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



## SheepGirl (Jun 4, 2012)

I live in Maryland with my parents, my older brother, and my younger brother. As many of you may already know, my sheep live at my neighbor's farm. However, my neighbor sold his farm (beef cows are movin' in!), so my sheep are moving to my house. We are purchasing two acres of my neighbor's, and we will officially own it on the 8th, so we will have four acres, 2-3 of which will be fenced eventually for my sheep.

In the meantime, my sheep are going to be drylotted/penned in my backyard using my deck as their shelter. Currently I have a 2006 ewe, a 2009 ewe, two 2012 ewe lambs, a 2009 ram, and a 2010 wether in my flock. As for my pets, I have two dogs, two indoor cats, a queen with her 4 'natural' kittens and 2 adopted kittens, 12-17 outdoor cats, a holland lop buck, and a 6 year old carnival goldfish. I think that's it 

Okay...here are some questions.

*1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?*
Maryland, USA - hot summers, cold winters.

*2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?*
Me, my parents, and my brothers. My grandparents live in an RV in my front yard.

*3. How would you define your farm?*
In progress. Sheep are being drylotted right now until we fence in our property and build a barn.

*4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?*
Travel around the country picking out some really awesome performance-type rams and ewes to add to my flock 

*5. Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?*
I have built a shed with my family and we are in the process of building another. Eventually we will build a barn for my sheep.

*6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?*
Nope.

*7. Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?*
My neighbor gave me a ewe lamb in 2006. Ever since then I have been wanting to be in the agriculture industry and eventually I would like to become a large animal (emphasis on food animals--aka no horses and camelids) veterinarian.

*8.  Is it a hobby or an occupation?*
Right now it is a hobby (more money going out than going in right now because we have to build a barn and fence), but I would like to make it my occupation.

*9. In what areas are you knowledgeable and in what areas would you like to learn more?*
Primarily sheep. I have taken classes at my school like Horse Care & Management, Pre-Vet Lg Animal, and Agricultural Sciences so I do have general knowledge on all species. I would like to learn how not to kill plants. So I took horticulture...but I killed the plants I brought home. 

*10. In what types of farming will you never choose to do?*
Organic. Just not my cup of tea.

*11. Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?*
Only if I could produce it cheaper than what I could buy it in the store for.

*12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?*
My room.

*13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?*
No, but I'm sure I can learn.

*14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?*
Useful? Not really.

*15. Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?*
Yes, we can have any type of livestock in any number so long as manure is controlled. I have six sheep right now but I would like a larger flock if/when I move to a larger farm.

*16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?*
I don't know what a lathe is...but I know how to use power tools.

*17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?*
I like gardening, but gardening doesn't like me. The garden always dies whenever it sees me.

*18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?*
Nope.

*19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City farm? Country?*
We have four acres in the country.

*20. Are you a Novice, Technician, degreed?*
I have my high school diploma. (Class of 2012 ) Does that count?

*21. What is your farm specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?*
Sheep! But I want pigs...but my mom doesn't like pigs because they're 'ugly' so I don't think I will have them while I live here. I also want chickens and I was *thisclose* to getting them but Southern States didn't have the breed I wanted so my mom said we'd come back the following weekend...but instead we went to Pittsburgh.

*22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?*
Livestock Production - nutrition, management, diseases, breeding/parturition, selection of seedstock on the basis of performance and phenotype...those kinds of classes.

*23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?*
Nothing that fancy. But I do like to build stuff.

*24. Are you interested in herbal animal medicine?*
No.

*25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?*
Somewhere in Maryland...close to where I am now preferably. I would like a place with at least 80 acres so I can run at least 400 ewes.

*26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?*
Nope.

*27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?*
Someone who's nice, courageous, strong, sticks up for themselves...and a little abs and muscles don't hurt either 

*28. Are your family or friends also interested in animals?*
Kind of. They only look at them for the 'cute' factor but can't stand the thought of killing one for food. My aunt always tells me that farming is 'not for her' and I just have to giggle  It's funny because they all eat meat.

*29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?*
I like to cook and bake, but I have to have a recipe! Whole/natural foods as in not processed/junk foods? Sure...I eat it...like fruits, veggies, meats. Not so into raw milk...I like my milk pasteurized and homogenized!  I had some of my friend's chicken's eggs when I spent the night at her house and they were pretty good, so sure.

*30. What was your best animal experience? Worst?*
Best - getting my first sheep 4 days before my 12th birthday. Worst - putting my 16 1/3 year old dog down in May 2011.  I knew him like my whole life.

*31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?*
Nope.

*32. What skills do you have that help you be more a self sufficient farm?*
I know how to take care of critters.

*33. Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?*
Nope.

*34. Do you use alternative energy sources on your farm? Would you like to?*
Nope. My parents have considered solar panels, but the cost would far outweigh any savings we would have.

*35. What is on your to do list?*
Build a barn, a fence, get some Katahdin sheep, and maybe get some Finnsheep & Romanovs to experiment with, trying to increase litter size in the Katahdins.

*36. Have you ever lived completely off what you produce? Would you like to?*
Nope. I would like to only if it's cheaper.

*37. In what do you trust?*
Family and friends.

*38. Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?*
Yes. I built my sheep feeder for $30 and it feeds 10 head, but if I were to buy something similar it would cost $120+.

*39. Has the experience with animals changed your attitude or habits?*
I have had animals all my life, so that has kind of shaped me into the person I am today. However, since getting my sheep I go down to the barn everyday at 5-5:30 to water them and check on them.

*Read my lambing thread.*


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## BarredRockMomma (Jun 4, 2012)

Welcome to journaling!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Jun 4, 2012)

Welcome to journaling & Can't wait to hear more! I love sheep, but Don't have the property for them!


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## bonbean01 (Jun 4, 2012)

Hey!!!!  Glad you started this...will tune in often 

Had no idea you were so young...hubby and I are now doing sheep and chickens and a catfish pond in our ummm....older years...really wish we could have started this at your age, but happy we get to do it now!  Just assumed you were older since you have the wisdom and I've learned much from you on the boards.

Looking forward to your journal!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Jun 4, 2012)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Had no idea you were so young...


