going to give out from all the walking and jogging across and up and down the hill.

Got the halter on her and started the long walk (drag) over to the barn with the stalls. She was not very cooperative. Finally got her in the stall. Run around gathering up twine. Rig up a harness. Well I couldn't get her rigged up so I made up something myself that does alright. Except it is a harness but didn't go around her backend. So dad ties up this weird net thing. I'm like dad we need something to hold pressure on her bits not just hang on if she pushes it out again. Besides it was totally the wrong size to even be on her back end.

So I've got this spray bottle of water. I've scrubbed my hands and arms. I've got a bucket of water waiting outside the stall. The gross factor of me having to handle that pink/red mass is starting to climb. Spraying off the prolapse. Spraying off my hands. Spraying off the prolapse and wiping off bits of hay and 'other stuff'. Dad has never dealt with a prolapse before (we had dairy goats for years) and had only ever heard of prolapse after birthing. So as I am kneeling on the ground of the stall at the back end of Hairy.. I try to push things in and she bears down.. Dad gives a giggle and asks me if it feels like a breast.. Way to go Dad.. He was serious though he seemed to have a higher gross out factor about it than I did starting out. The weirdest thing to me was just how warm it was. I know weird to get grossed out about considering it all but it was.

So finally Dad and me manage to push and hold and she stops bearing down and it starts sliding back in! Ugh the squelching. Ew. And of course she can't pee like she was so me and dad got a nice urine bath up to the elbows getting it in the last of the way. Then dad was trying to feel around and make sure things weren't wrongly folded in itself or something but neither of us know what it feels like normally so we did our best. (Side note dad has pulled goat kids before but almost never had to reach in and then it wasn't all that much.)

Now we have to figure out what to use on her back end to hold her in. Dad comes up with this strapped plastic peanut butter lid and cuts out part of the center. Well it goes around her whole vulva area. So we kind of cross laced it with some cotton string. She has peed quite a bit and is drinking now.

I keep going up and checking on her. Between me getting the harness on her and us going in and putting her inside bits back inside she had a moment that I wasn't sure. It looked like contractions. If she was a goat I would have told you contractions 210% for sure. However the sheep keep proving me wrong so I'm unsure if she wasn't just straining and grunting in pain/discomfort because of the prolapse. Time shall tell.


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## Latestarter (Feb 28, 2018)

You know, you don't really have to post duplicate posts... Just sayin


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 10, 2018)

I have been trying to breed Coco (mini rex doe) for a while now. She hadn't taken the breedings. I was getting frustrated. Sure enough I go out to take the rams some hay just before dark.. And she had kindled on the wire because I hadn't given her a nest because I absolutely did not feel any babies when I palpated her multiple times. 
Luckily the kits are doing alright and I seem to have caught them in time. 3 kits, looks like possibly a white, broken black or blue, broken opal maybe (it was very very light difference of color). It was high of 37*F here today and when I went out it was 30*F. Got a nest in there and she is makin a better nest. Got the babies warmed up and put out in the nest. Good thing I have a jar out there that I saved a bunch of her fur from the first time she kindled (lost to coons sadly) and when I checked back she was pulling more fur and they were still warm. Fingers crossed.

Hairy lambed a single ewe 3/6/17. Birth weight 10.74 lbs! And pretty sure she has gained a couple more in the days since. She is a big lamb and has some long legs on her.
Partly waited to post to make sure she was doing good and partly because I've been so busy and exhausted. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_XyWungPz/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgCEWoDnsuD/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_YQ2xHAxx/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats

From today..
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgK2Fm2nNzf/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## Latestarter (Mar 11, 2018)

Good catch on the kits. that would have been a sad loss. Grats on the new ewe lamb.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 11, 2018)

She lost the kits. Ugh. She had moved the next all around and they got pushed out of the hair I'd put in. She had pulled a little more but in a different corner. Bred her back and will put her with the buck again tomorrow.


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## Bruce (Mar 12, 2018)




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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 12, 2018)

I bred Coco again this morning. Two covers each time so crossing my fingers. Got it marked to put the nest in and her due date. 

Go check the lambing post for some lamb surprises! 

Swipe or click to the right for a funny little story about the shortly missing rooster 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgMAlq6nxsn/?taken-by=girlwalkswithgoats


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 26, 2018)

Updated the lambing thread. Will try to post some more of the lamb races and napping pics/clips here later.

When to keep for expanding breeding ewes vs cull older ewes and harder to manage ewes?
I have a smaller size flock and looking to expand. I am wondering about a couple ewes I bought. They are 3-6y/o ewes and difficult to work with. I am keeping all my ewe lambs and looking into bringing in some other ewe lambs possibly this year. I have 3 proven ewes I know I want to keep and 7 ewe lambs (two more ewes left to lamb so hopefully a couple more!).
But these five ewes are just about seeming to be more trouble than worth. They are nice type and great wool that I would like more lambs from. However they all become legless woolly boulders the second you put a halter on them. And catching them in a pen, to catch them, to put a halter on them... Well the whole thing is an ordeal with these ewes. I don't want them rubbing off their insanity on the keeper ewe lambs. And they get the other proven ewes riled up and make them difficult to work as well.
Do I cull the 5 ewes in favor of what's left of my sanity? (HA!)
Plus if I get decent price from them I could use that to bring in some other ewe lambs?
I am undecided at this point. Hopefully by the time I wean lambs I will have a decision.

Another decision I've been thinking over is CIDRS. It ends up being like $7 per ewe. It will definitely be an investment. I am seriously considering it though. To have most of the ewes lamb in a set week and then any stragglers about two weeks later? That sounds amazing after having this spread out lambing.


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## Roving Jacobs (Mar 26, 2018)

I used CIDRs this year and getting lambing done in 10 days instead of over a month on average was great. Only had two that didn't settle out of 20 and one I figured one wasn't going to since it was her third try. I was exhausted after those 10 days but they were all born while I was on spring break just as planned. I'll be done with my masters by next year but I might end up using them again just because they were so convenient. 

My personal opinion is that there are too many good sheep out there to keep ones you don't like. They don't sound like "problem" sheep so I wouldn't feel bad selling them as breeders, just maybe not the right personality or background for your operation. It sounds like you want super well halter broke, extremely docile sheep and those girls clearly aren't going to be it without a lot work. Starting from lambs that you can break the way you want seems like a good idea.


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 26, 2018)

Following your journal. Very interested in your breeding plans and processing wool. I’m a planner also and have a tentative breeding plan based on all kinds of variables through 2020. I change it regularly or add variables. I’ve always found wool work very neat.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 31, 2018)

Oh lordy yall! It has been so busy here!

To wrap up lambing season here is the final story...
First lamb March 6 and last lamb May 5! Holy Toledo! Several of the ewes lambed from the 12th to 20th of March. 
Fitz got 2 ewes resulting in a single ewe and twin ewes. (total 3 ewes)
Butthead got 7 ewes resulting in 4 singles and 3 twins. (total 6 ewes, 4 rams)

I sold two wethers. I bought a ram lamb. I thought I had a hold on the worming and it turned sideways and with several troubles I finally figured out I had barber pole worm problem. Now I have six wormers here to show for it... They are due to be checked and re-wormed as needed right now. In the time it took me to get things under control with that I lost 3 lambs. One of course being the ram lamb I had bought...  And the group of ewes I had bought last year were not cooperating with me at all, I decided it was best to take them to the auction. I bought two ewe lambs.

Currently I have...
grown ewes- Pigpig, Midget
ewe lambs- Ayr, jane, caroline, lizzy, mary, kitty, Lydia, 184, 185
grown ram- butthead
ram lamb- bingley
wethers- idiot, sir William (lamb)

~Ayr is Hairy's daughter. I decided to keep her and see how she does. Her wool is very interesting and she is built real sturdy like her mom. Crossing my fingers Hairy's prolapse was a one-off and not passed on.
~Bingley is caroline's twin, Midget is their mom and sired by butthead. Caroline is dual coated and looks like she will be a mini-me of midget in type. Bingley is one of the sturdiest body lambs I had born here and his fleece looks so nice, great crimp and nice density and rich color.
~184 is sired by a border cheviot and mom was 75% shetland 25% cormo (like the group of ewes I had). 185 is also sired by the same ram and mom was pure shetland. Both are white and have really nice fleece. Density is pretty good and I really love the hand it has! Crimp is looking very similar to border cheviot. I actually got some of the rams fleece from this spring and processed and spun it, and I am familiar with the pure fine wool shetlands of this flock. A cross ram lamb from this farm is definitely an option for the future.

I am going to see how the ewe lambs grow right up until breeding groups. The sufficient sized ones will go into groups. There is 5 I am pretty sure will be fine and 4 I am not sure. The 4 are more shetland in % and in body type.
Pure shetlands run 75-100# for ewes. 80% of that adult size would be 65# to 80#. I am planning to have breeding groups together a little later in the year also, so that ewe lambs will be 8 months at breeding and 12/13months at lambing.

My breeding groups were planned as...
butthead- midget, pigpig, 184, 185, kitty
bingley- mary, jane, ayr, lizzy, lydia, caroline
...and with the idea that if they aren't big enough the groups might end up...
butthead- midget, pigpig, 184, 185
bingley- mary, jane, ayr

At this month's spinners and weaver guild meeting a member came to me and said he needed to talk to me before I/he leaves.. Kind of odd but ok. So after lunch he waves me down and tells me he is cutting down his flock.. a lot.. He has over 30 adults and he wants to cut down to 8 or 10. Another girl in the guild is building up a flock of pure shetlands (fine wool, registered, etc) and he's talked to her and she is going to let him know what she wants. I should let him know what I want.
Honestly I was a little in shock  He has helped me with sheep stuff and wool stuff and I knew he was fond of me being a younger person in the fiber/sheep world. So before I head home I stop him again and he clarifies that he wants to GIVE ME the sheep! 

So after thinking it over and mulling over lots of stuff I send him an email with some things I'm interested in. Up to 1 ram(/ram lamb) and 9 ewes. This would give me 20 ewes total.

So if that goes well breeding groups will be...
butthead- midget, pigpig, 184, 185, & 4 shetland ewes (total 7)
bingley- ayr, lizzy, jane, & 3 shetland ewes (total 6)
new ram- kitty, mary, caroline, Lydia, & 3 shetland ewes (total 7)
cleanup rams- butthead for shetland ewes (total 9), new ram for the rest (total 11).

And I am hoping to get CIDRs to use on the ewes and hopefully have lambing all pretty close grouped together. And I am hoping that with groups this small I won't have to stagger pulling CIDRs but also won't have many miss and be caught later.


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## Wehner Homestead (Aug 31, 2018)

Giving you sheep that are worthy of your purpose!! Just wow!! Keep us posted on that!


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## Roving Jacobs (Aug 31, 2018)

How nice of that gentleman to gift you nice stock like that!

20 ewes is perfect because that's how many CIDRs come in a pack  I wouldn't bother staggering them with that few ewes to a group, as long as the ram doesn't play favorites it should be no sweat to cover all of them. Fingers crossed they all take the first time! I used a 12 day protocol with no lute or PG600 and had great luck with it.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Aug 31, 2018)

Roving Jacobs said:


> How nice of that gentleman to gift you nice stock like that!
> 
> 20 ewes is perfect because that's how many CIDRs come in a pack  I wouldn't bother staggering them with that few ewes to a group, as long as the ram doesn't play favorites it should be no sweat to cover all of them. Fingers crossed they all take the first time! I used a 12 day protocol with no lute or PG600 and had great luck with it.



I know I can still hardly believe it! 

 yes that's why I told him up to 9 ewes! Hahaha!

Sounds good! I am using them by themselves, no lute or pg600, and I figure if I end up breeding all 20 and get more than 10 to lamb close together I'll be pretty happy.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 26, 2018)

If feels like that last post as a week ago not months ago! It's been so busy trying to catch up and get things done around here my sense of time is even worse than usual.. 

Nov 13 I finally picked up the panels and the new sheep. 
I got a great deal on the panels from a guy who is going into fabrication. He and his wife had alpacas but got out of them. They had the last of their fleeces as well as his new hay feeders, etc. at the Great Lakes show in Wooster this spring. They had two panels there with the hay feeders on them and I got to talking to them. The panels were used to pen up the alpacas they'd bring to shows. He added bars at the bottom and recoated them for me. They are nice and light, easy to move, and easily bolt together for a pen.
The panels were loaded on top of the truck cap and I was off to pick up the shetlands. My friend from the spinners and weavers guild who was giving them to me kept trying to talk me into taking more!  But I knew I needed to have enough barn space and to get them all home in the back of my little truck. Plus feeding all the darn things!  

I came home with a moorit spotted ram lamb. 
3 moorit katmoget, 2 black katmoget, and 1 white adult ewes. 3 to 6y/o.
1 black katmoget, 1 black with white forehead mark, and 2 unknown color/pattern ewe lambs.

