# Wolfemomma - Our Homestead Journey



## WolfeMomma (Aug 10, 2017)

This is our story.

We have always wanted to have a farm, being somewhat self sufficient has been a dream of ours since we got married. Once the husband retired from the military we figured this is the best time to do it.  We searched and searched, and finally found a spot to put down some roots, this was it. This was home. 
Things have moved pretty fast since then, purchased a barn for the property, had that installed. Fencing is put up, and the animals we be on their way to our home stead next week! To say I'm excited is an understatement. 

We are expecting 2 Katahdin ews and one beef steer. Raising our own beef is very important to us. We would like to have more cows in the future, but right now this is more then enough to start off with  

Most of my days are filled up with watching our 3 boys....and picking berries. Our black berry bushes are going crazy right now, I can't wait for some homemade jam and pies to enjoy throughout the winter! 
I think the raspberries are pretty much done sadly, they are my favorite.  While on the topic of berries, we found some beautiful blue berry patches in our back pasture, I made muffins with them....they were delicious!
Looking forward to our buff hens to start laying....we go through eggs like crazy in this house between my husband,  3 growing boys and my baking ....they are a hot commodity! 
Stay tuned ......I will write again and let everyone know how it went with our steer and sheep  wish us luck!


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 10, 2017)

Welcome glad you joined us!  Lots of great and helpful people on here. Berry jam is yummy- we were able to make raspberry jam from the berries in our patch this year!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 10, 2017)

I'm looking forward to following your journey.  There are quite a number of hair sheep growers on the forum.


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 10, 2017)

Welcome from NC
First thing
You need some dairy goats 

Second raising a Steer is a great way to test out cattle
Just picked up TBone and Ribeye from the slaughterhouse

Third for the future
Buying a couple of feeder pigs and raising them is probably the easiest most cost efficient meat you can produce ( that is if you like pork )


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## Mini Horses (Aug 10, 2017)

Welcome from VA.   You may not know this but we always LOVE pics!     Since you have animals coming & a new barn, farm and all that -- well, we are here  

And, yes, this forum has info for just about anything you may need.  Really.  Some real pros who love to share.


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 10, 2017)

Mini Horses said:


> Welcome from VA.   You may not know this but we always LOVE pics!     Since you have animals coming & a new barn, farm and all that -- well, we are here
> 
> And, yes, this forum has info for just about anything you may need.  Really.  Some real pros who love to share.


X2
Bring on the pics


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 10, 2017)

There are many that have traveled, are traveling, and soon to travel that road with ya. So, you are amongst a group that can assist, advise, and support you along your journey and with each adventure. Also, each person has a time that they just need to "Vent" or complain....this is your "Journal" and is available for you to post on as ya wish....we all do, as ya will find out as ya read others "Journal Threads".....you are not alone in the road ahead.....we are a "Herd" and as such, there are shared experiences, shared positions, and a "Kick in the Rump" to get ya moving down the road. Welcome!!....and make yourself right at "Home"....cause ya are....


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## Latestarter (Aug 11, 2017)

Where abouts in northern Maine are you? I spent ~10 years in the Bath/Brunswick area in VP squadrons (NAS Brunswick ME). Also retired military. Glad to have you with us! and oh yes... pics are always appreciated!


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## goats&moregoats (Aug 11, 2017)

Welcome. Here you will find friendly people, much advice and very knowledgeable farmers. Good luck with your homestead. Pictures are much appreciated as we love cute animals and also love to watch people grow in there homesteads.


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2017)

Good luck with everything. Yes, we love pictures, so be sure to post lots of them!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 6, 2017)

Oh my Goodness! Its been a while, and some crazy stuff has been going on. After much discussion, budget crunching ect, we have to decided to just stick with sheep instead of cows at this current point in our life. Our 2 Katahdin Ewes are doing amazing! We LOVE them. They have been a great addition to our farm family! We are planning on buying more ewes this spring and hopefully a high quality ram if possible. We have found 2 amazing breeders near us, that have been such a great source of knowledge!
We took a Ram Lamb to the butchers, looking forward to having some Lamb meat in the house instead of just beef lol
We have had some fencing up and downs trying to figure out which is the right way to go. If anyone has any fencing tips....please give them!
Our Buff Orpington flock is doing well, still no eggs yet though. I figure maybe November they will give us a couple. The guineas are still alive....they roost out on one of our big Maple trees at night. Hopefully they stay safe, I worry about them.
Also, thinking about adding another LSGD to our team, Crazy I know....but he will be a full brother to the amazing one we have now...we shall see if it ends up happening or not.
The Kids started school! that has been going well. New school, new town....its been an interesting year, I hope I can start meeting other farming families and making some friends with similar interests. For now, I have you all as my buddies 
I have been trying to get my eldest involved in 4h. But it seems to be a dead end road. Everyone I call or email never calls back or replies. ah well , such is life. Eventually we will get it all figured out!
Stay Tuned untill next time!!!
View attachment 39137


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 6, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> Where abouts in northern Maine are you? I spent ~10 years in the Bath/Brunswick area in VP squadrons (NAS Brunswick ME). Also retired military. Glad to have you with us! and oh yes... pics are always appreciated!


We are about 20 Minutes from Bangor .


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 6, 2017)

Sure glad the sheep are working out for ya, and can understand expanding existing animals instead of diversifying. The main problem here with guineas staying out in trees here are great horned owls...they are plentiful. When I was living up there in Winter Harbor, we would go shopping in Ellsworth and Bangor.....
What kind of fencing tips are ya looking for?


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## Baymule (Oct 6, 2017)

There is a very good fencing forum, lots of posts and pictures too! That would be the place to go ask questions.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 22, 2017)

I think we solved our fencing problem *fingers crossed* So far 5 rows of polyrope electric wire is keeping our ewes in. They are happy and so are we, its a win win! Put our first Ram Lamb in the freezer last week. Will be excited to have some lamb to cook with ! Our Livestock guardian puppy is doing well, lots of ongoing training, but he is so laid back and easy to work with. The sheep are not that fond of him yet, although i think after more time is spent with them they will all eventually get along. 
The leaves are falling around, really makes it a lot easier to see in to the woods, it really lets me see how much clearing of brush we need to do in our little hunk of woods that we have. 
Other then that, not much else is new. Same old same old 
Untill next time!


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 30, 2018)

Its been a while, so I figured I would update a little bit in regards to all the going ons around here! 
First, the snow..I cannot believe how much snow we got, its crazy! almost my whole fence around our pasture was covered, thankfully the sheep are content to just sit in front of their barn and eat hay because the fence was pretty much useless. The snow was so deep that our LGD basically just walked over top of it . 
I am 80% sure that our two Katahdin Ewes are not pregnant. I had hopes that they were, but honestly Im not surprised as they were not with the ram for as long as they probably should have been. Im a little sad about it but such is life. 
They are fat, and have definitely gained weight but that i believe is from us spoiling them. They are like pets to us, and follow us around. They remind me more of goats then the sheep that I have been around in the past. 
After getting our first lamb back from the butcher last fall we were quick to realize that it would not be enough meat for our family, with me my husband and 3 boys it was quickly made clear that we have to stick to beef or pork and not make lamb
our sole source of meat. 
So this brings us to our next adventure! Beef cows! We bought 2 beef steers to raise. Angus crosses, one will be butchered this winter. The other next year. Hopefully this all goes well! 
On a different note, We are starting seeds for veggies and fresh cut flowers. I can't wait to see how this goes and to be able to have fresh food from our garden. 
Untill next time! 
-WolfeMomma


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 30, 2018)

Food for thought...pun intended . If you don’t have enough room in your freezer for a whole beef, sell a half. We get paid based on weight on the hoof (all processors have scales) and then they call in the cutting order to the butcher and pay for the cuts they choose. We make a little doing this and my freezer isn’t stuck with the lid ajar.


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 30, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> Food for thought...pun intended . If you don’t have enough room in your freezer for a whole beef, sell a half. We get paid based on weight on the hoof (all processors have scales) and then they call in the cutting order to the butcher and pay for the cuts they choose. We make a little doing this and my freezer isn’t stuck with the lid ajar.


Very good idea! I will keep that in mind when the time comes! Thankfully we have 3 big freezers for just our meat so Im hoping that most of it will fit


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 30, 2018)

I have the biggest chest freezer you can buy, the biggest stand up freezer, and two refrigerator freezers. I usually have half a beef, a whole pig, three or four turkeys, several bags of chicken breasts or pieces, frozen veggies, and the equivalent of about 5 gallons of milk (was breast, the goat, need to stockpile again after goats kid.) I think I need another freezer....


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## Baymule (Mar 30, 2018)

We bought half a beef from a friend. It was less price than buying feedlot beef from the grocery store and is a deep rich red color.... tastes delicious! We don't have the room for a cow. We raise lamb, sell most of them, keep one or two for us.

We raise feeder pigs. You get a quick return on time, money, feed, etc. We sell one, keep one.


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## WolfeMomma (Apr 4, 2018)

Well, We finally got around to starting some of our seeds indoors so we have a bit of a jump on the growing season. So far my flowers that I plan on using for fresh cut flowers have come up first, and are doing awesome so far considering this is my first time ever starting seeds, and well I don't think we really have all the proper equipment, but oh well you have to make the best of what you have sometimes. The vegetable seeds were just put in the other day, so hopefully those germinate as well as my flowers have so far. 
Finally the snow is melting, getting a lot of rain today, hopefully it can put a dent in the snow. I miss seeing green grass! 
Does anyone on here have instagram for their homestead? We do its northwolfefarm Please follow, and if not no worries I'm sure I will rant enough on here to keep you updated lol

We have been rolling around the idea of getting a jersey cow, butter and milk is getting so expensive here, it would almost be cheaper to feed the cow, then to buy butter at the store
I can easily spend 24$ or more on butter a month :O that doesn't include all the milk and cream we use. sigh.... but would a milk cow be a good option? I don't want like 5 gallons of milk a day...it will not be used i know 
that for sure. Maybe a mini jersey, I heard they give a little less? Any dairy people on here want to chime in ? 
Anyway, until next time!


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## Wehner Homestead (Apr 4, 2018)

No dairy cow experience. I have dairy goats though. I’m starting a line of Mini Lamanchas. Better feed conversion is a smaller animal with high milk production for size! Size is more manageable than a bovine...

Also, you can freeze milk for later use. A dairy cow will need bred yearly to continue milking so you could store for downtime. Also need a plan for artificial insemination or a bull (difficult to contain and dairy bulls are known for being cantankerous.) 

A calf could be left on the cow for 6 mos so you’d be sharing milk too...

Extra milk could be fed to pigs and/or chickens. 

Just some thoughts. 

I’ll tag two people that I know have Minis and another that uses dairy cows as nurse cows and makes rounds on dairy farms as an inspector. 

@Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice @farmerjan


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## farmerjan (Apr 4, 2018)

There are several thoughts to dairy cattle.  I have been around them for over 40 years.  First off, the "MINI COW " market is expensive.  Yes they are smaller.  Yes they produce less milk.  There is another whole thing about breeding.  They tend to not be as fertile, getting them bred AI is difficult.  You pretty much need to have your own bull or use of a neighbors mini bull.  I would never breed a mini cow to a normal sized bull.  A normal cow to a mini bull would be okay.  But it is just asking for some complications to have a mini dairy animal.  Now, a Dexter, is smaller but is not a true "mini".  They can be bred to jerseys, or a calving ease angus with not too much concern.  We have two easy calving angus bulls that we use on our heifers, and the calves are usually in the 50-65 lb range.

A decent jersey cow will make an average 5 gal a day in the early part of her lactation.  If she has a calf, that calf can easily consume 1 gal or more a day.  A couple of pigs would make short work of the extra milk also.  Yes you can freeze some too.  Or raise an extra calf, instead of bottle feeding it, let the two calves nurse the cow and you get the rest.  There are several ways to do it.  Some people let the calf(calves) stay with the cow for 12 hours then take them away and then milk the cow, then let the calves go back with the cow for 12 hours.  In essence you are milking once a day the calves are getting the 2nd milking worth of milk.  There are different ways to get a cow to take a "grafted" calf.  

You are talking about how much milk, cream, butter costs.  But, a cow isn't cheap to keep.  A decent cow in milk will eat a minimum of 1 square bale of GOOD quality hay a day, plus grain.  5-10 lbs grain a day minimum.  Especially early in the lactation.  They will make more milk than they can eat and will lose a little weight.  It's known as milking the fat off their back.  Then as their milk slows down a bit they will hit the spot where they are eating more than the milk is taking out of them and gain back condition.  On a commercial dairy, with all the silage and everything, and figuring that the farmer is doing things in bulk so "quantity" discounts so to speak;  they figure a minimum of $8 to $10 per day to FEED THE COW.  Yes we are talking holsteins.  But as a comparison, it costs me approx $4 per day to feed my nurse cows.  They are raising 3 calves each for the most part.   Here in Va we figure it costs us $450 per year to maintain a beef cow.  For my nurse cows, $750 per year to maintain a dairy cow.  That is allowing for at least 2 months of no milk, the dry period.  And we have pasture for approx 8 months a year and they are getting decent hay but not real top quality as I am not feeding them to make a ton of milk.  The ones that come in the barn to be milked or are raising a second set of calves, and so are being grained more, are costing closer to $6 per day for at least  250 days.  These cows will raise 5 calves plus what milk I want.
Sure, you can do it cheaper than I do.  Get less milk.  But is it worth it?  If you want to go for self-sufficiency, then you can do it.  But it will cost you about what it will cost in store bought.  Most anyone on here will tell you that it "ain't cheap".  Most do it for the freshness, for allergies to store bought stuff, to be able to control what they are ingesting and know where their stuff comes from.  There are lots of reasons TO HAVE YOUR OWN ANIMALS.  But cheaper is not really one of them.

Also, think about the time element.  You have to be there and a dairy cow is more demanding than a dairy goat as they are often milked longer than many goats.  Goats are easier to handle, require less in handling facilities.  Size is a consideration.  I am not a goat person, but they have definite advantages.


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## Wehner Homestead (Apr 4, 2018)

Thanks @farmerjan! I knew you’d bring some good thoughts and points to the table!


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## Baymule (Apr 4, 2018)

@Devonviolet is in her second kidding and has been counting down the days that she could start milking again! She makes kiefer, several kinds of cheese, cream, uses the milk for all sorts of things, but most of all, she LOVES HER GOATS! 

Maybe 2-3 dairy goats would be the way to go for you.


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## WolfeMomma (Apr 6, 2018)

@farmerjan Thank you so much for your reply it has given me a lot to think about! 
We already have beef cows, so it wouldn't be to much of a stretch to add another. But i am very new to a dairy cows feed requirements. We thought about goats, and I just can't do it,
I have tried multiple different types of goats milk and for lack of a better word...its gross....i cannot drink it . I find cow milk tastes much better. We try our best around here to be self sufficient, and raise our own meat, veggies, fruit , and eggs. Milk was just the next logical step but I really need to research and know what I'm getting in to before I decide to go that route. 
So once again thank you  for responding, it has helped me a lot! 
I love getting advice from those who have been there done that, its better then the info in books sometimes


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## farmerjan (Apr 6, 2018)

Hi again.  If you already have beef cows then you know the basics.  Any dairy cow can be bred to a beef bull unless it is known to throw exceptionally large calves.  So that can be easily addressed.  I run  anywhere from 3 to 6 dairy cows with some of our first calf beef heifers at one place.  They eat the same hay out in the pasture.  When I bring them into the barn to let the nurse calves go on them, they get approx 10 lbs grain and at least 2 flakes of good alfalfa hay to help with the protein increase and to make sure they are getting that little extra to keep their milk up.  What I do is to leave them in the barn and lot for an hour or so, to allow them to clean up their grain and the hay, then turn them out.  Do the same in the evening.  This way the calves are getting all the milk.

The one I often milk for the house has a little different routine.  She comes in and the calves get to suck her and she eats like normal, and goes out.   Then, say in the evening, when she comes in, I do not let the calves on her until after I have milked; while she is eating her grain etc.  Then when I get what I want I let the calves come in and get the rest.  They do get "shortchanged"  when I milk.  But I will leave her in with the calves all night so they are getting a chance to suck when they want.  In the morning she gets turned out when the other cows go out.
Then that evening, she comes in, gets her "rations" and I milk again and the calves get what's left.  Some days I will completely milk her out and then I wait to let the calves in with her for about an hour or two so she has a little milk and they don't drive her nuts.  They will again suck when they want and over the course of the night get all they need.
If I am going to be tied up with work, then the calves get all they want and I don't separate them.  It's not rocket science and it works out pretty good.  Some cows you cannot let the calves stay with as they will only let the calves nurse when they are eating.  Some will take them out in the field and let them nurse anywhere anytime.

You can just take the calf away, do all the milking and bottle feed the calf, or calves, or feed the extra that you don't use in the house to pigs.  But the only drawback to that is if something happens and you cannot milk for some reason, then the cow will suffer.  By letting them be both a nurse cow and "milk cow" you have flexibility. 

If you are already feeding beef cows, then the dairy cow will only require some extra in the barn so she can make a decent amount of milk.  So say an additional $2-3 per day for her feed as you will not notice what she is eating out with the herd.  Yes you can run them together as she will learn VERY QUICKLY that when you are headed to the barn that means she gets fed grain etc....  She can graze right along with them.  If she has a disposition to allow more than one calf to suck her, then when they get a few weeks old, they can go out with her and you would only have to keep her or them penned up for 12 hours before  you want to milk.  But their quantity of milk will go down considerably if you do not supplement them.
I was not trying to paint a dismal picture.  But so many people think that a cow can just eat some grass and make milk.  Sure, if you only want a gallon a day.  A dairy cow is intended to make milk.  You can control that to some extent by the amount you supplement;  but she will lose weight when she first comes fresh because her body is trying to produce to meet what her genes are programmed to do.  The best way to utilize it is to feed her to produce a decent amount, so she will also keep her body weight up and be able to breed back and produce another calf, while still providing for you wants, and her calf's needs. 

Another thing that can be a problem is if a dairy cow is not milked out, by hand or by calves, and she gets mastitis, you can ruin her udder.  So it is in a persons best interest to make sure she is getting milked out totally at least once a day by calves or by hand.  Mastitis can cause her to lose a quarter, or it can actually kill her if it is a virulent strain.  It's not that big a deal if you milk her or the calves get all the milk.  It is not hard to tell either.  But a dairy cow that is not properly taken care of will be more of a negative than a positive.


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## WolfeMomma (Apr 7, 2018)

@farmerjan Thank you so much for posting, I really appreciate getting a different point of view, it really does help as I weigh all the pros and cons. 
If we end up heading this direction, do you think that getting one already bred is a good idea? me and my husband don't have much experience in regards to that, so I am worried that it might
not be the best route to go, but i also can't help but to find it appealing. 
Also, there is a organic Dairy near us that has Jerseys for sale once and a while, would that be a good route to go....or are they getting rid of the cows for a "reason". 
Im assuming an older more experienced cow would be probably be better?
Sorry for all the questions , I don't know or talk to many dairy people


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## farmerjan (Apr 7, 2018)

If you get a bred cow, then there are 2 ways to go.  Is she bred but still milking?  You are getting a better deal that way, getting some milk and yet she is bred back so you will get a break from the milking when she is dry and then when she first comes fresh, you can start her with "calves" if that is your choice, or milk her only or a combination.  The only real plus to getting her as bred, is you KNOW that she is/was/can be bred.  Sometimes a cow will just not breed back, no matter what.  You don't want to get one in milk, unless she is just fresh, that is not bred because there is always that slim chance that she may not breed back.  I had one that did not breed back after her 3rd calf.  Not AI, not with a bull, nothing.  Vet couldn't find anything wrong.  It happens.  

The dairy having an occasional cow for sale may be a very good route if you follow a few precautions.  Usually a dairy will sell a cow, not for cull, but to a prospective private sale, because she does not make enough milk for the farmer to realize a profit.  With the shape of the dairy industry and how little they are getting for their milk right now, ALL FARMERS are finding it very tough to even break even on costs.  A low producing cow just won't cut it.  It would be an ideal cow for a "homestead".  Not too much milk to overwhelm you.  
Now there are things to watch out for.  Does she have 4 good clean PRODUCING quarters?  I am not the slightest bit afraid of a 3-teat cow.  She could have had a case of mastitis, it cleared up but the quarter did not recover.  You can "kill" a quarter to stop it from producing.  It is done sometimes when you can't get the mastitis cleared up in it.  Sometimes a heifer will just come in with only 3 operational teats.  If a calf is sucked by its herdmates, it can ruin the quarter and sometimes even the udder.  I have one now that was sucked as a calf, and when I got her and she freshened she only had milk in 3.  So be it.  She produces very good out of 3.  You leave the other quarter alone.  
The quarter could have been injured and they couldn't get it to come back into production.  Had one that was butted very hard by another cow.  She produced bloody milk for over a month.  It never cleared up and I finally just quit milking it.  Eventually it dried up on it's own, but I would have killed it if not.  Not her fault, no other problems.  Sometimes when a cow gets up, which they do back end first,  they have been known to accidentally catch a teat between their toes, and they have gotten mashed, or cut wide open.  Often there is no saving them if damaged enough.  So you wind up with a 3 teat cow.  There are lots of reasons.  A 4 quarter cow is the preferred route.... but not 100% necessary.

So back to the farm selling an occasional cow.   I would talk to them.  see what they have to offer.   IDEALLY:  it would be a younger cow, low producing so she isn't making enough to "pay her way" on the dairy.  4 Good  clear open milking quarters.  If she has been milking for over 120 days/4 months, I would want her bred back.  If milking over 5-6 months, she would HAVE TO BE CONFIRMED PREGNANT.  Doesn't matter what she is bred to at that point, many farmers are breeding their lower producing cows to beef bulls as the calves are worth a little more to people who want to raise a few bottle calves.  But bred/ confirmed preg is very important so that you are not getting a breeding problem cow.  Now if you have a beef bull, then she could come and just get bred by him.  Realizing that there is a chance she may have been a problem breeder.  Some farmers do not bother to breed back their low milking cows, so then it would be a choice.  Your bull would most likely breed her on her first heat.  Or you could AI her.  
For a less than IDEAL cow, she  could be an older cow that just isn't making enough.  The farmer may have alot of heifers coming fresh and they will often cull an older cow to make way for "younger, new genetics"  as the heifers should be better than the dams, if you are breeding to improve your herd.  So there are many times now on farms that they are simply culling older cows to make room for younger cows.  They will have udders that may not be as tight, maybe a little sagging as the ligament support loses its strength.  As long as you can sit on a stool or 5 gal bucket and get a bucket under her udder and comfortably reach the teats to milk it's okay.  You don't want the teats pointing out to the four corners but they may not hang straight down.
You do not want little tiny teats that you can only get your thumb and forefinger around.  You need a teat that you can comfortably fit at least your thumb and 3 fingers around.  The pinky is not essential but I like a cow that I can get most all my hand on.  I have one that has short tiny teats and I cannot milk her by hand.  Calves do okay on her but a thumb and forefinger milking is not only tiresome, but a PITA.   Also you do not want huge fat teats that you or a calf will have trouble getting ahold of when she first comes fresh.  The natural swelling of the udder when first fresh will make it the opposite of tiny teats, but just as difficult to milk.

You want and HAVE to have a cow that will allow you to hand milk her.  Some cows on dairies will not be accustomed to that.  They only know a machine milking.  They have to be accustomed enough to a person working alongside them.  YOU DO NOT want a nervous acting cow, or a kicky cow.  If she wants to take a swipe at you, LEAVE HER THERE.

Any cow over 10 years old will have a limited life left as a milking cow.  I have 2 that are 12 and 14.  But getting a cow from someone else I would look for something that has 2 or 3 lactations behind her unless she is a first calf heifer that just doesn't make alot of milk.  First calf heifers can be a little tricky as they sometimes don't have the "settled down" thing yet.  So yes, a little older cow might be better.

Ask the farmer if he is on DHIA or Dairy One.  These are companies that come once a month or so to test the cows.  Every cow that goes through the milking parlour will have a milk sample taken from her.  It shows the pounds of milk and her butterfat and protein and SOMATIC CELL COUNT as well as other info on that cow.  Cell count indicates her udder health and if the cell count is high then she is a candidate for mastitis.  A flare up one month is no big deal;  several high counts indicates she is a high cell count cow and one to stay away from.  She will be a chronic problem down the road.  Tell him that you don't know alot about it but you do know it provides info on the cow.  If they are decent people, they will show you her records, and explain them to you.


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## Baymule (Apr 7, 2018)

Farmerjan is a wealth of information. Print this out and take it with you as a cheat sheet! Then you won't forget to ask the important questions! LOL


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## WolfeMomma (Apr 10, 2018)

Thank you so much @farmerjan So many things I didn't think of.  It almost seems like a scary process , I don't want to make a mistake like getting one with something wrong with it, or that won't stand to be hand milked, can't be bred back ect. Me and my husband are total newbies at this so I think we need a cow with more experience then us so to speak lol . We don't want to rush in to anything , and don't mind waiting untill the right cow comes along. 
I really would like to use a machine to milk. I feel like its more sanitary...i see people milk by hand on some youtube vlogs that I watch and ...they are filtering straw and other gross things out when they get back in the house, I want to keep my milk as clean and less "exposed" to outside elements as possible. Milking machines are insanely expensive but I think it would be worth it in the long run. any thoughts on hand milking v.s machine ?


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## Latestarter (Apr 10, 2018)

Since I only milk one goat, I do it by hand, but a cow... I think I'd spring for a machine... since they (cows) produce 3-5 times (or more) as much milk. The system I was (and still am) looking at isn't that expensive and if you can afford it, why not go for it?

My choice: https://simplepulse.com/  Another I looked at was: http://www.perrysmilkers.com/

Something to keep in mind though is that with a machine you have a butt load more cleaning to do with all the equipment.