I know! It's amazing how much knowledge she's got for such a young age. Don't we all wish we started younger?


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## SheepGirl (Jun 4, 2012)

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words everyone! 

I figured since my sheep were finally moving to my house I should start a journal, so I did!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 6, 2012)

Graduation is today, I'm so excited!


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 6, 2012)

Good luck and congratulations!!!


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## elevan (Jun 6, 2012)

Congratulations!


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## BarredRockMomma (Jun 6, 2012)




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## Four Winds Ranch (Jun 6, 2012)

Yay!!!
You must be sooo excited!!! 
Do you have any plans for future education or spacific jobs?


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## Sunny & the 5 egg layers (Jun 6, 2012)

Congratulations! How exciting!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Jun 6, 2012)

How wonderful! Congrats!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 6, 2012)

Thanks guys! It was a lot of fun (we graduated at Mount St. Mary's PNC Sports Complex) and I'm so glad I didn't trip in the heels I was wearing  Tonight is the safe & sound after graduation party at a local amusement park so I will be there from 10:30 tonight to 5 am tomorrow morning.

Four Winds Ranch - I plan to go to community college in the fall (since it's cheaper, and I have to pay for my college myself) and continue there for two years and then I want to transfer to the University of Maryland College Park to get my pre-vet degree. After that I want to transfer to the UMD-VT school of veterinary medicine to become a large animal vet


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## SheepGirl (Jun 6, 2012)

The pen for my sheep is almost done. Gotta run to Lowe's tomorrow to get some 2x4s to make the 'gate' stiffer so it's easier to use. Also need to get some hay and a couple bags of grain. Then I will need to put up the water trough and fill it with fresh water and then I can walk my sheep up the hill and BAM! they're at their new house 

I can't wait for my sheep and lambs to be up at my house...I've waited six years for this day lol


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 6, 2012)

Congrats on your graduation and your sheep moving in!! Do you do your sheep for meat or wool?


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## Pearce Pastures (Jun 7, 2012)

Congratulations!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks guys 

Straw Hat Kikos - My sheep don't really have a purpose right now lol. They have medium grade wool so it really isn't good for anything, except for maybe stuffing teddy bears...and it costs more to shear them than their wool would ever be worth. But they lived alongside my neighbor's sheep who were raised for meat. I really wanted to eat one of my ewe's lambs this year, but she had all girls and I really want to expand my flock so I'm thinking about keeping them for breeding rather than eating one. But I would like to have them for meat. I'm thinking about selling my ram and then using that money to buy a nicer ram that I can breed all my girls to...just don't know what breed I wanna cross 'em with! 

-----

Sheep are officially moved in  Didn't get around to getting any hay today (woke up at 3 pm since I didn't get home till 5 am, ate lunch, went to Southern States to get a bag of feed and some stakes/fence posts, then got chinese food for my bro since it's his birthday, picked up some Subway for me, stopped at Safeway to pick up an ice cream cake, got home and ate my food, fixed up the 'gates,' filled up the water trough, went down to the barn and spent forever herding my sheep into the barn, penned em up, my mom took Ali and one of the lambs and I took Ciqala and the other lamb, walked em up and put them in their part of the pen, then we went down to get Billy and Paulie and walked them up...sat outside for about a half hour making sure they were okay and weren't gonna get out, then I came inside and cleaned up a bit, and now it's 10 pm). So I'll get some tomorrow. They have grass in their pen so I'm not worried that they will starve overnight lol.

Pics tomorrow!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 7, 2012)

Cool. Sounds like a plan!! What are your fav breeds?


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## SheepGirl (Jun 7, 2012)

I really, really like Katahdins, but they are a hair breed and I don't want to deal with a hair x wool cross, so I'm pretty much 'forced' to choose a wool breed. I was thinking of crossing them with a Texel since he'd be the perfect size (don't want a big ram because my smallest ewe weighs ~130 lbs) and then I'd get some nice meaty lambs. But I also want to get a Finnsheep or a Romanov to improve the prolificacy in my flock (not that I need that after my ewe had quads two weeks ago lol), so I don't know. The possibilities are endless 

I really need to sit down and think about what my ewe's strengths and weaknesses are, and then pick an appropriately-sized breed (so my little ewe won't have any issues lambing) that will help with their weaknesses. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow...or sometime before I want to/need to buy a ram haha.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 8, 2012)

My internet is being a pain and won't let me upload any pics. I'm going to try resizing the pictures and then uploading them to see if that helps any.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 8, 2012)

So yesterday bringing them up was a pain. Ciqala walked willingly without any grain, so I'm proud of her  Ali was being stubborn and wouldn't move unless her tail was being pushed up on. I was glad my mom brought her up lol. And then it was the boy's turn. My mom got Billy and I got Paulie. Billy was super easy to walk 1/4 mile uphill from the barn to my house (of course he needed grain). Paulie was more stubborn than Ali! I couldn't get him to move...not with grain, not with pushing up on his tail...I even tried smacking him on his butt! That would only get him to walk a step or two. So then my grandparents came out and my grandmother was smacking his butt and everything and then my grandfather was yelling trying to get him to move and it finally worked. It took that boy 20 minutes to walk up the hill!

Originally, the boys were going to be housed together and the ewes and lambs were to be housed together. Well turns out Paulie is deathly scared of Billy (he even jumped a 4.5' fence to get away from him), so Paulie's in with the girls and Billy is all by himself. The final dimensions for the ram pen is 8'x14' shelter + 8'x32' exercise lot and the final dimensions for the ewe/wether pen is 16'x16' shelter + 16'x32' exercise lot plus I fenced around the stairs for them. That will be turned into a creep feeder for the lambs.

Oh, and weighed the lambs today. Lady Gaga (the one who got flystrike) weighs 9.5 lbs at 14 days old and Katy Perry weighs 14 lbs at 14 days old. I didn't get a birth weight on these two but their littermate weighed 5.5 lbs. So I'm guessing they weighed somewhere around there.

Ciqala on the left (the black leg belongs to Paulie), Ali on the right, the lamb in front is Lady Gaga, and the lamb nursing is Katy Perry.