As soon as I got to the pen of adult ewes nearly all my concerns about breeding my ewe lambs was gone. My ewe lambs are all as big and bigger than the adult ewes! The smaller of mine being the 75% shetlands and even then they are just about the same size as the pure shetland ewes. The ram lamb is noticeably smaller than even my smallest ewe lamb born here. The shetland ewe lambs are that and smaller. The black katmoget ewe lamb I've already taken to calling Tiny Kat. She is a smidge over 20# and all around smaller than the other ewe lambs. I have them penned to keep them safely from the rams. 
At my friends place he didn't have space to separate and the ewe lambs were with the ram lamb until they got here. I'm hoping being so small that they haven't cycled. Just in case I looked ahead and marked on my calendar that they could possibly lamb until April 12th. After that I can be sure if they haven't lambed or are about to pop then they won't be. I'll be keeping a close eye on them.

When I unloaded the new sheep I got everyone set up into breeding groups. 
Butthead and Bingley were still in the smaller paddock and I had added Midget, Pigpig, and Ayrshire on Nov 7. On the 13th I unloaded the new ewes into the shed (paddock above the house). The new ewe lambs got put into another section of the barn. I used two of the new panels to make a pen in the barn for the 'ewe lamb group'.
In the barn is the shetland ram lamb with Jane (moorit/fawn? spotted), Lizzy (blk), Kitty (blk), Lydia (moorit), Caroline (fawn/tan?). All ewe lambs born here.

In the shed is the 6 adult shetland ewes, Mary (white, pigpig x butthead daughter), and 184 & 185 (white, shetland/border cheviot cross). I was exhausted by this time so Bingley (blk, greying?) got moved in with them morning of the 14th.

I am planning to separate the rams from the groups on Dec 3. This only gives them a 20 day window but I'm hoping to get to MD sheep & wool so hoping that this will keep lambing from March 29th to May 3rd. With a little luck (ha! fat chance!) I won't be leaving dad on lamb watch for a straggler or if so that they'd wait til I returned.

Which brings me to.. Gosh darn it I gotta get on this sales stuff because I *NEED* to try CDIRs next year! I would feel much better right now if I had been able to get things in order and gotten them to mostly cycle together. As it is I have plenty of ewes so I'm bound to have several get bred.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 26, 2018)

Also.. I've put in with the only people I can find locally-ish for shearing in early March. But I've got several stories of them changing shearing dates over a month's time closer to the date originally scheduled. 
If anyone can recommend shearer(s) I'd much appreciate it. I just don't trust myself to a) be able to shear them all myself, and b) be able to properly handle fat preggo ewes safely.

Any which way I won't be lambing with full wool sheep this year!


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## Bruce (Nov 26, 2018)

Don't know how many of us would know any shearers in your area, good luck and congrats on the new animals.


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## Roving Jacobs (Nov 26, 2018)

Where are you (generally) in OH? You can message me if you'd prefer or email rovingacres at gmail. I know several shearers and can ask around my Ohio sheep buddies for recommendations. I do shearing as well but I seem to remember you being fairly far from me. At very least I can tell you who to avoid!

Aren't shetland lambs so teeny?! There were a ton at SAFF in NC and it was hard to not just stick them in your pocket and run away with them, they were too cute. If you're worried about your tiny ewes getting bred this year you can always give them a dose of lute 10 days from their last ram exposure. All the ewe lambs I took to show got a dose because they ran with my rams while preparing and I didn't want to risk it. I was thinking of going to Maryland Sheep and Wool as well. It's a bad time to show sheep but I might go cheer on my jacob friends. Maybe we'll run into each other.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Nov 29, 2018)

Thanks! I sent you an email  

They are so teeny! Of the four ewe lambs, three are at/nearly 40# and poor little 'tiny kat' is barely 20#! The guy thinks she had cocci but non-clinical and among everything he was dealing with this year she just is a bit stunted. I am trying to feed them up though. There was some soft poops but I'm trying to keep a close eye on them to get them growing without making them gluttons.

I am not sure when I'll be around at MD S&W. My friends are volunteering with a dinner setup.
Will you be going to Great Lakes in Wooster? I'll be there the whole weekend  I know I saw your fleece there before but missed you.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 5, 2018)

I've been throwing around a lot of ideas and I think I've come to a conclusion.

This spring I will try to take a lot of notes on weights and health. I'm hoping to cobble up Christmas money and buy flock filer so that I can do that better and be able to look at it more subjectively. This year I had taken notes on weights but the notepad was left in the barn and got knocked down and wet... So I lost the weights I'd recorded, except for birth weights which I'd noted in my IG posts during lambing. But I didn't have things setup to take weaning weights and it wasn't about to happen with a lamb sling.

All this to say I'm hoping to keep only a couple ewes if any and they will have to really be the best ones. The rest I will put up for sale and those that aren't spoken for by weaning will be taken to the auction. It'll be a test run for me as I've never taken any kind of large number of animals (more than 10) to an auction and definitely the first that will be as meat animals.

From the sales $ I will invest in a BFL ram. 
So next fall the shetland ram I just got, will get the young shetland ewes and more slight shetland ewes. Depending on size, possibly the smaller of my crossbred ewes. Then the BFL ram would get the rest of the ewes.

The shetlands I have someone that is interested in any pure shetlands I'd be selling. I'll probably end up keeping a handful of pure shetlands for the foreseeable future, unless things change dramatically.

The BFL cross lambs I'll be tracking and making notes on. Hopefully nice and tidy with the flock filer program. Then come weaning time I will evaluate. Who is already not making the cut. More notes and weights. When I would be taking them to the sale I'll evaluate again and see who passed the first but is slacking behind. I don't have any idea of numbers to how many I'd keep, just that I want to make sure and really evaluate who has proven to fit my goals. And trying to keep in mind that I may well sell off some of what are now my ewe lambs I'd kept back.

This will give me some BFL crosses to get moving towards my goals. From the sales of the meat lambs and culled ewes I will invest in a few Corriedale ewes.

From here I should have a lot more of the traits that I want and need. I can use the BFL a few years and see what crossing is working best. I've been haunting the BFL and corriedale fb groups and asked in one of the fiber artists groups for thoughts on the fiber of these crosses.
I have made a lot of notes of possible breeding schemes and crosses. I think as long as I can stick to my notes and weights etc and evaluate them then this will bring me much closer to my goals.


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## Latestarter (Dec 6, 2018)

Hope it all works out for you. Sounds like a lot of work, but you should get some interesting outcomes.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 10, 2018)

After a lot more internet hunting I think I've decided on a tentative plan of action.

*I will only keep a couple ewes the prove to grow really really great and have great wool
*Decide from among the current ewes if anyone really does not make the cut
*Feed up the lambs, take to auction as meat lambs
*With $ from lambs sales buy BFL ram
*2019 breeding use shetland ram on 5 shetland ewes and 3 of my smallest cross ewes (unless they put on a big growth spurt or I take them to auction). Use BFL ram on 5 shetland ewes, 4 cross ewes, 2 mutt ewes, 2 shet/b.cheviot ewes.
*Sell pure shetland lambs
*BFL/shet mules keep best ewes. Expecting great offspring from shet/b.cheviot ewes and pigpig. Since my cross lambs now are big as/bigger than the shetlands I'd expect the mule cross to be better that from the pure shetlands.
*Keep only the best of the ewe lambs! The remaining sell at auction as meat lambs.
*With $ from lambs sales buy a few corriedale ewes
*2020 breeding shetland on shetlands, BFL on rest.

I've already been doodling some ideas of what crossing and back crossing.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 14, 2018)

I must have been more loopy that I thought while I was ill Monday...  I did not realize I repeated myself entirely 

Anyyyyways...
I was reading and it was mentioned about dosing ewes with Corid before lambing for cocci prevention in the lambs. I did a quick search but didn't find anything helpful about that.

so here is all my current notes going forward...
2019
-email cunningham about shearing, going for late Feb-early march.

-considering putting late group in for late lambing and fall/winter meat lamb auction. However I want Pigpig and shetland ewes ready for fall breeding. If bunch of the ewe lambs are not bred they could be put in late group? They'd lamb mid-late july. wean late sept. lambs 5mo/old december market. Ewe lambs would be 16mo at lambing. Can cull as needed with market lambs. Then leave them with lambs seperate from breeding. Be ready for Oct breeding 2020 with plenty of recovery time.
3/1/19-3/20/19 groups, due 7/25/2019-8/14/19, market- nov 5mo, dec 6mo

-dosing ewes with Corid for cocci prevention in lambs???

-Only consideration for keeper ewe lambs would be from- pigpig, 184, 185, mary, jane- IF they are really great looking.

-Eric: 4-5 ewes and 1 rams (I owe him a wether)- interest in Bingley, Sir william, Caroline, Lydia (if decided to cull)? Setup day for him to come after weaning.

-Lambs to Mt Hope in Sept? preferably before breeding groups in Oct.

***Need buy list with lamb sales $-
#1 priority- BFL ram, CIDRs & stuff, large weigh sling (P1 $17), coats, wool to mill?
#2 priority- iodine spray (p1 5.60), prolapse harness & spoon (p1 22.50),
#3 priority- design optimal size panels for jugs & chute use, design 2-way sort gate (p1 172) and guillotine gate (p1 229) and see what denny would want for fabrication?

-Rams as far away from ewes as possible by mid august.
CIDRs in Oct 4
CIDRs out Oct 15 & groups together
(BFL will be big group, pull 4 a day to not over-do the ram)
Nov 6 seperate breeding groups
Due March 10- April 1
(If lambing done tight group early on, lambs will be 3 months mid June & 6 months mid Sept.)


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## Latestarter (Dec 15, 2018)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> -Rams as far away from ewes as possible by mid august.


 I thought that would be sufficient for my March born kids... I would suggest that mid-late July would prove a better time frame for this. Just sayin'


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 15, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> I thought that would be sufficient for my March born kids... I would suggest that mid-late July would prove a better time frame for this. Just sayin'



Lol ya they like to change our plans don't they.
I am going to have the rams separated already. They are only together during breeding groups. But I'm hoping that the new paddocks will be ready by then. So that I can work my rotation that the rams will be plenty out of sight. I'm planning to use CIDRs and based on some info for people trying to induce cycle out-of-season I was hoping that by having them more removed, the ewes will be easier to synchronize that way. right now all paddocks share at least a section of fence. So they are separated but can still hang out together about 5ft apart.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 19, 2018)

2019 lambing-
150% would be 27 lambs. My estimate is 23 lambs if all 18 ewes are bred.
Only consideration for keeper ewe lambs would be from- pigpig, 184, 185, mary, jane- IF they are really great looking. All others to be sold.

2019 breeding-
Shetland ram: Minnie pearl (white shetland), 4 young shetland ewes
BFL ram: pigpig, mary, 184, 185, jane, lizzy, kitty, lydia, 3 br katmoget shetland, 2 blk katmoget shetland, ayr, caroline, midget
*ewes listed in order of who I'd most like to keep ewe lambs from.
*also noting I may cull caroline and midget before this time.
*Ayr is on the watch list since her mom prolapsed but crossing my fingers for her. She is nice and solid so if nothing else I'd like to keep her around for meat lambs.

2020 lambing-
21 ewes x 150% lambing would be 31 lambs. My estimate is 36 lambs. I'll definitely be culling for mothering ability and twinning rate by this time.
I'll be noting the best looking lambs from the best moms. I'll need to be critical because depending on how many ewe lambs I keep back and how many adult ewes I cull will be deciding in how many Corriedale ewes I will bring in after selling the remaining lambs. I need to remind myself that keeping ewes that are so-so is not going to get me what I want across the flock.

2020 breeding-
Shetland ram: shetland ewes (how many depending on how many shetland/bfl lambs I kept back, and if any had trouble lambing bred to the BFL)
BFL ram: pigpig, mary, 184, 185, jane, lizzy, kitty, lydia, Corriedale ewes, shetland ewes
*I'm still undecided on breeding ewe lambs. I'll just have to see how the mule ewes grow. Although from what I've seen I think they will quickly outgrow all their mothers.
*Shetland ewes weighing 65-90# and BFL ewes 150-175#. If I average that combination you get smaller ewes 108# and bigger ewes 133# as an estimation for adult ewe sizes for that cross. 80% of that would be 86.4# and 106.4#. From what I see online from people with this cross I think breeding ewe lambs is a definite possibility. One person had 3.5 month old lambs weight 45-70#. From mother ewes weighing 65-95#.