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## farmerjan (Apr 11, 2018)

I have no intention of going through all the trouble of cleaning a milking machine for one cow.  If she is not a kicker, there will be very little in the milk to strain but a few hairs.  I can hand milk a cow making about 3 gallons in less than 10 minutes usually, once I get my strength back after being "off " for a couple months.  It takes longer to assemble and then dis-assemble and clean the machine than the milking.  I used to milk 4 by hand and by the time I got to the fourth, I was feeling it.  But one or two, by hand.  If the cow has not been laying in the muck, a quick brushing off and then washing the udder and drying is pretty good to go.  To each his own.  I like that I am getting the exposure and building up an immunity by being exposed and a few hairs will not kill me.  The problem with kids (human variety) having so much trouble with allergies has definitely been linked to not having much exposure to dirt and such in playing,  and not having pets.
If one of the reasons to have a cow and milk is to drink the milk raw - not pasteurized - then you are purposely allowing yourself access to the immune building.  I don't propose drinking it after she has planted her foot in it or that she peed or pooped and it splattered in it.


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## WolfeMomma (May 8, 2018)

farmerjan said:


> I have no intention of going through all the trouble of cleaning a milking machine for one cow.  If she is not a kicker, there will be very little in the milk to strain but a few hairs.  I can hand milk a cow making about 3 gallons in less than 10 minutes usually, once I get my strength back after being "off " for a couple months.  It takes longer to assemble and then dis-assemble and clean the machine than the milking.  I used to milk 4 by hand and by the time I got to the fourth, I was feeling it.  But one or two, by hand.  If the cow has not been laying in the muck, a quick brushing off and then washing the udder and drying is pretty good to go.  To each his own.  I like that I am getting the exposure and building up an immunity by being exposed and a few hairs will not kill me.  The problem with kids (human variety) having so much trouble with allergies has definitely been linked to not having much exposure to dirt and such in playing,  and not having pets.
> If one of the reasons to have a cow and milk is to drink the milk raw - not pasteurized - then you are purposely allowing yourself access to the immune building.  I don't propose drinking it after she has planted her foot in it or that she peed or pooped and it splattered in it.



I see your points, but I just feel more comfortable with our decision of using a machine. Ideally I would like to learn hand milking as well though and have a cow that would tolerate both.


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## WolfeMomma (May 8, 2018)

So because our ewes didn't end up pregnant last fall, we decided to purchase a ram that we will breed them to this year. I have been wanting a black and white Katahdin for a while and finally got one. Originally i wanted a black and white ewe but hey, Ill take what I can get. His name is Gorden Ramsay ( Ramsay for short) because I love gorden ...he is my favorite cook  . I will be very interested in seeing what type of lambs this guy puts on the ground. Fingers crossed for a ewes and some cool markings lol. 
Keeping my eyes open for dairy cows for sale, but we are not nearly ready yet. Probably not untill the fall will that happen. 
Our beef steer decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the pasture. He walked right through 5 lines of electric wire ....without breaking them. they were only slightly twisted. Everyone says cows escape a lot....how do they get them back in the pasture? it took us quite a while to lure him back in with grain. 
Looking for a nice buff orpington rooster for my buff hens.....cant find one, ANYWHERE! Only chicks, and I'm not interested in raising those right now.
Every day is an adventure thats for sure. Will be doing an update on my gardening adventure as well.....as thats a whole different story that i don't have time to type out right now!
Till next time. 
-Wolfemomma

P.S omg the black flies! how do people get anything done outdoors while dealing with those!!!


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## Mike CHS (May 8, 2018)

We have the flies but so far not too bad.

We have friends who just added some dairy sheep to their herd of Katahdins.  It looks like they are going to work their way toward all dairy sheep at some point.


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## Mike CHS (May 8, 2018)

We have the flies but so far not too bad.

We have friends who just added some dairy sheep to their herd of Katahdins.  It looks like they are going to work their way toward all dairy sheep at some point.


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## RollingAcres (May 8, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> So because our ewes didn't end up pregnant last fall, we decided to purchase a ram that we will breed them to this year. I have been wanting a black and white Katahdin for a while and finally got one. Originally i wanted a black and white ewe but hey, Ill take what I can get. His name is Gorden Ramsay ( Ramsay for short) because I love gorden ...he is my favorite cook  . I will be very interested in seeing what type of lambs this guy puts on the ground. Fingers crossed for a ewes and some cool markings lol.
> Keeping my eyes open for dairy cows for sale, but we are not nearly ready yet. Probably not untill the fall will that happen.
> Our beef steer decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the pasture. He walked right through 5 lines of electric wire ....without breaking them. they were only slightly twisted. Everyone says cows escape a lot....how do they get them back in the pasture? it took us quite a while to lure him back in with grain.
> Looking for a nice buff orpington rooster for my buff hens.....cant find one, ANYWHERE! Only chicks, and I'm not interested in raising those right now.
> ...



, I just started reading your journal. I/we would love to see some pictures of Gordon Ramsay (the ram not the chef that is, lol )!
We don't have any sheep or goats. We have 2 heifers and 2 hens.


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## WolfeMomma (May 10, 2018)




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## WolfeMomma (May 10, 2018)

The one and only Gorden Ramsay lol. Though now Im wondering if I should have named him Ping Pong because he jumps and bounces all over like crazy!


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## Baymule (May 10, 2018)

He sure is pretty!


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## Bruce (May 11, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> I have tried multiple different types of goats milk and for lack of a better word...its gross....i cannot drink it .


That is very interesting. I bought a quart of goat milk at the health food store a couple of weeks ago. Not particularly different than the cow milk I usually buy, certainly not any "off taste". I was expecting it to taste different, not bad of course, but somehow different. I have no idea what breed of dairy goat it came from or what diet the goats had.


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## WolfeMomma (May 13, 2018)

Bruce said:


> That is very interesting. I bought a quart of goat milk at the health food store a couple of weeks ago. Not particularly different than the cow milk I usually buy, certainly not any "off taste". I was expecting it to taste different, not bad of course, but somehow different. I have no idea what breed of dairy goat it came from or what diet the goats had.


Yeah I have had many people tell me the type of goats change the taste. But i have tried many kinds and I think it all tastes "goaty" even the cheese though sometimes I can tolerate that if its flavored with spices and herbs enough to cover the goat flavor......maybe im just to used to store milk? I even think raw cow milk as a bit of a different taste, but that one isn't offensive to me, i don't mind it. The goat one makes me gag lol


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## WolfeMomma (May 13, 2018)

Well it frosted the other night and boy Im glad I had everything covered that needed to be covered. Most of my lettuce survived, minus my poor romaine....they pretty much withered up and died....yet my leaf lettuce handled it like a champ. My leeks seem to be doing ok, I have never grown those before...but I love to cook with them , and they can be so expensive in the store so I thought I might as well give it a try. I am so impressed with my rutabaga! it germinated so well, its popping up everywhere and looks so healthy! Fingers crossed for a good crop of those this year, they are one of my favorites! Trying to get everything out that can be sown outdoors. Looking forward to having my own cauliflower and cabbage as well! This is our first garden at our new farm, it has been a learning experience thats for sure, and i know it will continue to be  
Sheep are doing well, the black flies are driving them crazy, same with the cows. all of them squish in to the shelter and lay there till dusk then they all go out and graze together.
Currently trying to attempt to build a bigger chicken coop out of pallets...We saw some videos on youtube and really liked the idea. We need to add more chickens to our flock , we have had an increased demand for eggs and 20 hens just are not cutting it right now. 
Anyways, 
till next time! 
and happy mothers day to all the moms out there!!!


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## Latestarter (May 13, 2018)

Have you considered a Wood coop? There's a lot of info about them over on BYC. That will be the next style coop I build. It was designed and proven by Dr. Wood in the north east and is ideal for that climate. 
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/woods-style-house-in-the-winter.445004/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ooodalolly-at-dunrovin-station.67998/

I remember black flies all too well and am NOT envious of you folks up there in the north east. They were really bad in Maine where I lived. Every spring, would get so bad sometimes that you almost felt house bound. It just plain sucked to be outside and deal with them.


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## RollingAcres (May 14, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> Well it frosted the other night and boy Im glad I had everything covered that needed to be covered. Most of my lettuce survived, minus my poor romaine....they pretty much withered up and died....yet my leaf lettuce handled it like a champ. My leeks seem to be doing ok, I have never grown those before...but I love to cook with them , and they can be so expensive in the store so I thought I might as well give it a try. I am so impressed with my rutabaga! it germinated so well, its popping up everywhere and looks so healthy! Fingers crossed for a good crop of those this year, they are one of my favorites! Trying to get everything out that can be sown outdoors. Looking forward to having my own cauliflower and cabbage as well! This is our first garden at our new farm, it has been a learning experience thats for sure, and i know it will continue to be


Oh man, not the "f" word! I dredge hearing the word "frost" in May and June! Looks like a part of the romaine, everything else seemed to survive, lucky! Looking forward to seeing some pics of your garden later in the season!


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## WolfeMomma (May 15, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Have you considered a Wood coop? There's a lot of info about them over on BYC. That will be the next style coop I build. It was designed and proven by Dr. Wood in the north east and is ideal for that climate.
> https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/woods-style-house-in-the-winter.445004/
> https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ooodalolly-at-dunrovin-station.67998/
> 
> I remember black flies all too well and am NOT envious of you folks up there in the north east. They were really bad in Maine where I lived. Every spring, would get so bad sometimes that you almost felt house bound. It just plain sucked to be outside and deal with them.



We bought netting to wear over our heads, and always have long sleeves and pants on so that we can avoid getting bit as much as possible. And yes , I agree sometimes I do feel house bound because they get so bad. I get bit just walking from the front door to the car.


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## Latestarter (May 15, 2018)

The thing I hate most is when they fly into your eyes, up your nose, into your mouth or into your ears. Back then my vision was good so I could look into a mirror and get them out of my eyes, but now my close vision sucks & I need reading glasses. So doing that now would be difficult.


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## Mike CHS (May 15, 2018)

When I lived in Michigan we had swarms of deer flies that were truly painful.


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## Bruce (May 15, 2018)

Yep. Black flies are really annoying, deer flies are really annoying and really painful.


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## Latestarter (May 15, 2018)

Maine (and northern New England in general) is great in that it has both...


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## WolfeMomma (May 16, 2018)

swarms of deer flys???  I didn't know that they did that?! ouch, bites from them hurt!


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## Mike CHS (May 16, 2018)

They weren't swarms in the true sense of the word but there would be multiples hitting you at the same time.  We used to tube float down small rivers fishing and they would get so bad you would have to go under water to get them off.


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## Baymule (May 16, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> They weren't swarms in the true sense of the word but there would be multiples hitting you at the same time.  We used to tube float down small rivers fishing and they would get so bad you would have to go under water to get them off.


Eeeeeeewwww........


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## Wehner Homestead (May 16, 2018)

X2 I don’t think it would be worth it to be that bothered by bugs!


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## WolfeMomma (May 17, 2018)

Hoping to get the rest of the garden planted today, and at least get 50% of the new coop built. Its been a long process. Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day. 
We have been working a lot on pasture management, trying to figure out how to and where to section off our pasture, its amazing how much 2 cows and 3 sheep will eat down the grass. We are adding 4 new pastures that they can rotate between, so hopefully that will take some stress off the other areas. Pasture rotation is a very new experience for us. Im sure we will make mistakes on the way, but thats ok because we are definitely learning! and can do better next year. 
We have about 2-3 acres that is wooded, we are rolling around the idea of getting some highland cattle that could be put in that acreage during the summer a couple times, to eat it down a bit, and rotate them between the woods and in the flat open pasture. I have had several people tell me they are the goats of the cow world.....any insight on how true that is? hopefully only in the eating sense...not in the sense of their ability to escape anything ahahah!
Also, there was a someone on here talking to me about dairy cows....i have a question for them...I saw someone on youtube that milked once a week??? :O is that possible?!! not sure how I feel about that.  Thoughts? 
ok enough of my random rambling lol
Till next time!
-WolfeMomma


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## WolfeMomma (May 17, 2018)

Ohh i forgot to add, Im hoping to load my pictures from my camera to the computer today. So hopefully I shall have some pictures of these beasts for you all soon


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## Bruce (May 17, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> I saw someone on youtube that milked once a week??? :O is that possible?!! not sure how I feel about that.


I guess it is if you have 13 friends to milk for you the other two times a day every week.


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## WolfeMomma (May 17, 2018)

Bruce said:


> I guess it is if you have 13 friends to milk for you the other two times a day every week.


LOL! ha...ha


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## RollingAcres (May 17, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> We have about 2-3 acres that is wooded, we are rolling around the idea of getting some highland cattle that could be put in that acreage during the summer a couple times, to eat it down a bit, and rotate them between the woods and in the flat open pasture. I have had several people tell me they are the goats of the cow world.....any insight on how true that is? hopefully only in the eating sense.



I'm interested to see if anyone has any insight on this as well. I have read before that Highland cattle are good foragers and they thrive in poor pasture.


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## greybeard (May 17, 2018)

Deer flies are bad here occasionally.  They are every bit as bad as horseflies about chasing you too. I've had to put a tractor into a higher gear just to get away from them.


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## farmerjan (May 17, 2018)

I don't know about the you tube video.  They could not successfully only milk once a week.  A cow's system is designed to produce milk after calving, and the continued production is DEPENDENT on continued milking.  Once a day has been done, and I only milk my nurse cows when I want milk for the house.... but in the meantime they are being nursed by the calves, so they are "being milked".  If a cow goes for more than 48 hours, the hormones that are stimulated to produce the milk, namely oxytocin,  will not be stimulated and they will start to slow down production.  If done only once a week, after a couple of weeks they would be drying up.  In real time in dairies, if a cow is producing alot of milk, they may go to once a day milking to get them to slow down the production, for a week, then just stop.  Some will let them go for 3 days, then milk out completely and then dry them off.  
Honestly, I would not drink milk from a cow that was only milked once a week unless she was being nursed in the interim.  Mastitis would be more prevalent. It would also compromise the udder and basically ruin it.  Ask any one on here about their goats.  They are letting the kids nurse, or they are milking them, or a combination of the two.  But I have never known anyone who could milk once a week and get healthy drinkable milk.


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## RollingAcres (May 18, 2018)

It's more or less like breast feeding, you don't use it you lose it.


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## WolfeMomma (May 24, 2018)

farmerjan said:


> I don't know about the you tube video.  They could not successfully only milk once a week.  A cow's system is designed to produce milk after calving, and the continued production is DEPENDENT on continued milking.  Once a day has been done, and I only milk my nurse cows when I want milk for the house.... but in the meantime they are being nursed by the calves, so they are "being milked".  If a cow goes for more than 48 hours, the hormones that are stimulated to produce the milk, namely oxytocin,  will not be stimulated and they will start to slow down production.  If done only once a week, after a couple of weeks they would be drying up.  In real time in dairies, if a cow is producing alot of milk, they may go to once a day milking to get them to slow down the production, for a week, then just stop.  Some will let them go for 3 days, then milk out completely and then dry them off.
> Honestly, I would not drink milk from a cow that was only milked once a week unless she was being nursed in the interim.  Mastitis would be more prevalent. It would also compromise the udder and basically ruin it.  Ask any one on here about their goats.  They are letting the kids nurse, or they are milking them, or a combination of the two.  But I have never known anyone who could milk once a week and get healthy drinkable milk.


 I believe they kept the calf on her all the time, minus the night before they milked. So essentially she was being milked, but not by them...by the calf. I think for our family milking once a day and letting the calf have it the rest of the time would probably be the best bet.


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## WolfeMomma (May 24, 2018)

Update time 
I have been in contact with an organic Dairy that breeds jersey cows, they might have something that would fit our situation come july time frame. So excited and yet nervous. This will be a big step for us, but its one we very much want to take. Fingers crossed that it all works out for us. 
In other news. We bought a new rooster for our hens, he is a Lemon Cuckoo Orpington. Hopefully he stays nice and is not an attack rooster lol. I don't have time to deal with the crazy ones, they will become chicken soup! 
The garden seems to be growing well so far. The corn is slowly coming up! I can't wait! don't you just love fresh corn on the cob in the summer ? I know I do


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## RollingAcres (May 24, 2018)

Yes, I love fresh corn on the cob in the summer! I have not plant my corn or garden yet, hopefully this weekend, but I think it's going to rain all weekend.
No rooster for me. The last one we had got mean and he was done. Hopefully your new addition will stay nice.
Good luck with your jersey cow!


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## Bruce (May 24, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> I love fresh corn on the cob in the summer!


We wait for it to show up at the farmer's market. They've been selling it at the grocery store lately. Can't imagine how many days old that stuff is, wouldn't buy it if it were free.


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## RollingAcres (May 24, 2018)

We normally buy it from the farm down the road by us instead of planting them. But this year I wanted to plant some Painted Mountain corn. I saw them one day on Baker Creek Heirloom seeds site and I have to try it! 
VT has some nice farmers' markets I heard. We went to one in Rutland one time and I didn't want to leave.


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## Bruce (May 24, 2018)

Rutland isn't even all that far for you! Not necessarily something you want to do every Saturday like we do of course. Ours is in the city to the north, only about 5 miles.


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## WolfeMomma (May 25, 2018)

Oh I love Farmers markets here! a little pricey, but they have some wonderful produce! 6$ for a bulb of garlic is a bit to much for me.


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## RollingAcres (May 25, 2018)

$6? Yea, I'd say that's a bit pricey! I normally plant my own. We try going to the Garlic Festival every year and get our garlic from there to plant. But we didn't make it last year so I didn't plant any.


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## Bruce (May 25, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> Oh I love Farmers markets here! a little pricey, but they have some wonderful produce! 6$ for a bulb of garlic is a bit to much for me.


You need to move to Gilroy, CA garlic capital of the world (or so they claim).

Yeah $6 even for a big head is steep. Things aren't as cheap at the FM as they are at the big chain supermarkets but they ARE fresh. The corn we buy is picked the same morning. And they take EBT so those with less money can still participate.


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## Baymule (May 25, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> We normally buy it from the farm down the road by us instead of planting them. But this year I wanted to plant some Painted Mountain corn. I saw them one day on Baker Creek Heirloom seeds site and I have to try it!
> VT has some nice farmers' markets I heard. We went to one in Rutland one time and I didn't want to leave.


I have grown Painted Mountain corn and milled it for cornmeal. It makes the BEST cornbread! I am going to grow it again this year, I want a bigger patch of it this year.


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## Wehner Homestead (May 25, 2018)

Baymule said:


> I have grown Painted Mountain corn and milled it for cornmeal. It makes the BEST cornbread! I am going to grow it again this year, I want a bigger patch of it this year.



Is the cornbread and corn flour uniquely colored? (I googled Painted Mountain Corn. It looks really neat!)


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## Baymule (May 25, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> Is the cornbread and corn flour uniquely colored? (I googled Painted Mountain Corn. It looks really neat!)


It has a bluish color. It is a meal corn and if does make a fine cornmeal!

Edited to add, it tassels in 39 days!


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## Wehner Homestead (May 26, 2018)

Baymule said:


> It has a bluish color. It is a meal corn and if does make a fine cornmeal!
> 
> Edited to add, it tassels in 39 days!



May have to try some next year. I like things that can be something neat/fun for the kids!


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## WolfeMomma (May 26, 2018)

Baymule said:


> It has a bluish color. It is a meal corn and if does make a fine cornmeal!
> 
> Edited to add, it tassels in 39 days!


 Whoah only 39 days! thats awesome! Im going to have to look in to that kind. I already have my early sweet corn coming up, and my True Gold corn started coming up yesterday.


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## RollingAcres (May 26, 2018)

Baymule said:


> I have grown Painted Mountain corn and milled it for cornmeal. It makes the BEST cornbread! I am going to grow it again this year, I want a bigger patch of it this year.


I can't wait!! I wanted them because of the colors and also read that they are great for eating fresh. 
Bay, how much corn do you need to even start milling? I've never done it but I'm interested in learning. 
@WolfeMomma sorry to hijack your journal.  We can move this topic to my journal if needed.


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## farmerjan (May 26, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> I believe they kept the calf on her all the time, minus the night before they milked. So essentially she was being milked, but not by them...by the calf. I think for our family milking once a day and letting the calf have it the rest of the time would probably be the best bet.


This makes sense.  If they are only keeping the calf away for the 12 hours before milking, then they are " TECHNICALLY "  only milking once a week or whatever, but the cow is being "milked" 24/7.   I only milk every couple of days, or when I need it, but the calves are on her the rest of the time.


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## WolfeMomma (May 27, 2018)

farmerjan said:


> This makes sense.  If they are only keeping the calf away for the 12 hours before milking, then they are " TECHNICALLY "  only milking once a week or whatever, but the cow is being "milked" 24/7.   I only milk every couple of days, or when I need it, but the calves are on her the rest of the time.


Good to know, before i started doing research i was seeing that I absolutely had to milk 2x a day no matter what....which kind of scared us off a bit. But after reading more, listening to others with milk cows. It seems it varies by family and what works for them, once a day, once a week, once every couple days ect. Its nice to know that there is a way to have a milk cow and a life  Im so excited to have a milk cow. We got beef cows a while ago, and they have definitely been a fun and interesting addition to our homestead. I wouldn't say we are perfectly " set up" for cattle but we make do and it has been a great experience. I like having them!


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## WolfeMomma (May 27, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> I can't wait!! I wanted them because of the colors and also read that they are great for eating fresh.
> Bay, how much corn do you need to even start milling? I've never done it but I'm interested in learning.
> @WolfeMomma sorry to hijack your journal.  We can move this topic to my journal if needed.


no worries I don't mind  I will come check out your journal though!


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## Mini Horses (May 27, 2018)

Milk cows & goats --  just remember, the KEY is that they ARE BEING MILKED.   So when the calves/kids are taking less, they will slow production and eventually dry off.  When this happens you will not get milk.    At some point you will need to milk more, more often, or have no fresh milk.


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## Baymule (May 29, 2018)

Here is some Painted Mountain corn I grew several years ago.


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## RollingAcres (May 29, 2018)




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## WolfeMomma (May 30, 2018)

Oh so colorful! I love it!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 4, 2018)

So I was not sure where to ask this, and I like hearing from all of you who reply and follow my journal on here so i figured I will discuss it here .
I feel like we are stuck , on a pretty important decision . I see benefits to both sides, hence why I don't know what to think.
We love our sheep. We have a small flock just a couple Ewes and a ram. We like lamb and enjoy eating it, but it does not produce enough meat for us. Its me my husband and 3 boys.
We have 2 Beef steers as well right now , that while expensive in regards to grain and amount of hay, will produce MORE then enough meat for our family. It will fill our freezers, which makes me happy.
Sometimes we wonder if we should consolidate to either just cows or just sheep. Keep in mind this is all mainly for our own consumption, we don't sell meat currently.
The sheep are attractive because We have some local farmers that are willing to give us hay in return for ewe Lambs. And they seem to sell well by me, but of course that is not a given and you have to be prepared that they may not sell.
The beef cattle hurt the pocket book a little bit, but they give us at least a years supply of meat. And for us that more then makes up for the bit of grain that we have to buy. We will be getting a jersey that will produce a calf every year that can be used for meat. And we will also get milk and all the yumminess that comes along with that.
Do i keep both? I feel like if i am just wanting to produce for us, then cattle would be better?
This is all extremely small scale. I have a very small barn and can't fit much in it. So i need to get as much meat as I can from a small amount of animals. 
Just trying to figure out our future endeavors and would love to hear thoughts on this


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## RollingAcres (Jun 4, 2018)

I'm still new to this so I don't have as much experience yet. We only want to raise food that we will eat. We're not much of lamb or goat eater, so we won't be raising any sheep or goats.
How much land do you have for the animals? I tried going back to the first page to see if you mentioned it but didn't see. It comes down to how much space and $$ you have too keep both.


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## Bruce (Jun 4, 2018)

Just thoughts since I've never done anything like this.
Sheep, keep the sheep. Why? Because **I** love lamb  No one else in the house wants to eat it.

How much do the cattle hurt the pocketbook to get them in the freezer? More than if you bought at the store? Less? A LOT less? Do you eat 2 full steers worth each "period"? I THINK it takes more than a year for a steer to get to slaughter weight. I found something that says grass fed take 18-24 months. Maybe get on a rotation that has one getting to size every time your freezer is about empty of beef?

How are your pastures? Sheep are a lot smaller and maybe easier on pastures that are soft/wet. My Dad and step mother raised both for a time in Oregon. Gave up on the cattle due to their size. Sheep are a lot easier to handle though they do need to be sheared unless you have hair sheep.

Are there postings in your local area on Craig's list of people looking to buy/sell sheep/cattle for meat? If so perhaps you can see if there is a market for excess.

If your farmers that want ewe lambs in trade for hay and you can raise the sheep "mostly free" on your pasture, that hay could be quite handy. I don't know how many bales/head they are trading and ONLY ewe lambs? I'm pretty sure you can't tell your ewes to produce ONLY female offspring  I guess you eat the boys. But then if you ONLY have ram lambs, you have to buy hay for the sheep and cattle.

Yep, you are right, it is a quandary!


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## Mike CHS (Jun 4, 2018)

An alternative is to not butcher them as lambs.  We take a wether in when they are 12-15 months old and they have just about reached their mature weight.  They are still young enough to be tender and to us there is no difference in the taste.  We decided it was a real waste to slaughter a lamb that might provide 30-40 pounds of meat for the table when we can wait 6 months and get triple that amount.  A plus is that our wethers get to that weight on grass only.  The exception is that they are getting some feed at the moment because they are in with our ram and we are getting him in condition since he will be breeding again in a couple of weeks.


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## Baymule (Jun 4, 2018)

We raise hair Sheep and feeder pigs. We are on 8 acres, really not enough land for cows. We buy half a steer from a friend. For us, the smaller livestock works. We also just raised and slaughtered 44 Cornish Cross meat chickens. I like having a choice of meats. 

I would keep the Sheep. And if I were you, I’d build a shelter and pen for a couple of feeder pigs. Pigs give a good return on meat for the money spent on Feed. You are getting a milk cow, corn soured in milk and water makes the best pork you ever ate. If you make cheese, give the whey to the pigs. 