Ciqala and Katy Perry





Ali and Katy Perry





Ciqala and Paulie at the feeder I made for them 





The view from the ram pen





Katy Perry taking a nap under the stairs





This is Paulie. Chewing cud is better than chewing tobacco


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## BrownSheep (Jun 8, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> I really, really like Katahdins, but they are a hair breed and I don't want to deal with a hair x wool cross, so I'm pretty much 'forced' to choose a wool breed. I was thinking of crossing them with a Texel since he'd be the perfect size (don't want a big ram because my smallest ewe weighs ~130 lbs) and then I'd get some nice meaty lambs. But I also want to get a Finnsheep or a Romanov to improve the prolificacy in my flock (not that I need that after my ewe had quads two weeks ago lol), so I don't know. The possibilities are endless
> 
> I really need to sit down and think about what my ewe's strengths and weaknesses are, and then pick an appropriately-sized breed (so my little ewe won't have any issues lambing) that will help with their weaknesses. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow...or sometime before I want to/need to buy a ram haha.


I've actually sheared wool/hair breed crosses. They were a dream! The had wool and didn't shed but had very little lanoline.  The wool just peeled off and you really could have sheared them with a pair of paper scissors.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 11, 2012)

Glad to see the sheep are finally home!   Your views are spectacular!!!  I'm jealous, it's so darn flat over here!


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## autumnprairie (Jun 11, 2012)

lad they got home even if a few were stubborn. love the pics


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## Symphony (Jun 11, 2012)

Lovely little Sheep.  I like their wool and they look very happy in the new place.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 12, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> I've actually sheared wool/hair breed crosses. They were a dream! The had wool and didn't shed but had very little lanoline.  The wool just peeled off and you really could have sheared them with a pair of paper scissors.


That sounds nice--I bet you it was really cool to just peel the wool away!  The only thing though is I wouldn't be able to sell the hair/wool at the wool pool so I'd be stuck with it or I'd throw it away.



			
				aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Glad to see the sheep are finally home!   Your views are spectacular!!!  I'm jealous, it's so darn flat over here!


 I went to the Eastern Shore back in January for a college tour of UMES (got accepted, but I'm not going) and you're right--it's SO flat! I'm not used to MD being super flat lol



			
				autumnprairie said:
			
		

> lad they got home even if a few were stubborn. love the pics


Thanks  They seem to be settling in nicely.



			
				Symphony said:
			
		

> Lovely little Sheep.  I like their wool and they look very happy in the new place.


Thanks  They ate all the grass in their pen and so now they are finally eating sufficient quantities of the hay I put in the feeder. They seem happy to be waited on rather than have to look for their own food through grazing


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## Roll farms (Jun 12, 2012)

Pretty sheep!


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## manybirds (Jun 12, 2012)

sheepgirl,do you raise a particular breed of sheep or just mutts?


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## SheepGirl (Jun 12, 2012)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Pretty sheep!


Thanks! 



			
				manybirds said:
			
		

> sheepgirl,do you raise a particular breed of sheep or just mutts?


They're mutts 

Ciqala is 1/2 Babydoll Southdown x 1/2 Montadale
Ali and her twin brother Billy are 3/4 Babydoll Southdown x 1/4 Montadale
Paulie, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga are 5/8 Babydoll Southdown x 3/8 Montadale


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## manybirds (Jun 12, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Roll farms said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats ok mutts are the funnest and hardiest! there all very neat looking


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## SheepGirl (Jun 12, 2012)

manybirds said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


haha, thanks


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## SheepGirl (Jun 12, 2012)

It has been raining all day. The sheep are all muddy because they just love to lay in the line of the water coming out of the gutter. They are not the smartest animals! 

But I got home from my orthodontist appointment at around 11:30 so I made some changes to their 'shelter.' As you all know, they're under my deck so obviously the 'roof' isn't solid. So I laid down a tarp on my deck over the ram pen and laid down some straw, so it's dry and warm for him. But of course, after all that, he decides to lay out in the rain 

Then I put a piece of plywood on the stair landing where the door to our garage is to provide a solid roof for the ewes/wether/lambs. Then I put some straw down there and they're all huddled in there all warm and dry 

Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and 80 so I will probably take the straw out and spread it all over the pen since the stairs is their favorite spot for keeping cool, and having the straw in there will probably get them too warm. And laying down on the dirt helps keep them cooler.


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## Symphony (Jun 12, 2012)

Iowa State has an excellent Sheep program along with other Agricultural colleges.  I didn't notice how young you are.  Good luck on the college search and remember have FUN.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 14, 2012)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Iowa State has an excellent Sheep program along with other Agricultural colleges.  I didn't notice how young you are.  Good luck on the college search and remember have FUN.


Thanks


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## SheepGirl (Jun 14, 2012)

So I woke up this morning to my brother complaining one of my sheep was out of the pen. What?!  So I looked out the window and I saw the 'gate' had been torn through  So I raced into the garage, grabbed some grain, and proceeded to go outside. Lo and behold, it was BILLY. That darn ram. He escaped in January by going through a gate to breed my ewe and today he escaped by going through a gate (though I don't know what his intentions were). When I got there though he was just standing there with an "oh $h!t" look on his face... 

He was real easy to get back in. Just had to have a lil bit of grain to lead him back in his pen. He will do anything for grain--it makes him real easy to handle because you can get him to do anything for you when he sees you have a bucket of grain. So then I tied the gate back up real tight--I even double tied it and double knotted it. Then I went and got the ewes some hay and I got Billy a flake of hay and put it in there for him. Then I started filling up their water and I see him start to escape _again_. He made it halfway _under_ the gate by the time I got over there and then he really started scurrying out of his pen. I grabbed him, straddled him in between my legs while I untied the gate (ughh why did I tie it so much?) and sent him back in. So now I know HOW he escapes I decided to outsmart him and I put a ladder and a roll of fencing in front of the gate  Unfortunately I will have to move it every time I will need to go in his pen (to give him hay and to refill his minerals).