2021 lambing-
By this point I think I will really need to buckle down to what are doing well and what are not. Ewes who are not, need to go. Ewes who are doing best need ewe lambs kept back. _Also by this time I should be (if not already) looking out ewes who never breed the first cycle. As the flock grows having a tight lambing will be important, I should start with that intention._

_2021 breeding-
This is when I will begin with multi sire groups. I will have picked the best two ram lambs that are BFL/shetland and best two ram lambs that are BFL/corriedale. 
I think this first year I will put the BFL/shet over the BFL/shet ewes and any remaining pure shetland ewes. And the BFL/corr over the corriedale and BFL/corr ewes. 
On the other hand if I put some BFL/shet ewes and some BFL/corr ewes with the opposite cross rams... then I could compare the same breed back cross lambs to the opposite cross bred lambs._

....Less linear thoughts on breeding. next line = next year's groups, (...) separate groups of same year. blank line between thoughts:

BFL ram x corriedale
BFL x corriedale & bfl/corr 50/50
BFL x bfl/corr ... bfl/corr 50/50 ram x corriedale
compare lambs stats between 50/50, 75 bfl/ 25 corr, 75 corr/ 25 bfl
*bring in corriedale ram? cheviot ram terminal?
*continue cross with 50/50 ram? need consider % relatedness.

BFL ram x shetland & shetland cross
compare lambs from shetland moms vs cross moms
BFL x shetland cross & bfl/shet & bfl/shet cross
compare lambs from diff moms
*bring in corriedale ram? cheviot ram terminal?
*continue crossing with 50/50 ram? need to consider % relatedness.

BFL ram x shet/border cheviot
compare lambs stats to shetland moms'
BFL x shet/b.ch. & bfl/shet-b.ch.
compare lambs

bfl/corr ram x bfl/shet & bfl/shet cr

bfl/shet x corriedale & bfl/corr

_((edited to add italicized parts))_


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 9, 2019)

After reviewing the livestock sales reports on the auction website I am rethinking my original idea of feeding up the lambs until fall. It seems like I'm better off to watch prices and take them in june and do my best to feed em up by then. I'm looking at the barn and thinking on a creep feed setup. Heck some years the price doesn't drop until late july.
But I can't count on the price coming back up in the fall. 2017 the price crept right up in October but 2018 it was crap from august through November. If I try to keep them until fall anyways I have that much longer I pay for feed and odds of them falling ill or dying. I think it's a much better bet to aim for creep feeding them and take them in early summer. The price will have dropped a bit but won't as likely be down to crap.
Better to feed $ in creep for three months than $$ feed and hay over twice that time, and loose some, and still get the same or less $ as I'd have got taking them in june.

I'm also revisiting some breeding ideas. Still getting the BFL ram and next year Corriedale ewes. But to keep a shetland mule 'line' and a Corriedale mule 'line', not crossing the shetland and Corriedale. After I see what I'm getting from the two 'lines' over several years and how uniform they are getting (or not getting) then I can test crossing the lines (shetland mule rams over Corriedale mule ewes and vise versa). See how those crosses do. Then decide what to cull down to in order to make a more homogeneous flock.

I took some Christmas money and got the Flock Filer program. It's pretty cool. I've got everyone in there that I have now, and pertinent previous dam/sire animals. There is a few things you can just plug in numbers and it will tell you. Like the ml per #s and you type in the animals weight and it tells you the dose. And when you fill in the birth weight and weights after it will give you average daily gain, group average, adjusted weaning weights,...
I am really looking forward to seeing what I learn with it come lambing.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 28, 2019)

When it rains, it pours.... And I'm not just talking about the weather! 

The rain! The snow! The rain! The snow! The cold! More snow! Rain agai- oh wait more snow and cold!

I'm trying to get the dingdang car insurance worked out and the bmv extension hangs up on me. 
My laptop just died and I'm hoping it's a minor battery/cord issue. 
The sheep have decided to jump on round bales now so I have to rig it up to keep em off. Which makes it more of a PITA to put out and feed off of for the boys paddock.

Ugh! This is not my month! 

My life drama aside..
I'm going to try for an udder check. Just to see where everyone is now. And I've been thinking how early I should be able to tell some are bred. Right now is 60 to 80 days in from first/last breeding dates. I'm more than a little nervous at how many bred in just 20 days together. 

Shearing is March 1st. That'll be days ~85-110. So I'm thinking Any bred *should* be visibly showing some wide-load (and udder progress on first timers?).

So this brings me to my current conundrum. Because obviously I don't have enough on my mind (/sarcasm/)...
If I have several unbred ewes at shearing I could put them with the boys and see if any take for late summer lambs. 3/9 due 8/3 wean oct/nov ready just in time for higher lamb prices. 
Pros:
-high market price time
-otherwise unbred ewes still produce this year
-nice $ supplement going into winter
Cons:
-this is the very tail end of when shetlands are known to breed late. Late July is the latest lambs from my friend's shetlands.
-None may get bred.. if I have several ewes and one or two take then I'm dealing with second lambing and not much return. However 2 or 3 lambs to market is better than none..?
-several ewes take and lamb in August and I end up with alot of parasite problems. This seems to be the biggest argument I see. I'm not sure what to expect without trying though.

Also.. My friend is selling her border cheviot ram. I have two ewe lambs that are his daughters. I could definitely utilize him to the same goals and I'm expecting to pay more for a bfl ram lamb than his asking price. And he has two breedings under his belt.
I could get him just after shearing and put the unbred ewes to him. And get bigger lamb growout from him than I'm expecting from Bingley over mostly pure Shetland ewes. 
And a new ram is supposed to have more of a ram effect on the ewes. According to the stuff on out of season breeding.
Plus some nice ewes would be perfect to keep back. Plenty of time to next fall breeding for them, 14 or 15 months old. Border cheviot cross ewes also perfect for breeding to the BFL ram I'd get. Actually maybe better. The pure Shetlands are a little too delicate for my liking, least these ones.
The only issue is money and timing. I gotta get the car insurance worked out and have enough $ for feed and shearing. Then see if I could swing it.


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## Bruce (Jan 28, 2019)

Lots going on! Maybe if the ram brings flowers and candy, the unbred ewes will be receptive


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2019)

I checked backsides of all the ewes. Either they're all bred or all not bred. They all looked the same except 3 of the 4 Shetland ewe lambs and one Shetland ewe.
IE one of the bigger Shetland ewe lambs might be bred and one ewe looked a little 'flat' like the Shetland ewe lambs. 

IMO they basically look like when they were cycling. Since they seem to have just stayed that way since, I'm guessing bred. Which is a relief if so because I'm going to be needing to sell all or nearly all of them to catch me up 

On the other hand, now I'm reconsidering my plans. Would it be better to get the border cheviot ram and keep a bunch of ewe lambs from him? Then I could have more time to find a BFL breeder and even get on a waiting list for a good ram lamb. So this fall use the b cheviot, next year get a bfl ram lamb. Next year use the b cheviot and bfl ram lamb on all the ewes. I should easily be able to tell the difference of sires. Then after breeding groups I sell the b cheviot ram and know the ewes are bred. The following year I'd be more comfortable leaving the bfl to alot of ewes. Maybe even having kept back a b cheviot son for backup.


I also wrote out feed and weight, how much in a feed run,... So I've estimated that this year I'll be in $23 per lamb in feed cost if I get 21 lambs to market. 
REALLY hoping to have that lower next year. Ugh. I'm going to be stopping at the local feed mill about getting a mix and some minerals I don't want to buy online and ship. I'd like to get off the sweet mix. At least something without molasses and that is whole grains. And if it could be around the same price or lower that'd be great! Ha!


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## Latestarter (Jan 31, 2019)

I have to admit, I sometimes end up dizzy watching you cycle back and forth and run around in circles chasing your tail...  I mean, can't you kinda at least come close to some sort of plan and settle down to achieve it? When you're constantly moving the bullseye it's damned hard to hit it.   Anyway, that being said, wishing you nothing but the best with your "now" plans and hope you can find a better non-sweet feed at a lower cost. Hope they are all bred with twins for you and they all deliver at high noon on a nice warm sunny day in the middle of the pasture.


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## Bruce (Jan 31, 2019)

Latestarter said:


> Hope they are all bred with twins for you and they all deliver at high noon on a nice warm sunny day in the middle of the pasture.


How about we add "on successive days". She probably doesn't want them all dropping lambs at the same time.


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## Latestarter (Jan 31, 2019)

Excellent point Bruce. I mean if you're gonna wish, you might as well be as accurate as you really want the result to be.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jan 31, 2019)

Sure got me dizzy  and confused.....hope all your planning pans out for you


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2019)

Well yes and no. I'm going for the same goal just trying to think through the best way to get there. Though I'll be the first to admit I run alot of circles in deciding.

I'm really trying to make the decision before fall. If I get the border cheviot ram I'll lock myself to that plan. If I don't and get a BFL this year I'll lock myself to that plan. In the meantime I'm weighing the options. If my friend didn't have him up for sale I'd be settled on the bfl route.

I've tried to put down the how and why of my thinking. So I'm not just deciding but deciding based on proper reasoning.

-current ewes are about 60 to 85#
-bfl ewes avg 150 to 175#
-border cheviot ewes avg 140#
-shetlands are short and bit leggy
-bfl are fair height and a bit sleek build
-border cheviot are fair height and kind of solid meaty build

I already have two border cheviot/shetland ewes so I know what I'll get from the cross. They are nice sized ewes and much better meat frame. And being more broad framed they'll produce meatier lambs and be less likely to have birthing issues of bigger lambs. 

In the short term I know that the border cheviot sired lambs will grow nicely for market. I can happily keep the best of the ewe lambs and get a return on the rest of the lambs whether I keep none or many. And those kept will have the best growth rate, and should in turn get a better return each lamb crop.

Shetlands and crosses-
I already have them and they have good fleeces.

Border cheviot-
More broad frame, meaty frame. Lamb growth. Good fleece. Proven ram. Not far.

BFL-
Good fleece. Lamb growth. Probably ram lamb. Probably far, expecting over 2hrs away and at least as much $ as border cheviot ram.

Corriedale-
Fleece weight. Good fleece. Lamb growth. 

I have a friend that says he'll bring in what he can to get traits his flock doesn't have because he knows in two generations he can bring down micron to the real fine that he breeds for.
Much like that, I'm wanting to bring in the growth traits and fleece traits, then I can fine tune homogenous type and fleeces once I'm getting good growth and type.

I plan to look at individuals as well as comparing different crosses. If the numbers tell me a certain ram isn't producing up to standards then I'll replace him. Same for a ewe. 
If breeding half bfl ewes to border cheviot ram doesn't produce as well as back to bfl then that's what works. If certain cross or back cross works better than that's what goes.

Hypothetically if I were to alternate rams I'd end up with a ewe flock thats about 15% and less Shetland, cormo, etc, and about 42.5% bfl 42.5% border cheviot. However I don't think I want/need too many rams so unless I end up able to increase the ewe flock much quicker than I'm now anticipating, I'll likely sell one of the rams in a few years.

Seeing what happens, with the corriedales I might keep them more as their own line. I could breed half to the BFL and half to the border cheviot. Then keep the best ram lamb of each. Use those two over the corriedales a couple years. Then cull down to the best.
I'd have corriedale.. 
Half bfl, second gen half bfl, 75corr/25bfl..
Half b ch, second gen half b ch, 75corr/25b ch..
50corr/25/25.. 62.5corr/25/12.5

I have tons of ideas but I know that in reality, which ones turn out to be the best producers will make the biggest decision on how the flock makeup and further breeding continues.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 23, 2019)

It was light rain all day here. As expected it's a week to shearing day and dad has put off building the barn roof addition. So there is three posts in and all the framing and roof needs done still. The next two days could stay clear but with the above/below freezing temps I'm going to be on constant rain watch.

I don't have a way to shut the boys in the small shed in their paddock so they got moved to the barn today. Thank heaven they were good and happily followed me with the feed bucket. They took a jaunt down to the shed where the girls are all shut in but after hearing me pour feed in the bowls they came right to the barn. 

The girls were not happy at all to be shut in. I built a temporary hay feeder for them in the shed. If it's clear I'll let them out for the day. They stand out in all but the most absolute torrential rain. There has been one day in a year's time that the sheep have gone inside from weather. They aren't to be trusted to keep dry.

Forecast heavier rain overnight and off and on tomorrow. Monday, sunny, Tuesday and Wed, cloudy, turning into rain overnight. Thursday cloudy turning to rain/snow in the evening and overnight. Friday cloudy and rain chance rising through the day and all day Saturday.
So the roof HAS to be done *cough* it's not like he didn't know that the last month and a half... *cough*

On the bright side I should have two people from the guild coming to help. Everything else is ready to go. I have a squeeze pen setup for the shearer to easily grab the next sheep. I have a table to skirt fleeces on and note cards to put sheep and fleece info in the bags. I'm going to have a bag for 'mulch' skirtings and 'for me' skirtings that get pulled from the fleece but are still good wool. 

After shearing I have everything pretty much set for lambing. Clean out the barn and shed.