It gets old trying to figure out what to cook for supper. Having a choice of meat makes it easier. I’m a great enabler aren’t I! LOL


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## Latestarter (Jun 4, 2018)

If cost per pound of meat, production time, space requirements, time/effort expended are the issues, really, going bigger isn't the best way to go. You can produce a lot more meat, in a shorter period of time, for less cost, using less space, by going smaller. Chickens and rabbits mature fast, take less space, cost less to raise, and can fill a freezer pretty quickly. With the chickens, depending on breed, you might have to wait a little longer but you'll have the eggs as a benefit and if you pick a breed that goes broody, you have self made replacement birds. During the warm months, you can free range them (chickens) or tractor them to cut down on purchased feed requirements. As for the sheep vs cow situation, jeeze... that's a tough call that only you can really make. Sheep mature to slaughter weight a lot faster than a cow. So for meat I'd think it would be cheaper and faster to do sheep. 

Since you want cow milk, I guess you could get a cow in milk, with bull calf @ her side and castrate him to make him a steer for beef 18-24 months from now. You can share the milk with the steer and breed her back. Hope her next calf is another bull to make into a steer. And then just keep doing that over time...


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 5, 2018)

We have about 12 acres, the pastures are decent quality, but because we have a smaller acerage we rotate so that they are always on fresh good pasture.  We don't eat 2 steers each year, only one will be ready to go this fall/early winter. The other will stay untill next year. We easily will eat a whole steer in a year.
Lamb....I don't like it. My husband likes it ....my kids like it. I think its gross. I will "tolerate" the roasts and chops but honestly Its just not my thing.
I like the sheep for their ease on the pasture, ease of handling ect. But I find having a steer ready to go each year much more economical because it gives us way more.
I do really like the idea of having feeder pigs. We did 2 a couple years ago and it worked out great! husband doesn't want to raise chickens for meat, not interested in all the plucking of feathers ect lol Can you take those to be processed ?
Keeping sheep in the end would mean I would still be buying meat from a local farmer. So now im paying for upkeep of the sheep AND spending 1000$ + for half a cow.
The amount of meat I get from raising our own beef is appealing. So i can't help but lean that way .


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 5, 2018)

Bruce said:


> Just thoughts since I've never done anything like this.
> Sheep, keep the sheep. Why? Because **I** love lamb  No one else in the house wants to eat it.
> 
> How much do the cattle hurt the pocketbook to get them in the freezer? More than if you bought at the store? Less? A LOT less? Do you eat 2 full steers worth each "period"? I THINK it takes more than a year for a steer to get to slaughter weight. I found something that says grass fed take 18-24 months. Maybe get on a rotation that has one getting to size every time your freezer is about empty of beef?
> ...


Yes only Ewe lambs lol I was like great.....mother nature will give me nothing but Ram lambs for 5 years 
The cows have actually not be horribly expensive. When we got them we had to get some grain in to them to improve their condition , they were underweight at their last farm. 
But now they get mainly just grass and are doing very well holding their condition 
They said For 2 ewe lambs they would give us around 400-500$ worth of square bales.


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## Baymule (Jun 5, 2018)

That sounds like a good trade! I traded a slaughtered lamb (meat) for getting my Sheep barn roof built. I got way more in labor than I paid for having the lamb slaughtered. 

Feeder pigs are great. You only have to keep them 6 months or so and they give lots of meat. Thanks to @Simpleterrier i now have a fantastic pig set up. I copied his shelter, feeder and water ideas. 

I have always skinned chickens, usually old layers. Sometimes I had young roosters, but they were 6 months old to get to slaughter size. We raised the Cornish cross for the first time. We hand plucked them, their feathers are sparse and come out rather easy. It wasn’t so bad. I let them get big and averaged 5 pound, 1 ounce carcasses. I would at least try a few, a roasted chicken would make a good meal for your family.


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## Latestarter (Jun 5, 2018)

Sounds to me like keeping a few sheep for hay trades and meat for everyone else might work out but focusing on the cow aspect for overall future development is the way for you to go. Since (from my understanding) sheep and cows eat different plants and parts of plants, you should be able to keep them together or maybe let the one follow the other in rotation. Hope you let us know what you choose to do and I guess we'll all find out how it's worked out for you over time.


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## Bruce (Jun 5, 2018)

I was going to mention that some people skin the chickens so they don't have to scald and pluck but Bay beat me to it. You might want to pluck some as roasters but skin and part out the majority of them.


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## Latestarter (Jun 6, 2018)

Not sure why everyone has issues with plucking chickens... You can get most feathers out right after bleeding them out just by pulling them. Dunking in hot water for a bit and the rest generally come right off as well. I personally love crispy chicken skin. I know it's fatty and supposed to be bad for us but it is SO good! 

Now skinning a duck? absolutely! I HATE plucking waterfowl!


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## RollingAcres (Jun 6, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> I personally love crispy chicken skin. I know it's fatty and supposed to be bad for us but it is SO good!



X2!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 6, 2018)

we raised turkey once, hubby processed them. He said NEVER again lol. Im not the processor in the family...I get to emotionally attached to everything . Other then the guineas, those guys i would have to problem with 
Finally some pictures 
First one is my favorite steer "Meatball" 
Second one is a couple of our sheep out on fresh pasture, And the third is my new buddy, Our Lemon Orpington Roo named popcorn lol


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## RollingAcres (Jun 6, 2018)

I was always told "You're not supposed to name your food", that way you don't get attached. When we first got our girls(the heifers) they had no names for a couple of months because at the time our plan was to raise them as our food. Then we changed our plan so now they have names.
Looks like a nice place you have over there. Is that your garden I see near the sheep pasture?


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## Wehner Homestead (Jun 6, 2018)

Steer looks good and your rooster is handsome!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 6, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> I was always told "You're not supposed to name your food", that way you don't get attached. When we first got our girls(the heifers) they had no names for a couple of months because at the time our plan was to raise them as our food. Then we changed our plan so now they have names.
> Looks like a nice place you have over there. Is that your garden I see near the sheep pasture?


Yup thats our garden


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## greybeard (Jun 6, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> The beef cattle hurt the pocket book a little bit, but they give us at least a years supply of meat. And for us that more then makes up for the bit of grain that we have to buy. We will be getting a jersey that will produce a calf every year that can be used for meat. And we will also get milk and all the yumminess that comes along with that.
> Do i keep both? I feel like if i am just wanting to produce for us, then cattle would be better?
> This is all extremely small scale. I have a very small barn and can't fit much in it. So i need to get as much meat as I can from a small amount of animals.



You need to pencil this out on a strictly financial (no emotions) basis.
Calculate the cost per packaged freezer lb of each type meat. Lamb and beef.
And do so looking at a year's supply.

Inasmuch as you are a Northern clime, the long winter's cost of hay has to figure into the calculation, but currently, you are offsetting that cost by the barter of ewes for hay.
IF that barter is economically sound (that is, you aren't losing anything in the trade.. ..outright cost of hay vs what it costs to produce the ewes) then keep enough sheep to continue as you are doing.
If you can market the lambs instead of barter and come out ahead by using those proceeds by purchasing hay, then go that route.
If, the cost of producing the ewes is more than what you are getting in trade, then get rid of the sheep. (I said 'no emotions' )

Here, I do not feed grain in any appreciable quantities except the last 60-90 days of finishing of slaughter cattle. Your results may vary.
You've already stated you don't care for the taste of lamb. (nor do I)
Since the preference for the taste of beef has been stated, you
Basically will want to decide on an economic scale, if the sheep are actually helping or hurting your beef production. You won't know this until you know your true cost of that bartered for hay. 

You will also have to consider, if you get rid of the sheep, if you then will have forage going to waste, be understocked, not taking full advantage of available forage etc. (IF you ever have to mechanically mow the pasture, you are understocked)

Sharpen the pencil up to a fine point and make the decision.


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## Baymule (Jun 6, 2018)

Well put @greybeard.


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## farmerjan (Jun 6, 2018)

Greybeard did indeed put it well.  One other thing to consider that Latestarter touched on.  The sheep will eat some different plants than the cattle so you are better utilizing the pastures.  Mike CHS is right in raising them bigger/longer for personal consumption.  The other thing is to look into the available markets for lamb at certain times of the year for ethnic holidays.  They are worth a small fortune here just before certain holidays, and the ram lambs might actually bring more to buy more hay with than the trade of the ewe lambs.... this for the years you get mostly ram lambs....
they are easier on the pastures especially in a wet year, but they will eat it down to the roots in dry years so need more management.  I don't see where you are "losing" on them but as GB said, you need to pencil it out.


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 7, 2018)

Thankyou @greybeard  you gave me a lot to think about. It helps to look at it from a different way. I am new to sheep, I was under the impression that while they were pregnant during the winter that I needed to grain them?
Is that not accurate?


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## Mike CHS (Jun 7, 2018)

We give a very small amount of feed if they are in a dry lot but if you have good hay or grass they don't need it.  When we fed they wound up having lambs that were too large for their size but that is just my opinion with no science to back it up other than when we quit feeding we wound up with lambs more appropriate in size.

We do give considerably more protein when they are lactating with either feed or alfalfa (or both).


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## mysunwolf (Jun 7, 2018)

I totally agree with @Mike CHS, it's actually best not to feed grain during pregnancy unless they are on dry lot and you know the hay is very poor quality. We've found that even pregnant ewe lambs do better without grain during pregnancy.


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## greybeard (Jun 7, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> When we fed they wound up having lambs that were too large for their size but that is just my opinion with no science to back it up other than when we quit feeding we wound up with lambs more appropriate in size.



In many species, it is very easy to over feed during pregnancy and have dystocia problems as a result.


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## Wehner Homestead (Jun 7, 2018)

X2 to what GB said


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 8, 2018)

ah ok thanks guys! If i can get my hands on some good quality hay, then I won't worry about grain so much!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 12, 2018)

These sheep...oh these sheep.....
They have plenty of shelter to get away from the sun, and instead they insist on huddling in the corner of their pasture not eating....just standing there with their heads down ....what gives? They have tons of fresh grass to graze on, but apparently standing like statues is more appealing. Then when it comes time to put their halters on and lead them back to the barn in the evening they drag you all over the place eating like they are starving and haven't eaten in 5 days 
Why do they do this to me lol 
On a sad note, we are down to 4 guineas , fox came took some.....apparently the dog didn't notice, or didn't care....im not sure which lol he was laying like 10 feet away and didn't hear it. We are on fox watch as i have seen it coming during the day  chickens will be kept locked up in their run. No free ranging for now.


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## mysunwolf (Jun 12, 2018)

In the summer sheep like to graze from 5-9am, then again from 5-9pm, rather than in the heat of the day. They'll just have to figure out that that's when they need to be safe and put away! Have you tried getting them to come to a grain bucket instead of having to halter them? I find it a ton easier! 

I'm sorry about your guineas  foxes are horrible. My dog hates them. Can the dog get in to where the guineas are being taken?


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 13, 2018)

mysunwolf said:


> In the summer sheep like to graze from 5-9am, then again from 5-9pm, rather than in the heat of the day. They'll just have to figure out that that's when they need to be safe and put away! Have you tried getting them to come to a grain bucket instead of having to halter them? I find it a ton easier!
> 
> I'm sorry about your guineas  foxes are horrible. My dog hates them. Can the dog get in to where the guineas are being taken?


We use the halters because the pasture is a bit of a walk back to the barn. They don't mind the halters usually, but with the fresh grass they get a bit crazy lol 
Our Livestock guardian is in the same pasture as the chickens and guineas. The attacked happened right in front of the chicken coop where the dog had access to. I don't understand how he didn't hear it, but to be fair....the guineas always make noise....he is used to it. So one screaming and carrying on is not on usual for him to hear, which is probably why he didn't react. I noticed that when the chickens freak out , he jumps up because they are typically very quiet. He is only 1yr old so he still has a lot to learn in the world of livestock gaurding .


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 14, 2018)

So we marked 4 eggs to put under our crazy broody buff hen. she has been sitting on them for maybe a week. Yesterday I notice they are gone, no sign of anything crunching on them, no egg shells anywhere ect. 
At first I thought....maybe rat...or snake. No i don't think its one of them, because they would have taken the eggs easy to access under the coop where the girls kept going to lay before we blocked it off with wire. The only thing that had access to that coop was the dog. I don't want to think he did it, I want to think that he is a good boy lol but in the end ...he is a dog, and well.....dogs and food you know how that goes lol 
The nest boxes are fairly high off the ground, so who ever took it had to be tall....and my Kangal is a perfect height. So needless to say we put some electric netting around the coop in a fairly large circle. The chickens can come and go as they please because the netting is spaced big enough for that. But at least the dog can't get in . All day he has been laying right beside the netting, or looking for a spot to get in....ugh this dog  
Guess I know now why I only get 8 eggs a day from 21 chickens....


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## RollingAcres (Jun 14, 2018)

Sorry to hear of your guineas.


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## Latestarter (Jun 14, 2018)

Sorry to hear your dog(s) are so well fed...


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 14, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Sorry to hear your dog(s) are so well fed...


yeah, no wonder he started to not want his dog food anymore.....he was having an all you can eat buffet of eggs everyday!


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## RollingAcres (Jun 14, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Sorry to hear your dog(s) are so well fed...


Bahahahah


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## RollingAcres (Jun 14, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> yeah, no wonder he started to not want his dog food anymore.....he was having an all you can eat buffet of eggs everyday!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 16, 2018)

got 13 eggs yesterday instead of the typical 8  huh wonder why.....maybe because now he gets a lovely Shock before he goes anywhere near the coop lol 
On a better note, I am hoping to make an appointment to visit a Organic Dairy either the end of this month or next month at some point to see what jersey cows they have that might be a good match for what we want. 
seems like a great place, but actually being there will be the judge of that.


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## Baymule (Jun 20, 2018)

My dogs are egg eaters too. I guess they can’t be 100% perfect. It’s still aggravating. My next chicken project will be roll out nest boxes.


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## Baymule (Jun 20, 2018)

Where my sheep barn is, is not connected to the other pastures. I walk to the chosen pasture, shaking a Feed can, pour some in a tub, shrieking SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP all the way. They are at the gate screaming, I open their gate, they run to the open pasture gate to eat the Feed. To take them back to the barn, repeat in reverse. Sometimes I have to call, shake the can and lure them to where I want them to go, but it works. 

Since they are not using their shade shelter, when you see them huddled up in the open, give them a treat in the shelter. I have a Hut on skids with a plywood floor that I had to train them to. Feed against the back wall did the trick. Scary monsters suddenly become friends when Feed is concerned. LOL


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## Bruce (Jun 20, 2018)

I do the same thing with scratch in a can to get the chickens to come back to the barn in the evening. First I collect all that see me and follow me between the barns, then I close the gate and go get the scratch. Toss some out so the hens will slow down enough to count. Then figure out who is missing and take the scratch can for a walkabout around the house, out past the big barn, etc until I collect the stragglers. I look like the pied piper.


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## RollingAcres (Jun 20, 2018)

Same here with my hens. I only have 2 so it's easier to gather them. Most of the time they will just go back to their coop when it starts to get dark out and I just need to close the door. But if I need to get them to go in the coop earlier then shaking the can and whistling at them and they come running.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 9, 2018)

Well, its been a while but nothing much is new here.......the garden is growing great minus the mildew issues we are having on the squash plants. Hopefully we will get that taken care of soon. Other then that all the animals are doing well. Sheep are good, cows are good. one of our buff hens hatched her first baby chick! yay! hopefully the other eggs hatch....she doesn't seem interested in them now that she has a chick to take care of   Starting to prep for winter, because that can come all to fast and I don't want to not be prepared. Hope you are all have a great summer!


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## RollingAcres (Aug 9, 2018)

Great to hear from ya and that all the animals are doing well.
Winter sure will come fast up here/there!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 9, 2018)

yup, fall is busy around  here with all the apple harvesting. trying to secure a hay supply for winter. its hard when no one calls you back or sends messages when they said they would


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## Latestarter (Aug 9, 2018)

Thanks for the update. Glad all is well. Sorry about the mildew issue but you folks have had a pretty wet summer so far if I'm not mistaken. Hope you source some hay before too long.


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## RollingAcres (Aug 9, 2018)

Apple harvesting already? Oh but you are up in Maine, so a lot cooler than here. Soon here we'll be harvesting apples(at the orchards). I have no apples this year but I have lots of pears. I find that my apple trees produce fruits every other year.
Hopefully someone calls you back regarding hay soon.


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## Baymule (Aug 9, 2018)

Apple harvest. I want an apple tree! (that would survive our heat) I have a pear, apricot, loquat, and two peach trees, not bearing yet. Hay is in short supply here locally, been in drought. Hope you find some hay soon!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 11, 2018)

Finally got some rounds last night. one of them weighed so much we had to use our big truck to get it in the pasture.....yup we officially need a tractor lol
In other news, me and the hubby have had some long discussions in regards to our sheep. Our two Katahdin ewes that we have right now will stay with us, and we will use them and their lambs for meat....has nothing to do with the fact that i love them and they are my pets lol 

But, I would like to start to get more in to the world of registered Katahdins and showing, so that once my eldest son is old enough to show them I will have some what of an idea of what is expected lol So i have been trying to do some research in regards to breeders, and blood lines. Oh my gosh its confusing! I want to make sure I start with a good solid group of Ewes, Ill deal with a ram later. My question is, do I go with Ewe lambs that have not yet matured or proven them selves? do I go with yearling bred ewes? I have a farm near me with some nice ones for sale. Or do I look for older mature Ewes that are not new showing or being handled ect? I don't mind training as we trained our girls and toddlers can lead them around they are so tame. 
I come from the horse world so I know which blood lines to avoid and which ones are sought after, With sheep ....i don't know much in regards to that 
Please say one of you wonderful people that follow my ranting on here beed katahdins too?


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## Mike CHS (Aug 11, 2018)

I heard back from folks that I asked about breeder references in your area and struck out.

Most (but not all) of the breeders that I have met have quality stock but they also do not register every lamb that is born.  The folks I just bought 4 ewe lambs from only kept 8 out of 28 lambs born.  The others they 'culled' from their flock but sold as commercial breeders since they were still excellent quality.  One thing that we have found pretty much universally is that we haven't met a sheep person yet that minded talking about their sheep.

If the farm near you has some excellent looking stock I would make contact and introduce yourself.  Tell them what you are wanting to do and go from there.  Bear in mind that is sort of like asking a plumber if you should change a faucet since you are now going to be buying a faucet.    They want to make sales but like any business, they want repeat sales and I would bet that they will walk you through condition scoring and what a quality (not just show since that is what the judges are looking for) Katahdin should look like.  Fortunately for us the show world hasn't tried to change the direction that the Katahdin breed is going and so far at least, they just keep getting better.

The blood lines that are sought after are going for silly $.  Last year at the stud ram sale in Sedalia, one ram sold for a little over $8000. My commercial lamb crop looks as good if not better than many fully registered flocks but we will be supporting the local kids that want to show so we are switching to about half commercial and half registered.  That way we can provide a quality commercial ewe that they can show but not spend $500 - $700 for a 3-4 month old lamb and also have that $700 lamb for the kids that want registered.  They have classes for both.

We are only in our third generation of our line and the difference in handling ease between lambs that were born here has been twice as easy as the mature ewes we first bought is night and day. That being said, three of my tamest ewes are from the first ones. If I was in your shoes, I would think about getting a bred young ewe and hopefully one that has been handled.  They are fairly easy to train and once they trust you it's all downhill from there.  The lambs that we recently bought can be handled easily now and that has been done just by my sitting with them at the feed trough with a bit of feed.

You will be handling yours more which makes the progress even faster.  I have been writing a lot of books recently.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 11, 2018)

@Mike CHS can you show unregistered ewes? Our commercial ones are not registered but their sire is and they have pretty good confirmation in my opinion but I would love to see how they stack up against others.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 11, 2018)

It depends on the sponsor.  In 4H here they have both classes but we have quite a few sheep farms around us including a couple of cattle operations that switched to sheep.   Teresa has been looking into it on the KHSI site because we have several that look great.

Edited to delete incorrect information


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## Mike CHS (Aug 11, 2018)

I asked her and I was incorrect.  The lamb has to be born on your farm to a commercial Katahdin that you own and with a registered sire.


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## Mini Horses (Aug 11, 2018)

greybeard said:


> (IF you ever have to mechanically mow the pasture, you are understocked)



Thanks GB -- I now NEED to buy animals  


So did you ever get a Jersey cow?  

Still have sheep, I see -- and you need to do just as with horses.   Check the shows, check the registries, find sheep magazines, who is winning??   LOOK at the pics.  Talk to the breeders.   That research will give you the background to start.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 12, 2018)

@Mini Horses We have decided to put the jersey on hold for now. I am going to revisit it once my children are a bit older. I definitely still want to go that route eventually, I just want it to be the right time!
@Mike CHS ah ok well guess im out of luck. Thats ok though, we are just going to use these two unregistered ones for breeding meat Lambs. They are sweethearts that i LOVE to death and I will keep them around as long as I can afford to! 
I have been in contact with some breeders about show quality ewes so im quite excited to start looking and learning how this process works. I did quite well showing my horse so i am looking forward to this!


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## RollingAcres (Aug 12, 2018)

Glad to hear you finally got some round bales.


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## farmerjan (Aug 12, 2018)

I don't know about showing sheep, BUT Mike gave you an answer that would make showing some lambs out of your commercial ewes possible.  That would reflect back to how good they are. So a registered ram is the first step. How about a ram lamb that would be ready to breed them for your next set of lambs?  Plus, if the Katahdin assoc has some sort of breed up program, then if they are ewe lambs, you might be able to get into the show sheep and breeding sooner.  If they have ram lambs, you are going to use them for meat anyway, so a registered ram is probably the first step.  
I think Mike  gave you good advice, to get in contact with the people who have the sheep for sale.  Maybe they have a ram that they are going to cull, to use a younger one or another bloodline, that would be "affordable" to use for a year or two on your ewes. Yeah, that 8,000 is ALOT to pay.  Shoot, the last bull I bought this spring at a reg limousin and reg angus sale only cost 3500.  The most we ever paid for a bull is maybe 5500.  But the male is half of your flock(herd)  so get a good one.
I would want to buy the bred ewes, get them on your place and lamb them out so that the lambs would qualify for showing.  Get the rules, regs, and membership info from the Katahdin Assoc. so you know what you need to do.
You are too far away from Mike to get any of his probably, but if you PM him I am sure he would help you and give you whatever advice he can.  Plus with the distance you are not going to compete with him for the markets he has developed, so he can be a little more forthright about any advice, without stabbing himself in the foot.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 12, 2018)

There is enough market out there that even those in the same market (here) help each other out and I saw the same cooperation when we lived in South Carolina.  I did some searching and I couldn't find a whole lot of action as far as the 4H in your part of the country.  The University of Tennessee manages the Extension Offices which in turn manages 4H here and I would guess it would be the same in Maine.  If you haven't already done so, try you Extension Agent but I'm sorry to say that they aren't much help to the small holders in a lot of states.  Ours here are excellent and they send people out all of the time to see what we are doing.

Based on numbers that we are seeing, the small farms are filling the niche with hair sheep that started decaying when wool sheep became less profitable.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 17, 2018)

@Mike CHS  The 4H here is run by U Maine. I have emailed and left messages previously and never hear anything back. I figure I will wait till my oldest turns 8 and try again. Im not impressed with the communication abilities of the one here  
For now, building a solid group of ewes is what we are after. Our current Ewes( non registered ones) are hopefully pregnant already by a non registered ram  and if they have ewe lambs those babies are already spoken for. If they are rams, we will sell them if we can't sell them they can go in our freezer so no big loss there. I have been told by many that the ram is 50% of your flock, so we don't mind making an investment in a good quality one. I know they have the Big E show in MA which isn't super far from us, do they sell sheep there as well as show them? would that be a good place to look? or is that typically not done  
Im hoping to get some more information about the bred Ewes we are considering this week.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 17, 2018)

Also @Mike CHS  thank you for taking the time to help and answer my questions! its been a huge help!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 17, 2018)

You are very welcome.  We are fairly new also and had tons of help for several years before we got our first ones.  It's too bad you aren't closer since we have friends who have one of the most beautiful rams I have seen.  We were going to buy him but it turned out he isn't registered because the first owner never got around to it.  Having a registered ram is one of those things that seems to be good for PR purposes. 

The sales we have been to have all had some really good stock but also some that I wouldn't have the nerve to take to a sale that is meant to be upgrade type of stock. We go to any sale within a reasonable distance if for no other reason to network.   Since that sale is in your home state you would hopefully make some good contacts that could help you get the info you are looking for.  They will be able to turn you on to the U of M folks that are decent (assuming there are some).  It's too bad they aren't helping you out which doesn't say much for their program assets.

We have contacts now from several states that we can contact if we are looking for something.

There is also a page on Facebook "Ram Trade or sell" that might interest you if you wanted to put a Wanted Ram post.  It isn't very active but I have seen some decent rams (both registered and not) on that page.


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## farmerjan (Aug 17, 2018)

The Big E is quite a show.  I don't know that they have an actual sale, but that is where you will find breeders that are showing and a few questions will put you in touch with breeders that have a ram for sale, or know of one, or will have one in the future....  A good place to get some contacts and some networking.   Also a chance to get a look at what is out there, what they are wanting in "show sheep" and what you are wanting for good solid sheep to produce some good breeding ewes and saleable lambs for meat.  If you only meet one person, you are still ahead.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 18, 2018)

@farmerjan good point! thanks so much everyone! @Mike CHS  I will go check out that page on facebook !


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 21, 2018)

In other news, I have so much squash im not quite sure what to do with it. Freeze it I guess? 
Our corn did ok, the early sweet corn we planted didn't turn out that well, but the True Gold corn we planted turned out great! So tasty! 
Hoping to get our pellet stove taken out and a new wood stove put in so we have been looking around at those. Any brands you would recommend?  The hunt for firewood begins! 
Anyone have any tips in regards to a good food to make cattle gain weight? We have to butcher one of ours steers a little earlier then he should be so we would 
like to make sure he has a good amount of weight on him. We gave them a bale of haylege (sp?) a couple weeks ago....OMG that hay bale weighed 1400lbs! and we don't have a tractor , so im sure you can 
imagine how hard it was to move in to the pasture hahah! I think a tractor might have to be in our future. 
Nothing else is going on really, the kids are getting ready to go back to school, and that will provide me with a little bit more free time. 
Thinking of going back to school my self someday. 
Anyhoo, untill next time


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## Bruce (Aug 21, 2018)

That hay bale is a LOT of weight. The specs on my new 35 HP tractor say it could lift it, but with little to spare.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 21, 2018)

That's why we buy smaller round bales that are around 800 pounds and I use a 3 point hay spear to lift them.