After I put up the ladder and fence roll, he came over and checked it out and tried messing with it to see what he could do with it. Well I guess he had a little devious plan because he went and strutted over to his hay and started eating it and I went inside and watched him from our family room window. I saw him munching on the hay, then he realized I was gone, he looked around, and he ran over to the gate, and tried to knock the ladder over  Thankfully the ladder is a real heavy ladder he wasn't able to move  An hour later, it is still standing strong...let's see if it will hold up over the day lol.

And this morning when my ewes saw me with the grain they were running around and jumping. I guess they thought I'd start feeding them grain 2x a day  I give them hay in the morning and grain in the evening, sprinkled on top of the hay still left in the feeder. It keeps them occupied for a good 1-2 hours trying to pick out the grain from the hay.


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## BrownSheep (Jun 14, 2012)

Cement blocks work awfully well for animals that like to go under things


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## SheepGirl (Jun 14, 2012)

That is actually a really great idea, BrownSheep! We have some cinder blocks laying around so I will move a couple over there.


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## elevan (Jun 14, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> Cement blocks work awfully well for animals that like to go under things


x2 on that!

One of my previous bucks was adept at squeezing under impossibly small spots too.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 14, 2012)

I just went out and took a bunch of pictures. Here's a small sample...enjoy 

Paulie is growing gray rings around his ears. I have found this to be common in natural colored Babydolls and Babydoll crosses.






Katy Perry has the 'classic' Southdown face. Though I'm pretty sure she's going to be a wool blind ewe due to the type of wool growing around her eyes 





Butttt Lady Gaga has a crossbred face to her and she just looks goofy. The white dot on her nose has disappeared a bit, but she still has the black dot on her ear! 





This is Ali and Lady Gaga. Ali looks like a kangaroo in this picture. Ali is the twin sister to KP and LG's sire (Billy) and the daughter of KP and LG's dam (Ciqala), making her her aunt/maternal half sister.


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## redtailgal (Jun 14, 2012)

Lady Gaga is adorable!  not goofy!  Love that face, lol.


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## elevan (Jun 14, 2012)

Lady Gaga has a naturally curious face.  So cute!


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## Symphony (Jun 15, 2012)

Gaga looks like an Old fashioned stuffed Teddy Bear, lol.  You ladies are big softies.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 15, 2012)

Lol, thanks. Lady Gaga is perty adorable <3


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## autumnprairie (Jun 15, 2012)

can you send her to me so I can love on her?


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## SheepGirl (Jun 16, 2012)

lol, autumnprairie. 

My neighbor had given me a couple bales of orchardgrass mix hay. Ran out of that yesterday so today I went to the turkey farm a couple miles away and got some hay. I don't know if they raise turkeys anymore, but in the 3-4 turkey houses they have they store hay in it. We caught the farmer right as he was loading fresh timothy/grass mix round bales into one of the turkey houses. So we got one  IDK how much it weighs but it was just $25 (the cost of five 35-40# bales) so it is a bargain, since I know it weighs at least 300-400#. We put it in our garage on a pallet and I'm going to hand feed it to my sheep so it stays nice and green (and also because I don't have a round bale feeder--and I want to put the feeder I built to good use). It just takes soo long to get out even 1# of hay from it. So my plan is to put out hay 3x/day--my ram getting 1 lb of hay at a time and my ewes/wether getting 3 lbs of hay at a time. 'Cause I'm too lazy and impatient to get all 12 lbs out at once  For this reason, I like square bales better--one flake is 2-3 lbs and they're fast to pick up and move about. I suppose if I had a round bale feeder it wouldn't be too bad.


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## Symphony (Jun 17, 2012)

Usually you can peel them like an Onion or if someone you know has a chainsaw they could chop sections for you.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 17, 2012)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Usually you can peel them like an Onion or if someone you know has a chainsaw they could chop sections for you.


I like the chainsaw idea  Maybe my grandfather could chop it up for me...it's been taking me about 4 min per lb to get the hay for them.


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## Symphony (Jun 17, 2012)

I've seen it done.  I have some friends who don't have a round bale set up but around them its a lot easier to find Round over Small Square bales so they buy Round bales and cut them in either thirds or half.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 21, 2012)

It has been so hot the past two days, in the 90s. Tomorrow it is supposed to be cooler, which I'm sure the sheep will enjoy.

I'm 'bout ready to ship Billy, though. He has escaped from his pen 4-5x and he's escaped into the ewe/wether pen 2x. (He's only been here at my house for 2 weeks.) The ewes and my wether don't challenge the fencing and have no reason to go anywhere, so they don't. I don't know what it is about Billy. I want to sell him at auction to just get rid of him because he frustrates me to no end...but then I remember my plan I have for him. _When_ I buy my Katahdin sheep and they lamb, I plan on keeping most if not all of the ewe lambs to expand my flock quickly. So instead of buying another new ram to use on the first ram's daughters, I'll use Billy as a terminal sire and all lambs will go to market. And then after the first ewe lambs that are born lamb 1-2x, I would sell their sire and buy a new ram and after those lambs are born I'll really go through and cull my flock to have a really nice ewe base. So that's my plan. But I'm thinking about abandoning it so I don't have to deal with him anymore  He also loves to ram me, too  So I tell him "you want dinner tonight, or you want to be _my_ dinner tonight?" and it's so funny because he stops. I guess it's the tone of my voice that makes him stop messing with me because I doubt he understands what I say lol.

Tomorrow I'll be weighing Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, and see how much they've grown now that they're eating creep feed and nibbling hay. I only gave Lady Gaga a bottle one day, and she only ate 1-2 oz.

My sheep aren't eating much of their hay. Billy of course will eat everything I put out for him and not leave any waste. But the ewes, I've been putting 9 lbs of hay per day in their feeder and they always have extra. So I haven't put out any new hay today for them because I really want them to finish what's in their feeder before I go putting more fresh hay out. I checked on them about an hour ago and they still had some hay in their feeder. Hopefully tomorrow morning when I go out to feed or by this time tomorrow the hay will be gone and they can be rewarded with fresh hay. They love seeing that black trash bag because they know that there's fresh, green, leafy, tasty hay in there  Usually I feed Billy first and I have to walk around the ewe pen to get to his pen, so as I'm walking along the fence line the ewes will follow me and jump and be soo happy. Today they were disappointed they didn't get anything though haha.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 21, 2012)

Lol, Billy sounds ANNOYING. If it were me, hed just be tied up within reach of his food ad water, with a chain link rope or somethng !