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## Bruce (Feb 24, 2019)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> So the roof HAS to be done *cough* it's not like he didn't know that the last month and a half... *cough*


Harder to build stuff when it is really cold! But yep, needs to get done and the temps should be slowly improving.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 8, 2019)

Sheep were shorn on the 1st. Bingley's first fleece was as heavy as Midget's fleece! I haven't gotten to look it over yet but I'm thinking I may have to keep it myself... 

I'm thinking 2 ewe lambs really don't look big enough to be bred. Kitty and Lydia. And they are on the fence of if they are starting to get early udder action. The rest I'm leaning towards all being bred. Pigpig had a really big lamb (12.5#) last year and she doesn't look as big this year so I'm hoping for a more regular size lamb from her. Said ewe lamb (Mary) is nearly as big as mom and I'm expecting will outgrow her in the coming year. She looks to be bred and I'm real interested to see what she has, since the ram lamb is her half brother. I'm hoping for several with great fleeces because I've got someone lined up who wants some breeding stock. Fingers crossed.
Two of the shetlands are looking quite wide by comparison. I'm thinking maybe 3 sets of twins, the rest singles. That'd be 21 lambs. Although with more shetlands and more shetland influence in general I'm keeping in mind that lamb birth weights may well be lower than last year. Meaning maybe another set of twins being well hidden. 

Midget, Pigpig, and Ayrshire were with Bingley and Butthead for a week then just Butthead the rest of the time. Having seen their babies last year I'm hoping to be able to tell between sires. They both look like they'll kick off lambing. Ayr may have been bred later, though for her I'm kind of hoping she does lamb later so I can be sure she was bred to Butthead. Either is fine but I really want to see the offspring, I could always put her to Bingley this fall if I keep him on.
The ewe lambs all have that "paunch udder" going on. I'm making sure to look at least every other day or so. Midget went from "paunch" to "real udder" in two days when I hadn't checked! A few shetland ewes are also on watch for the earlier ewes to lamb. I'm hoping they lamb out in a way that I'd have some adult ewes lambing amid/after ewe lambs and hopefully have the option if needed to wet adopt to a proven mom.

I think that would be the big pro to using CDIRs. Knowing most of the ewes will lamb within like a week with some before and some after. I think I'd be much happier locking down for a solid week of intense lambing. Having many ewes lamb close together gives me options that I can't be sure I'll have. Last year I think there was three days that two ewes lambed the same day. For the most part the ewes lambed every other day or two days between.

~Lamb Watch~
* If the shetland ewe lambs got bred then they will go by April 12. I don't think they are but I'm watching just in case.
* Possible earliest to lamb (April 1) - Midget, Pigpig, Ayr. I'm thinking Ayr held out and will go later. Midget I'm thinking will be the first with Pigpig not long after.
* Next to lamb (April 10) - 60, 15, 56, 184, 185. These are the ones I saw action. 60 has the most filled out udder, then 56 & 15. 184 & 185 are in the "paunchy" stage, these are the half border cheviot ewe lambs.
* Next to lamb- guessing the adult ewes then the ewe lambs. A lot of people say first timers go earlier though. Until someone's udder fills out I've got no more guesses. Today I noticed a couple ewe lambs back ends were much more pink and puffy looking than the rest. I'll try to remember to take a notepad and the camera out tomorrow.
*


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 8, 2019)

Pigpig. Looking a little round but nothing like last year. Expecting another single. Ewe would be nice because I like her wool and build but would like to replace her with daughters. One, because she is getting older. Two, because I'm more likely to get daughters from her that will twin and she always throws singles.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 8, 2019)

Pigpig is the tall ewe. The short ewe is one of the shetland ewe lambs. 9 is the only one who looks possibly bred. She is the biggest so I guess if any of them are it's better to be her. Crossing my fingers though. I can't tell quite if there is udder change or not. She is a wary one.




The moorit katmogets are shetland ewes. They look round and I think maybe 2 of the 3 could have twins.
On the left is Caroline, one of the ewe lambs born here last year. She has definite belly and some of the most udder change of the ewe lambs.





One of the black katmoget shetland ewes. She is still in that kind of "paunchy" stage. One of the bigger bellies, possibly twins.





Caroline's back end. REALLY loving how nice her teats look to be placed and the length! I'm going to keep notes on udder depth, teat length and placement, etc. They are pretty heritable and if I end up milking a few I'll already be selecting towards good udders. Midget is her mom and I'm really happy with how her udder looks so far. Real nice depth. 
She was with the shetland ram lamb and It'll be really interesting to see the outcome. Caroline has a very similar body shape to her mom, so even though she's 50% mutt 25% cormo 25% shetland, she has a shape very much like shetland and Icelandic.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Mar 10, 2019)

I found a free editor that actually works decent and doesn't watermark the video. I took some video and put together the interesting parts!





Today I was out for a while putting out a new bale etc. I noticed that it seems like the ewes either have longer round teats or short wide almost cone shaped teats. Caroline and Midget being the longer teats, better for hand milking. 

I also noticed that Mary and Ayr have the biggest udders of the ewe lambs right now. I'm going to tentatively guess they'll be among the earlier to lamb.. then Caroline maybe..

And just about everyone's back end is getting more puffy and.. well eye catching


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## Bruce (Mar 10, 2019)

Lotta nice sheep there for a goat girl


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 3, 2019)

Everything has been crazy. I feel like that's how all of my posts start.. But that's life I suppose..

Lambing round up...
21 lambs born, 19 live. First was the DOA that I think came backwards and didn't get out quick enough so drowned. The last was Minnie Pearl's ram lamb that decided to jump in the water trough overnight. I rigged up some scrap fence around it so they have to stick their heads in and cannot fall in now. Odd though that the ones lost were the very first and very last born.

Preparing for weaning!
Holy Toledo, I feel like I just got ready for lambing and now it's already weaning! The lambs are growing well. I am seeing who is small framed and throwing identically small framed lambs. Possibly 3 ewes will be up for sale: Pigpig, Lizzy, Lydia. Pigpig would be great if she didn't always single and didn't have an attitude. Now I have two daughters and a granddaughter to replace her, fingers crossed Mary proves herself and throws twins next spring! Their wool is lovely.
Lizzy and Lydia are ewes born here last year. Lovely fleeces but they are just lanky things and aren't filling out. Their lambs are also dainty. Even considering they were bred to the shetland ram, I've decided I'd rather cull them and keep the better bodied ewe lambs.

I will have 5 (possibly 7) ewe lambs and 7 ram lambs to sell. 
I've got 4 ewe lambs I'll be keeping, and 2 to consider. The 'consider' ones are the twin ewes from Midget. They are quite 'dog coated' right now and I am as sure as I can be that she was bred by Bingley, her son. On one hand: +twins, +good sized, +fleeces will be similar I could process together. On the other hand: -dog coated and probably turn dual coated and med-coarse like midget which isn't the wool I'm working toward overall.
Then of course one of the ram lambs is looking real nice... So I'm going to hold him back. Dam is 185 (shetland/border cheviot) and sire is Bingley (mutt/shetland/cormo). His only fault is he's a black katmoget! And I'm going to quickly run into too many katmogets if I'm not careful.

It's been a heck of a year so far. Unless I work out a trade with another sheep person not terribly far from me for a ram lamb.. I'll be working out groups with Spot, Bingley, and 19 the ram lamb. I'm sketching out the timeline of things that need doing through next year. Hoping to have things sorted out work wise and when things will need bought wise.


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## Bruce (Jun 4, 2019)

Busy Busy! How is the ground there, flooded like other areas or were you spared?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 4, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Busy Busy! How is the ground there, flooded like other areas or were you spared?



We had some storms and rain but not flood level in the local area.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 17, 2019)

Lambs are weaned and in new paddock, and ewes are in new paddock. I managed to get the lambs all weighed as well! Huzzah, just in time for a solid week of rain... So I have ADGs to look at now.

I'm going to cull 3 ewes and the wether.
And keep 7 ewe lambs, possibly 1 ram lamb. There is one more ewe that I could have considered keeping but she is one of those wild eyed crazy ones, and I have someone wanting 3 or 4 ewe lambs.. And this leaves me 4 ewe lambs for him to look at. I'm going to have him look at the 'cull' ewes as well and hope he is interested. He is into the wool only from what I know at the moment, and these ewes would still be real nice, just not the best of my flock for what I'm doing.

ADGs...
1 ram lamb hit .5#
4 lambs hit .4#
9 lambs hit .3#
4 lambs hit .2#
1 lamb was under 1#
The smallest two are a set of ram twins that the ewe was not that big, smaller birth weights, and in hindsight they'd have grown better if I pulled one and left her one. I had a small bag of milk replacer and was giving them a bottle in the mornings until it ran out, to give them a boost. She just didn't have the milk for twins. She is in the list of cull ewes.
Total 19 lambs, group avg .337#

That one lamb hit .5# was really exciting for me since alot of these lambs are 60s% and 80s% shetland crosses. However of the two ram lambs I was looking at as keeper considerations, he and the next biggest, I decided on the other lamb who was the third best gaining lamb at .438#. The lambs look near identical standing together. Both look well put together and have real nice fleece. Both sired by Bingley, my cross ram I retained last year, 25% shetland 25% cormo, 50% mutt.
The .5# one's dam is a 3-6y/o, shetland ewe. Single lamb. The .438# one's dam is a 1y/o, bred as a ewe lamb, half shetland half border cheviot. Single lamb.
The pure shetland ewes I just got in the fall so I don't have lambing history on them. But my gut says 'ehh why is a proven ewe single lambing' and I won't want a ram from a ewe who always single lambs. My gut also says, 'hey look how great the first time ewe raised this ram lamb, and she should go on to twin next year, and this ram lamb is 25% border cheviot to add frame to his lambs'.
The ewe lambs are the top 7 ADGs of the ewe lambs. 3 are .4#s and 4 are .3#s ADGs.

I had 4 sets of twins: EE, RR, RE, RR. And of course the RE twins are the crazy ones and I'm not keeping that ewe. I was curious the total lamb weight that those ewes weaned, respectively: 67.7#, 50#, 53.4#, 29.3#. So the EE twins were terrific, that ewe twinned last year and singled her first time, and the ADGs are .414# & .409#. The last set of twins are the ones I supplemented and the ewe on the cull list.
From the adjusted weaning weights (60 day) I did a performance ratio. The lambs I'm retaining are all the best ones as well. From +3 to +45!

Then I pulled up fleece weights from the spring and did a performance ratio as well. Avg fleece weight 3.1#. Heaviest fleece 5.6#, lightest fleece 1.3#. Of course the pure shetlands that are fine and first shearing, scored big negatives. The biggest positives were one of the mutt ewes and several of the sheep born last year that I retained. With keeping the best lambs I'm really curious to see how this compares next year.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 19, 2020)

Well it's been a while.. I kept meaning to post and the way stuff happened I just couldn't make myself drudge through things and put it off. 
Last year I lost every lamb. It was very difficult. I knew I was battling barber pole worms. I knew I was doing the best I could to rotate them on the paddocks I had. It wasn't enough. Then losing lambs left and right I finally figured out that they had coccidia.. on top of that. The symptoms were the same as I expected with worms. There wasn't bloody stool etc other symptoms so it went on hiding and getting worse without me understanding what was going on. I started the five day treatment of corid with the remaining lambs.. less than half.. On the fifth day I had two lambs left on deaths door, day six I had no lambs.

Take a deep breath. Regroup. Make plans.
I bought deccox and made a plan to mix it in the feed. It's worked great this year and I'm not seeing any signs of problems so far. Keeping my fingers crossed though.

So I finally made the jump and invested in electric netting. In November after breeding groups I used the netting to rotate the ewes across a hay field. Me and dad have worked out areas that I'm going to graze this year. That particular field had issues and between grazing, and later on seeding into it with a no-till drill, I hope to make a lot of improvements.

I invested in the CIDRs. Pulled on day 12 and put together breeding groups. Shetland ram with shetland ewes and a spotted cross ewe. Bingley, my homebred cross ram, with most of the ewes and two ewes that are the neighbors who doesn't want to keep a ram yet. I knew I didn't want too many in a group so I got another ram. 007 (double-oh-seven) is half mini cheviot and half shetland. He was a ram lamb and I hoped he'd fill in as he grew. 007 had a few ewes that were not really prioritized with the other two rams.
My planning was that I'd be getting rid of the shetland ram and culling my proven ewes hard after weaning. I have a new ram lamb lined up and was already on the wait list and I wanted lots of nice ewes to keep and have for that breeding plan. (More on that later.) I was pretty sure Bingley would be going this year also since he'd be the sire of a lot of ewe lambs I'd be keeping.
Bingley group bred- 3 home bred cross ewes, 1 shetland/border cheviot ewe, 1 mutt ewe, 1 neighbors ewe.
Bingley group not bred- 1 home bred cross ewe, 1 shetland/border cheviot ewe, 1 neighbors ewe.
shetland ram bred- 5 shetland ewes, 1 home bred cross ewe.
shetland ram not bred- 1 shetland ewe.
007 bred- 1 home bred cross ewe, 1 mutt ewe, 4 shetland ewes.