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## Wehner Homestead (Aug 21, 2018)

Corn puts weight on cattle fast. Introduce slowly though and watch stools or they’ll get diarrhea.

Edited to add: use cracked or ground corn for easier digestion and less waste


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 11, 2018)

Update! 
We finally found a couple of very well bred Ewes that should fit our needs nicely. They should be a great addition to our farm. Next will be a ram, though I have no idea where to really start with that. I have a lot of research and learning to do before deciding on what we want .  Any tips on where to find good quality Katahdin Rams?  it looks like I am going to have to drive quite a distance to find anything. I would like to get some bloodlines from out of state.  Have any of you purchased out of state before? do you usually do the drive your self or use a livestock shipping company?


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## Mike CHS (Oct 11, 2018)

Have you checked the katahdin.org website?  Also Facebook has a lot of groups dedicated to Katahdin sheep and it's fairly easy to see who is genuine and who isn't.  I know of several great breeders but they would definitely be too far to drive.

I had to go back and read your thread again and seems I'm repeating myself which is nothing new for me.


----------



## WolfeMomma (Oct 15, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> Have you checked the katahdin.org website?  Also Facebook has a lot of groups dedicated to Katahdin sheep and it's fairly easy to see who is genuine and who isn't.  I know of several great breeders but they would definitely be too far to drive.
> 
> I had to go back and read your thread again and seems I'm repeating myself which is nothing new for me.



No worries, I repeat my self quite a bit! We have found a really good breeder, who is very willing to help us, give advice ect. So we are very thankful for that. 
Here are some pictures of the new girls. 
Their names are Cinnamon and Olive


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## RollingAcres (Oct 15, 2018)

Very nice!


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## Latestarter (Oct 15, 2018)

Nice! I enjoy those fall colors in the scenery as well.


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## Mike CHS (Oct 15, 2018)

Those are a very good start.


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## Mini Horses (Oct 15, 2018)

Lovely pasture area.   Those ewes are really nice and well filled out!   Name sure fits the brown one.


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## Bruce (Oct 16, 2018)

Not so much of that in East Texas eh @Latestarter?


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## Latestarter (Oct 16, 2018)

No, not so much... We have green, and yellow, then nothing. Being from New England originally, I love the varying hues of orange and red mixed with the greens and yellows.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2018)

Mini Horses said:


> Lovely pasture area.   Those ewes are really nice and well filled out!   Name sure fits the brown one.


Thanks  

I figured these two girls would bond to the other ewes we have but nope, they love the cows and follow them around like a lost puppy they could careless what the other sheep do hahaha!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 25, 2018)

I just love this Ewe, I'm so excited to see how she looks as she matures more. Her sire and dam are pretty nice looking sheep so I have high hopes for her.


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## Latestarter (Oct 25, 2018)

They're both very good looking. Nice that you can have them in with your cows. I'm not a sheep person, especially for show purposes. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable sheeple can chime in... Is it "right" to have that dip in the spine area behind the shoulder? I would think a nice straight, "flat" top line would be the goal/more desirable... I can't recall if you intended to show them of their offspring...


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## RollingAcres (Oct 25, 2018)

They are nice looking.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 25, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> They're both very good looking. Nice that you can have them in with your cows. I'm not a sheep person, especially for show purposes. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable sheeple can chime in... Is it "right" to have that dip in the spine area behind the shoulder? I would think a nice straight, "flat" top line would be the goal/more desirable... I can't recall if you intended to show them of their offspring...


I think it might just be how she is standing because it's not there in other pictures. She is young so she has alot of maturing left to do.


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## Mike CHS (Oct 25, 2018)

She is a good looker and I like that long body.


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## Bruce (Oct 25, 2018)

Good thing I know the context on that post Mike! You could get in trouble with an out of context comment like that


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## Baymule (Oct 25, 2018)

She is a nice ewe! Look at that butt!

reckon i'll get in trouble for that???


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## Rammy (Oct 25, 2018)

Yes. But we still love you.


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 26, 2018)

Butts are important to show and commercial livestock for meat!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 26, 2018)

haha! Her little friend is also all butt. I call her curvy 
They love attention, which is so important to me. I want Ewes that have a good temperament. We are a small operation, and our kids are involved quite a bit so I want the animals
we have to be friendly , I have no time to deal with the crazies....Ill leave those ones to the more adventurous people  I love pictures so don't mind the pic spamming lol


 

And of course the one who makes it ALL possible  Titan our LGD


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 26, 2018)

Titan!!! What breeding is he?


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 26, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> Titan!!! What breeding is he?


He is a Turkish kangal


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## greybeard (Oct 26, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> haha! Her little friend is also all butt. I call her curvy
> I love pictures so don't mind the pic spamming lol
> View attachment 53780



I hope the kardassians never see that pic.....they'd kill for a butt like that.


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 26, 2018)

greybeard said:


> I hope the kardassians never see that pic.....they'd kill for a butt like that.


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 26, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> He is a Turkish kangal


I thought he was. Just never know for sure. We had an Anatolian. Loved her. On a waiting list for another. (Technically Anatolians and Kangals are the same breed though some don’t agree. )

I did google it to make sure I wasn’t thinking wrong! Lol


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## Mike CHS (Oct 26, 2018)

There seem to be a lot of LGDs that originate in Turkey.  Our Akbash is just the 3rd generation of dog that fairly recently came from there.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 27, 2018)

They are like potato chips, can't have just one. We would love to have another one. Best dog we have ever had.


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 28, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> They are like potato chips, can't have just one. We would love to have another one. Best dog we have ever had.



We were adding a second this fall but now it’ll be a single. Ugh! I want teams of them! Love these breeds!


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## Baymule (Oct 28, 2018)

greybeard said:


> I hope the kardassians never see that pic.....they'd kill for a butt like that.


Obviously you haven't seen a picture of them from "behind." They already have a butt that would make that ewe jealous!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 29, 2018)

Baymule said:


> Obviously you haven't seen a picture of them from "behind." They already have a butt that would make that ewe jealous!


 Yeah but theirs is fake lol!


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## RollingAcres (Oct 29, 2018)

greybeard said:


> I hope the kardassians never see that pic.....they'd kill for a butt like that.


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## RollingAcres (Oct 29, 2018)

@WolfeMomma Titan is very handsome!


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## Bruce (Oct 29, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> Yeah but theirs is fake lol!


Um, I think you spelled fat incorrectly.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 31, 2018)

Bruce said:


> Um, I think you spelled fat incorrectly.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 2, 2018)

Well we are on lamb watch for our one Ewe, the picture doesn't do her justice, the size of her udder has increased quite a bit from this picture, and her stomach has gotten much bigger. But still no lamb yet  
The sire was a ram that we had for a short time, and these lambs will most likely just be for meat. 
Looking forward to next year when we will hopefully have a ram that we can keep around for a while to be our herd sire.


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## Baymule (Dec 2, 2018)

Beautiful ewe, what breed was the ram?


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 2, 2018)

Baymule said:


> Beautiful ewe, what breed was the ram?


He is a katahdin just like her


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## Baymule (Dec 2, 2018)

Can't wait to see baby lamb pictures!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 3, 2018)

Went grocery shopping and came back to this!!!


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## Rammy (Dec 3, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> Went grocery shopping and came back to this!!!


Aaaaawwwww!!!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 3, 2018)

Second one came out ! I'm pretty sure the black one is a ram and the white and brown one is a ewe. They are both nursing well, and maple is being SUCH a good momma.


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## RollingAcres (Dec 3, 2018)

awwwwww!!! Congrats!


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## Rammy (Dec 3, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> awwwwww!!! Congrats!


 X2!


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 3, 2018)

Way cool , what a wonderful  welcome home surprise


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## Bruce (Dec 3, 2018)

You should go shopping more often!!


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## Latestarter (Dec 3, 2018)

Congrats! Dontcha love it when things happen the way they're supposed to?


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## Baymule (Dec 3, 2018)

Beautiful set of twins!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 5, 2018)

I wanted the black one to be a ewe so bad 
But of course he is a ram.
Gonna be hard to sell that one once weaned. 
The little brown and white ewe we will keep until we get a better idea of how she is maturing.


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 5, 2018)

I really love the lambs pictures, but am in inside of your barn / lambing area love...it is so neat and clean and attractive, nice work


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 5, 2018)

B&B Happy goats said:


> I really love the lambs pictures, but am in inside of your barn / lambing area love...it is so neat and clean and attractive, nice work


Thanks!!! I used to have horses and I was kinda picky about clean stalls ect. So I am like that with our sheep too!


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 5, 2018)

I share thoes issues myself, i ask myself...would i want to drink that, would i sleep there, how does it look? Although I haven't  hung pictures up ....yet lol


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## RollingAcres (Dec 5, 2018)

Cute!!!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 5, 2018)

I have one more ewe left to lamb so I will back to lamb watch soon. Though i don't expect anything from her until the end of dec, start of jan time frame. 
Fingers crossed for some ewe lambs !  
Im so excited to get our new ram this summer. Hopefully we can get our hands on a good one. We have someone who is going to take a 
look for us at the mid west sale.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 14, 2018)

Maple doesn't like being stuck inside with her lambs. But it is so cold and so icy out that I don't want to risk her hurting herself or her lambs. I try to let them out for a few minutes while we clean their stall then put them back in but she isn't happy about it.  Trying to ignore this cold weather by planning for our gardens this spring, We had so many issues with fungus and bugs last year that I think we might spray this year to help control it. We have 6 apple trees, a cherry tree, a peach tree, nectarines and plums and had NO harvest last year it was horrible!! not letting that happen again. Thankfully the berry bushes ( blackberry and raspberry) did very well and helped make up for it.


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## Baymule (Dec 14, 2018)

Your cold and my cold are on opposite ends of the country. You would laugh and giggle at my cold and I would high-tail it for home at the first blast of your cold.  Keep those lammy babies warm!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 14, 2018)

lol we were at 3 degrees this morning. Was chilly that's for sure, but i know in Jan and Feb it will get even colder. You know its bad when 30 feels warm


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## RollingAcres (Dec 14, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> You know its bad when 30 feels warm


You're right about that. It has been very cold the past few days but today it's warming up to almost 40, feels so warm!


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## Bruce (Dec 14, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> lol we were at 3 degrees this morning. Was chilly that's for sure, but i know in Jan and Feb it will get even colder. You know its bad when 30 feels warm


Yep! If it hadn't been windy and really gray today, the 33.5° we had would have felt warm. I did take advantage of the "warm" weather to put the newly arrived registration sticker on my car's license plate. 

About where are you in Maine? We are going to be passing through early January to take DD1 up to Mt. Allison University in the far NE part of New Brunswick. If we are close I can wave in your general direction.


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## Baymule (Dec 14, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> lol we were at 3 degrees this morning. Was chilly that's for sure, but i know in Jan and Feb it will get even colder. You know its bad when 30 feels warm


30 degrees here NEVER feels warm!!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 22, 2018)

The warm weather and rain melted off quite a bit of the snow, so everyone went outside to get some fresh air. Which gave me a chance to take some pictures 
I know you all love pics so here you go!


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## Rammy (Dec 22, 2018)

Great pics! Live the first one. Looks all misty in the background. Good shot of the sheep in the second one. It could go in a calender. And tbe babies are too cute!


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## frustratedearthmother (Dec 22, 2018)

Beautiful - maybe pic of the week material...


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 22, 2018)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Beautiful - maybe pic of the week material...


 Thanks


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## Mike CHS (Dec 22, 2018)

I always love lamb pictures but they are all great.


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## Rammy (Dec 22, 2018)

Yeah, you should submit those for picture if the week.


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## Latestarter (Dec 22, 2018)

Nice! Thanks for sharing! I miss Maine, but not the winters there.


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## Baymule (Dec 23, 2018)

I always love sheep pictures. The lambs are so cute, love the black one!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 24, 2018)

Thanks everyone!


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 24, 2018)

Agree with latestarter,....  only thing i miss about New England  is the fall leaves, although the first snow dusting of winter is pretty......from afar...Merry Christmas


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 25, 2018)

B&B Happy goats said:


> Agree with latestarter,....  only thing i miss about New England  is the fall leaves, although the first snow dusting of winter is pretty......from afar...Merry Christmas


The fall leaves are my favorite , its like living in a post card or a painting. Such vibrant reds and yellows!


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 25, 2018)

WolfeMomma said:


> The fall leaves are my favorite , its like living in a post card or a painting. Such vibrant reds and yellows!


It sure is beautiful  time of year....


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 4, 2019)

The lambs are doing great, very healthy stocky little guys . The black ram lamb is off to his new home next week. I can't believe how fast they grow.


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## Baymule (Feb 4, 2019)

That momma sheep is so pretty. Love her coloring.


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 4, 2019)

Baymule said:


> That momma sheep is so pretty. Love her coloring.


One of the many reasons I picked her out of the herd that I was looking at  she has been such a great momma , especially to twins her first time.


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 4, 2019)

Picture postcard pretty !


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## RollingAcres (Feb 4, 2019)

Beautiful pic!


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## Latestarter (Feb 4, 2019)

Y'all have been through a awful lot last year. so happy that right now things are going well for you!


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## WolfeMomma (Apr 28, 2019)

Well, its been a while. So I figured I would come on here and update everyone! Things are going well. All of my ewes are doing great. And we are in the process of selling our last little ram lamb. We are going to look at a potential ram to be our herd sire next week. I'm so excited! I will make sure to update with pictures of course if all goes well


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## WolfeMomma (May 5, 2019)

Introducing our new future herd sire "Valor" We love him! Hopefully he is a good boy. Looking forward to seeing what lambs we get out of him


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## Mike CHS (May 5, 2019)

Valor is a good looking boy!


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## B&B Happy goats (May 5, 2019)

Another handsome stud muffin  !


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## HomeOnTheRange (May 7, 2019)

I really like the face of that ram!


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## Wehner Homestead (May 7, 2019)

He looks handsome! Hope he does well for you!


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## WolfeMomma (May 9, 2019)

HomeOnTheRange said:


> I really like the face of that ram!


Us to, I just love him. He is a big boy. He is almost as tall as my 2yr Old Ewe and he is around 2 1/2 months old, almost 3 months. Im hoping to get him out to some shows this summer. I am going to try and get some more pictures of him.


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## Baymule (May 9, 2019)

Nice looking ram you got there!


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## WolfeMomma (May 11, 2019)

Got some pictures of him out enjoying some grass . Have I mentioned how excited I am to see his lambs next year


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## WolfeMomma (May 20, 2019)

The kids went to their first show this weekend. Was a great experience, we are all looking forward to getting to a bunch more this year. Hoping to get my ram lamb out there, very interested in seeing how he does. 
Here are a couple pictures.


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## Mike CHS (May 20, 2019)

I really love it when parents let their kids get involved like you are.


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## Baymule (May 20, 2019)

That looks like so much fun. It's a lot of work on your part, but what a great memory for both you and the kids.


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## B&B Happy goats (May 20, 2019)

Cool pictures of the boys and the lambs,


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## WolfeMomma (May 21, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> I really love it when parents let their kids get involved like you are.


 Thanks  I think its a great opportunity for learning. Turns out they really enjoy it, so it makes me happy to see them doing something they enjoy so much.


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## Bruce (May 21, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


>


POW worthy!


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## Baymule (May 21, 2019)

Bruce said:


> POW worthy!


X2!!!


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## WolfeMomma (May 30, 2019)

Hope everyone is well. 
We are doing good here, just attempting to survive the black flies. The are horrible  and are driving the sheep crazy! fly spray doesn't seem to be working very well for them, or us humans lol.
Gardens are almost all planted, cant wait for some fresh tomatoes. We decided in July we are going to head to the North East youth sheep show, we have heard that it is a wonderful event for the kids,
where they can learn a lot. Im very impressed with our ram lamb, he has been wonderful to handle so far, very polite and willing to do what you ask. Which for me is a very good sign, that's exactly the personality that I want in a ram. I don't want to breed some crazy personality in to my ewes that are so sweet and easy going. I cant wait for lambing next year


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## Baymule (May 30, 2019)

Glad that you have such a calm and gentle ram. We drove to Tennessee to buy Ringo from Mike CHS just for that reason. We have small grand daughters, the youngest, 2 years, is sheep crazy and loves to go pet them. 

You will have to take lots of pictures at the sheep show and post them!


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## WolfeMomma (May 31, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Glad that you have such a calm and gentle ram. We drove to Tennessee to buy Ringo from Mike CHS just for that reason. We have small grand daughters, the youngest, 2 years, is sheep crazy and loves to go pet them.
> 
> You will have to take lots of pictures at the sheep show and post them!


Thanks!, Im hoping he stays calm. His Sire from what Im told was a pretty good boy. So hopefully he will be as well. Me and my husband work with him every day, teaching him how to stand, be brushed, washed and we walk him up hills and over obstacles to help build his muscles and keep him in shape and looking good for the shows. We are going to attempt to go to the Big E in September. Im so excited to see so many other sheep people there. I have never actually been, only watched the show online so I can't wait!  Im so happy that my kids enjoy this, and that it is something we can enjoy together.


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## Baymule (May 31, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Im so happy that my kids enjoy this, and that it is something we can enjoy together.



You are giving your children a very special gift. What a fantastic childhood they are having!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 18, 2019)

Our kids little show ewe lamb Tikka. We just love her!!! The boys are so excited for the shows this summer. Get ready for some picture spam this summer lol


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 19, 2019)

Have to add a picture of this guy, he is growing so fast


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## Baymule (Jun 19, 2019)

He sure is handsome!


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## Mike CHS (Jun 19, 2019)

That is going to be a nice figure in a couple of months.


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 21, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> That is going to be a nice figure in a couple of months.


Yeah I cant wait to see how he matures. He is only 5 months old now and I think he is already starting to look pretty good. Hopefully all the judges out there think the same way as I do


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 16, 2019)

Hope everyone is having a great summer!
Maybe its just me , but keeping the garden looking good this year has been very hard. The grass...yes grass not weeds is out of control! it looks like i never had a garden there to begin with. I think we are going to try the fabric that keeps weeds out next year. Corn seems very far behind this year. Even the big fields around here are just barely up to my knees...and im only 5'5 lol It better grow fast before winter graces us with its presence again. 
Getting ready to take the sheep and kid to the youth show. He is to do everything by him self....makes me nervous lol im used to always helping. thankfully the ram lamb seems fairly tolerant of my 7yr, I think they have the potential to do well...as long as both can pay attention . The ewe lamb is a dream to work with, once you get her in her halter. The yearling ewe...can be a donkey...lol very stubborn
Will make sure to take lots of pictures!


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## Baymule (Jul 16, 2019)

Don't feel bad, my garden looks the worst of any spot on the place. It got away from me and took off, galloping to Weed Kingdom. We are about to go reclaim it. 

Have fun at the show! I am excited for you and your kids. They will have so much fun. I hope your sheep behave! LOL


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## Mike CHS (Jul 16, 2019)

I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing how your young one did at the show.


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## Baymule (Jul 16, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing how your young one did at the show.


Sheep or child?


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 24, 2019)

Got back from the show on Sunday. Oh my gosh it was insanely hot. The sheep and kid handled it well considering it was so hot. I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life 
Everyone did great. Considering the level of competition, and my ram lamb had never been in a show ring, and his first time was with my 7yr old who didn't really know what he was doing, my son brought home 4th in junior rams, 4th in Ewe lambs 4th in yearling ewe and 4th in flock. We had a great time, it was a wonderfully run show and we will go back again next year. There was some amazing quality of sheep there, it was great to see! Next show is in august, and then the big E in September, we cant wait! until then I will be practicing my butt off to make sure we are ready for the next ones .


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 25, 2019)

I didn't mange to get many pictures, but these are one of his ram and one of the yearling ewe


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## Baymule (Jul 25, 2019)

I love it!


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 26, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Sheep or child?


LOL! Honestly....a young ram...and a 7yr old boy....both of them do nothing but get in to trouble, so putting both of them in a show ring and having them both behave was like winning the lottery


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 30, 2019)

If anyone needs me Ill be hiding inside or in the pool. This heat is insane, 93 degrees in northern(ish) Maine is not typical. The poor sheep don't even bother going in the pasture, they hide in their stalls all day , and I don't blame them. Heres to hoping it cools down the next couple days


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## Bruce (Jul 30, 2019)

We are running about the same today, supposed to drop to just over 80 tomorrow and the days following. Might even get cool enough overnight Wed night into Thursday morning  to cool the house some.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jul 30, 2019)

Bruce said:


> We are running about the same today, supposed to drop to just over 80 tomorrow and the days following. Might even get cool enough overnight Wed night into Thursday morning  to cool the house some.



I actually feel for you guys, I remember  very well those hot nights up there with no AC...very opressive ! 
But in another three weeks fall will arrive for a nano second , and the grey skies of winter will cover you for seven months......yepper , you betcha, ...gotta love it


----------



## RollingAcres (Jul 30, 2019)

Same here, hot hot hot. No pool or pond here to cool off sp just hiding inside AC room.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 6, 2019)

Finally got a new picture of one of our yearling ewe cinnamon. I love her, her conformation may not be perfect but man she holds her weight well, doesn't require much in the way of extras. Will be taking her to the fair in about two weeks, very interested to see what others think of her. 
I think our ram will compliment her well, and I will get some lambs with a bit of a longer back.


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## Baymule (Aug 6, 2019)

She looks good to me! Beautiful! Hope you get some cool weather soon. We won't cool off until October.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 6, 2019)

I'm no expert but I think she will do very well at the fair.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 6, 2019)

Baymule said:


> She looks good to me! Beautiful! Hope you get some cool weather soon. We won't cool off until October.


Temps went down finally!! Was 60 while I did chores yesterday morning, it was glorious!!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 6, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> I'm no expert but I think she will do very well at the fair.


Thanks so much! We are new to the whole show thing , it's been a great learning experience!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 10, 2019)

The weather has been cool and rainy , which has been a nice change! 
The squash is growing like crazy...and so are the weeds I think we might try the weed wrap next year.
Getting ready to put our ram in with the ewes. He cant wait , will be nice for him to have some companionship as he is kept alone most of the time, other then when he hangs out with our Livestock 
guardian. I am so looking forward to these lambs!
The kids are off to summer camp next week. Then the week after that we are at the fair , then school starts
Will be a busy next couple weeks. 
I am looking forward to the cool fall weather. I like the warmth of summer, and the plush green pastures. But I can only tolerate it for so long
I think that is why Maine appeals to us so much. Summer never sticks around for very long. 
I don't know how those of you that live in the south do it, Don't get me wrong I love the south, I just don't think I could handle
the constant heat and humidity.


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 10, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> The weather has been cool and rainy , which has been a nice change!
> The squash is growing like crazy...and so are the weeds I think we might try the weed wrap next year.
> Getting ready to put our ram in with the ewes. He cant wait , will be nice for him to have some companionship as he is kept alone most of the time, other then when he hangs out with our Livestock
> guardian. I am so looking forward to these lambs!
> ...



I can't  speak for everyone, but I just couldn't  afford to live up there anymore, winters kill me and I didnt  enjoy spending most of the good weather getting ready for the long winter...so I traded it for cheaper living and AC , works great for me at my age. ...but sure miss the  fall colors, real vegetables  and northern humor


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## Baymule (Aug 10, 2019)

Haha, we are happy that winter doesn’t last long here!


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## farmerjan (Aug 10, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> The kids went to their first show this weekend. Was a great experience, we are all looking forward to getting to a bunch more this year. Hoping to get my ram lamb out there, very interested in seeing how he does.
> Here are a couple pictures.
> View attachment 62318
> View attachment 62319
> View attachment 62320



Really cute, nice looking kids and  sheep.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 10, 2019)

Yeh, those 2 winters spent in Winter Harbor, Me.....was enough for a "lifetime" for me....couldn't get south fast enough.........we went there from Hawaii....talking bout "culture Shock"..........


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## Pastor Dave (Aug 11, 2019)

I enjoy MidWest. We have 4 seasons usually. Here in last few years, abt a day of Spring and a day of Fall. I can absolutely do without 95+deg days and single digit temps, but I do appreciate having the summer and Fall to prep for Winter. I choose Winter over summer. Fall is the best though.


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## Baymule (Aug 11, 2019)

I like fall, winter and spring. Summer is for making hay and gardens.


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## Bruce (Aug 12, 2019)

As long as winter doesn't go below freezing?


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## Baymule (Aug 12, 2019)

Bruce said:


> As long as winter doesn't go below freezing?


I can deal with it.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 13, 2019)

There is nothing like Fall in Maine thats for sure, the color and Vibrance of the leaves is amazing! I was driving in to town today, and there are trees turning red already
I couldn't believe it, some of my apples are already ripe....one of my ewes is already getting a thicker coat. Is there something I don't know that mother nature does 
It hasn't been cold, the lowest temp was 59 one morning, but other then that its never below 65.


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2019)

65 and 59 is winter here!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 14, 2019)

Baymule said:


> 65 and 59 is winter here!


ahaha! People here wear shorts in that weather! I like it because it makes the bugs not so bad. Black flies are horrible, evil, little creatures!


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 14, 2019)

You need one of the NH tee shirts that says " Black flies don't  bite.....they suck"
They are as bad as the yellow flies in south Georgia, they take flesh off you when they bite !


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## Baymule (Aug 14, 2019)

We don't have those, but we have some bodacious mosquitoes.


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## Bruce (Aug 14, 2019)

And don't forget deer flies! They'll take a chunk out.


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## Baymule (Aug 14, 2019)

Bruce said:


> And don't forget deer flies! They'll take a chunk out.


Oh dear!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 14, 2019)

Bruce said:


> And don't forget deer flies! They'll take a chunk out.


They are horrible!!! they chase you then swoop in for the kill!!!!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 14, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> They are horrible!!! they chase you then swoop in for the kill!!!!



I used to fish floating down some of the small rivers in Michigan using an inner tube and when they hit you had to drop through the tube and go under water.


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 14, 2019)

Forgot about  the deer flies


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## RollingAcres (Aug 14, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> I am looking forward to the cool fall weather. I like the warmth of summer, and the plush green pastures. But I can only tolerate it for so long


Same here. I love the warmth of summer for growing plants and so some activities outside but that's it. Fall please come soon, lol.