What blind wool? 

Lady gaga is PRECIOUS!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 21, 2012)

Yes I used to like Billy but now I can barely stand him 

And wool blind is where the wool grows around the eyes and the sheep becomes blind, hence the term, wool blind. However over the past couple of days I've noticed that the wool type around her eyes has changed a bit so maybe I'll get lucky and she won't be wool blind 

I think Lady Gaga is like the cutest sheep I've ever seen, but then again I'm pretty bias lol


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 21, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Yes I used to like Billy but now I can barely stand him
> 
> And wool blind is where the wool grows around the eyes and the sheep becomes blind, hence the term, wool blind. However over the past couple of days I've noticed that the wool type around her eyes has changed a bit so maybe I'll get lucky and she won't be wool blind
> 
> I think Lady Gaga is like the cutest sheep I've ever seen, but then again I'm pretty bias lol


LOL! Sounds like our wether *sigh* the thing is so skiddish, and wont shut up if you get near him

Could you prevent it i fyou cut the wool around the eyes? fingercrossed she isnt


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## SheepGirl (Jun 21, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

> Could you prevent it i fyou cut the wool around the eyes? fingercrossed she isnt


Yep, but then they look funny and also wool blind sheep tend to wean fewer & lighter lambs. Open faced sheep tend to wean more & heavier lambs, which means they are more profitable, which is obviously a desired trait in most flocks lol.

And because she really is the better of the two lambs in terms of muscle mass and growth rate, I really hope she isn't wool blind because since she is inbred, if I outcrossed her, I imagine the lambs would be downright awesome in terms of production traits.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 22, 2012)

We had a real nasty storm earlier today. I went out to go feed my sheep at around 5 and I heard thunder and when I went outside there was tons of lightning and the sky was a really dark shade of gray. So I quickly fed them and I laid a tarp down on top of the deck for my ram and a piece of plywood on top of the stair landing at the door to the garage for the ewes. So I went inside and got the scale to see if I could get to weighing the lambs real quick before the storm hit since I didn't know how long it was supposed to last. So I get out there and as I'm untying the gate to get into the pen, rain starts pelleting down and I become drenched in like five seconds. My sheep ran under the stairs and Billy ran under the deck and I ran inside lol. I watched the sheep from the basement/guest bedroom since there's a window there that I can look out at. At this point we had lost power and the window in the basement started to leak, but I was too scared to go into the bathroom to get a towel cause it was pitch black lol. But I had looked out the window and my poor sheep ran out from under the stairs and they were standing under the deck with their heads hanging low and their ears were all droopy and they were soaking wet. The poor lambs were all hunched up and shivering.

So I decided to evacuate them to our garage. I went outside and the tarp was blown up, even though I put chairs on top of all the corners. The power was still out so I couldn't walk them to the front of the garage because we have the automatic door openers, so I had to try to push the sheep up the steps. Oh did I mention it was hailing, too? Only Ali and Billy followed me out of the pen. Billy would not go up the stairs but I was able to get Ali up the steps and I had her in the garage while I was trying to get the other sheep. And whaddayaknow, the rain stopped. So I decided to put Billy back and once I did I got Ali and I tried getting her down the steps but she would not have any part of it. Still out of power, I couldn't open the garage door so I walked her through my house (shhh....don't tell my mom that ) and around to the back of the house. So now that all the sheep were back in their muddy pens, I went and I got some straw and laid it out for them so they can lay down someplace dry. Then I went and I took the hay out of their feeder (luckily it wasn't very much) and I tried dumping out all the water but it was hard due to one of the pieces of wood coming off (so much for my handiwork lol).

So after I got the sheep all situated I went and I cleaned the deck since all of our furniture and our grill and all the flowers were all over the place. I went around to the front of the house to check on my grandparents (they live in an RV parked in our front/side yard) and they were out there talking to the neighbor in front of us. Turns out their apple tree fell down  That was a HUGE tree that they would let us pick apples off of every year and we would make apple pie.

But there were so many sirens and I saw so many ambulances and police cars go down our road. I'm sure there will be a big write-up in the paper tomorrow about this storm.

We finally got our power on about an hour ago, it was out for 3.5-4 hours. It came on as I was getting my sheep some hay, which I was happy about cause I was in the dark in my garage with a lil old flashlight (can you tell I don't like the dark? lol).


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## SDBoerGoats (Jun 22, 2012)

Sounds kind of like my day! It has been pouring here too, thunderstorms, and I lost my satellite for a while, but no power. I hate it when it rains like this, but my goats have 3 sided sheds they all run into. I have been watching all the beautiful hay across the road from my house that I had planned on buying get ruined!


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 23, 2012)

(at the 'shh dont tell my mom' ) LOL !!! 


Wow... Whadda day. eh? Glad your sheep are happy, and I agree, ME NO LIKEY DARKEY  (Reminds me of ' Dum dum give me gum gum' , 'Dum Dum give me LIGHT' , LOL ,random, Yes i know)


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## SheepGirl (Jun 24, 2012)

SDBoerGoats, I know what you mean about the hay. I hate seeing hay fields ruined by the rain!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 24, 2012)

My grandma cracks me up. She was out looking at my sheep and she took one look at my ram and she's like "it's a wonder his legs aren't bruised!"  I just about died laughing lol


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## elevan (Jun 24, 2012)




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## SheepGirl (Jun 25, 2012)

Tomorrow is the beginning of the MD State FFA Convention. I applied for my state degree, and I'm participating in Ag Quiz Bowl and FFA Knowledge. In August, I will be competing in Livestock Judging (last year I was 'on' the team, but the contest was the day we left for vacation...our team ended up going to nationals and because I didn't compete in the initial contest, I wasn't able to go  hopefully we'll have the same luck this year!). I will be spending the night there until Thursday, so if you don't see me on here, it's 'cause I'm at the convention.