In hindsight I wish I'd have put more ewes with 007 and that I'd pulled half the CIDRs on day 12 for each group, then the next day pulled the second half. A few ewes didn't breed and they were in Bingleys group with the most ewes and only one ram. So I think that was a numbers game. Especially since most of the lambs were born on the same day.

The shetlands are a hot freakin mess. I attribute a lot of it to the breeder that the bulk of them came from. Of the three first timers 2 year old shetlands: one lambed a few days early a tiny lamb that I found dead. one scanned twins but never looked bred and still doesn't look bred and it's past lambing by a while. one I spent a whole day with in the barn thinking the lamb was turned stupid and couldn't be born only to end up finally getting the lamb out and have the whole uterus rush out following it, and my hand and wrist and arm was bruised up from working to get inside her. She was shaking bad and in shock, it was a mess. Dad put her down. She was entirely too small on the inside. It's good the other ewe didn't breed because she's even smaller and she never would have made it.
Needless to say all the problem ewes are going to a nonbreeding home as weed eaters and almost all of them are shetlands. Jane is another, the spotted cross ewe. She prolapsed again the week before lambing. She has a great fleece and makes nice lambs but I don't have time or energy to deal with her prolapsing every time she's bred. The other is Pigpig, who this year had twins amazingly, but had no milk. She's at least 9y/o and she just isn't fit to breed anymore.

Bingley was already set to be going but he also got bad mites this winter. I ended up having to emergency shear him myself, big mess of bad timing and weather everything. He hasn't put on condition since. I was really upset his fleece was absolute trash. I had really been looking forward to his.

007 was really the underdog this year and he came out the super hero. His lambs were all ewes and they are all great. He grew a bit since I got him but didn't fill out a whole lot. I was hesitant about using him but I knew that many ewes in just two breeding groups would not work out trying to lamb all real close together. His lambs are only 1/4 mini cheviot and they are little cheviot-esque lamb-bricks with nice fleece to boot. He earned himself a spot to stay on breeding again this fall.

So lambing... The found-dead lamb was a few days early. Then everyone else lambed...
3/2- Lydia, 32, Lizzy
3/3- 185
3/4- pigpig, 56, 99, 60, 76
3/5- Jane, Midget, Ayreshire
3/6- the put-down shetland ewe
And 3/14- 15 who also went a week later than everyone last year.

Pigpig, 56, and 60 twinned. All had udders but no milk. You could tell they have udder but it never filled out like they usually do before lambing when they kind of fill up with milk. I bottle fed those lambs. They were all left with mom and I'd come out and feed through the day. I know they'd go to moms to nurse but would only nurse a few moments. I'm guessing they made enough milk just to keep the lambs trying because I certainly couldn't tell from how much they ate from the bottle. It worked out alright at the end of the month the bag of replacer was used up and they were eating and grazing well so I just stopped bottle feeding. They are all doing good.
The exception being Pigpigs.. Her twins looked good but right off the bat.. The black one ate ok but the blue one was a huge pain. I'd go out extra and have to chase her down. I'd bring her in the house and she'd holler til she almost had no voice. I don't think she got one full bottle in the whole months time. She very rarely would nurse and just eat it. She'd fight and pee on me and run away. Absolutely couldn't even force feed her like I've had to do back with the dairy goats. Get a dumb kid who you'd have to force feed a few times before they figure out hey it's food! Nope.. not this idiot.. I honestly have no idea how she's alive.

Which brings me to.. The neighbor's one ewe that bred had twin rams. I went down to see how they turned out. The ewes are some meat or show lamb cross. One has the grey speckley faded face and the other doesn't. They have the meat cross type though. Anyhow he also had two goats he got a good deal on at auction and was feeding up to resale later for the easter market. Well of course one day he comes out to the barn and there's a kid there, then the other had twin doe kids.
So in talking to him we worked out that they're getting two ewe lambs and one proven ewe from me. And I'm getting my pick of the ram lambs and the two doe kid goats. So there ya go, girlwalkswithgoats will have a few goats again! When they came down to look at the ewe and ewe lambs I said hey if yall want this idiot and want to work with her you can take her. I have too much else to do and they decided they're going to try and get her trained to a bucket and give her replacer that way, see how she does. They have kids so between them she has more chance than she did here. Be a pet if nothing else.

So to wrap up.. I bred 19 ewes. 3 not bred. 1 stillborn. 1 problem and loss ewe and lamb. 3 twinned but no milk and bottle fed. 11 singles and raising nicely.
Bingley- 6 lambs. 3 ewes, 3 rams.
Spot- 6 lambs. 2 ewes, 4 rams.
007- 5 lambs, all ewes.

007 is staying another year. 73 is a really promising ram lamb sired by Bingley, mom is half shetland/half border cheviot. The ram lamb I'm trading with the neighbor for is also sired by Bingley, but the mom is a market type cross and I'm very interested to see how he grows. Then the ram lamb I've been on the wait list for!

I'd been looking around on groups and searching ads and talking to people. I couldn't find a ram I wanted that was a) close enough to get, b) in my price range, c) among the breeds I wanted that looked like it was coming from a breeder with the type of stock I wanted to invest in. You don't get a lean pig for making lard! So finally I got a response on a breed group of someone that was coming to a fiber show I'd be at in May. We've been messaging here and there to touch base. She sent me what rams she ended up with after lambing was done and I picked one out. 
Then quarantine happened. Then more panic. Then the fiber show is cancelled. So far the sheep show and sale has not been cancelled, it was in the same place but through its own people not with the fiber show. So I messaged with the breeder again and we have plans to meet up if the show is cancelled she'll be travelling through at a different time to deliver some other sheep. 
So sometime in the next couple months I'll also be adding a really nice Border Leicester ram lamb. I'm very excited about where things will go from here.

With all the issues and trying to do much better grazing and all around.. I've buckled down and 9 ewes are being culled, the nonbreeding home I mentioned before. 8 ewes will be staying and 6 ewe lambs are being kept for breeding. Leaving 7 lambs that I'll put up for sale, but not really expecting much with all the hubbub at the moment. They will most likely be grown out here and I'll have them butchered in the fall.

Speaking of butchering in the fall.. I'm planning to raise 4 hogs this year. I have some family planning to buy from be if I raise and they can shop the cuts. My mom is going to pay me to raise one of the hogs for them and they'll do the butchering how they want. I thought I had a breeder lined up but he wants more for his weaners than is workable for my budget so I'm crossing my fingers to find some. I plan to train them to electric and be able to have them help clear brushy wooded areas that I'll be thinning out into silvopasture.

Also next week I pick up the 50 honey locust trees I ordered from the county tree sale. They'll be planted in an area for another type of silvopasture.

... *sigh*
Have I mentioned I've been busy?


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## Bruce (Apr 19, 2020)

Very busy!!! Sorry for all the troubles. Have you read through @Mike CHS's journal or talked to him about barber pole worms? Seems he's got pretty good control of it on his farm with treatment (animal and land) and culling. 

Maybe if you have fewer problems you'll have more time to post now and again


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## purplequeenvt (Apr 19, 2020)

Are you getting the BL ram from Lydia in DE??


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 19, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Are you getting the BL ram from Lydia in DE??



...yes... lol are you in the BL fb group too?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 19, 2020)

Thanks Bruce I'll look in that thread. I've been working on things so the sheep aren't back on an area sooner than 60 days. With the ok to use these other areas and having the netting I am hoping to be able to do that this year. And with the pigs helping clear brushy areas, if I can add those areas next year and get it thinned down to silvopasture and plant forages there... well at 20 breeding ewes by my current estimates I could maybe go April through the end of December only grazing. At least once those areas are growing good forage and being able to stockpile.


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## purplequeenvt (Apr 19, 2020)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> ...yes... lol are you in the BL fb group too?



Yes, I am in that group, but I the reason I was asking is that Lydia is my sister. I read your post this morning and then a couple hours later one of my sisters here in KY said that L was planning a sheep trip to OH that included a stop here with us. Small world!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 19, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Yes, I am in that group, but I the reason I was asking is that Lydia is my sister. I read your post this morning and then a couple hours later one of my sisters here in KY said that L was planning a sheep trip to OH that included a stop here with us. Small world!


Oh wow! Small world! I was so confused for a moment I was like how would they know that??


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## Bruce (Apr 19, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Yes, I am in that group, but I the reason I was asking is that Lydia is my sister. I read your post this morning and then a couple hours later one of my sisters here in KY said that L was planning a sheep trip to OH that included a stop here with us. Small world!


Are you parents still in VT??


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## purplequeenvt (Apr 20, 2020)

Bruce said:


> Are you parents still in VT??



For now. My dad is still a few years from retirement, but they’ve got 3 kids (and the only grandbaby) in KY, 1 in DE, and 1 in NC so I have a hard time believing that they’ll stay up north for long. 

My oldest sister and her husband are in VT (I’m working to convince them to move down here too).  My youngest brother (he’s 19 today!) lives with my parents and isn’t likely to ever live completely independently.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 25, 2020)

Sold 8 cull ewes today. Cheap but I'm not complaining. Better to get something from them. Lost one, who was to be culled anyways. She just went downhill since she lambed. I wormed the lambs and most of the ewe with valbazen. They are in the same paddock fed round bales. I have rotated them where I can get them easily. The farther areas have to wait until I can build the mobile shelter.

And I'm worried about the electric net being enough deterrent for coyotes. My dad saw one at the crest of the hill just above one of the fields I'm going to run the sheep. *sigh* Also not far from the permanent fence where the sheep are now. 

10 days until the trade with the neighbor. Then I'll have: 8 proven ewes. 6 ewe lamb keepers. 2 ram lamb keepers. 6 grow out meat lambs. 2 doe kids. 1 ram staying. 3 rams going. ...and later on the BL ram lamb.

I was planning on taking the 3 rams to auction. I'm wondering if it would be worth processing them. Too warm and too much going on for us to do it. Figure they're about-ish 60, 70, 80 #.. 210# minus say 60% because they aren't great.. 84# meat
20# hot dogs (+$30).. 64# ground lamb.. 
processing $80 x3... +30 .. $270
That's $3.22/# ...hm.....


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 20, 2021)

It's been a year. Wow. I've come back several times and started to make this post and got overwhelmed. It's been busy. Or at least it's felt busy and that's enough sometimes.

In July last year I bought a mini cheviot ram lamb from a friend. He is a short solid guy and at 99 days weighed 66.8# and had never had any grain, just on grass and hay. I ended up keeping back one ram lamb from my ewes that looked promising. Ended up I'm glad I did because I lost the other rams. Long story I won't go into but I lost the other two rams. So breeding went a little different than I'd been planning. I put both rams with all the ewes. I used CIDRs on the proven ewes. 

I had bred for March lambs. A while after separating the rams I noticed that the rams and several ewes were very into each other at the fence line. Figuring it was just a few of the ewe lambs I went ahead and put the rams in again. Fast forward to March. Two ram lambs born. Waiting for the whole month and right in the last days 99 lambs early in the morning. The lamb was all cleaned off. Except a big goober from the eyes to the nose. Dead. I was beyond perturbed. I think that is the same thing that happened the lambing when I first brought in all those shetlands. I was also more mad because it had to have been born within about an hour before I got out there. Last year I was outside working on things and was there when she lambed and that ewe lamb is the only live offspring. I don't think that was a coincidence. So she went to the auction. I used it as an opportunity to get a look at the big mt hope auction. Was really cool. Much much better than the little local auction barn.

The remaining 17 ewes and ewe lambs are due starting May 11. I was really mad at myself for putting in the rams a second time, I didn't want to do lambing twice. Well, now I'm darn glad I did! Certainly wasn't the plan but at least the weather will be nice. I'm working on being able to be in the canvas tent by then. Will make it easier.
I talked to someone in the spinners and weavers guild who has a commercial flock (about 300 ewes) about her sheep and all. I was working out buying a ram from them. After talking to her at the last guild meeting she got back to me with a terrific price on bottle lambs. I'm SOOOOOOO excited about this! I won't go into too much until I go out there and bring home the lambs. I'm working out a spot in the barn for them.

What I will say is that these sheep and the mini cheviot is the direction the flock is going. I'm writing multiple versions out to look at my options. As of right now the best simplest option seems to be using the commercial rams on the proven ewes. The retained ewe lambs will go to be bred by the mini cheviot ram. Then after their first year I can further cull if needed and the now proven ewes will go to the 'main' flock and bred by the commercial rams. I'm waiting to see about the ram lambs this year to keep one for breeding with Chonk. I have several ewes now that are part cheviot so I should have some options of more than half cheviot lambs.