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## Bruce (Aug 14, 2019)

RollingAcres said:


> Fall please come soon, lol.


NO! I have way too much to do and bad things keep jumping in to keep me from working on them.


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## RollingAcres (Aug 14, 2019)

Bruce said:


> NO! I have way too much to do and bad things keep jumping in to keep me from working on them.


Sorry to hear that but you know old man winter is just around the corner


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 14, 2019)

@Bruce...your ten minutes of summer will be over in 30 seconds.....the old man winter is going to be knocking at your back door shortly ....


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## Bruce (Aug 14, 2019)

Nah, we are apparently going to get "southern" weather early next week - hot and humid.


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 14, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Nah, we are apparently going to get "southern" weather early next week - hot and humid.



Then two feet of snow


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## farmerjan (Aug 14, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> There is nothing like Fall in Maine thats for sure, the color and Vibrance of the leaves is amazing! I was driving in to town today, and there are trees turning red already
> I couldn't believe it, some of my apples are already ripe....one of my ewes is already getting a thicker coat. Is there something I don't know that mother nature does
> It hasn't been cold, the lowest temp was 59 one morning, but other then that its never below 65.


Shortening of the sun...leaf turning is supposedly not as "tied to" the temps as to the shortening of the sun and the ANGLE....
I have noticed the days getting shorter.  Longest day is June 21st, equal time is Sept 21st headed to shorter, shortest is Dec 21st. equal is again Mar21st, headed to longer....  Well, sometimes it is the 20th of those months, but we always just figured  the 21st to make it easiest to remember....  The angle has some to do with it as the earth tilts on it's axis.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 15, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> Shortening of the sun...leaf turning is supposedly not as "tied to" the temps as to the shortening of the sun and the ANGLE....
> I have noticed the days getting shorter.  Longest day is June 21st, equal time is Sept 21st headed to shorter, shortest is Dec 21st. equal is again Mar21st, headed to longer....  Well, sometimes it is the 20th of those months, but we always just figured  the 21st to make it easiest to remember....  The angle has some to do with it as the earth tilts on it's axis.


I totally didnt know this! I thought it had to do with low temps. very cool!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 15, 2019)

When we were working the sheep the other day we found that our #29 ewe was missing an ear tag so we gave her a new one.  While I was cleaning the stall at the shop I noticed her ear tag was inside the creep feeder which meant she somehow got her hear in there and her ear tag pulled out when she started pulling her head out.  The lambs can't get their heads in or out once they hit about 3 1/2 months old so I have no idea how she got her head in there.

We got 30 pounds of the concord grapes processed but still have 10 pounds to go. Right now we are just canning it as grape juice to make jelly with later.  We have the camp stove set up outside to do that and to can some pickles today after the grass gets cut.  Teresa is cleaning out the big shed and rearranging things so we can put the new freezer out there with the other upright.  We hope to build a small standalone building this winter so we can use that for meat sales.  To get approved, you have to have a dedicated room to be able to handle frozen meat.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 15, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> When we were working the sheep the other day we found that our #29 ewe was missing an ear tag so we gave her a new one.  While I was cleaning the stall at the shop I noticed her ear tag was inside the creep feeder which meant she somehow got her hear in there and her ear tag pulled out when she started pulling her head out.  The lambs can't get their heads in or out once they hit about 3 1/2 months old so I have no idea how she got her head in there.
> 
> We got 30 pounds of the concord grapes processed but still have 10 pounds to go. Right now we are just canning it as grape juice to make jelly with later.  We have the camp stove set up outside to do that and to can some pickles today after the grass gets cut.  Teresa is cleaning out the big shed and rearranging things so we can put the new freezer out there with the other upright.  We hope to build a small standalone building this winter so we can use that for meat sales.  To get approved, you have to have a dedicated room to be able to handle frozen meat.
> 
> ...


oh that is a cool looking creep feed! We have been rolling around ideas about how to build/or what to use as a creep feed. We dont have the room for a very large area, so something smaller that like would be perfect for us


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## Mike CHS (Aug 15, 2019)

We love it since we can let them eat free choice and the ewes can stay with them since they can't get their heads in it.  At least most of the time.   

We're going to the KHSI Expo Saturday so we plan to pick up another.  Eight lambs can share them at one time but with just one the bigger lambs get more than their share.


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## Bruce (Aug 15, 2019)

B&B Happy goats said:


> Then two feet of snow


Aren't YOU the funny one!! But you know that we won't see snow for a while. Sometimes a small amount that doesn't stay around in September, more often in October.



farmerjan said:


> The angle has some to do with it as the earth tilts on it's axis.


And when I adjust my solar panels. Interestingly (at least to me) is that the tilt change isn't even close to linear. I adjust 4 times a year based on an "optimal tilt" website that has info based on latitude by 5° increments. My dates are: Spring angle (41.8°) - March 5, Summer angle (17.1°) - April 18, Fall angle (41.8°) - Aug 22, Winter angle (64.1°) - Oct 5.



Mike CHS said:


> The lambs can't get their heads in or out once they hit about 3 1/2 months old so I have no idea how she got her head in there.


Determination?



Mike CHS said:


> We hope to build a small standalone building this winter so we can use that for meat sales. To get approved, you have to have a dedicated room to be able to handle frozen meat.


Do they require an automatic generator to guarantee the freezers can't ever be without power?

Here to make food for sale you have to have a facility where no pets have access. Can't even claim (and do) exclude them from the kitchen with a door. If they are in the same building you can't sell food made there unless it is an oddly made building with only an exterior door.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 15, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> We love it since we can let them eat free choice and the ewes can stay with them since they can't get their heads in it.  At least most of the time.
> 
> We're going to the KHSI Expo Saturday so we plan to pick up another.  Eight lambs can share them at one time but with just one the bigger lambs get more than their share.


Oh I would love to go to the expo! Enjoy!!


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## RollingAcres (Aug 15, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Here to make food for sale you have to have a facility where no pets have access. Can't even claim (and do) exclude them from the kitchen with a door. If they are in the same building you can't sell food made there unless it is an oddly made building with only an exterior door.


I believe it's the same here, no pets in the same building.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 15, 2019)

You can use a clean, dedicated room or building and dedicated freezer as well as no dogs at all.  There isn't a generator requirement and other than that, you have to use a USDA certified processor which we already have.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 15, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Oh I would love to go to the expo! Enjoy!!



It actually starts tomorrow but we are only going to the sale on Saturday.  We aren't buying anything but we want to see some folks we haven't seen in awhile.  Plus it's in Cookeville which is only a little over an hour away.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 15, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> It actually starts tomorrow but we are only going to the sale on Saturday.  We aren't buying anything but we want to see some folks we haven't seen in awhile.  Plus it's in Cookeville which is only a little over an hour away.


Sadly its a bit to far for us, maybe one day. My goal is to one day make it to the expo and to NAILE .


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## Baymule (Aug 15, 2019)

Is it always held in the same place? Maybe we could come next year.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 15, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Is it always held in the same place? Maybe we could come next year.



It changes location every time.  Last year it was in Missouri which worked because it wasn't far from Teresa's family.  There is a major event in Louisville which isn't too far away but I'll have to make sure it's an annual event.


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## Baymule (Aug 15, 2019)

Sounds like it would be fun and educational.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 16, 2019)

Well, we leave for the fair Saturday , so typically I wash the sheep the day before .....of course its raining....hasnt rained in weeks and mother nature picks today to rain. Here's to hoping it stops later in the day. 
I love our red ewe, so easy to keep clean, just a quick wash and she is done, the ram and the white ewe take forever to get clean, and even then....white and bright can only do so much 
I still dont understand why fairs require you to stay there for a whole week.
I will say the rain is doing wonders for the garden, everything looks great. I am going to have a whole bunch of spaghetti squash that will be ready soon YUM!! We decided to grow all the squash vertically this year , best decision ever. Saves a huge amount of space, and everything can be seen very easily.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 16, 2019)

Squash are amazing climbers.  A couple of our beds are pretty close to plum trees and there are a couple of squash that I'm going to need a ladder to pick.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 19, 2019)

well we all arrived at the fair ok, got the sheep comfy, and the camper set up. Seems to be some pretty good Katahdin competition. I cant wait to see how our ram does, I think him and the ewe lamb have the highest chances of placing but we shall see. 
my one yearling ewe that I thought was kind of chunky....yeah no she is FAT compared to the other ewes. Some one is going on a diet , that i am sure of now lol
The kids love being there, seeing all the animals, meeting new friends that are in to the same thing. I love that I am able to let them grow up this way.


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## Baymule (Aug 19, 2019)

You are giving your children a precious gift, one that they will treasure all their lives. Other children should be so fortunate to have parents like y’all.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 19, 2019)

Baymule said:


> You are giving your children a precious gift, one that they will treasure all their lives. Other children should be so fortunate to have parents like y’all.


Thanks


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## Wehner Homestead (Aug 20, 2019)

NAILE (North American International Livestock Expo) occurs yearly in Nov. The location is always Louisville, KY. It’s 2.5 weeks of the best Livestock from around the world. Definitely something to see! It’s only an hour from us if anyone ever needs some insight into the area. We can also try to meet you there for a visit. We usually go the weekend of the Rodeo for the cattle shows. DD1 hopes to show cattle and goats there soon. 

http://mobile.dudasite.com/site/liv...rg/&utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/#2652

@newton the goat something you might want to check out


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 25, 2019)

Yay finally back from the fair. 
Its been a long tiring 7 days. But everything went well, the sheep did great and so did the humans 
Our ram valor placed 2nd which we are VERY pleased with as the ram that placed 1st was a huge january lamb that was very well built, and big, valor held his own which I am pleased with. He is looking more and more like his sire I hope he keeps heading that direction. Our large yearling white ewe took 3rd , and the red ewe took 6th which didnt surprise me as she is a big short and not really built for the show ring. The Ewe lamb was placed second but was switched the last minute  and took 3rd. Im still not sure why , I have a feeling its because she is a march ewe lamb so she is a bit smaller then her competition. Her side profile is beautiful , if she can grow a bit and thicken up in her yearling year I think she will do well.All in all it was a great experience , and a fun time over all!

Valor and my husband





Our yearling ewes shown by me and hubby 


 

The ewe Lamb


 
Our large white yearling ewe


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 25, 2019)

Congrats!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 25, 2019)

Congratulations!


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 25, 2019)

Awesome,  congradulatios  to you and your family


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 25, 2019)

Great job!!....it is always good to have verification of your hard work.....


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## Baymule (Aug 25, 2019)

What a great time and bringing home the ribbons! I love the speckles on your ram.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 26, 2019)

Thanks everyone!


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## RollingAcres (Aug 26, 2019)

Congratulations!


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## Bruce (Aug 26, 2019)

@CntryBoy777 said what I was going to say! Day late and a dollar short 
Congratulations!!


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 30, 2019)

They decided to venture out of the barn for a quick graze since it was a fairly cool morning yesterday. The pasture is doing ok. But we miss having cattle to keep it grazed down a bit. Our pasture is a bit to much for our few amount of sheep to keep up with. 
We decided that we need to add at least 2 ewes to our herd , before winter hopefully lol We really would like some bloodlines from out of state. Time to start researching. 
All of the apple trees are ripe and starting to drop apples all over the yard. My husband made some amazing plum jam from our plum tree, tastes so good!! Just waiting on the peach tree to ripen up. Nectarines failed again this year, we keep getting this powder/mold type stuff on them...they shrivel up and die right on the tree 



View attachment 20190828_071759.jpg View attachment 20190828_072039.jpg


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## Bruce (Aug 30, 2019)

I know a guy out of state from you on a forum called Backyard Herds that has nice Katahdins


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 31, 2019)

Bruce said:


> I know a guy out of state from you on a forum called Backyard Herds that has nice Katahdins


Oh really   If he has Some Ewes that might fit what I'm looking for. Tell him to send me a message lol


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 31, 2019)

Well, last week was my first week back at school in many years. I figured since almost all my kids are in school full time , that it would be a good time to get my degree. Its been quite a change dealing with showing sheep, taking care of animals and kids and doing my school work. Its only going to get harder but I know in the end it will be worth it and provide some reassurance and financial help later on.  I must fund my addiction to sheep some how


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## Bruce (Aug 31, 2019)

Good for you! I suspect is will be a bit of a challenge to start. School for kids is their job with few other requirements. You get school AND all the trappings of home and animals. We are here for you if the road gets bumpy.


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## Baymule (Aug 31, 2019)

Good for you! What a great example you are setting for your kids. What are you studying?


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 1, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Good for you! What a great example you are setting for your kids. What are you studying?


I am getting my associates degree in applied science and will be training in medical coding .


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 1, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Good for you! I suspect is will be a bit of a challenge to start. School for kids is their job with few other requirements. You get school AND all the trappings of home and animals. We are here for you if the road gets bumpy.


Thank you!  
Yes school is much easier when you are younger with less responsibility. Although I feel as though I am a better student now, I am aware of just how important a good education can be and can hunker down and focus easier. Thankfully hubby helps out a lot and picks up some extra chores while I focus on my school work.


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## Bruce (Sep 2, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Thank you!
> Yes school is much easier when you are younger with less responsibility. Although I feel as though I am a better student now, I am aware of just how important a good education can be and can hunker down and focus easier. Thankfully hubby helps out a lot and picks up some extra chores while I focus on my school work.


You will be setting a good example for all the "just escaped the thumb of the parents, time to PARTY!!!" kids


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## Baymule (Sep 2, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> I am getting my associates degree in applied science and will be training in medical coding .


that will be a good job. There's plenty of us old folks around to keep you busy for your whole career! LOL LOL


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 3, 2019)

Baymule said:


> that will be a good job. There's plenty of us old folks around to keep you busy for your whole career! LOL LOL


Especially in a state that is full of old retired people  seriously though its is a good business to get in to here with an aging population. Our state doesn't have many young people, they usually move out of state as they get older and only come back to vacation here.


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## Baymule (Sep 3, 2019)

The millennials are overtaking the baby boomers as the biggest age group, so you will have plenty of patients for a long time! LOL LOL


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 8, 2019)

Pictures of this guy. I'm so excited for lambs I cant stand it  
Between doing school work and house work and dealing with the kids, Im attempting to 
get this handsome hunk of man sheep ready for his next show. 
Fingers crossed that he does well. I know who he is competing against...its going to be humbling but
hey who knows, if anyone can pull a good placing its him. I love watching the pros show, i learn so much from them all! 
On another note, Im looking forward to fall. The leaves changing here in Maine is always so beautiful. I haven't had my typical pumpkin spice latte....doesn't feel like fall officially until i have had one of those lol


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## Baymule (Sep 8, 2019)

He is a nice boy! Is he clipped? Do you clip off those awesome Katahdin ram manes for show?


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 9, 2019)

Baymule said:


> He is a nice boy! Is he clipped? Do you clip off those awesome Katahdin ram manes for show?


He isn't clipped, He just hasn't really grown much of a mane yet   We try to not talk about it lol it makes him self conscious  I mean its there .....but its very small. Maybe he is a late bloomer?


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 9, 2019)

Here is a more up close picture, lol its definitely taking its sweet ole time, developing poor guy. Thankfully there are no other rams around to judge him


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## RollingAcres (Sep 9, 2019)

He is handsome! What's his name?
Fall is here, the leaves are starting to change colors. The weather is crisp cool, I love it!


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## HomeOnTheRange (Sep 9, 2019)

Just getting caught up on your journal.  Great looking pasture!  True pasture envy .
Glad to hear you are going into medical coding (ICD-10 codes are fun!).  A great thing about coding is you can get a gig about anyplace in the US as most coders are remote.


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## Baymule (Sep 9, 2019)

Definitely keep him away from the internet, or he'll be looking up pictures of other rams and get an inferiority complex.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 10, 2019)

RollingAcres said:


> He is handsome! What's his name?
> Fall is here, the leaves are starting to change colors. The weather is crisp cool, I love it!


Thanks! His name is Valor.
Yes fall has arrived here too, the past couple mornings it has been around 45 degrees when i wake up in the morning. Now if only I could get the black flies to go away. As soon as it warms up to around 55-60 they make their way out.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 10, 2019)

HomeOnTheRange said:


> Just getting caught up on your journal.  Great looking pasture!  True pasture envy .
> Glad to hear you are going into medical coding (ICD-10 codes are fun!).  A great thing about coding is you can get a gig about anyplace in the US as most coders are remote.


Yes that was one of the reasons why I picked it. It would enable us to move should we want to. And I can hopefully stay home and run the farm, get the kids from the bus ect.
Our pasture is very much a work in progress. The first year we moved here it was horrible and over grown. We put cattle on it the next year and they kept it grazed down. This year we seeded it with some clover and Kentucky blue grass. Its been great this year, the only thing is I dont have enough sheep to keep it grazed down. we dont have the cows anymore ( their in the freezer) Next spring we will be getting another 2 cows. Its the perfect amount to keep our small pasture healthy.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 13, 2019)

My hubby made some amazing peach jam the other day with the peaches from our tree. So delicious! 
The sheep are getting all fluffy, should be fun to clean... I'll admit I have been slacking on trying them and letting them stand each day. but honestly....standing out there for  20+ minutes with the black flies attacking me isn't fun for me or them.  I hope you are all having a good day, and a wonderful weekend.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 16, 2019)

Why are they so cute roaming around in their coats  
Decided to give them all a bath yesterday since it was the warmest day. We leave for Massachusetts to show on Wednesday. 
Cant believe how fast our ram is growing. He is already as tall if not taller then
our yearling ewes and he is 7 months old. We are so happy with him.


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## Baymule (Sep 17, 2019)

They are cute in their pretty blue coats!


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## HomeOnTheRange (Sep 17, 2019)

I think those coats need the Farm logo on them!  Nice looking.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 26, 2019)

HomeOnTheRange said:


> I think those coats need the Farm logo on them!  Nice looking.


yes agreed! I need to find someone who can embroider!


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 26, 2019)

Well, I just got back from the big E. What a great experience! so many sheep! Our ram didn't place nearly what I thought he would have placed, but thats ok. We shall see how his yearling year goes. Our white yearling ewe did Way better then I thought she would have done. She was in the top 5, the judge said he loved her long back and couldn't have her placed any lower. All in all, it was a great learning experience, me and hubby got some really good advice and learned the direction we need to go in our breeding program, and how to get there.  Now to just find some good brood ewes ...seems like this is going to be one of our hardest tasks. Traveling was pretty good, not a fan of the 5 hour drive, but it was uneventful, which is good.  Now im back home busting my butt trying to get my homework for this week done  . A little stressed because I have so much to do, trying to just take it in stride while drinking alot of coffee


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## farmerjan (Sep 26, 2019)

Congrats on the Big E showing.  It is great that you got some advise and hopefully, made some good contacts and some friends in the deal.  One of the cattle breeders on another forum I go on, had Champion in the beef animals.  They raise Simmentals, had Champ cow and calf... a red Simm cow and her very impressive red w white face bull calf.


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 28, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> Congrats on the Big E showing.  It is great that you got some advise and hopefully, made some good contacts and some friends in the deal.  One of the cattle breeders on another forum I go on, had Champion in the beef animals.  They raise Simmentals, had Champ cow and calf... a red Simm cow and her very impressive red w white face bull calf.


Thats awesome, I didnt have much of a chance to watch the beef shows, I wish I did though. I enjoy cattle. I heard the beef prices where pretty low, someone mentioned that the campion steer went for only 700$


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 28, 2019)

My middle son wants to show shetlands....anyone on here raise those? I joined a couple groups on facebook and have connected with some good people that can help me get my hands on some show lambs for him. He doesn't like our Katahdins, I think they are a bit high strung and strong for him which is fine, me and my oldest will still show and breed them. He finds the little guys easier to deal with. I told him he can try a couple lol


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## farmerjan (Sep 28, 2019)

Beef prices are not good at all.  I am not surprised at the price for the steer.  The exhibitor that had the champion cow and calf pair is purebred, I think they had breed shows there.  She already had a contract to sell the bull calf, and now that he is done with his current show career, she was going to wean him as soon as they got home ( in NY state) and then he would be going to his new home before winter.  
Hey, if he likes shetland sheep, all the better.  He can have his "day of fame" with his own breed, his size, and not compete with the family.  Sometimes that is better.  Just remember, they are wool sheep and need to be sheared, not like the Katahdins.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 8, 2019)

Nothing new going on here, just getting ready for winter. Making sure we have enough wood and fuel to make it through. Still need to get some 2nd cut hay, I was told that it was better to feed that to my pregnant ewes and growing ram. I have 1st cut but I figure why not throw some 2nd in there as well as long as there is room. Going to have the vet out in a week or two, so that we can confirm if they are pregnant or not.  Im hoping they are....I don't want march and april lambs. I would prefer Feb and Jan for show purposes. I am so looking forward to getting shetlands, so is my son. He is excited for some sheep that he can show since he refuses to deal with the katahdins  From what I gather there are some people around us that do shearing .....I will definitely be contacting them.  School still seems to be going good, Keeps me busy thats for sure.


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## Bruce (Oct 8, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Im hoping they are....I don't want march and april lambs. I would prefer Feb and Jan for show purposes.


Plus you wouldn't want to miss out on lambing at 0°F and below!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 9, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Plus you wouldn't want to miss out on lambing at 0°F and below!


Oh i know lol if I had my way i would have april lambs, though fall lambs are becoming much more appealing. Thinking of giving it a shot next year to see how we like it.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 14, 2019)

Still on the hunt for brood ewes. I have found a couple farms that offer some ewes that are along the lines of what im looking for, but oh my gosh, I wish we could find someone closer than 10+ hours away 
We have been rolling around the idea of getting one of those aluminum stock boxes for the back of the truck. I think it would work great when we only have to pick up a couple of sheep because hauling a huge 6000lb trailer to pick up two sheep is not fun and a total waste of gas lol Hubbys truck is higher than most trucks, so they would definitely need a ramp to get up there
In other news, I will have to make sure I try and get some fall pictures posted. The leaves are beautiful right now. 
We went to bar harbor yesterday, we always love going to the coast. its such a beautiful drive. Although the amount of tourists drives me crazy ...took almost an hour to find parking


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 14, 2019)

New Sheep pictures. It was a pretty morning with all the fog. So I figured I would try and get some new pictures 

This ewe...I love her. My Sweet Olive




Valor And Olive




Cinnamon


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## Bruce (Oct 14, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> We went to bar harbor yesterday, we always love going to the coast. its such a beautiful drive. Although the amount of tourists drives me crazy ...took almost an hour to find parking


Go in January, I bet there are a lot less tourists then  
The daughter of one of the Farmer's Market vendors moved to Bar Harbor about mid August. I think she's working as a waitress. Maybe you saw her, mid 20's, thin, fairly tall, light red hair?? OK, maybe not, I don't even know her name.

Nice looking sheep!


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## Pastor Dave (Oct 14, 2019)




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## Mike CHS (Oct 14, 2019)

Your sheep look to be in excellent condition going into winter.


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## Baymule (Oct 14, 2019)

Your sheep sure look nice!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 15, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> Your sheep look to be in excellent condition going into winter.


Thanks!, I like my sheep on the slightly chunky side.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 15, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Your sheep sure look nice!


Thanks so much!


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## farmerjan (Oct 15, 2019)

They do look very good.  And "extra" going into the winter, especially in the northern states of cold and snow, is a plus.  I tend to like my animals on the "rounded" side rather than thinner.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 15, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> They do look very good.  And "extra" going into the winter, especially in the northern states of cold and snow, is a plus.  I tend to like my animals on the "rounded" side rather than thinner.


Yes, same here. I like them to have a good condition going into winter. I try to keep them at this weight year-round. Though they do lose a bit through the long cold winter.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 16, 2019)

Good morning everyone ! yes it's 5:30am when im posting this, hubby just left for work so I am enjoying the precious quiet time before my 3 boys wake up   Weather guy said we are supposed to be getting quite a big storm starting tonight. Lots of high winds, 60mph on the coast. Thankfully because we are inland we should only see winds of around 45. Regardless, I think I will definitely be walking around the farm today figuring out what needs to be put away or tied down. Making sure the generator has plenty of propane, etc.  Last time we had a big storm like this it knocked out power for 4 days. After that we quickly bought the generator. I have 2 steers in the freezer that I cant lose lol.  So other then that wandering around tieing things down. I will be doing homework, I have 2 midterms this week, and an 8-page final paper that im writing for my English class. honestly Keeping track of the due dates and putting aside time to do it all can be overwhelming. But i know its worth it in the end. 
Hope you are all having a wonderful week so far


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## Mini Horses (Oct 16, 2019)

getting rain here today, also.  Need the rain.   Your sheep are really nice...and cinnamon sure fits her name!  

And I'm enjoying some "quiet" time, also....


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## Bruce (Oct 16, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> honestly Keeping track of the due dates and putting aside time to do it all can be overwhelming.


Even if you didn't have kids!


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## HomeOnTheRange (Oct 18, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> I will have to make sure I try and get some fall pictures posted. The leaves are beautiful right now.


Was up that way (sort of) last week to see the fall colors.  Spent a week in the Adirondack Mountains.
Your sheep look great!


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## Bruce (Oct 18, 2019)

And you didn't come to visit? OK, I'm on the wrong side of Lake Champlain but you could have maybe visited @RollingAcres


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## HomeOnTheRange (Oct 18, 2019)

@Bruce, I did wave in your direction! Next time I go on vacation, I am going to have to find out if I will be close to BYH people.


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## Bruce (Oct 18, 2019)

Oh, that was you, I thought it was the wind in the storm! 
Please do check, I've met a few BYHers and BYCers, good people every one.


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 18, 2019)

Having lived in Winter Harbor, Maine for 2yrs....I've been in, thru, and around Bar Harbor....course, that was way back in the mid 60s......