My brothers don't like sheep (or really any other animal except dogs and cats) so I will be nagging them everyday while I'm gone to make sure they feed my sheep. I made it simple for them--I picked 30 lbs of hay from the round bale (boy did that take forever!) and I put it in six trash bags--one for each pen for each day; there are three 7 lb bags for the ewes/wether and three 3 lb bags for my ram. It will take all of two minutes to throw the hay and grain in the feeders plus maybe up to five minutes to water them, depending on what the water level's at.

-----

Today I gave my lambs their first CD/T shot. I like to do my shots at 30 & 60 days old (even though today I was one day behind), and then ewe lambs will get a booster 30 days pre-breeding, and then everybody gets a booster 30 days pre-lambing.

While I was attempting to catch the lambs, Paulie thought I was going after him or something so he jumped over the water bucket and lattice (it's _supposed_ to separate the pens above the water bucket so they don't jump over the water into the other pen) and somehow he managed to break the bottom off of the water bucket. (I'm not really sure exactly how it happened since he was behind me running away from me...I just heard a thud and then a rush of water and I turned around and he was in the ram pen with the bucket overturned and broken.) So I didn't want to go out and buy another bucket so I scrounged around our shed for the large bucket we keep our 'outdoor toys' in (like basketballs, squirtguns, tennis/badminton rackets, etc) and I washed that out and filled it up. Their 'new' bucket is at least 10 or 15 years old so I hope it holds up better than this bucket that we've only had for about a month. 

I need to get myself a crook...they are sooo useful. My neighbor's crook worked great up until about a year ago when it snapped in half (it was an old wooden one). Better yet, I need to fence off one side of the steps so the sheep only have one 'exit' instead of two, on either side of the pole. I think that will be a major help in trying to catch sheep


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## BrownSheep (Jun 26, 2012)

I hope you do well! Our convention was a couple weeks ago. You MUST GO to nationals!...even if you just have to beg to go like I did! I went last year and had a great time.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Jun 26, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

>


X2


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## SheepGirl (Jun 29, 2012)

So my sheep are still alive!  lol

But I got back from the convention yesterday around 4:30ish. I had a great time! I got my State FFA Degree and our Ag Quiz bowl placed first out of nine teams competing , but unfortunately it doesn't go anywhere. Our first round we won 65 to -10, the second round was a tie 45-45, but the other team answered the tiebreaker question wrong so we won and then our last round we really thought we were going to lose, because the other team kept buzzing in before any of us did. But the last five questions were soo easy (they dealt with animals) and I answered all of them, winning our team 25 points! So we won our final round 45-35. So we got to go up on stage during one of the sessions and shake the state officer's hands and get a plaque 

Nobody from our chapter placed in FFA knowledge lol...we didn't really study for it, either. Our chapter did place 2nd in the Meats CDE, though. Not first, but it's still pretty good.

So now we just need to study for Livestock Judging and let's HOPE we go to National's!


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 29, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> So my sheep are still alive!  lol
> 
> But I got back from the convention yesterday around 4:30ish. I had a great time! I got my State FFA Degree and our Ag Quiz bowl placed first out of nine teams competing , but unfortunately it doesn't go anywhere. Our first round we won 65 to -10, the second round was a tie 45-45, but the other team answered the tiebreaker question wrong so we won and then our last round we really thought we were going to lose, because the other team kept buzzing in before any of us did. But the last five questions were soo easy (they dealt with animals) and I answered all of them, winning our team 25 points! So we won our final round 45-35. So we got to go up on stage during one of the sessions and shake the state officer's hands and get a plaque
> 
> ...


LOL and GRATS!!


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## SheepGirl (Jun 29, 2012)

A nasty storm rolled through...the worst of it lasted about an hour and seems to have passed already and it's getting calm out now. But we put my sheep in the garage about an hour before the storm hit and we put up two fans and opened a window part way since they were all panting. They seemed to have cooled off because now they're eating, but we'll see if it gets hot again after this storm completely moves through. I woke up this morning to feed my sheep and then I watched TV for a half hour and then fell asleep and slept until 4 pm so I'm still wide awake lol so I will probably stay up late and check on them every half hour to an hour or so.

The weather report from the NWS said we would have wind in excess of 80-90 mph. I don't know if the wind got up to that speed or not, but our birch tree in our front yard that is about 8" thick was on it's side, being blown over.

So nothing else is really all that new. My mom is taking the kittens to the animal shelter tomorrow since we can't find homes for them and we are going through two 20 lb boxes of kitty litter per week for 3 adult cats and 6 kittens with our three litter boxes we have around the house. And that's getting expensive. I'm gonna miss the lil buggers  Everybody wants to keep the fluffy one, but I want to keep the red/white tabby, the two gray tabbies and the boy. I know, that's pretty much all of them  I could care less about the red female because she doesn't come when I call her (neither does the fluffy one, but she's fluffy so that makes up for it lol). But the red/white tabby who we named Claire comes when I call her and is a lap cat. Piglet, the boy, comes when you call his name and he'll jump up on your lap and when you go to pet him, he starts attacking your hand lol. The two gray ones are really nice...they come when you call them and they'll sit on your lap for an hour before they want to go play with their siblings. The gray one with the grayer ears likes to climb up on you as close to your face as you can get while the gray one with the red ears is happy where you put her. Everybody likes the fluffy one because as soon as someone touches her, she starts purring. And so that's what everybody likes about her (excluding her cuteness), but she's more independent and she doesn't come to you or want to sit on your lap. But the momma cat will be spayed soon and then be moved back outside and so inside we will have two adult cats and one kitten (though I hope we can keep two--the fluffy one, who I call fluf-n-stuf, and Claire). Here are some pictures I took when they were 5-6 weeks old.

The gray one with grayer ears.






The fluffy one.





This is Piglet. He's such an ugly kitten but he's a nice little boy.





The red female.





The gray one with red ears.





My favorite - Claire


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 29, 2012)

Keep Claire! She is ADORABLE!! Fluf-n-stuff isnt that cute (from the angle, lol), so just keep Claire!!