In non-sheep news, I have 26 freedom rangers and 44 assorted brown egg breeds brooding in the house currently. Hatched the last few days of March. I'm ready for them to be moving outside. I have a breeding plan but I'll spare y'all the rambling. I'm waiting to decide on them until they get bigger and I can start to figure out which are what breeds, and which are roos/hens. I'll probably end up with a flock of alot of egg hens and certain hens that I'll be collecting eggs for hatching for the breeding project. Possibly two flocks but that means a second setup so we shall see. I'm building a chickshaw and a Salatin style broiler pen and ordering some chicken netting.


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## Baymule (Apr 20, 2021)

I enjoyed reading your journal, how have I missed this? I raise hair sheep. There is a spinners guild in the county next to the one we live in, but I have not investigated it. I’m afraid I’d jump into wool sheep and have to learn to shear, spin, knit and crochet. LOL I’ll just content myself by reading about others wool sheep.

Post more often, a year is waaaay too long to stay away!


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## Bruce (Apr 20, 2021)

Nice to see you back OGG


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 4, 2021)

The chickens are growing. Which means they are eating alot and seems like pooping even more. The poultry netting is on back order, supposed to be back in a few days so I'll be checking it. Need to order some before they're out again quick I'd bet.

The sheep are doing good. Next week I'll be on lamb watch. I'm estimating the 19-25th will be the busy time, based on when I pulled CIDRs for the original group and counting out heat cycles from then on. We'll see how the actual lambing dates fall though. The two March born ram lambs are looking awesome and huge, I need to get another weight on them.

Today we go to pick up the bottle lambs. It's going to be a long day. It was difficult finding a day to go, everything seemed to be against me, I'd get one thing worked out and another would pop up. I'll be much relieved when we're home and I can focus on getting the lambs settled in. I got the two nipple setup from premier1 for bottle lambs. After having to feed all the ones last year I wanted to get it just in case. Now I'm really glad I got it! It wasn't expensive either. 

It's forecast to rain or chance of rain for a solid week. I'm hoping it'll clear up at least one day because I need to setup the canvas tent. I'll be just about living in it for lambing. Plus side of lambing now, will be much shorter walk for barn checks.


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## Baymule (May 4, 2021)

Baby lambs are so cute. I love their tails going like airplane propellers when they are nursing. LOL


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 8, 2021)

Slurp-slurp-slurp! Bucket lambs.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "🐑 *slurp-slurp-slurp* 🐑  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #bottlelambs"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "🐑 *slurp-slurp-slurp* 🐑  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #bottlelambs". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Tent is up. Soon I'll be there almost full time while the sheep graze this field and lambing.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "🐑⛺🐑   #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #sibleytent #canvascamp #camplife #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "🐑⛺🐑   #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #sibleytent #canvascamp #camplife #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Guess whaaaaaat??? 
White ram lamb 5#
Mom is 230, a 75% shetland 25% border Cheviot. Sire is Chonk, mini Cheviot.
So this lamb is 50% mini Cheviot, 37.5% shetland, 12.5% border Cheviot.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Guess whaaaaaat??? 🐑  White ram lamb 5# Mom is 230, a 75% shetland 25% border Cheviot. Sire is Chonk, mini Cheviot.   So this lamb is 50% mini Cheviot, 37.5% shetland, 12.5% border Cheviot.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep36
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Guess whaaaaaat??? 🐑  White ram lamb 5# Mom is 230, a 75% shetland 25% border Cheviot. Sire is Chonk, mini Cheviot.   So this lamb is 50% mini Cheviot, 37.5% shetland, 12.5% border Cheviot.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021". Follow their...




					www.instagram.com
				




I'm going to be at my moms tomorrow for dinner so I'm hoping the rest hold off a little and don't lamb while I'm gone. I'm happy that she had it on her own and doesn't seem to have had any problems.


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## Bruce (May 8, 2021)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> I'm going to be at my moms tomorrow for dinner so I'm hoping the rest hold off a little and don't lamb while I'm gone.


You KNOW that isn't how it works!


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 8, 2021)

Bruce said:


> You KNOW that isn't how it works!


🤫 Shhhhh!  It's for my birthday, let me have my wishes!


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 11, 2021)

Well they held off on Sunday. Yesterday I went to the feed mill and by my friends to look at her ewe lambs. Sure enough got home and look out at the pasture and there is a ewe with a little white spot next to her. 228 is a first timer, bred as a ewe lamb. This is the first ewe lamb of the year and it's the smallest live lamb I've ever had! 2.23#! Sire is Chonk, mini cheviot. I had some bulky acrylic yarn and knit up a quick little sweater for her. They are in a temporary pen in the shed. The lamb is sooo tiny I don't trust her to be able to keep up with mom. Plus it's been cold and windy here, I don't want the lamb to get chilled. Thankfully the ram lamb from a few days ago is doing great and the ewe is very attentive. Psshh, heck I was keeping my eye on that 5# lamb and then this one comes along half that! I'm waiting to see how they do before I decide about moving them to the barn, where the bottle lambs are. 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Smallest lamb I've ever had!!!  228 lambed just before I got home. Single ewe lamb. Chonk is the sire. Birth weight 2.23#!!!  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Smallest lamb I've ever had!!!  228 lambed just before I got home. Single ewe lamb. Chonk is the sire. Birth weight 2.23#!!!  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




Which brings me to the two new additions. 263 and 269, ewe lambs. They are 3/4 shetland, 1/4 border cheviot cross, same as the five I bought from her last year. These are the last that I'll be buying. I need to buckle down on what I have now and cull hard and keep replacements that do better. I'm hoping for a few ewe lambs to keep on but with one tiny ewe lamb to four ram lambs born I'm guessing it's a ram year! That's fine I hope they'll sell well. The two from March look terrific and I never even got a creep setup for them. They're too big for the creep gate now. And these bunch now I probably won't even set it up, there is so much grass. Knock on wood! Don't want to jinx the weather.

The bucket lambs are doing well. I'm putting more replacer in by the day it seems, their appetite ramping up. They have feed available. I'm going to cut some grass to give them to start nibbling on along with the hay. I know bottle lambs won't do as well grazing but their offspring will. I'm going to be setting aside money for next year, I want to talk to the person I got them from about setting up ahead of time for me to come get their bottle lambs next year. Then they won't have to mess with them and I can get some more commercial stock for a price more manageable for me. Don't know for sure but it could work out for both of us.

I'm waiting on more lambs. The first timers so far have all been suprizes. Some have nice udders and I'd think they'd be the ones to go first but ya never know with these guys! Next week I'm guessing will be the busy time. But there is five ewe lambs I had down for udder development on 4/20, and these two that have lambed were not on that list. Then the proven ewes have udders, Kitty has the least udder but I want to say she just had a smaller udder. I need to make notes of the ewes and their udders so I'll know next year and not be guessing and trying to remember. Getting pics showing their udders might be too much to ask, they don't like to pose! 

I'm trying to talk dad into clearing out the barn so I can revamp it for the sheep. Right now I'm using less than a quarter of it for feed storage and it's very inefficiently. The rest is just filled with junk and dad doesn't even go in it. He was using the top corner to hang deer but even that he hasn't kept up. It'll be alot cheaper to rework that barn then buy and build something new. It won't be anything like a commercial barn, haha! But it will be much more manageable than the one sheep shed now. And the small shed has the pig in it and will be taken down this year, plus it's too small for anything but a run-in from the pasture. 
I'm making tentative plans for fall. With the late lambing now, any ewe lambs I won't want to breed in October. I'm considering either not breeding the ewe lambs or running the proven ewes breed in October, then the ewe lambs breed in November. If I can get the barn cleared out and worked on then I'll be able to separate groups much easier. I could put the commercial ram with those ewes, then the rest of the ewe lambs would get the mini cheviot and cross rams. Depends on how big the commercial sheep are then. 

Mary is quite big. She underestimated the distance it takes her to slow down and I thought she was going to bowl me down the hill with her.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Mary miscalculated her brake time and thought she was going to bowl me down the hill. Goofy girl. She's big but she can be big for a while before she lambs.  #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #sheep365"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Mary miscalculated her brake time and thought she was going to bowl me down the hill. Goofy girl. She's big but she can be big for a while before she lambs.  #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #sheep365". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Sheep move today.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Sheep move 🐑  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #rotationalgrazing"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Sheep move 🐑  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #rotationalgrazing". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com


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## Baymule (May 12, 2021)

A barn! By all means, convince your dad to let you clean it up so you can use it. Congratulations on the new lambs.


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## Bruce (May 12, 2021)

Sounds like you are going to be busy. Then after you convince your father you will be extra busy cleaning out the barn.


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 24, 2021)

5/12, 229 had a ram lamb. Just over 7#. I had to assist because she looked worn out. I just helped get past the head and was right out.
I also came out to 231 cleaning a lamb that was dead. I'm guessing that she stalled out too long because the lamb looked fine and had been about 3#








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "229 had a ram lamb yesterday. Just over 7#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "229 had a ram lamb yesterday. Just over 7#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




5/13, 185 had a ewe lamb! Biggest of the year at 8.66#








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Yesterday 185 had a ewe lamb! 🎉 Biggest of the year at 8.66#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Yesterday 185 had a ewe lamb! 🎉 Biggest of the year at 8.66#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




5/8 broadcasted seed mix in a small paddock, it rained all the next day. Then we didn't get any rain until yesterday, and not even that much. So going to see if much of it comes through or not.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "From 5/8. Broadcasted cover crop seed in a paddock after the rams moved off.  #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #rotationalgrazing #sheep365"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "From 5/8. Broadcasted cover crop seed in a paddock after the rams moved off.  #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #regenerativegrazing #rotationalgrazing #sheep365". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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5/15 Two ewe lambs came home earlier this week. They are 3/4 shetland and 1/4 border Cheviot. Some of this year's half sisters to five I bought last year.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Two ewe lambs came home earlier this week 🐑 They are 3/4 shetland and 1/4 border Cheviot. Some of this year's half sisters to five I bought last year.   #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Two ewe lambs came home earlier this week 🐑 They are 3/4 shetland and 1/4 border Cheviot. Some of this year's half sisters to five I bought last year.   #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Spotlighting 90 & 91, the March born ram lambs. Getting big and looking good. Considering keeping both.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Spotlighting 90 & 91, the March born ram lambs. Getting big and looking good.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #rustbeltfibershed"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Spotlighting 90 & 91, the March born ram lambs. Getting big and looking good.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #rustbeltfibershed". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




5/16 Was a darn long day. I couldn't sleep and a sheep was consistently hollering so I went out to check at 5:30am. It was 225, a bred ewe lamb. It was Sunday and very early still and after leaving a message then talking to the on-call vet I decided to wait a bit more. No progress and many hours dad helped me put her down and rush to open up and see if there was a lamb to be saved. The lamb was dead and after thinking over the whole thing my hypothesis is that the ewe probably was going into a very slow labor about midnight when I checked the night before and there was trouble and the lamb was dead late at night. By the time I got out there, nothing could have been done. Ring womb. There was one leg forward and I could just barely touch the other hoof. The ewe was so small back there that I could only get three fingers in to attempt to assist anyhow. I did learn from this though that the problem ewe I had last year, a pure shetland lambing the first time at 2y/o, had to have been ring womb also. In that case I didn't understand that and she gave no signs of anything at all so had gone in labor and gave up before I was out in the morning. Then I didn't figure anything was up until a week later. 

5/17 After alot of catchup sleep I came out in the morning to 75 and a lovely black ewe lamb. 6.4# with a little spot of white on the head.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. This morning 75 had a lovely black ewe lamb waiting for me. All clean and fed and healthy.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. This morning 75 had a lovely black ewe lamb waiting for me. All clean and fed and healthy.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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84 always strikes a pose. Usually she moves before I get a picture! This time I was quick!
I can't guess if she's hiding a lamb in that long body or not! If she's got an udder it's quite high and tight to her but she also has that cheviot to her and is watchful of me. If I get around behind her she is fast to move and keep me from seeing anything. Midget's daughter.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "84 always strikes a pose. Usually she moves before I get a picture! This time I was quick!  I can't guess if she's hiding a lamb in that long body or not 🤷‍♀️🐑  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farml
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "84 always strikes a pose. Usually she moves before I get a picture! This time I was quick!  I can't guess if she's hiding a lamb in that long body or not 🤷‍♀️🐑  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to...