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## Bruce (Oct 19, 2019)

I bet, like everywhere, it is a lot different now.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 20, 2019)

I went to visit another Katahdin farm yesterday. Oh my gosh, I was very pleasantly surprised. I never know what to expect when visiting other farms, but this was great. Beautiful well-muscled big healthy ewes...that are fed only grass, no grain. I'm so excited to see what potential ewes we will be able to purchase 
On another note....turned the furnace on this morning to make sure its working right since it was off all summer. Was chilly out this morning, only 33 when I woke up. Supposed to be a nice sunny day though, hopefully not windy since I have to go sit on the side of the football field to watch my boys last game.  Going to try and finish winterizing the chicken coop today, and all the other stuff we need to get done before it snows and gets really cold.
Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 21, 2019)

Finally got the chicken coop covered with plastic for the winter, hopefully it will keep the layers of eggs less drafty  the things I do for those feathered raptors and they lay maybe 2 eggs a day


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## Bruce (Oct 21, 2019)

I sure hope you have some ventilation somewhere!!!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 22, 2019)

Bruce said:


> I sure hope you have some ventilation somewhere!!!


Of course, under each slant on the roof is a long gap that lets air flow through the top. I just wrapped it so they were not getting blasted with cold air where they roosted. Since they like to roost in the run


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## Bruce (Oct 22, 2019)

Is there also a low gap for the fresh air to get drawn in as the warmer air goes out the top?


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## farmerjan (Oct 22, 2019)

As long as there is air flow from side to side, it is better to not have too much cold air flow from bottom to top.  I would imagine there is sufficient air from the little gaps along the ground and where the doors open and such.  My birds really try to roost down lower in the cold so that they do not have cold air under them. I always "wrap" the run on the couple of smaller "chicken tractor runs"  that I keep the purebreds in, and can leave the one end open up high and the birds get plenty of air just from the one end.  The coops are not air tight anyway.  We don't get near the cold that you do up there.  I used to close mine up pretty good in the cold in Ct., and they still got air flow in the cracks and such.  As long as there is no ammonia smell, or dampness on the inside, they will appreciate the protection from the wind.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 22, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Is there also a low gap for the fresh air to get drawn in as the warmer air goes out the top?


Yes, there is a vent/gap type space that is between the concrete block on the front and the back, the run is not attached to the coop part, so sadly there is a giant gap all around the edge as well. I put the plastic up to cut down some of the wind because it is right in the path of the wind off an open hayfield I didn't put it up to make it airtight. Last winter in our old coop quite a few of our ladies got frostbite on their combs. The coop was very drafty this New coop I believe will keep them a little bit warmer at least.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 22, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> As long as there is air flow from side to side, it is better to not have too much cold air flow from bottom to top.  I would imagine there is sufficient air from the little gaps along the ground and where the doors open and such.  My birds really try to roost down lower in the cold so that they do not have cold air under them. I always "wrap" the run on the couple of smaller "chicken tractor runs"  that I keep the purebreds in, and can leave the one end open up high and the birds get plenty of air just from the one end.  The coops are not air tight anyway.  We don't get near the cold that you do up there.  I used to close mine up pretty good in the cold in Ct., and they still got air flow in the cracks and such.  As long as there is no ammonia smell, or dampness on the inside, they will appreciate the protection from the wind.


What bedding do you use? I was thinking of bedding them deep with some leftover mulch hay that I have. Sadly straw is like 12$ a bale up here :O


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## Baymule (Oct 22, 2019)

I use dead hay, leaves or pine shavings. I pick up bags of leaves at the curb that people thoughtfully rake up and bag for me. LOL LOL


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## farmerjan (Oct 22, 2019)

Leaves and shavings mostly.  I do not use hay or straw due to mites and lice. They will use the hollow stems of the hay and straw to hide in.   Years ago,  I once had an infestation of red mites, they are barely the size of a pin head, and will suck a chicken "dry" and kill it if they get a foothold.  Creosote on the roost poles helps, but they are a bitch to get rid of.  They can fit in the smallest cracks and mostly will only be seen at night on the roost poles and such.  Look like little specks on the chickens.  Feather mites are different, but they will destroy a chickens' feathers, and that will make them susceptible to the cold.  I use DE in a dust box, of wood ashes, in the house in the winter. I also use alot of shredded paper... Junk Mail .... mix it right in with the shavings.


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 22, 2019)

Something that could help is to put 2-3 pallets on Tposts up to block the wind coming from the hayfield and keep the snow from drifting high on the sides....it could help ya get in and out also.....


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I use dead hay, leaves or pine shavings. I pick up bags of leaves at the curb that people thoughtfully rake up and bag for me. LOL LOL


 what!!! so all of these leaf bags I drive by in town I could simply pick up and use as bedding for my chickens? I can't beleive I never thought of this!!Do you just keep adding to it in the winter?


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2019)

CntryBoy777 said:


> Something that could help is to put 2-3 pallets on Tposts up to block the wind coming from the hayfield and keep the snow from drifting high on the sides....it could help ya get in and out also.....


oh! very good idea!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> Leaves and shavings mostly.  I do not use hay or straw due to mites and lice. They will use the hollow stems of the hay and straw to hide in.   Years ago,  I once had an infestation of red mites, they are barely the size of a pin head, and will suck a chicken "dry" and kill it if they get a foothold.  Creosote on the roost poles helps, but they are a bitch to get rid of.  They can fit in the smallest cracks and mostly will only be seen at night on the roost poles and such.  Look like little specks on the chickens.  Feather mites are different, but they will destroy a chickens' feathers, and that will make them susceptible to the cold.  I use DE in a dust box, of wood ashes, in the house in the winter. I also use alot of shredded paper... Junk Mail .... mix it right in with the shavings.


I heard wood ash works well, We took the ash out of our wood stove and gave it to the chickens and they loved dust bathing in it...until they knocked over the box every day . I never thought about mites in the straw, it makes sense. We have never had a mite problem, and we have never even had straw on the property, maybe thats why we have been so lucky.


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## Bruce (Oct 23, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> what!!! so all of these leaf bags I drive by in town I could simply pick up and use as bedding for my chickens? I can't beleive I never thought of this!!Do you just keep adding to it in the winter?


Unless people are using chemicals on their lawns. Might not be good for the chickens.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Unless people are using chemicals on their lawns. Might not be good for the chickens.


Very true, Well considering that I live in Maine surrounded by trees I have quite a bit at my own disposal that is chemical free. I can just use what's on my own lawn.


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## Baymule (Oct 23, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> what!!! so all of these leaf bags I drive by in town I could simply pick up and use as bedding for my chickens? I can't beleive I never thought of this!!Do you just keep adding to it in the winter?


Yes, just dump another couple bags in the coop. Spring time, dig it out and put on the garden. Add more leaves and start over. The chickens make compost for you.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 23, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Yes, just dump another couple bags in the coop. Spring time, dig it out and put on the garden. Add more leaves and start over. The chickens make compost for you.


Good idea for the garden thats for sure!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 28, 2019)

We added 3 more ewes to our flock  two bred yearlings and a ewe lamb. Clover, Willow and Brie.


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 28, 2019)

Very pretty girls!


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 28, 2019)

Very pretty girls!


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## Baymule (Oct 28, 2019)

I like!!! Congratulations on the lovely ladies!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 28, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I like!!! Congratulations on the lovely ladies!


Thanks!!


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 28, 2019)

Everyone had an ultrasound done, and is pregnant! Though my Cinnamon ewe is much farther behind the others. Very early on and hard to tell but it looks like she is. I thought she was farther along....when in reality she is just fat lol 
Looking forward to lambing season more then ever now!


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## Baymule (Oct 28, 2019)

Yay! Lambs on the way!


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## farmerjan (Oct 28, 2019)

Nice looking young ewes.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 29, 2019)

farmerjan said:


> Nice looking young ewes.


Thanks!
These girls will hopefully compliment my ram well. I have been on the hunt for ewes for a while lol


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 29, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Yay! Lambs on the way!


 Thats what I looked like after each ultrasound 
So excited, they are pregnant by a different ram then ours, so It will be nice to have some new blood lines. The lambs will be very distantly related to the ram I have now.


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## Baymule (Oct 29, 2019)

If you get a good ram from them, that gives you breeding options.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 30, 2019)

Trying to get my hands on a cute little Shetland Wether to be a buddy for my ram lamb. I would like to have him separated from the girls. He is being kept on the show grain, if I keep my ewes on the show grain with him they will become obese!! 
The pasture is still looking good and holding up well, I'm hoping that we can stretch it out till mid-November at least. Once the snow gets too deep they don't have much desire to go out and dig for anything.  Looks like it's going to rain for Halloween, the kids won't be too pleased. But I'm sure I will be dragged out regardless if its raining or not lol yay for candy!


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## Baymule (Oct 30, 2019)

I don’t keep a wether. I just put the ram next to the ewes where he still has company.  He can see them, be next to them, but not breed them. I think I may split my flock so he has girls most of the time. Or at least give him a couple of ewes. That’s what I have going now, we’ll see how it goes.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 30, 2019)

Let the new girls out to graze. They were so happy for some fresh grass.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 31, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I don’t keep a wether. I just put the ram next to the ewes where he still has company.  He can see them, be next to them, but not breed them. I think I may split my flock so he has girls most of the time. Or at least give him a couple of ewes. That’s what I have going now, we’ll see how it goes.


My ram will try to breed them through the fence, and right now I have a ewe lamb that I dont want bred, if i didn't have her I would just keep him with the ewes .


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 3, 2019)

I think I should have named her bunny not brie lol  those ears 😂


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## Baymule (Nov 4, 2019)

Your flock is growing! Funny how in a few weeks time of lambing, it is a population explosion! Love it!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 5, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Your flock is growing! Funny how in a few weeks time of lambing, it is a population explosion! Love it!


yeah Im so excited for lambing season!! Babies from some pretty awesome show lines. Fingers crossed for some good ones. I keep telling my husband that sheep are like potato chips. Cant have just one.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 7, 2019)

Supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Got some second cut hay in storage finally. I think we are all set for winter. I am going to do a search here on the forum to look at some advice for a cranky ram. Ours is just getting worse. He doesn't run and head butt you. But he walks up stands right beside you and swings his head sideways really hard. Ugh he was such a good boy....now he just seems grumpy


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## Mike CHS (Nov 7, 2019)

I haven't seen many posts about dealing with grumpy rams but I know I have seen some.


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## Baymule (Nov 7, 2019)

He is testing you. Slap his face-hard and yell NO! Make him move his feet. In animal language, the loser runs away, the winner makes the other one move their feet. Assert dominance over him. You can crowd him by walking into him saying AAHHNNTT! When he moves away, stop, don’t chase him. 

I never did this, but I have read where some people have thrown their ram on the ground and sat on him. 

You have to make him stop, he will get bolder. 

I had one that I shook plastic grocery bags at, he was absolutely terrified of them. He always had a bad attitude so we sent him to freezer camp.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 8, 2019)

Baymule said:


> He is testing you. Slap his face-hard and yell NO! Make him move his feet. In animal language, the loser runs away, the winner makes the other one move their feet. Assert dominance over him. You can crowd him by walking into him saying AAHHNNTT! When he moves away, stop, don’t chase him.
> 
> I never did this, but I have read where some people have thrown their ram on the ground and sat on him.
> 
> ...


he will leave me alone for the most part if i have the spray bottle. He doesn't like when i put vinegar in it 
My husband flips him but I struggle. He is already over 160 lbs. But I need to get this handled because once he is over 250lbs I'm not gonna have a hope in hell of wrestling his butt to the ground. Its weird, some days he is not interested in me at all. Other days he will not leave me alone. He will follow me around the pasture doing his stupid head swinging thing. I have tried to scare him to get him to run away...and he looks at me like im an idiot  I haven't tried to swing around a plastic bag though....good idea!!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 8, 2019)

I am pretty sure the neighbors probably think I'm crazy running around with spray bottles and pitch forks yelling NO


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## Baymule (Nov 8, 2019)

He is halter broke, isn't he? Maybe tie him up while you are in his pen or pasture. Some rams are just rams and that's how nature programmed them. He may be going through a teenager phase or this may be the new normal, time will tell. 

My husband thought I was beyond nuts for wanting to go the Tennessee to get Ringo. He started off pretty ok at the first of the trip, but the closer we got, the more he griped and complained. By the time we got there, he was on non-stop b!tching. After meeting Ringo, he understood why I wanted him so badly. Our granddaughters love to go in with the sheep and I wanted Ringo for his calm, gentle attitude. Now, he loves the attention they give him. I do watch, he is a ram, but I am confident in Ringo. Haha, on the way back home, my husband bragged on Ringo all the way. It was 1,354 miles round trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for Ringo. Mike says Ringo passes on his calm nature to his lambs, I need to get a few registered ewes so I can keep one of his sons.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 8, 2019)

Baymule said:


> He is halter broke, isn't he? Maybe tie him up while you are in his pen or pasture. Some rams are just rams and that's how nature programmed them. He may be going through a teenager phase or this may be the new normal, time will tell.
> 
> My husband thought I was beyond nuts for wanting to go the Tennessee to get Ringo. He started off pretty ok at the first of the trip, but the closer we got, the more he griped and complained. By the time we got there, he was on non-stop b!tching. After meeting Ringo, he understood why I wanted him so badly. Our granddaughters love to go in with the sheep and I wanted Ringo for his calm, gentle attitude. Now, he loves the attention they give him. I do watch, he is a ram, but I am confident in Ringo. Haha, on the way back home, my husband bragged on Ringo all the way. It was 1,354 miles round trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for Ringo. Mike says Ringo passes on his calm nature to his lambs, I need to get a few registered ewes so I can keep one of his sons.


Yes he is very much halter trained from showing. He is a different sheep when in his halter, he respects the chain. He stands great in the show ring, when practicing, when he gets brushed and a bath. He is a complete gentleman until the halter comes off lol I wouldn't say he is mean, its like he is in that teenager testing limits phase of his life lol that and all the ewes are bred and have no interest in him AT ALL. so he bugs me  and I tend to be his main focus when im out in the pasture or in his pen


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## Baymule (Nov 8, 2019)

You have a challenge in front of you. Keep posting on what you do, what works and what doesn't. You training him might help some one else with a snotty brat ram.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 9, 2019)

Olive loves the snow , she takes the best pictures


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 9, 2019)

Beautiful pictures!


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## Baymule (Nov 9, 2019)

I love your Sheep pictures!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 9, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I love your Sheep pictures!


Thanks  I like taking them!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 9, 2019)

Operation Grumpy Ram Day2 : He hated the vinegar yesterday so much that today for the most part he left me alone. I led him out to a new pasture so he can stretch his legs and he behaved beautifully. So we are heading in the right direction. 

Operation Livestock guardian Day 75759 still licking sheep , trying to hump and caught him with a chicken in his mouth. He has completely regressed. He never used to do this stuff.  Trying to figure out why...is like finding a needle in a haystack.
( some of you may remember me posting about this)


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## Baymule (Nov 9, 2019)

Any sheep or other animals in heat? You might want to put chickens on lockdown for awhile and only let them out late in the evening right before roosting time. Then you can be out there to supervise and they won’t be all over the place. Go back to square one on chicken training, in small increments of time. You can put him in the coop and scold if he even looks at a chicken. I’ve done that and made them flutter and run to excite the dog.


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## farmerjan (Nov 9, 2019)

Pretty as a postcard pictures.  Just please keep the snow up there for a couple months....


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 9, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Any sheep or other animals in heat? You might want to put chickens on lockdown for awhile and only let them out late in the evening right before roosting time. Then you can be out there to supervise and they won’t be all over the place. Go back to square one on chicken training, in small increments of time. You can put him in the coop and scold if he even looks at a chicken. I’ve done that and made them flutter and run to excite the dog.


Very good idea, he is tethered out with the sheep so that they may escape. No one is in heat. They are all bred but one. And she only just got here. The humping has been going on for months. He tried to bite one of the ewes udders. He has been on lock down quite a bit.


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## Baymule (Nov 9, 2019)

I walk my puppy twice a day with the Sheep. They are on dry lot so the winter rye, fescue and clovers can grow. Sometimes he is on a leash. Sometimes not. I would suggest penning the sheep and walking with him in the pen. Don’t even allow a thinking about it look on his face. 

This afternoon I put Sentry in the ewe/lamb pen. He licked ewe butts, a few of the lambs, sat down watching them and finally laid out in the sunshine and took a nap. I am pleased with him.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 13, 2019)

Oh Lord its cold out this morning. Only 11 right now, with a high of 27. 
Have to go out and clean the sheep stalls....im gonna freeze my butt off out there!
Winter didn't waste any time making its presence know .


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## Baymule (Nov 13, 2019)

That's too durned cold!!


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 13, 2019)

I sure feel for you ! ....I put in my 38 years in New England cold, 29 years of heat now.....the heat wins !   Couldnt  do the cold again.....stay warm


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## Bruce (Nov 13, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Oh Lord its cold out this morning. Only 11 right now, with a high of 27.
> Have to go out and clean the sheep stalls....im gonna freeze my butt off out there!
> Winter didn't waste any time making its presence know .


Oh, you got the WARM weather!   
6° at 7 AM, 12° now with a possible high of 18°


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 15, 2019)

Alas, I think the season of breaking ice in buckets is upon us 
I think we might need a new water heater for the big water trough, The buckets in one stall stay thawed and in the other...its a giant ice block. Its official Im trying for fall lambs next year. Im already over lambing in January and it hasn't even happened yet! Yup im a bitter betty lol


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## Baymule (Nov 15, 2019)

I wouldn't want to lamb in weather like that either! Fall lambing? Other than them dropping out already frozen before they hit the ground in winter, what are the advantages to fall lambing versus spring lambing? And what month does spring even happen there?


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## Mike CHS (Nov 15, 2019)

Our favorite time to lamb is October through December but we obviously didn't make it this year.  The reason we fall/winter lamb is parasites.  We usually get enough freezing weather in late October on that parasites aren't an issue.  Our heaviest worm load is in the spring and it is usually non stop wet.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 15, 2019)

@Baymule Its mainly for showing. January lambs and early february lambs place better, they are bigger by the time the show comes around. The march's are just so tiny compared to all the other ones in their class. The falls place good as well. So thats what I will be doing next year.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 15, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I wouldn't want to lamb in weather like that either! Fall lambing? Other than them dropping out already frozen before they hit the ground in winter, what are the advantages to fall lambing versus spring lambing? And what month does spring even happen there?


Last year they didn't start grazing till mid may  feels like i feed everyone hay forever!


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## Baymule (Nov 15, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> Our favorite time to lamb is October through December but we obviously didn't make it this year.  The reason we fall/winter lamb is parasites.  We usually get enough freezing weather in late October on that parasites aren't an issue.  Our heaviest worm load is in the spring and it is usually non stop wet.


That makes sense to me. My lambing has usually happened in January and February, then the worm cycle is just waiting for the little lambs. I think I’m going to like lambing in October too! Since my winter/spring grass is so much better than my summer grass, it makes sense to finish the lambs on it. 

There are 2 laggards in the bunch and the 2 Ringo has with him now. So, not 100% here!


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## Bruce (Nov 15, 2019)

Another reason for January lambs in the meat world is some people want lamb for their Easter dinner. But way up in "it might go above freezing sometime in March" land, January doesn't seem like a good time unless one wants to heat a barn full of babies.


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## Mike CHS (Nov 15, 2019)

We have had them lamb in the pasture with temps in the teens.  These sheep are pretty tough and the only heat we provide is an open stall with a wind block on the north side with a heat lamp set up in the corner.


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## Bruce (Nov 15, 2019)

Teens, oh, you mean WARM winter weather!!!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 16, 2019)

I didn't even think about it in regards to parasites ready and waiting for them 
Will I need help getting them to cycle in the fall? like meds or anything?
Our fall weather was wonderful, the grass was looking great. Would have been a great time for lambs to be out grazing. 
We bought a new book that was recommended to us, they said its like a bible for lambing. Its called managing your ewe and her lambs. I have been reading a little bit of it here and there and Im really enjoying it so far! Im so nervous yet excited for lambing . Im trying to read as much as I can between school work so i dont feel like such a newbie! 
Yesterday was a high of 43, What a heat wave!   I made sure to get all the chores done that I didn't want to do when it was super cold. Was a nice break.The snow was melting it was great, let me tell you when snow comes sliding off a metal roof....you dont wanna be around that area . I love metal roofs, but I make sure my kids stay away from the edge of the house when snow is melting.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 16, 2019)

Mrs. Clover strutting her stuff. I miss the grass already 😭 I submitted a bunch of my pictures to KHSI for their photo contest. Fingers crossed that one of them get picked! For now i shall spam pictures of sheep in green grass, I have not yet embraced the snow. 




Willow (left) Brie (center) Olive (right) <---- I love her she is so incredibly Long.


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## Mike CHS (Nov 16, 2019)

The ewe on the right looks like she is already bred.  

The only issue we have had with year round breeding is the super hot summer months.  We have had the ram in with 30 ewes for almost two months now and just from appearances, most are bred.  There are a couple of the year old ewes that are questionable but that's OK since they still may be on the cull list.

I submitted the picture of Ringo and Maisy snuggling to KHSI but it doesn't fit the criteria of what they want.  It is a cute picture though.


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## Bruce (Nov 16, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> I love metal roofs, but I make sure my kids stay away from the edge of the house when snow is melting.


Gives the indoor cats something to do though. When they hear the WHUMP they run to the window. I've definitely jumped a time or two myself.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 16, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> The ewe on the right looks like she is already bred.
> 
> The only issue we have had with year round breeding is the super hot summer months.  We have had the ram in with 30 ewes for almost two months now and just from appearances, most are bred.  There are a couple of the year old ewes that are questionable but that's OK since they still may be on the cull list.
> 
> I submitted the picture of Ringo and Maisy snuggling to KHSI but it doesn't fit the criteria of what they want.  It is a cute picture though.


She is due in January


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 17, 2019)

I had to get a picture of this guy, I just love him..not the snow though...never the snow lol


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 17, 2019)

Gorgeous!


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## Mike CHS (Nov 17, 2019)

That is a good looking boy!


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## Baymule (Nov 17, 2019)

He is so handsome!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 18, 2019)

Thanks everyone  I enjoy taking pictures of them, it helps me practice with my larger camera. I got some of the dog to that I will have to share. 
I have been looking at ordering tags for the new lambs that are coming. since its our first time with our own flock tags. does the number on the scrapies tag have to match the number on their flock/ID tag? @Mike CHS @Baymule  do you know? or does it depend on the state?


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## Mike CHS (Nov 18, 2019)

The numbers do not have to match.  Your herd ID is completely separate and the only mandatory number (for animals leaving the farm) is the scrapie.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 18, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> The numbers do not have to match.  Your herd ID is completely separate and the only mandatory number (for animals leaving the farm) is the scrapie.


Ok thanks


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 23, 2019)

These girls are slowly warming up to me. They definitely keep their distance though. My other two ewes and the ram are always in my face, and in the way...so nosey lol Though it makes moving them to new stalls easier, all i have to do is walk towards them and they go where i want them to. The other three look at me like " what? you think I'm moving? I think not" and just stand there lol Though i have discovered that the ram doesn't like umbrellas ....he isn't sure what to think of it. Maybe I will carry one more often lol


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## Baymule (Nov 24, 2019)

And just how do you know the ram doesn't like the umbrella? I'd like to know, because as a farmer, I _always_ carry an umbrella everywhere I go, it's such a handy tool...……. (smirk)


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 25, 2019)

Baymule said:


> And just how do you know the ram doesn't like the umbrella? I'd like to know, because as a farmer, I _always_ carry an umbrella everywhere I go, it's such a handy tool...……. (smirk)


I walked in the pasture with it open, he usually runs right up and starts his crap. This time he stood back and just stared lol He kept his distance, it was glorious   When i swung it forward he jumped back. He thinks im crazy but whatever works right.
Just more entertaining stuff for the neighbors to watch. I have added an umbrella to my arsenal of grain scoops, pitch forks and loud noisy feed bags. The dog just sits there and gives me side eye lol


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 28, 2019)

Got our first large snow fall this morning. Looks like we might have to actually break out the snow blower. Since hubby is working more, now its up to me to learn how to use it    wish me luck!
Still to dark out there to take pictures, but it looks beautiful. Once the sun rises I will make sure I get some to post on here  Looks more like christmas morning then thanksgiving .


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 29, 2019)

Here are some snow pictures  the snow was so wet and heavy the snow blower couldn't even handle it, use the atv plow for the rest of it and even that was a struggle. Regardless, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope all of you did as well


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## Mini Horses (Nov 29, 2019)

LOL  Love the first pic -- serene and forgiving.   Second, well a lot of work there to clear that deck!    Too early for snow here.  Your pics are enough for me!!!   

Enjoy.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 29, 2019)

Mini Horses said:


> LOL  Love the first pic -- serene and forgiving.   Second, well a lot of work there to clear that deck!    Too early for snow here.  Your pics are enough for me!!!
> 
> Enjoy.


The deck is the worst! we have to keep the corners cleared off, because who ever built it is an Id&$*% and put no supports on the outside corners. It gets to heavy for it.


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## Baymule (Nov 29, 2019)

Lovely scenery. I like looking at yours, I’ll just enjoy it from afar. LOL


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 29, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Lovely scenery. I like looking at yours, I’ll just enjoy it from afar. LOL


 aww come on, you dont wanna help shovel????


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## HomeOnTheRange (Nov 30, 2019)

We got about 9" of that weird white stuff here in the desert part NM.  Unbelievable for us.  Now there is water everywhere as our clay packed ground does not drain well.  Love the pictures you took!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 5, 2019)

Im already tired. Chores took me over an hour this morning. It wasn't fun dragging a full wheelbarrow through the deep snow while a ram is running and dancing and chasing the dog around you while your trying to not tip it. The snow is really annoying to work in. I love it, but when it comes to farming its a total hassle. Property taxes went up immensely around here, me and hubby have been rolling around the idea of moving one day. To somewhere with more land and larger out buildings then what we have now. But is it worth the hassle....Im not sure, Maybe for the right place. We like the west, we lived in montana for 3 years and while its beautiful its just to expensive for our us. We both like TN but ....I dont think I can handle that heat....Might drive me crazy.  @Mike CHS  please tell me TN isn't that hot and that you have low property taxes   I have only experienced the heat there in May. Maybe I need to go in the middle of the summer to get the full experience


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## Baymule (Dec 5, 2019)

You can acclimate to the heat. The first year would be hard, but after that, it's not so bad. Besides, that is what air conditioners are for. I don't think I could ever acclimate to the hard winters you have. I like our winters much better!