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## greybeard (Jun 29, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> So my sheep are still alive!  lol


Congrats on your FFA accomplishments!!

But ya do know your brothers just ignored your sheep while you were gone, waited till the last day and then hurridly threw all 6 bags of hay in and the same for the bags of feed--don't ya? 
(I had sisters too)


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 29, 2012)

greybeard said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL!!


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## BrownSheep (Jun 30, 2012)

Oddly enough meats was the team I accompanied to nationals.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 30, 2012)

So we went to go take the kittens to the shelter today but they were completely full and they couldn't be adopted out right away anyway because they are all 1-2 lbs and the minimum weight is 3 lbs. So we took them back home and we're gonna fatten them up and if we don't find them homes we will just stick them outside with their momma after we get them all spayed/neutered. But the shelter did give us a flyer for a completely free/no questions asked spay/neuter program in our county, so that will save us a couple hundred bucks 

And graybeard - that sounds like something my brothers _would_ do! lol 

-----

There are over 1 million people in our area without power. Luckily we still have it  But my cousins in Rockville have no power and it is expected to be out for a couple days...coupled with this 100 degree heat, that is a recipe for disaster. So they might come up to our house with their critters (a dog and 3 or 4 cats) so they can have some AC, though they haven't decided on anything yet because they have a generator (however, no gas stations are open in their area so once their generator runs out they're hosed).

Another storm is supposed to hit this evening so my sheep will move into the garage again tonight. Summer storms are like the worst.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 1, 2012)

A storm never came through last night and my sheep never made it in the garage. We are supposed to have another storm again tonight before midnight, but it's just supposed to be a light rain so my sheep can stay outside.

Other than that, nothing really new happening


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 1, 2012)

Hope the storm clear up!


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## elevan (Jul 1, 2012)

Lucky you on not losing power.  That storm was ferocious.  We lost power for about 12 hours but there are about 600,000 people in our state still without it.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 2, 2012)

That storm was ferocious, and we were just on the tip of it...so I can't imagine what it was like being in the 'red' or 'orange' parts of it. You are lucky you got your power on so quick. Many people in our area (including my cousins) still don't have power, and the power companies still don't know when their customers will get their power back.

We had a bunch of thunder and lightning last night, but no rain. We are *supposed* to have thunderstorms every night until Wednesday or Thursday, but for the past two nights there hasn't been any rain at all. And we are supposed to have this 95-105 degree weather all week.


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## elevan (Jul 2, 2012)

Yeah, we're lucky we're on a different power company than the majority of those who are out of power.  We almost never lose power and when we do it's not for very long.  The other company though is notorious for longer power outtages...tie a big storm in there and it's even worse.

Our temps are supposed to be up there this week too.  It is really extreme, we normally only have about a week of low to mid 90s in late August.  Seasons are coming earlier this year it seems.


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## greybeard (Jul 2, 2012)

Being without power is the dumps, especially if you are all electric and on well water like I am. I generally lose power about once per week in the spring and summer, being at the very end of a long line, with miles of National Forest on both sides.  Got plenty of coleman lanterns, camp stoves and bbq wood tho. 

Hope everyone up that way gets their power back on quickly since your temps are going to be so high. (don't forget to check on your neighbors, especially if they are --(I hate to use the word ) --older) 

Odd weather tho--it's only been mid 80s here for the last several days--maybe a week now.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 3, 2012)

Sorry about the power outages ! Glad you have it tho! We only ever lose our power (Rarely tho) in the winter  Worst time of year ! 

Hope the storm(s?) pass through and DONT COME BACK (yelling at the storms, lol). We've had a normal summer tho so I cant relate to you or other people, lol, sorry ! (not really tho cause I like normal summers > yes, Im evil lol)


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## SheepGirl (Jul 5, 2012)

Most of the people in our area have power now...I heard on the radio that it's down to about 200,000 people that still don't have power.

---

I was sleeping in my bed and my brother came in saying my sheep escaped. Figuring it was Billy, I didn't worry about it since he doesn't wander and I slept in some. (Billy also escaped 3 times yesterday so I really wasn't in a mood to deal with him again.) Well about a half hour later, my mom comes in and she's like "All of your sheep are missing except for Billy!" Talk about an adrenaline rush lol. I have never had an issue with the ewes and wether escaping--heck, I don't even know how they got out! Everything is secure--I made sure last night before I went to bed so I wouldn't have this issue again.

Turns out, my ewes and wether were missing and Billy was bleating his head off. I walked around the house and still no sign of them so I walked down the driveway towards the barn and ta-da! FOUND THEM. The darn sheep went down to the barn. Being that it was 7:30 and I had an orthodontist appt at 9 (and a 40 min drive to get there), I really just did not have the time to deal with them, so I locked them in a pen and got them some water. I texted so many of my friends to come help me since I was going to be home alone and I really needed some help, but only one said she could come help. So I got Billy some hay to keep him occupied for a little bit and then I went back inside and did my hair, changed my clothes, and put some make up on. So as I'm about to leave, my neighbor (the one who lives closest to us and has the pitbull) comes over with Billy. I was like you have got to be kidding me. (I still don't know how he got out...) Luckily she was nice about it, but the poor guy was so stressed from being alone he was panting like a freight train. It was pretty funny because everybody couldn't get near him, but I just said his name and he came running over to me  So I ran him down to the barn and locked him in the pen with the rest of the sheep and I left to go to my orthodontist appointment.

I went to my orthodontist appointment and apparently the impacted canine they're pulling down is coming in backwards so that has to be rotated and they put a bracket on it and I can't close my mouth without my bottom tooth touching the bracket and hurts... 