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I may have taken to calling the smallest lamb "bite sized". She was two and a quarter pounds at birth. Calling her "quarter pounder" seemed rude.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "I may have taken to calling the smallest lamb "bite sized". She was two and a quarter pounds at birth. Calling her "quarter pounder" seemed rude 🤫😇  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #rustbeltfibershed"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "I may have taken to calling the smallest lamb "bite sized". She was two and a quarter pounds at birth. Calling her "quarter pounder" seemed rude 🤫😇  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #rustbeltfibershed". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Meat birds are out! Finally. Even aside from lambing I've been busy with alot of background projects. Lumber of course is skyrocketed. Luckily there is some amish near me that run a sawmill and my rough cut lumber should not cost me a fortune. In the mean time the meat birds are setup with a reworked shelter. They haven't learned to get on the roosts I put in but they are utilizing the shade.
I didn't see it happen but I did catch one escapee. Fingers crossed that doesn't become an issue. 
~The day after this post I grabbed up, I'd guess the same bird, and put it back in the net. It hasn't happened again. I can't exactly count them now as much as they move around so I'm hoping that means it decided to stay put and not that it got out again and went MIA.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Meat birds are out! Finally. Even aside from lambing I've been busy with alot of background projects. Lumber of course is skyrocketed. Luckily there is some amish near me that run a sawmill and my rough cut lumber should
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Meat birds are out! Finally. Even aside from lambing I've been busy with alot of background projects. Lumber of course is skyrocketed. Luckily there is some amish near me that run a sawmill and my rough cut lumber should not cost me a fortune. In the...




					www.instagram.com
				




No lambs. Only scritches.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "No lambs. Only scritches.   #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "No lambs. Only scritches.   #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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## ohiogoatgirl (May 24, 2021)

Slowly working on making friends with the bucket lambs. They are coming up to weaning before too long.
Technically I could wean them now, today is a month old for the youngest of them. But I have another bag of replacer already bought and it will only be about 10 more days worth for them. I'm hoping tomorrow to move the milk setup to the other shed in a creep area. Get them over there and make sure they know where it is. Then let them go out and integrate with the flock and get them onto grazing. They've had some hay they only nibbled at. And the feed I put down for them did not disappear nearly as fast as I'd have liked. So I think this 10 days will be good to see them learning to really be sheep. And hoping that integrating them = more active = eat more = transition from replacer to grazing and creep. We'll see.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Slowly working on making friends with the bucket lambs. They are coming up to weaning before too long.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed #bottlelambs"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Slowly working on making friends with the bucket lambs. They are coming up to weaning before too long.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed #bottlelambs". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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5/22 Finally! 80 lambed a nice ewe lamb. 7.3#








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Finally! 80 lambed a nice ewe lamb. 7.3#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Finally! 80 lambed a nice ewe lamb. 7.3#  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Lamb antics and chin scritches. 93 is the tiny ewe lamb, 2.23# birth weight. She's growing well and is quite spunky! You can see in maybe the third clip she comes right back to the other lambs and butts and shoves and bosses her way, if not more so than the rest. Ha!








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Lamb antics and chin scritches 🐑  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #lambing2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Lamb antics and chin scritches 🐑  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #lambing2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




5/23 Mary lambed! Ewe 8.9# and Ram 9.5# Whole lot of baby she been carrying around. After I took this I had to carry the lambs to the shed, where the lamb kit is, to get my records noted etc. Well these two have very healthy lungs!! They were the loudest lambs I've ever had! The whole flock got in a kerfluffle and I had every sheep gathered around me, talking back after every single lamb cry. Followed me all the way to the shed. I had to kick them out and lure Mary back in so I didn't get overrun while trying to do weights and all.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "🎉Mary lambed🎉 Ewe 8.9# and Ram 9.5# 😳 whole lot of baby she been carrying around.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "🎉Mary lambed🎉 Ewe 8.9# and Ram 9.5# 😳 whole lot of baby she been carrying around.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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5/24, 79 had a ewe lamb sometime early this morning. 5.8#
This makes for 7 ewes left to go and 6 days maximum they can hold out!








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "79 had a ewe lamb sometime early this morning🎉🐑 5.8#  This makes for 7 ewes left to go and 6 days maximum they can hold out 🤦‍♀️  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #farmher #farmlife #lambing2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "79 had a ewe lamb sometime early this morning🎉🐑 5.8#  This makes for 7 ewes left to go and 6 days maximum they can hold out 🤦‍♀️  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #farmher #farmlife #lambing2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 1, 2021)

5/25 Kitty was cleaning a lamb when I came out. After finishing chores I came back to tail & tag and she popped out a twin. Ram lambs 7.9# and 7#








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Kitty finally couldn't cross her legs to hold em anymore! Nice size twin rams. No weights yet. I try to interrupt as little as possible if I can. She got in a kerfuffle cleaning the first one that she was ignoring the se
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Kitty finally couldn't cross her legs to hold em anymore! Nice size twin rams. No weights yet. I try to interrupt as little as possible if I can. She got in a kerfuffle cleaning the first one that she was ignoring the second. I tied the firsts legs and...




					www.instagram.com
				




By the time I wrapped up with those Midget was in labor at 9am. Having just started I went to get some breakfast and come back. No progress. Went and fiddled with some other things. No progress. I did a minor check and there was nothing coming, she didn't have almost anything for discharge, and I never saw water bag or signs of anything else. It was almost 4pm when the vet got here. He said she either wasn't in labor yet (she definitely was though) or ring womb/failure to dilate because she was not dilated. Decided to do a C-section because she was definitely in labor and she's never had problems before. If I left her to see if she'd progress on her own I'd probably end up with another dead ewe and lamb. Ended up with twin rams and Midget is taking good care of them and seems to be recovering well. 7.8# and 7.2# She'll stay on as a fiber pet. She was one of my original sheep.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Midget labor pt1  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Midget labor pt1  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				











						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Midget labor pt2  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Midget labor pt2  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Midget labor pt3  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Midget labor pt3  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				











						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Midget labor pt4  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Midget labor pt4  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




5/26- 72 had the water bag passed and was nesting and laboring at 8:45pm. Hooves presenting at 9:15. She was doing good and the head and hooves were coming and she seemed to be stalled so at 9:45 I did a minor assist and pulled the legs some and out it came. I think it had gotten elbow locked. Ram lamb 8.15#








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "72 is currently in labor. Hooves seem to be presenting normally. 🙌🤞  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "72 is currently in labor. Hooves seem to be presenting normally. 🙌🤞  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				











						katie lunemann on Instagram: "🙌 Ram lamb for 72!   #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "🙌 Ram lamb for 72!   #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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5/29- 89 had a ram lamb 7.2# in the pasture and was all cleaned and fed when I came out








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "89 lambed! Handsome ram lamb and 7.2#  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "89 lambed! Handsome ram lamb and 7.2#  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #lambing2021 #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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5/25 I also put the early ram lambs in with Chonk and 88. They are nice and big. I also remembered to get a close up of their fleece.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Centered, Chonk. Left, 90. Right, 91 with 88 behind (88 is horned). I'm very excited to see the growth on these guys!  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #rustbeltfibershed #localwool"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Centered, Chonk. Left, 90. Right, 91 with 88 behind (88 is horned). I'm very excited to see the growth on these guys!  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #rustbeltfibershed #localwool". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Fleece close up 🐑😍 First is 90, second is 91. Sons of Chonk the mini Cheviot ram.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #fibershed #localwool"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Fleece close up 🐑😍 First is 90, second is 91. Sons of Chonk the mini Cheviot ram.  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365 #fibershed #localwool". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Technically if they got bred at the last minute they could hold out until the 4th but they don't look bred. Ayr, 74, and 84 didn't lamb. Annoying because they are of the better ewes by body type. 89 lambed days after her birthday and 74 and 84 are two months older. Ayr, I'm wondering if it's because she's of the tallest and using ram lambs for breeding.


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## Bruce (Jun 3, 2021)

It seems like your girls are a bit heavy on the ram lamb side!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jun 8, 2021)

That they are Bruce! As much as I want more ewe lambs to keep, it's not such a bad thing because I need to sell as many as possible also so that I can keep going. About half of the ram lambs look so good right now I'd love to hold on to them and see how they fill out but I just can't afford it. I've got the pasture, it's the rest of the materials and keeping going that needs paid for. Plus the c-section set me back about $500. 

Just some pics of sheep..








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "#sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #fibershed #farmher #farmlife"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "#sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #rustbeltfibershed #fibershed #farmher #farmlife". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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These two are usually my shadow.. and the reason chores takes so long..








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "The reason chores take so long sometimes... 🤫🐑  #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "The reason chores take so long sometimes... 🤫🐑  #sheep365 #lambing2021 #farmher #rustbeltfibershed". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Some more sheep..








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "#sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "#sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




					www.instagram.com
				




Two clips of lambs from the 3/4 shetland 1/4 cheviot ewes. I'm surprised how well they are filling out already. 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Some nice lambs this year  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Some nice lambs this year  #charactercrossbreed #sheep365". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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The "what breeds do I actually have" game








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "The great chicken mystery 🐓 Ok maybe not a great mystery but I'm not sure 🤷‍♀️ I'd be glad to hear from more knowing chicken people on what breeds I ended up with.  #chickens #chickensofinstagram #pasturedpoultry #igchic
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "The great chicken mystery 🐓 Ok maybe not a great mystery but I'm not sure 🤷‍♀️ I'd be glad to hear from more knowing chicken people on what breeds I ended up with.  #chickens #chickensofinstagram #pasturedpoultry #igchickens #whatbreedami". Follow...




					www.instagram.com
				




The "how many pullets did I actually end up with" game








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Then we have the "how many pullets did I actually end up with" game 🐓😅 The brahmas were bought as replacements for the early losses as pullets, so they should be all pullets. 🤞  Based on comb and tail length the freedom 
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Then we have the "how many pullets did I actually end up with" game 🐓😅 The brahmas were bought as replacements for the early losses as pullets, so they should be all pullets. 🤞  Based on comb and tail length the freedom rangers were a full half split...




					www.instagram.com


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## Bruce (Jun 8, 2021)

How come a girl that walks with goats has so many SHEEP?!?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 12, 2021)

Lordy lordy! I got a new phone and my laptop went on the fritz and I only just got back to checking in here.

I won't do an exhaustive catch up because most of it is just shenanigans of me trying to keep up on everything.

The rams in July.








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "The boys! Chonk is looking great. The ram lambs look to be filling out good.  And 88 has a pretty fleece but is lacking in alot of traits. He won't get any more girlfriends.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #rust
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "The boys! Chonk is looking great. The ram lambs look to be filling out good.  And 88 has a pretty fleece but is lacking in alot of traits. He won't get any more girlfriends.  #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #rustbeltfibershed". Follow their...




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I had a bunch of pumpkins grow wild where I had fed some out last winter.




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Preparing to weave 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Preparing to weave   #rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #rustbeltoneyearoneoutfit #localwool #fibershed #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners #wool #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Preparing to weave   #rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #rustbeltoneyearoneoutfit #localwool #fibershed #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners #wool #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Weaving 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Finding the weaving groove  #rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #rustbeltoneyearoneoutfit #localwool #fibershed #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners #wool #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Finding the weaving groove  #rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #rustbeltoneyearoneoutfit #localwool #fibershed #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners #wool #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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More weaving 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "#rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #localwool #oneyearoneoutfit2020 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "#rustbeltfibershed #rustbeltoyoo #localwool #oneyearoneoutfit2020 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #weaversofinstagram #igweavers #spinnersofinstagram #igspinners". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Putting the rams in with the ewes! 




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Rams in, cont'd 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 2 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 2 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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More cont'd 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 3 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 3 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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Last one cont'd 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 4 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021"
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "Breeding time pt 4 #sheep365 #charactercrossbreed #farmher #farmlife #rustbeltfibershed #tupping2021". Follow their account to see 1737 posts.




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The freedom ranger pullets 








						katie lunemann on Instagram: "There is a range of color shade on the freedom ranger pullets. One is nearly as bright as the buff orps and one is nearly as red as the new Hampshire cockerel.   #chickensofinstagram #farmher #freedomrangers #regenerativ
					

katie lunemann shared a post on Instagram: "There is a range of color shade on the freedom ranger pullets. One is nearly as bright as the buff orps and one is nearly as red as the new Hampshire cockerel.   #chickensofinstagram #farmher #freedomrangers #regenerativeagriculture...




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Obligatory sheep scritches 




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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 12, 2021)

With the chickens I ended up with 26 pullets and 2 cockerels, a new Hampshire and a Bielefelder. Mid February is the very earliest I can set eggs. I want to be able to get the chicks outside as soon as possible and that seems the best timeline for our usual weather. I also want to build an outside brooder for them, ideally before setting the incubator. I hate having to rush building things at the last minute. 
Of the pullets, 10 are freedom rangers. Even with having restricted their feed I'm worried that they are getting really fat, internally. The first batch in the incubator will be all or primarily their eggs. I want to phase them out and they'll be good fat stew hens. 
I had wanted to separate them but I'm probably not. I want to build trap nests to track who is actually laying well. I'll just mark the eggs. I'm also not worried about the dad because any sired by the Bielefelder will be barred, any sired by the new Hampshire won't be.
I have more long term plans for the chickens but I'll leave that for another post.