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## B&B Happy goats (Dec 5, 2019)

I went from the harsh New Hhampshire winters to south Florida heat in 1998... the first year is hard, but it gets easier after that.  I could never move back to the cold......I feel for you doing chores in the snow and cold, it's  much easier in the heat.


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## Mike CHS (Dec 5, 2019)

We had a little over a month in the low to mid 90's this year and we never got a single day in the triple digits.  Our place is 1500' in elevation and we have a nice breeze most of the year so it's pretty pleasant.  We actually do have a spring and fall which is a pleasant change after living in the low country of South Carolina for so long.  Charleston was built in swampy lands and gets HOT and HUMID for 6 months a year.


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## promiseacres (Dec 5, 2019)

When we have snow I switch to a sled for chores instead of a wheelbarrow. It's a heavy duty kids one about 4ft long.


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## thistlebloom (Dec 5, 2019)

I do the same as PA. As soon as we get enough snow for the sled to slide I switch. I used to use a regular kids plastic toboggan style sled, but last year I invested in an Otter sled, they are heavy duty and built for towing behind snow machines. 
I can move a lot of wet manure in it.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 5, 2019)

I dont know why I didn't think of using a sled before....I wonder if hubby would let me use his heavy duty one that we mainly use for hay....🤔


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## Mike CHS (Dec 5, 2019)

I'm just happy that we don't need to have a sled.


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## Baymule (Dec 6, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> I'm just happy that we don't need to have a sled.


x about 1,000!!! LOL Snow equipment is beyond my scope of experience-and I am OK with that. LOL LOL


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## Bruce (Dec 6, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> I dont know why I didn't think of using a sled before....I wonder if hubby would let me use his heavy duty one that we mainly use for hay....🤔


Don't know why not, it isn't like you are going to damage it and using it for more things is just good sense. 

Those of you in no snow areas: sleds slide on grass too.

When necessary I shovel a path down to the barn, better than breaking out the snowshoes until it melts. Of course I only have maybe 100' to go from the house to barn.


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## Hens and Roos (Dec 6, 2019)

Those sleds work great for pulling feed with snow on the ground, without snow its too hard for me to pull!


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## Bruce (Dec 6, 2019)

The kid sled or the Otter? I only have an old plastic kid sled, I can manage two 50# bags of feed at a time. And it is down hill from the parking area   Tows quite a bit harder down the barn alley.


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## Baymule (Dec 6, 2019)

I don't have enough grass to drag a sled over. I have 2 wagons, I use them all the time.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 7, 2019)

Usually Hubby makes a path around the barn , to the manure pile with the snow blower. But of course one of the tracks broke on the snow blower. I hate saying this, but I hope it gets colder. It makes the snow much harder and easier to walk through  
I have tried dragging a sled on grass once, .....much to hard for me with hay stacked in it lol. When we dont have snow i use a dolly and bring bales from the garage over to the barn. Works great and i can carry about 3 bales at a time, if i need more then that I just use the ATV and little trailer for it.


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## thistlebloom (Dec 7, 2019)

We do the snowblower path to the manure dump also. You're right though, unless the snow is nice and hard it's a lot of work with a wheelbarrow. The sled just glides even when it's slushy. 
The in-between seasons are the most trouble, when it's patchy snow, or deep mud. Neither the sled or the wheelbarrow are much fun then.


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## Bruce (Dec 7, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> But of course one of the tracks broke on the snow blower.


So you can only make a circular path?? That would be a bit of a problem  

I managed 3 bags on the sled today, twice. Have to remember that in the winter it is safer to "drag" the sled down the hill from behind. Gets up a good head of steam downhill on snow, easy to get your feet taken out from behind.

The chickens got extra scratch today. I thought I could get the entire 50# in the can with the small amount that was left. WRONG! I stopped before it overflowed but not before there was a peaked hill above the edge of the can, no way to put the lid on without returning some to the bag. Kinda messy doing that but they weren't complaining.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 10, 2019)

Well its supposed to be 54 and Rainy today. Its a nice break I'll take it!  Just the other day it was only 9 out when I woke up. My body hates the drastic temperature changes, I always get headaches, and stuffy noses. New baker creek seed catalog came in the mail the other day. Started flipping through it, marking what I would like to order for the spring garden. Not that I need to rush....cant plant anything until  mid may 🙄 but it gives me something to look forward to.
Had a huge problem with weeds in the garden last year, and by weeds I mean the grass practically reseeded its self, It was crazy, so we are going to try and burn the garden this year. To kill off the grass and any remaining seed. The grass in the garden grew better then the grass in the pastures lol
Almost done with my first semester of school, just a couple more exams then I will be on "vacation" untill january, when my new semester and new classes start. I took a lot more classes next semester so I am going to enjoy my relaxing break because I am going to get even more busy.
The sheep are doing well, still fat and happy. Chickens still not laying but whatever, I put christmas lights on the chicken coop instead this year. Neither me or hubby wanted to climb up on the metal roof on the house and attempt to hang them    So the chickens are looking quite festive!


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## Baymule (Dec 10, 2019)

I got my Baker Creek catalog today too! I love that catalog. My 2019 garden was a flop, but the ragweed and lambs quarters didn’t let me down! They were over y head. The Sheep liked them. Hope burning the garden works for you.


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## Bruce (Dec 10, 2019)

Our Meyer Hatchery catalog came today. DW loves to look through it any number of times throughout the year. She's really happy it was full size again this year, it was much smaller last year. Not looking to add any more girls this year since I got 8 last year.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 11, 2019)

@Bruce I love the Meyer Hatchery catalog too!  Fun to browse through learning about all the different types.


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## Bruce (Dec 11, 2019)

Yep, Meyer is really good with information about the breeds, their website is great.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 12, 2019)

Well, I have one more exam left to do, then I am done my first semester. Next semester is going to be a bit rough as I took some extra classes. 
Looking forward to Lambing in Jan, yet nervous as this is only our second time. I got the heat lamps ready should I need them. And I have some coats for the lambs. I need to learn to sew my own, how hard can it be? 
I will definitely have this forum book marked on my phone incase I need to ask questions, and my vet is on speed dial 🤗
We have slowly been building up a lambing kit of all the things we might need. When researching what to include, I found that it can vary quite a bit depending on the person. So we are taking bits and pieces from what others recommend and building our own. Hopefully I dont need any of it.
Most of the snow melted off with all the warm rain we had. Wheelbarrow pushing is much easier without 2 feet of snow in my way


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## Baymule (Dec 12, 2019)

Lamb coats....I wonder if you could modify childrens sweaters with Velcro closure?


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## Bruce (Dec 12, 2019)

Or knit some using yarn from @secuono, she has a lot  What could be warmer than a wool and alpaca sweater?



WolfeMomma said:


> Next semester is going to be a bit rough as I took some extra classes.


Because you are a masochist??


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## secuono (Dec 12, 2019)

I've made a ton of cheap coats out of velcro and synthetic felt fabric. Tought about selling some, but they aren't as fancy as others. =/
Used a dog coat I had for the pattern. Only sewing needed is for the velcro.
I toss them onto moist newborns, they're dry the next day. People hate felt, but I haven't had any issues.


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## secuono (Dec 12, 2019)

Added more pics to my previous post and to this one.
The felt doesn't need stitching around the cut edges, which helps make them easy.
I also added fabric paint to them of the alphabet to better ID them from a distance.
I use bright blue so they are obvious.
Made the velcro, I think, 3" long. So, they can be shrunk or expanded as needed the first week.
I don't remember what I had them listed for, possibly $5 or a bit less.
So far, for all of mine, mutts included, the bottom edges end just right to not cover the pizzle on rams.


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## Baymule (Dec 12, 2019)

They look so cute in their coats!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 13, 2019)

@secuono Those are adorable!! I bought some felt ones from premier one, but would really like to try and make my own one day. I saw someone make them out of old sweaters from good will. Such a good idea.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 13, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Or knit some using yarn from @secuono, she has a lot  What could be warmer than a wool and alpaca sweater?
> 
> 
> Because you are a masochist??


 Nope. just trying to get some extra classes done before I attempt to bring my kids home to school them next year. Public school isn't going so great for us.


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## Bruce (Dec 13, 2019)

I'm sorry public schools isn't working out.  I guess with extra classes and lambing at the same time, you are prepping for the extra workload with home schooling  Have you researched and chosen a program yet?


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 13, 2019)

Bruce said:


> I'm sorry public schools isn't working out.  I guess with extra classes and lambing at the same time, you are prepping for the extra workload with home schooling  Have you researched and chosen a program yet?


We have done quite a bit of research in regards to the laws, requirements, and regulations in our state. We are still looking at all the different curriculums, there is just so much to choose from. Its hard to know which one will work the best for us.


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## thistlebloom (Dec 13, 2019)

The choices are vast these days. Sounds like you are doing your due diligence, I applaud you. I'm sure you already know this, but if you have friends that homeschool you can get a feel for curriculum from their experience, and there are also curriculum fairs that you can attend and get your hands and eyes on their products. 
Of course I don't know what your local accessibility is for curriculum fairs, but it was helpful to me to see and talk to the representatives about their curriculum's scope and sequence.  My kids were very hands on learners and I tried to allow that as much as possible.

If I had it to do over again I would take advantage of a co-op arrangement, where we met a couple times a month.
I would do it (homeschool) again in a nano second. I loved it, loved being in the company of my kids and watching them grow and learn, and the freedom it gave us as well as the control over what idealogies were put into their heads.

Best wishes for your own studies as well. You seem like a very organized person, with an excellent work ethic and I think homeschooling will suit you well.


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## Bruce (Dec 13, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> We have done quite a bit of research in regards to the laws, requirements, and regulations in our state. We are still looking at all the different curriculums, there is just so much to choose from. Its hard to know which one will work the best for us.


DD1 did 7th and 8th grade with Oak Meadow. Seemed pretty good overall but frankly a foreign language by mail and audio CDs just doesn't cut it.


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## HomeOnTheRange (Dec 13, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> Well, I have one more exam left to do, then I am done my first semester.


Congrats! It is always nice to get that first one finished.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 14, 2019)

thistlebloom said:


> The choices are vast these days. Sounds like you are doing your due diligence, I applaud you. I'm sure you already know this, but if you have friends that homeschool you can get a feel for curriculum from their experience, and there are also curriculum fairs that you can attend and get your hands and eyes on their products.
> Of course I don't know what your local accessibility is for curriculum fairs, but it was helpful to me to see and talk to the representatives about their curriculum's scope and sequence.  My kids were very hands on learners and I tried to allow that as much as possible.
> 
> If I had it to do over again I would take advantage of a co-op arrangement, where we met a couple times a month.
> ...


Thank you for the advice  There is a big homeschool conference in our state every may ( i think) So we are hopefully going to try and go to it. They also have a big used curriculum sale about an hour from us. I have met one homeschool family. The mother was more then willing to talk about how much she loved it. She gave us some really good advice, i added her on facebook So that i can talk to her if needed .  We can't help but feel nervous. But I think its for the best.


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## Baymule (Dec 14, 2019)

Our daughter was in and out of private school, went to college at 16, got her bachelors degree at 19, 2 masters degrees at 22. Public school ain’t for everybody. I worked too much to home school. Good for you and your family.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 14, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Our daughter was in and out of private school, went to college at 16, got her bachelors degree at 19, 2 masters degrees at 22. Public school ain’t for everybody. I worked too much to home school. Good for you and your family.


I wish we had more private school options for us here, but sadly we dont


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## thistlebloom (Dec 14, 2019)

WolfeMomma said:


> We can't help but feel nervous. But I think its for the best.



You've totally got this Wolfemomma. Like all of life it will have it's peaks and valleys and struggles and triumphs, but don't buy into the doubts or thinking you are not "expert" enough. Nobody has more invested in seeing your kids learn and grow into themselves than you and your husband. Looking back you will never regret the time and effort it took, nor especially being present in it all with them.


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## Bruce (Dec 14, 2019)

I believe there is an entire range of homeschooling from "do everything yourself including proving to the authorities that your 'program' meets requirements" to using state approved programs that provide books and teachers - online education. Certainly it is easier to help grammar school kids with their homework than it is when the kids are in high school taking pre-calc and you just REALLY don't have the background to answer their questions.


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## thistlebloom (Dec 14, 2019)

Bruce said:


> I believe there is an entire range of homeschooling from "do everything yourself including proving to the authorities that your 'program' meets requirements" to using state approved programs that provide books and teachers - online education. Certainly it is easier to help grammar school kids with their homework than it is when the kids are in high school taking pre-calc and you just REALLY don't have the background to answer their questions.



A parent doesn't necessarily have to have the background in every subject they administer. It's not reinventing the wheel. There is a huge reservoir of curriculum and human help to be tapped into. Presumably by the time a young adult is at the age and maturity to take pre-calc they have learned how to study independently anyway and can be aided through anything they don't understand. An interesting side note is that many universities are eager to get homeschooled students.

I'll just put this right out there, I'm not a fan of government indoctrination and the "authorities" religious idealogy masquerading as education these days. Schools don't like losing the ADA money they receive when students go elsewhere for learning. That drives a lot of anti homeschool myths. 

I don't want to derail Wolfmommas journal, I just want to encourage her.


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## Bruce (Dec 14, 2019)

Nothing at all wrong with homeschooling if the parent is willing to put in the effort!


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## thistlebloom (Dec 14, 2019)

Agreed wholeheartedly! It is a commitment.


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## Baymule (Dec 14, 2019)

The best curriculum our daughter was on was abeka. Even the public school teachers at church had to admit that it was good.

https://www.abeka.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyLnK5OS25gIVBtlkCh1ZmQ2KEAAYASAAEgLCi_D_BwE​


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 15, 2019)

Bruce said:


> I believe there is an entire range of homeschooling from "do everything yourself including proving to the authorities that your 'program' meets requirements" to using state approved programs that provide books and teachers - online education. Certainly it is easier to help grammar school kids with their homework than it is when the kids are in high school taking pre-calc and you just REALLY don't have the background to answer their questions.


I think if my son was struggling with Pre Calc and I felt i couldn't help, then I would definitely invest in the tutoring programs at the University to help support him where I could not.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 15, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Nothing at all wrong with homeschooling if the parent is willing to put in the effort!


Agreed. This is the most important question you have to ask your self when making this decision. Am I willing and able to put in the effort that is required in order to benefit and support my childs education.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 15, 2019)

Baymule said:


> The best
> curriculum our daughter was on was abeka. Even the public school teachers at church had to admit that it was good.
> 
> https://www.abeka.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyLnK5OS25gIVBtlkCh1ZmQ2KEAAYASAAEgLCi_D_BwE


Thanks @Baymule I have seen quite a few people recommend this one.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 17, 2019)

Had my last exam yesterday, didn't go that well. I followed the study guide..I thought. But the first 20 questions were on a subject that I didn't study and didn't see on the guide. I had to go from memory of when I last read about it. Ill be lucky if I get a high mark on this. Kind of stressed out because of it. But oh well....At least I knew all the other material really well 
On another note...
I separated the ram away from my ewes, he is just to aggressive towards us when he is with them. When he is by him self, he can be feisty, but not nearly as bad.  He isn't happy about being alone , but he can see them all day they are just on the other side of the fence. We ran electric wire around the top of his pen...just incase he gets any ideas lol I have already seen him get zapped in the head once. 
All the Ewes are doing good. Just eating hay and enjoying life. All of our snow melted off, I think we are supposed to be getting around 2 inches sometime this week. So hopefully a white Christmas


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## Baymule (Dec 17, 2019)

Haha, Mr Bad Attitude has to cool his heels. Haha. Thank you for reminding me why we drove 1400 miles round trip to get Ringo! Gosh I love that boy!


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 17, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Haha, Mr Bad Attitude has to cool his heels. Haha. Thank you for reminding me why we drove 1400 miles round trip to get Ringo! Gosh I love that boy!


Our guys attitude I think has to do with us loving on him to much when he was younger. His sire was well behaved . Im not sure if it has anything to do with the blood lines or not.


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## Bruce (Dec 17, 2019)

Sorry the test didn't go as planned. Hopefully your deep memory stored the info you needed that wasn't in the study guide.

Sounds like maybe you need a wether to keep the ram company. As a herd animal I would think seeing but not being a part of the flock would be somewhat stressful.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 17, 2019)

I wouldn't mind a decent quality wether, what I have seen for sale, I wouldn't want on my property 😣 Im always on the look out though. Do you think I could keep his ram lambs with him once they are weaned?


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## Bruce (Dec 17, 2019)

I would ASSUME so, we need the sheeples here to answer that question.


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## farmerjan (Dec 19, 2019)

Yes you can keep his ram lambs with him.  We often put our ram lambs in with the older rams.  Watch for any bullying.... we have had a few get aggressive.  But since he is alone, if you put the young rams in with him, he might be glad of the company.  He might pick out a favorite to "hang out with" and he might single out one to pick on.  Just have to watch and see. Make sure they are mature enough when you introduce them, still they will be too young to "challenge him" .  We raise White Texas Dall sheep.  We will run all the rams of each age together, then after they hit 2-3 yr olds, they will get co-mingled.  But we have several pastures to put them in.  Plus we try to keep younger and older together in smaller groups so they don't get into too many "head ramming" contests and break their horns.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 27, 2019)

I hope everyone had a good holiday. We enjoyed our Christmas, was nice and relaxing just hanging out at home 
Nothing much else to update on. Looking forward to January, Lambs I put my order in for some new years eve ewe lambs  Probably won't happen, but hey one can wish cant they!


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## Mike CHS (Dec 27, 2019)

Good luck getting your order.  We are right at a month behind you for our first lambs.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 28, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> Good luck getting your order.  We are right at a month behind you for our first lambs.


I have one ewe that will probably lamb in feb. But everyone else is Jan   Good luck on your lambing !


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## Baymule (Dec 28, 2019)

Mike CHS said:


> Good luck getting your order.  We are right at a month behind you for our first lambs.


Maxwell's first lambs? I can't wait to see them!


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## Mike CHS (Dec 28, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Maxwell's first lambs? I can't wait to see them!



They will be his first ones.  I still think Percy got to our 54 ewe but we'll see soon.    It doesn't matter though since most will be terminal this season.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 28, 2019)

Nothing makes me happier then fat happy ewes munching away on hay and fresh clean stalls 😍


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 31, 2019)

More snow today...yay for plowing.  Lamb watch officially starts tomorrow....I keep checking them all constantly lol 
Other then that, not much else new, decided to start planning the spring garden, figuring out what to plant and when to start them indoors. I think im going to start my tomatoes much earlier this year. Last year I started them way to late.


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## Baymule (Dec 31, 2019)

Lamb watch is so exciting! When you finally give up and go to bed, they get busy and surprise you the next morning. LOL


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## Bruce (Dec 31, 2019)

They should come today, I understand there is a snow storm in your area ;D


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 1, 2020)

No lambs yesterday, Maybe today? I haven't been out to the barn yet. I feel like they have looked close to going for a while. Im starting to think Im not that good at guessing


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 2, 2020)

Lamb Watch Day 2:
Still no Lambs.......
The temps are going to be warm ( like 35-40) for the next couple days, would be a perfect time to lamb..... But of course 
they will wait till it drops to -5 and a giant snow storm


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## Baymule (Jan 2, 2020)

I have 2 ewes that bag up THREE WEEKS before lambing. Poor things look like they are squeezing a volley ball between their back legs. Drives me nuts. I feel your anxiety, but it will be ok.


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2020)

WolfeMomma said:


> But of course they will wait till it drops to -5 and a giant snow storm


Of course they will!


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 3, 2020)

Morning all! 
I found out I made the high honors list at school the other day. Great way to end the year I think. Next semester starts mid January. Im going to try and get my grades a bit higher so that I can make the deans list, with biology on the schedule Im not sure lol But Im up for the challenge.  Weather has been pretty mild for us, going to be a high in the 40's and rain today. I feel like this time last year we had more snow, though Im sure its coming, its only January and we have had 3 feet in one night in march...but fingers crossed it stays manageable like this  My oldest is already starting to talk about the sheep shows this summer, He loves it so much. My husband and I are enjoying the break from the traveling and staying in the camper all the time lol


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## Baymule (Jan 3, 2020)

That is awesome, keep the studies up!


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## farmerjan (Jan 3, 2020)

Congrats on the grades.


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## Bruce (Jan 3, 2020)

We knew you could do it Wolfemomma!
High honors doesn't warrant the Dean's List??


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## Mike CHS (Jan 3, 2020)

It's always great to get the results you worked so hard for.  Congratulations!


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 4, 2020)

Bruce said:


> We knew you could do it Wolfemomma!
> High honors doesn't warrant the Dean's List??


Im just a couple points from the deans list sadly, but thats my goal for this semester coming up


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 4, 2020)

And yes, still no lambs lol


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 5, 2020)

Lots of udder development....but still no lambs lol


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## Baymule (Jan 5, 2020)

It's part of their plan to drive you nuts.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jan 5, 2020)

WolfeMomma said:


> Morning all!
> I found out I made the high honors list at school the other day. Great way to end the year I think. Next semester starts mid January. Im going to try and get my grades a bit higher so that I can make the deans list, with biology on the schedule Im not sure lol But Im up for the challenge.  Weather has been pretty mild for us, going to be a high in the 40's and rain today. I feel like this time last year we had more snow, though Im sure its coming, its only January and we have had 3 feet in one night in march...but fingers crossed it stays manageable like this  My oldest is already starting to talk about the sheep shows this summer, He loves it so much. My husband and I are enjoying the break from the traveling and staying in the camper all the time lol



Congratulations  on making the high honors list


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## Bruce (Jan 5, 2020)

Baymule said:


> It's part of their plan to drive you nuts.


Ewe code! They talk to the goat does and make rules. They are in the same union.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 6, 2020)

Baymule said:


> It's part of their plan to drive you nuts.


Aint that the truth. Every day I walk down to the barn with such hope, only to have it it destroyed by these evil four legged beasts    Seriously though, How can you have a massive udder for so long and not lamb ...what gives lol The other ones I understand , but this one, and he sister make me crazy. Big udders, no lambs to be seen.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 6, 2020)

B&B Happy goats said:


> Congratulations  on making the high honors list


Thanks


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 8, 2020)

Still no lambs lol 
Nothing else new, weather has been crazy. 28 yesterday 26 today tomorrow is supposed to drop down to 16 then 51 the day after .....crazy rollercoaster weather forecast thats for sure!


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## Bruce (Jan 8, 2020)

Only 16? Clearly they are waiting for it to go below 0 so you can suffer more when you assist. We are supposed to be that low in the morning. Rain Friday highs in the low 40s. Rain Saturday, high 50.


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## Baymule (Jan 8, 2020)

haha, they will wait for cold and rain. Or snow and ice, maybe in the middle of a tornado. 

16? Brrr…… We are having a warm January. The weather has been fabulous, we have got a lot done outside. Last January 18, we had snow.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 9, 2020)

They like to torture me lol Still no lambs 
I had some fun yesterday researching a couple of my new ewes blood lines, One of them, the ewe lamb her dam comes from a large Katahdin farm in Oklahoma. Which is fitting because we used to live there when hubby was active duty  I thought that was kind of neat. The online pedigree data base is cool I think.


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## Bruce (Jan 9, 2020)

I guess the ewes haven't fessed up to raiding the grain bin every night and that they aren't pregnant, just look it.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 10, 2020)

Lamb watch 2020 .....Still no lambs , I thought that maybe Willow was heading in the right direction this morning, she was walking ( or waddling is more like it) with her tail sticking out, but then as soon as I put hay out she all but ran out of her stall and proceeded to eat and act normal. So I guess I will just keep an eye on her, like everyday   
All the others still look the same.


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## Baymule (Jan 10, 2020)

I have one I'm watching too. Ewenique always twins, but I only have one ewe from her. We had a talk yesterday as I rubbed her belly. I told her that I needed ewe lambs, even one ewe lamb, I just need a ewe from her!


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I have one I'm watching too. Ewenique always twins, but I only have one ewe from her. We had a talk yesterday as I rubbed her belly. I told her that I needed ewe lambs, even one ewe lamb, I just need a ewe from her!


I hope you get your order  I put in an order for ewe lambs too, fingers crossed !


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## Bruce (Jan 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I have one I'm watching too. Ewenique always twins, but I only have one ewe from her. We had a talk yesterday as I rubbed her belly. I told her that I needed ewe lambs, even one ewe lamb, I just need a ewe from her!


I think it is a bit late for that! You needed to have that talk with her (and Ringo) many months ago.


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## thistlebloom (Jan 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I have one I'm watching too. Ewenique always twins, but I only have one ewe from her. We had a talk yesterday as I rubbed her belly. I told her that I needed ewe lambs, even one ewe lamb, I just need a ewe from her!



 Hopefully you also had that conversation with Ringo awhile ago.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 11, 2020)

We have a lamb!!! 
Olive had a ewe lamb this morning  she is almost 10lbs of pure cuteness 😍 I wondered if she was going to have another one because she was pawing, and laying down. But nothing yet so far. 
Anyways, here are some pictures from my cell phone, I'll post good quality ones later.


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## Bruce (Jan 11, 2020)

Lovely little lamb. Those pictures are fine for computer screens!!! Probably wouldn't want to blow it up for a framed 8x10


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## Mike CHS (Jan 11, 2020)

I'm happy she finally decided to let that cute little girl out.


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## Baymule (Jan 12, 2020)

Awww...….. she is so cute! I know y'all are thrilled!


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 12, 2020)

Clover had two ram lambs this morning  one was 9.5lbs the other was 10lbs. 😍


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## B&B Happy goats (Jan 12, 2020)

They are so sweet looking


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 12, 2020)

Thanks everyone! 
We love them, and are so happy everyone is doing so well! The vet is coming out tomorrow because we need some BOSE shots( we are in a low selenium area) and to look over Olive because she is still having this stuff coming out of her that looks like placenta :/  Not sure what is going on there. We are newbies in regards to lambing , so having a vet look over everyone gives me peace of mind. I found that one ewe will kind of head butt at the other ewes lamb. Im guessing thats just her way of saying your not my baby stay away from me? I don't want the lamb to get hurt.