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## Bruce (Dec 13, 2021)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> Mid February is the very earliest I can set eggs. I want to be able to get the chicks outside as soon as possible and that seems the best timeline for our usual weather.


Beginning of April is warm enough for 4 week chicks outside there?


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 16, 2021)

Bruce said:


> Beginning of April is warm enough for 4 week chicks outside there?


No. I'm going to build a big brooder in the barn and I'll be able to keep them til 6wks. Which puts them at mid April. And an intermediate pen I'll build to acclimatize them from brooder to all outside. 
I would like to push it out later but the freedom ranger pullets I'm worried about them getting alot of fat internally. I want to hatch from them before they get too fat and quit or need culled.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 16, 2021)

Ok.. sheep.. 
I took lambs to the auction when I weaned. Well, they get separate and loaded into the truck. I didn't have things setup to wean and feed lambs then go to the auction. I kept the ewe lambs, except one who was clearly the lesser looking. And Midget went too. She was losing condition and wouldn't have been able to breed her anymore, it just doesn't work. So I had 17 ewes and 7 ewe lambs. 
Lost Mary's ewe lamb to worm load. Lost Lydia, suspected worm load. Sold Ayrshire, 75, and 100 to someone just starting with sheep. I've texted her lots of information and resources. I hope they keep in touch.

Breeding was Sept 25 to Oct 25. I don't know what was going on but I messed up because the rams were supposed to stay in til Nov 4 but oh well, I didn't catch it until that weekend so it is what it is. Due 2/18-3/21. I didn't want to plan for lambs in April or later so I bumped it ahead. We'll see how it goes. And I had some CIDRs left so proven ewes were done and if they didn't lamb before then they didn't get one. It actually worked out exactly how many I had. Ewe lambs did not go in, they were all late born and definitely didn't want them bred so young.
Right before breeding groups went in 92 got weird and lost condition and just downhill. Lost him, he was son of Lydia/Chonk. 
I decided to just put in one group. Chonk, 88, and 91 went in with all the breeding ewes. 3 rams to 14 ewes, average 4.67 ewes per ram, so any who didn't get bred it's not for want of rams. I saw all three going for it with ewes.

I'm really looking at cutting back. I want to buy a border Cheviot ram, and ewe also if I can swing it. So only ewes who have proven themselves will stay. I'm giving everyone marks of any problems or really good traits. 
184 and 185 are staying. And Chonk, mini Cheviot ram.
95 is 185's daughter and looks to be sired by Chonk.
79 is daughter of 99/Chonk, so she's half shetland, half mini Cheviot. She's up for consideration.
269 looks pretty good, she's one of the 1/4 border Cheviot 3/4 shetland I bought. She's up for consideration. She was a triplet.

Kitty had twins but she really lost condition.
72 is ok, her lamb was a bit elbow locked and I did a minor assist. Nothing notable.
80 started to prolapse that last bit before she lambed. But other than that I really like her. She's also friendly.
89 lambed on her own and has no outstanding marks against her. But she's Mary's daughter and Pigpigs grand daughter, which seem to be of the worst for worms. So she's on watch list.
74 and 84 did not take/lamb this spring. I'm really bummed because they are of the better ones for the build I'm working toward but not if they don't breed. If they don't lamb again they'll be gone. Really going to suck because 84 is Midget's daughter and looks really Cheviot and is really really what I'm working towards.
Mary lost alot of condition. She also was pretty pale eyelids and had a swollen up neck earlier in the season. She was wormed with valbazen and prohibit. She went with the ewe lambs and not breeding. She's definitely going. 
228 had the tiny ewe lamb. If she has a tiny lamb again I'd be seriously worried about breeding her to a bigger ram.
229 assisted lambing but I think just because it was a decent size lamb and she's a small ewe.
230 lambed on her own.
231 lambed on her own but found dead lamb. Unknown if she just took too long or what exactly happened. She's on the watch list for possibly issues this time.
88 is definitely going. He has a really nice fleece but he is just a tall shetland in build and it seems like his lambs are the same. I don't need that.
91 seems ok. Son of 184/Chonk. Not nearly as nice as Chonk but better than the basically shetland type.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Dec 17, 2021)

The ewes are in the new winter area. Partly under roof. I have to get the area next to it finished up for the rams. I'm also going to change up inside the barn. It's still set up for how we ran goats when I was a kid and it just doesn't work very well. And doesn't work for the sheep basically at all for me.
The new area is made up of cattle panels. I have alot of ideas on how it can be upgraded so we'll see what I can do. The pastures need a rest and I've tried to plan it to be as easy to manage as possible. And minimizing mud! The weather so far points to plenty of warm and wet this winter. 
Dad got a scoop for the tractor so cleaning out shouldn't be too bad. I can take out the panels and then put them back up.
Another thing about this new area is that I won't be wandering a paddock trying to check ewes. After lambing I'll make final decisions on who is staying. 
I am working on how I'll be incorporating a lamb creep. Come weaning time ewes that are staying can go out to the pasture. If there are any great ewe lambs they can go out with the ewes, but I absolutely have to make myself not keep a lamb from a ewe that isn't staying! 
Keep ewes- to pasture.
Keep ewe lambs- to pasture.
Cull ewes- feeding pen.
Market lambs- feeding pen.
So the new area will be switched a bit for sections to separate the lambs to wean. The ewes not staying will go on a bit of a finisher diet to try and make them look good for market. The lambs will go on a finisher diet to fatten them up for market.
I need to call the feed co-op on price for the concentrate pellet. That would allow me to buy corn cheaper from a farmer and mix it as needed for the lambs and the ewes. Need to consider the price point though.
Lambing is Feb 18- March 21. 60 days weaning is April 18- May 20. The next ethnic holidays aren't til early and late July which is longer than I want to feed them out. But it seems May is usually still good prices at the auction and they drop sometime in June and after, coming up again in like November or December. 
I'm also hoping to talk to an amish man who is a local butcher. I'm taking the pig in after Christmas. Find out if the amish eat lamb much or what their interest might be. If I could sell them directly would be great.
I also want to ask if he'd butcher sheep. They do their own curing and smoking. I was thinking for lambs I could get loins, a couple roasts, and do a bunch of ground. Then if I wanted to take the cull ewes I could get a bunch of ground done and meat stick and sausages. I don't even know if anything specific would be really good smoked. And I could get the hides to tan.
We got two deer and I'm cleaning the hides. I got that orange bottle solution stuff to try. I'd really love to have sheep skins from my animals. And they'd probably be really cool, shorn in January so they'd have 4 to 5 months of wool on. I could also send them to be tanned but I'd prefer if I could do it myself. The place I've heard the best feedback about brushes out the wool and only brushed out. I like the locks.


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 1, 2022)

I'm just not consistent about posting here yall.. haha.. 

The pig got butchered right after Christmas. Very tasty. I wish feed wasn't so darn expensive because I'd love to do pigs again.

I ended up putting breeding groups together a bit earlier. Lambing as follows...

*1/27- abortion 72??? Blk ram lamb. Very small, about 3#. 3wks before first possible due date. No idea cause. Acts normal.

*2/11- no udder 74, 79, 228, 229. Small udder 185, 89, 230, 231. Big udder kitty, 184, 80, 84.

* 2/17- look closest: 80, kitty, 184

*2/18 11:30pm- kitty good mom, big udder, cleared teats. Look very Cheviot.
R 6.4 tag44
E 6.45 tag45

*2/19 7:45am- 231 good mom. small but nice udder.
E 5 tag46

*2/19 3:45pm- 185 good mom, big udder.
E 8 tag47

*2/22 3:20pm- 80 good mom. Udder is to the back, teats quite forward, nice milkable teats.
E 7.36 tag48

*2/27 11:50pm- 184 caught pacing on cam. Watched a while, feet and nose presenting, no progress. Lamb legs and discharge orange-y. Assisted just to pass head and shoulders. Big lamb. Nice big udder, very milk-able.
E 14 tag49

*3/7 6pm- 230 good mom. Small very round udder, like a ball.
E 7.6 tag50

*3/15 noon- 84, came out to standing and clean lambs. Good mom. Nice big milkable udder. Lambs look shetland-y assuming 88 is sire.
E 6 tag51 dark moorit
E 5.5 tag52

4/9 10:30am- 228 good mom. 
R 5.2 tag53 black, white face, eye patch

4/10 2pm- 79 good mom.
E 7.9 tag54

I found a really nice and inexpensive camera that works off wifi via someone I follow on IG. It works really great! Wyze indoor and outdoor cam. It was absolutely indispensable!!! The cord is the same as a phone charger cord with a USB end. So dad wired up a car charger that I clip to a battery and plug in the camera. Easypeasy! Just had to remember to switch out a charged battery every few days. 

Those last two to lamb were definitely sired by 88, the horned ram. I was so irritated with myself! After I separated the rams he broke through a spot in the fence and I didn't mark the day!!! So I knew about a week after due dates ended I'd have to watch again for whatever he got that day. More than that I was mad that some ewes didn't take or must have absorbed early on if they did get bred. 
Plus Mary and Ayrshire were in with the ewe lambs to not be bred. Because they had poorer body condition and I was planning to sell them. I ended up selling Mary to be butchered and she had been bred that day the ram escaped. Luckily the person understood and it wasn't a big deal. It's for the better because she would not have done well lambing again. Then I did sell Ayrshire on with two others as pets and she did lamb! Twins! Ugh I could have spit fire. And of course they are healthy and doing fine. I'm glad for that at least since they are pets there. She couldn't keep up in my system. It's just so irritating she bred and twinned the year I excluded her and didn't breed her and sold her.... 

Last month I sold two of last year's ewe lambs that I'd still had that I didn't like. I made a list of everyone to be sold and sold them the next day.
I had all the rest sold too then the person ghosted me the day they were supposed to come get them. It's so annoying! Why waste both our time?! Then I got back to multiple people who I had told I'd let them know on that day if they were still available... no one responded... Bleh.. This is why I'm not a people person...


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 1, 2022)

Ok current sheep...

--Kitty- shet/fitz.. twinned 
--184- shet-cormo/b ch
--185- shet/b ch
--72- lizzy/007 wh <sell> aborted
×74- kitty/B blk  <sell> didn't lamb
--79- 99/007 wh
--80- kat76/007 kat
--84- midget/007 blk.. twinned 
×89- mary/007 wh <sell> didn't lamb
--228- light kat <sell> 75/25
×229- wh <sell> 75/25
--230- blk <sell>75/25
--231- wh <sell> 75/25
95- 185/Chonk wh 
269- 75% shet/25% b.ch, wh, very fine

44 R- kitty.. sell
45 E- kitty.. holding for person 
46 E- 231.. sell
47 E- 185 <keep>
48 E- 80.. holding for person 
49 E- 184 <keep>
50 E- 230.. sell
51 E- 84 <keep>
52 E- 84 <keep>
53 R- 228.. sell
54 E- 79.. holding for person

The one's I'm holding for the person is til the youngest is ready to wean. It was set up when the whole list of 'to sell' were supposed to be picked up in a couple days then the person ghosted.. But I'm going to show the others to them and maybe they'll be interested in more than just the three. 
I had another person lined up for lambs that had stuff come up with their pasture fence work and they had to back out of it. Totally understandable, it's so much nicer when people just let you know! 

I relisted the sell one's again and no luck. So I'm working out when to take them to the auction. 
72, 74, 89, 228, 229, 230, 231, 88.

That leaves me with..
Ram- Chonk
Proven ewes- 184, 185, kitty, 79, 80, 84
First time ewes- 95, 269
Ewe lambs- 47, 49, 51, 52


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## ohiogoatgirl (May 1, 2022)

Chickens..
I just had a complete flop of a hatch unfortunately. I think it's multiple reasons going into it but I'm working to fix it. The freedom ranger hens are going to be butchered as soon as I can get a day for it. They are terrible egg eaters and the white hen is now too. It'll leave me with 7 brahmas and 1 NH for hens, and the NH roo. The Bielefelder roo developed an attitude problem and has been in the big cage. Not ideal but he can't attack me that way. As much as I wanted to use him for breeding to make auto sexing chickens it isn't worth the hassle. He'll probably also go to the stew pot.
In March I hatched 22 chicks. I had moved them out in the salatin style ground pen but lost 4 one night to either mink or rats. So they're back inside, down to 18. The flop hatch only resulted in 4 chicks which are brooding in a simple tote setup. 
I'll be turning the ground pen into a brooder hutch. Going to buy wire for the bottom. It's a darn heavy thing so it'll be fine as a hutch.


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## Bruce (May 2, 2022)

ohiogoatgirl said:


> I'm just not consistent about posting here yall..


We hadn't noticed any inconsistency
(well we did but it would be rude to point it out)

Sorry about the egg eaters. I have one now, she's in solitary. She can now eat only whatever she lays. At least yours are meat birds and will meet the same end whether they are problems or not.


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