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## Baymule (Jan 12, 2020)

Ewes butt lambs not their own. Sneaky lambs will suckle any ewe and the really crafty ones will take a teat while the lamb is on the other teat. They can usually get a suckle or two before the ewe realizes she's got an extra. LOL


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## farmerjan (Jan 12, 2020)

That is also one of the reasons that years ago,  many would get up their ewes real close to lambing and put them in "jugs" or small pens so the ewes would bond with their own lambs and the lambs would know exactly who to go to.  Maybe the lamb trying to go on the other ewe isn't real sure who its mother is?


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 14, 2020)

Well everyone is doing very well. They all got there shots , and looked over. Now just to wait for my other two ewes to have their lambs and then we are done 
Should we wait to tag their ears? or is now ok. Their ears are so little and the tags seem so big compared to them. Its my least favorite thing to do. I have to let hubby do it .


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## Mike CHS (Jan 14, 2020)

We usually ear tag by the second day but we lamb in the pasture.  By day 3, they make it a challenge to catch them.    By day 6 they are back to trusting again so that's always an option.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 16, 2020)

The Lambs got some time outside today before the snow started coming down. They enjoyed running all over the place. The little ram lambs are so much more curious and active then the little ewe lamb. She will play a bit, but not as much as them. Its so cute to watch them! Im still waiting on lambs from the other two. One I think will go soon. The other....No clue, If I had to take a wild guess I would say maybe early Feb end of jan. She is showing no signs other then a giant stomach lol 
So Lamb watch is still on!! Fingers crossed for some ewe lambs from the one that I think is going soon because I can breed them to my ram I have now, and build up my group of brood ewes if they compliment him. I will make sure to post some new pictures of them today


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## Bruce (Jan 16, 2020)




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## Baymule (Jan 16, 2020)

Lambing is so exciting. We bought 4 bred ewes. I checked on them at 10:30 at night before we went to bed, up first thing in the morning to see if there were lambs yet and all day long. I went out one morning to find that not one, but two ewes had lambed and they both had twins! I called my husband on the cell phone, sputtering BABIES!BABIES! BABIES! BABIES! When I finally took a breath, he said "What?" And I got LAMBS out of my mouth and then he came running to see them.

You know what? I never stop being excited over lambs.

You are off and running in the great adventure of lambs. There's nothing like it.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 17, 2020)

Some new lamb pictures 😍
Meadow 




Thor and Loki 



Thor


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## Baymule (Jan 17, 2020)

I start a new thread for lambing every year. You might want to do the same thing, over time, your journal will get very long and you will have to sift through pages of your journal to read back on your lambings. Just an idea.


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## Mike CHS (Jan 17, 2020)

Beautiful lambs and great photography.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 18, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I start a new thread for lambing every year. You might want to do the same thing, over time, your journal will get very long and you will have to sift through pages of your journal to read back on your lambings. Just an idea.


What Part of the forum do I make that thread in? In the journal section?


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 18, 2020)

Mike CHS said:


> Beautiful lambs and great photography.


Thanks!


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 18, 2020)

Well I am glad they didn't lamb over night. It was -5 when I woke up this morning. To cold for lambs. Hopefully they hold out until it gets a bit warmer.


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## WolfeMomma (Jan 25, 2020)

I knew the full moon would bring something! Willow had twin ewe lambs! I was really wanting her to have ewes that I can add to my flock, since her blood lines are different then what we have now. I guess her taking so long was just making sure my order was ready! 🥰  The one that came out second was extremely feisty. Up and walking very fast, nursed right away. Already baaing( is that a word? lol) like crazy if mom moves just a foot or two away from her. One ewe left to lamb, I am going to guess she will lamb around Feb 9th which is the next full moon, since that seems to be when my other girls like to go


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## Bruce (Jan 25, 2020)

Well since you EXPECT her to lamb at the next full moon, she'll go a week early since you won't be expecting it 
Congrats on the twin ewes!


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## thistlebloom (Jan 25, 2020)

That worked out perfectly, congratulations on two more ewelings! 
You may want to give @Baymule your secret for getting orders right .


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## Baymule (Jan 26, 2020)

WolfeMomma said:


> What Part of the forum do I make that thread in? In the journal section?


Sheep forum. Birthing and raising lambs.


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## Baymule (Jan 26, 2020)

People laugh st it, but full moons do bring on the babies! Congrats on the twin ewes! Would you please have a talk with my Miranda? LOL


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## Bruce (Jan 26, 2020)

She's probably hoarse from talking to her own girls!


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 6, 2020)

Some new pictures  
Our ram and Livestock guardian. For those that followed my Ram post, this is the culprit lol 




And one of the twin Ewe lambs, This is Lilly


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## Baymule (Feb 6, 2020)

Your bad boy is handsome! Your ewes and the lamb are lovely too. I love your dog!! He looks happy in the snow.


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 6, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Your bad boy is handsome! Your ewes and the lamb are lovely too. I love your dog!! He looks happy in the snow.


 That's how he lures you in! He makes cute faces and looks so handsome with his luscious locks. Then you walk over and BAM!!!


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## Baymule (Feb 6, 2020)

WolfeMomma said:


> That's how he lures you in! He makes cute faces and looks so handsome with his luscious locks. Then you walk over and BAM!!!


That sounds like my ex husband!


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 12, 2020)

well, no lambs on the full moon. she looks like a big cinnamon bun waddling around the barn All the other lambs are doing well. I cant believe how fast they grow :O the ram lambs will be weaned in march, trying to make sure I have a spot ready for them to hang out in. On another note, I ordered all my seeds for our garden. Going to keep it simple this year and grow what works. Sometimes we like to try different kinds, or something that looks cool. Large Tomatoes, Corn, squash ( 1 winter variety, 1 summer) Broccoli , kale , and my herbs ( Cilantro, Basil).  
School this semester is kicking my butt, I don't have time for much thats for sure, with extra classes , sheep stuff and 3 kids ...im about ready to fall in to bed by 6:30


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## Bruce (Feb 12, 2020)

Just make sure you make it to bed instead of falling asleep in your dinner


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## Baymule (Feb 12, 2020)

Bruce said:


> Just make sure you make it to bed instead of falling asleep in your dinner


A recliner ain't bad...… LOL


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## Bruce (Feb 13, 2020)

True, if one is eating in their recliner falling asleep wouldn't be a problem.


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## thistlebloom (Feb 13, 2020)

Bruce said:


> True, if one is eating in their recliner falling asleep wouldn't be a problem.



Choking hazard! Best to have a eating buddy to keep an eye out for you, lol.


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## Jesusfreak101 (Feb 13, 2020)

And here i was thinking just about the mess lol


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 15, 2020)

Still no lambs today, but thats ok with me because it was -12 this morning! burrrrr 
Looking like it will be warm this week and the next, and by warm I mean high 30's lol


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## Bruce (Feb 15, 2020)

Much better time for lambs!


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## Baymule (Feb 15, 2020)

30's IS NOT WARM!!!


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## Bruce (Feb 16, 2020)

It is HERE!!! At least December through February


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## Baymule (Feb 16, 2020)

Going to be in the 70's today, sunny and beautiful. I am sidelined with my crapped out knee and so pissed off about it. I can barely walk, it's gorgeous outside and I have so much to do!     Insert primal scream of frustration here!  AARRRGHHHH!


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 18, 2020)

Still no lambs, she is the size of a cow and can hardly walk. It looks like she is going to have 3, but will of course only have one    I have to band one of our ram lambs.....words of advice? I have never done this before .....I'm scared I don't want to mess the poor guy up lol


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## Baymule (Feb 18, 2020)

I've never used a bander. @Mike CHS @frustratedearthmother @B&B Happy goats


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## Baymule (Feb 18, 2020)

I've never used a bander. @Mike CHS @frustratedearthmother @B&B Happy goats


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 18, 2020)

For banding it helps to have a good holder.  I have done it alone - but no fun at all.  I have my holder sit down and hold the critter with critter back to holder's stomach.  It helps to pre-soak the bands in some hot water to make them just a bit softer and more stretchable...not absolutely necessary...just one of those things that helps.  I also kind of pre-stretch the band on the tool a few times but be careful cuz that band can fly right offa there, lol.  

As far as the banding procedure you need to be sure you've got both testicles.  If they have any size to 'em it may be easier to pull them through one at a time.  I like to get the band up pretty close to the belly - but not so close that you catch a teat in there.  I also try to make sure I don't have any stray hairs in there.  Small issue with a hair being caught in the band when you consider what is REALLY caught in the band, lol.  And, make sure tetanus is up to date!


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## WolfeMomma (Feb 19, 2020)

frustratedearthmother said:


> For banding it helps to have a good holder.  I have done it alone - but no fun at all.  I have my holder sit down and hold the critter with critter back to holder's stomach.  It helps to pre-soak the bands in some hot water to make them just a bit softer and more stretchable...not absolutely necessary...just one of those things that helps.  I also kind of pre-stretch the band on the tool a few times but be careful cuz that band can fly right offa there, lol.
> 
> As far as the banding procedure you need to be sure you've got both testicles.  If they have any size to 'em it may be easier to pull them through one at a time.  I like to get the band up pretty close to the belly - but not so close that you catch a teat in there.  I also try to make sure I don't have any stray hairs in there.  Small issue with a hair being caught in the band when you consider what is REALLY caught in the band, lol.  And, make sure tetanus is up to date!


Ok Thanks, I will definitely make sure CDT is up to date when this is done. I feel like it would be hard to miss one....they are pretty easy to see


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 18, 2020)

I feel like its been forever since I have been on here! My red ewe who took forever to lamb had a cute little ram lamb we named Raisin. I just love him!




And of course Olive's ewe lamb is growing up nicely.




All in all Im pretty happy with all of our lambs this year, except one that is banded lol poor guy but he should make a good wether. 
Will be interesting to see how this summer goes, I was looking forward to getting out to the shows, but with the way things are going in the world ....Im not sure there will be any


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## Mike CHS (Mar 18, 2020)

It sounds like you were successful with the banding. I tried banding one by myself once but quickly gave up till I had help.


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## Baymule (Mar 18, 2020)

Both of your lambs are beauties!


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 19, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Both of your lambs are beauties!


Thanks


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 4, 2020)

Helllloooo everyone! I feel like it has been forever since I have been on here. With everything that has been going on, the kids home , finishing up my college semester it has been quite overwhelming! Now that it is done and I can relax a bit more. We have been planting our gardens, weeding.....i swear a chia pet is trying to grow in the garden, drives us crazy ! We have been working on planning breedings , making sure we (hopefully) will have some fall lambs. I will have the vet out in august to confirm with an ultrasound, if they are not bred then they will go in the pen with the ram for spring lambs when the time comes. The lambs are all doing well so far. Growing great! I will post some pictures! My picture of our ram Valor won first place for katahdin ram promotion photo contest with KHSI I was pretty excited about that
 



Raisin 



Meadow


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## Baymule (Jun 4, 2020)

Wow! What an honor to win first place! Valor is a gorgeous boy! Are Meadow and Raisin his lambs? They sure look nice. Glad to have you back. I know life gets busy, how is college coming along for you?


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 9, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Wow! What an honor to win first place! Valor is a gorgeous boy! Are Meadow and Raisin his lambs? They sure look nice. Glad to have you back. I know life gets busy, how is college coming along for you?


Yes Meadow and Raisin are his lambs  so far anyways I am happy with what he is producing. I should have lambs coming this sept from him , so I am very excited to see those as well.
College went well! I got on the high honors list again, i wasn't sure if I would with the kids school canceled, extra classes ect. But the hard work paid off.


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## Baymule (Jun 9, 2020)

High honors list! That’s impressive. I’m so proud of you. In the face of everything you have had to deal with, your grit and determination propelled you forward. You are one fine young woman and I wish nothing but the best for you.


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## farmerjan (Jun 10, 2020)

Congrats on all fronts.  It has been a trying time this winter/spring for everyone and all the uproar with schools/cancellations and life in general.  It is really great that you were able to continue to do so well with your own studies.  Hope you are going to get some fall lambs, the ram has some serious length and size to him.


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 16, 2020)

farmerjan said:


> Congrats on all fronts.  It has been a trying time this winter/spring for everyone and all the uproar with schools/cancellations and life in general.  It is really great that you were able to continue to do so well with your own studies.  Hope you are going to get some fall lambs, the ram has some serious length and size to him.


He was under a year old in that picture, i am really please with how he is turning out, and the lambs he is producing. 
Here is now, he will be two in Feb.


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## Mike CHS (Jun 16, 2020)

His build speaks for himself but I'll still say that is a great looking boy!


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 18, 2020)

Mike CHS said:


> His build speaks for himself but I'll still say that is a great looking boy!


Thank You ! We just love him and what he is producing so far. Fingers crossed he has some fall lambs on the way.


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## WolfeMomma (Jun 18, 2020)

My oldest and his ewe lamb. I just LOVE her.


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 6, 2020)

Oh , I am so excited I can hardly contain it lol  I have two Ewes that are currently making their way up here from Kansas. We decided that since we were not showing, we would invest in more breeding stock.  One is a Ewe lamb by a sire that I have been wanting to add to my flock for a while. The other is a yearling who is hopefully pregnant by a ram that is a multiple time national and supreme champion. Now I just cross my fingers that they make it here safe and not to stressed out   I will make sure I post pictures!!!!


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## B&B Happy goats (Jul 6, 2020)

That's  exciting, waiting on pictures   good for you and your farm !  Hope they arrive safely


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## farmerjan (Jul 6, 2020)

Hope the traveling goes well.  Always nice to add something that you really want....


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## Baymule (Jul 11, 2020)

That ewe is drop dead gorgeous! Your ram is producing super nice lambs. Hope the new arrivals get there safely, can’t wait to see pictures!


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 13, 2020)

YayThey finally arrived! After many days on the trailer they are finally here. I am so excited to have these girls. The yearling ewe is so tall, she will be a perfect addition!! The little ewe lamb is super long, with a nice deep chest. Not any super great pictures as they are dirty and had just arrived, I will have to make sure I clean them up and get some good pictures.  For the next week they will be in quarantine with lots of fresh hay and water while we monitor them for any issues.


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## chickens really (Jul 13, 2020)

Awww! ❤️
Congratulations on a safe trip home. I don't know anything about sheep but I do know how exciting it is to get new animals.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jul 13, 2020)

Happy to read they arrived safely,  congratulations


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## Mike CHS (Jul 13, 2020)

Now it's time for them to have some relaxation after the travel stress.


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## Baymule (Jul 13, 2020)

I know you are excited and happy! They are lovely.


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## Bruce (Jul 17, 2020)

What? You didn't fly them first class??  
Glad they arrived safe and sound.


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 21, 2020)

They are settling in very well. Im sure they probably think its much cooler up here in Maine compared to Kansas lol They are still a little scared of us, but I have a feeling they will be following us around like the other ewes in no time  Now to just sit and wait for some fall lambs  This will be our first time lambing in the fall, usually we lamb in January so I am sure this will be a nice change. I am excited to not have to wear six layers of clothing and freezing my butt off while checking for lambs 🥶


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## Bruce (Jul 21, 2020)

January in Maine is a heck of a time to be lambing! Is that so you have "Easter lambs" to sell?


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 25, 2020)

Bruce said:


> January in Maine is a heck of a time to be lambing! Is that so you have "Easter lambs" to sell?


Yes , you tend to make the best profit then   My falls lambs are more of an experiment for us.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 25, 2020)

I like cold weather lambing for the lack of parasites if nothing else but that time frame is the most profitable here also.


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 27, 2020)

I just love this girl, I cant get over how big she is, I haven't stood her beside my ram but I bet she is just as tall if not taller then him 😮


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## Jesusfreak101 (Jul 27, 2020)

She is beautiful, she has great confirmation so much so i can even tell and I don't have sheep.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 27, 2020)

I don't know if you have heard the phrase "ram maker" or not but she is one.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jul 27, 2020)

Beautiful new additions you have!


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 27, 2020)

Mike CHS said:


> I don't know if you have heard the phrase "ram maker" or not but she is one.


I have heard that term! I hope so. She was exposed to the North American International Livestock Exposition Champion Katahdin ram. Fingers crossed that she was successfully bred. A ram lamb from that cross could be great for us!


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## Bruce (Jul 27, 2020)

Mike CHS said:


> I like cold weather lambing for the lack of parasites if nothing else but that time frame is the most profitable here also.


Except "cold" in January in TN isn't at all like "cold" in Maine in January!


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## Mike CHS (Jul 27, 2020)

Bruce said:


> Except "cold" in January in TN isn't at all like "cold" in Maine in January!



We have friends in Idaho that also lambs in January.  Quite a few in Maine and Vermont also.


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 27, 2020)

when our last lambs were born I believe it was -2  🥶 Thankfully the ewe is a good momma, and had him cleaned up and nice and dry by the time I got down there.


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## Baymule (Jul 28, 2020)

She is beautiful! I hope you get a ram lamb from her!


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## WolfeMomma (Jul 28, 2020)

We finally got some rain last night, boy do we need it. I cannot believe how dry it is here. I dont think we have had to mow the lawn in over a month. The pasture is not handling it well, we have made sure to keep rotating so that some of the grass gets a chance to grow. Its so dry the grass actually crunches as you walk on it  Not normal for our area at all! The garden is doing well for the most part. We have had a great harvest of snap peas and broccoli , just waiting on the tomatoes to turn red. I was thinking at trying my hand at making fried green tomatoes with some of them  With all of this crazy covid stuff happening and all of our sheep events cancelled it has really given us time to get out and do things as a family, and we have quite a few camping trips planned. The kids are enjoying themselves and thats my goal, I dont want them to be burden with the heavy thoughts us adults have when we see what going on in our country these days 😔


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 5, 2020)

I'm trying to hold out hope that this guy will get taller. His sister is long,tall and lean. He , though built nice in my personal opinion he is short  fingers crossed for a growth spurt. He makes me think of an english bull dog, very wide and short 😂





His sister...



They are both out of the same ram but different mothers.


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## Bruce (Aug 5, 2020)

I don't really know anything about sheep but they both look nice to me, long and flat on the back.


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## Baymule (Aug 5, 2020)

You can't eat the legs anyway-not enough meat on them. 

Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe

Cut blossom end off. Slice about 1/4" thick.
Dredge through well beaten egg
Put cornmeal in a bag, put tomato slices in it and shake until well coated
Place slices on a plate until all are done
Fry in hot oil


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## farmerjan (Aug 5, 2020)

He doesn't seem to have the length to the leg.... and although he is nicely built.... I am not sure that he will get the height.  I am not as thrilled with his legs from the knee down.... she has much nicer legs.


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## Bruce (Aug 6, 2020)

Baymule said:


> You can't eat the legs anyway-not enough meat on them.



NOT chicken fried leg of lamb is GOOD!!!! Of course that is only 1 part of each hind leg. Other than that I agree, burger and stew meat.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 6, 2020)

I love lamb shanks!


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## Bruce (Aug 6, 2020)

Chicken fried of course since you are in TX with Bay, right? 
OK, I know it would be difficult to chicken fry a lamb shank.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 6, 2020)

I wanted him for a show ram, and most of them are very tall. I'll keep him till next summer to see how he grows. I'm trying to add in more height and this guy is not fitting the bill right now lol


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## Bruce (Aug 7, 2020)

Short rams got no reason, Short rams got NO reason .....


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## Baymule (Aug 8, 2020)

Bruce said:


> Short rams got no reason, Short rams got NO reason .....


He'd better start looking around for some stilts!


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 5, 2020)

Updated picture of ruby. I'm really happy with how she looks. 




And of course a picture of mister stubby Raisin lol


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## WolfeMomma (Sep 22, 2020)

Olive finally had her lambs last week. Triplets, two ewes and one ram 🥰 the ram was 10.75lbs and the two ewes were around 7.87lbs . They are growing so fast and momma is doing great feeding all three.


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## animalmom (Sep 22, 2020)

Congrats on the lambs!


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## Mike CHS (Sep 22, 2020)

Congratulations!  I'm often amazed how many pounds of lamb can come out of the girls.


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## farmerjan (Sep 22, 2020)

They look real good for triplets.   Glad she is a good momma and took all 3 too.  Congrats.


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## Baymule (Sep 22, 2020)

Triplets! What a good momma! Congrats on the babies!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 12, 2020)

I haven't been on here in a while. I have been so busy with my school and the kids school I dont have time for much else. I figured i would add an update. The triplets are doing well, all three are growing nicely. My older ewe lambs have really matured nice and I cant wait to get everyone in the show ring next year. This spring we will be shopping for another ram hopefully. Since I have enough ewes out of valor I think it's time to bring in some new blood lines. I have found a breeder that has the type of ram lambs that are in the direction we want to go, so I am quite excited to see what is available. 
On to the pictures ! 

Ruby,  March 2020 Ewe lamb 





Meadow, Jan 2020 ewe lamb



And of course the lambs 🥰
Cricket 




Truffles 




Ammo 



And of course a picture of our ram valor, who I think would be upset if I didnt show off his rugged good looks and luscious locks that blow in the wind 😂


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## Baymule (Nov 12, 2020)

What nice lambs! Valor is such a masculine, "all man" ram! He has grown into a beautiful ram. He sure throws some nice lambs too. What a lovely flock you have, you have reason to be proud of them.


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## farmerjan (Nov 12, 2020)

I like the body size on Ruby and the type and legs on Meadow.  Valor has some serious length.  Your sheep are very nice.


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 16, 2020)

farmerjan said:


> I like the body size on Ruby and the type and legs on Meadow.  Valor has some serious length.  Your sheep are very nice.


Thank you 😊


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## Mike CHS (Nov 16, 2020)

Valor needs a thread of his own.


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## Baymule (Nov 17, 2020)

Yes he does!


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## WolfeMomma (Nov 18, 2020)

Mike CHS said:


> Valor needs a thread of his own.


He thinks he does too, somewhere he can document all his handsomeness in one spot


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 4, 2020)

Hope everyone is doing well. Christmas will be here before we know it. Im glad I finished all of my Christmas shopping...yay Amazon lol . The sheep are good, weaned my ram lamb, he is hanging out with the wether and they seem to be getting along really well. I like having a wether, he is great no matter who he is with, the ewes dont pay attention to him, and the ram doesn't bug him either, works out great.Speaking of rams... I am curious as to what everyone uses for fencing, my yearling ram, bends and warps the cattle panels that he is kept in, so far they are holding up ok...but still concerning , if anyone wants to share what type they have had success with I am more then willing to listen. Other then that, nothing is new here, just waiting for the snow storm this weekend ....


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## Baymule (Dec 4, 2020)

I've never had a ram that beat up the fencing. Lucky I guess. My advice is to hot wire it and make it hot and pack a whallop. A few knock him on his butt shocks, and I bet he stops ramming the fence.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 7, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I've never had a ram that beat up the fencing. Lucky I guess. My advice is to hot wire it and make it hot and pack a whallop. A few knock him on his butt shocks, and I bet he stops ramming the fence.


 The thing is, he is not ramming it, just pushes on it. and drags his sides across it . He knows the weak points and try to push the corners apart


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## Bruce (Dec 7, 2020)

He's just showing you where the weak spots are so you can reinforce them before a predator gets in


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## Baymule (Dec 7, 2020)

WolfeMomma said:


> The thing is, he is not ramming it, just pushes on it. and drags his sides across it . He knows the weak points and try to push the corners apart


Ramming, pushing, dragging his sides, all tears up a fence. Hotwire. Hotwire. He won't do it again.


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## WolfeMomma (Dec 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Ramming, pushing, dragging his sides, all tears up a fence. Hotwire. Hotwire. He won't do it again.


I agree good idea, now to figure out how to get the hot wire over to his pasture .....🤔


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## Bruce (Dec 10, 2020)

Solar charger?


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## WolfeMomma (May 17, 2021)

IM BAACCCK!  man it feels like it has been awhile! College is finally done for the summer, so I have some extra time to get on here! I hope everything has been well for everyone.  We are doing great here, just the usual getting the garden started, working with the sheep ect. We recently purchased a new Ram for our flock, which I am insanely excited about. I have always really liked him since I first saw him at a show in 2019. He made his journey up to us a couple weeks ago and has been settling in nicely I am truly blown away by how big he is, I would say at least 275-300lbs. My falls lambs are growing nicely and will be in the show ring this summer, my kids cant wait to get out and start showing again and neither can I ! 
Here are some pictures. 
Fall 2020 Ewe lamb





Fall 2020 Ram lamb, I need some updated pictures as he has shed out since this 




Our new ram out grazing


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## Baymule (May 17, 2021)

Glad you are back! Beautiful sheep, love the pictures. What a nice ram, what’s his name?


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 23, 2021)

Haven't had a chance to get on here in a while, the new ram is doing well. Hopefully we can get some good lambs from him this Jan. He is just the most handsome guy I feel so blessed to have him.  @Baymule his registered name is "EHJ 830 Confirmed" but his barn name is "C" it just kind of stuck. I put him in my KHSI add last issue


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## Bruce (Aug 23, 2021)

WolfeMomma said:


> his registered name is "EHJ 830 Confirmed"


Well isn't THAT catchy and creative! Maybe you can get a matching license plate for the car.


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## WolfeMomma (Aug 23, 2021)

Bruce said:


> Well isn't THAT catchy and creative! Maybe you can get a matching license plate for the car.


Haha 🤣🤷‍♀️ not me that named him lol


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## Bruce (Aug 23, 2021)

Usually they have some super fancy (and often stupid) lengthy names based on the farm they came from. I think "C" is a great name, easy to say and remember.


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## Baymule (Aug 23, 2021)

He sure is handsome! Can’t wait to see lambs from him!


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 15, 2022)

Its been a good lambing season. I got 15 and 14lb twins from one of my brood ewes, I just love her bloodline it always gives heavy thick bones and good birth weights. I think I will keep 2 of the ewe lambs this season and one of the rams....the rest will have to be put up for sale. I need to down size, with the cost of hay and everything else its getting pricey  anyways here are some lamb pictures, looking forward to seeing all of their 30 and 60 days weights.


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2022)

Really nice lambs!


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## WolfeMomma (Mar 19, 2022)

I think this ram is my favorite out of all my lambs this year. He is a chunk lol I can't wait for his weights at 30 day weight. Overall Im pleased with how my lambs are looking this year, the new ram made a huge improvement.


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## Baymule (Mar 20, 2022)

That is one very nice looking lamb!


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