But anyway on my way home I went and stopped at the feed store and got some more grain and I got home and my friend pulls up in my driveway  So we get my halters and 2 lbs of grain and we walk down there ready for action. My sheep were still in the pen so that was good lol, but when we opened the gate they all dashed out  So we spent like 20 minutes trying to coax them back in but we were like forget it...and we just chased them in. So they went in the pen in like 30 seconds. So the first couple of sheep we got were Paulie and Ali and then the lambs followed, so we didn't have to worry about them. Unfortunately these are my two most stubborn sheep...well Ali is the main stubborn one and Paulie just isn't halter trained. But we managed to walk them 1/4 mile up hill and we put them back in the pen. Thinking I had left a halter down at the barn (I have three), I only brought one with me. Apparently I didn't leave one at the barn. So instead of walking back up to my house, we just put the halter on Ciqala and then lead Billy with the bucket of grain. Even with only one haltered sheep, we got the sheep up to my house in about 5 min compared to the other two which took a half hour  Ciqala is a pro at walking on a halter. She didn't even need any grain to entice her 

But Billy is so outta shape. He was panting the whole way up the hill  But yah we put them all in and we tie the gate shut and we went to Chipotle and I bought her lunch for helping me  We were there for a good hour talking...mainly about boys  (hey, we're single teenage girls ) lol so we left and I rushed back home (don't worry...I only went 5 mph over the speed limit, I wore my seat belt, and I used my turn signal) to see if my sheep were still in their pen. Luckily they were haha.

I swear, these sheep have caused me more trouble in the past 1.5 months then they have for the past 6 yrs I've had sheep  I'm 'bout ready to get rid of them!  (no, I'm not gonna)


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## ILuvSheep (Jul 5, 2012)

LOL! Sounds like you had a GREAT day (NOT! lol)

Sorry about your tooth 

Hey if you sell 'em ship 'em up here to me


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## SheepGirl (Jul 5, 2012)

Lol my day was fantastic  And I just went to pick up my brother and my car overheated so I had to have my grandfather come pick me up...we went to go get my brother and then we came back and put water in it and I got it home safely.

But yah I'll keep you in mind if I do get rid of them


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## ILuvSheep (Jul 5, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Lol my day was fantastic  And I just went to pick up my brother and my car overheated so I had to have my grandfather come pick me up...we went to go get my brother and then we came back and put water in it and I got it home safely.
> 
> But yah I'll keep you in mind if I do get rid of them


Lol, thats good

LOL, goodies, im sure your sheep will LOVE going from 100*F degree wether to -60*F degree wether


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## SheepGirl (Jul 5, 2012)

haha probably


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## ILuvSheep (Jul 5, 2012)

haha, ya


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## SheepGirl (Jul 6, 2012)

I went to the carnival last night and I came home at about 10 pm. I went in my garage to get some hay for the sheep and I walked out with the bag, shaking it. I nearly peed my pants when Paulie comes running up to me and nudges my leg! I was like you have got to be kidding me--all the sheep were out again! (They were all secure at around 5 pm when I had last fed them.) They must've just got out since they weren't very far and they all came to the sound of the trash bag. Fortunately I had my phone on my person (rather than in my purse, like it usually is when I go somewhere) so I called my mom to have her come out and help me round 'em up. She brought out some grain so that made things move a lot faster.

So after we put them all back in their pens we stayed out for an extra hour putting in step-in posts between every T-post. (My mom had bought like 20 or 30 of them so she could fence around our sheds so the sheep could do some weed-whackin'.) I called it Alcatraz, because the sheep really are on lock-down now. There's not much give to the fence anymore. And as of like 20 minutes ago, they are all still in their pen


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 6, 2012)

Can I make a suggestion?  It looks like your fencing is on the outside of the posts?  I'd suggest switching it so the fence is on the inside of the posts, that way if the sheep push against the fence, the posts will stop it from bowing out.  Also, it looks like the fence may not be secured at the bottom of the posts?  They're probably just pushing under the fence to escape.  If you can't put the fence on the inside of the posts, I'd recommend at least wiring the fence to the t-posts at the very bottom.  

I know all about sheep escaping.    Mine have a permanent field fence, but they've lately been jumping over/pushing through the electric netting.  Do you know how hard it is to put electric netting posts in the ground when the ground is rock hard?  I was saying some not so nice words to them this morning after trying to put several posts in the ground...hard to do!  Oh yeah, and it's not fun to get shocked by the fence at 6:00 in the morning!  Turns out wet wood does not insulate!    I had the fence unplugged because I was using the electric for the rabbit's fan.  Guess I'll have to come up with another extension cord!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 6, 2012)

Yep, the fencing is outside of the T-posts...I wanted it the other way around, so that way the sheep couldn't push up against it, but my grandfather came over when he saw me with the fencing and he just HAD to help (he always has to get involved with every construction project we do lol). And it's his way or the highway and he'll yell at you until you do it his way.  Probably should've done it when he was at a doctor's appointment!  But last night when we put the step-in posts in, we put them on the outside of the fence so the fencing is kind of weaving in and out of the T-posts and step-in posts.

The fence is secured to the posts with zip ties...2-3 to a post. The initial zip ties we used were the big black heavy duty ones that we got at the hardware store. (If you look closely, you can kind of see them on the T-posts.) But I ran out of those to do the step-in posts so I had to use some el-cheapo ones we've had for years sitting in a cabinet in the garage. I'll probably need to replace all the zip ties with wire like you suggested...do you know what kind of wire I would need? I need to get something thick, but not too thick that I wouldn't be able to wrap it around the posts myself.

But I bet that shock at 6 am really woke you up!  I know what you mean about the not so nice words...I didn't say them, but I was definitely thinking them!!


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## elevan (Jul 6, 2012)

We use electric fence wire to wire our field fence to the posts.  I do have to use a pair of pliers to get the job done though.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 7, 2012)

That's actually not a bad idea. I think I might try that and see how that works. I think on Thursday when I went to the feed store I saw a small roll of that stuff for less than ten bucks, so I may have to go back and pick it up


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## SheepGirl (Jul 7, 2012)

The cats have killed four or five rodent-like creatures and left them around the sheep pens. I have been wondering for the longest time what they were (the last one I found was from about a week ago) and I finally remembered to google it. Turns out they're northern short-tailed shrews. I've heard of a shrew, but I never knew what one was  They're ugly little critters and my dog, Maggie, went out to feed with me and she didn't see one on the ground so she stepped on it and all it's guts came out  And apparently they're venomous, but not enough to kill or hurt a human? Kind of creepy if you ask me!


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 7, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> The cats have killed four or five rodent-like creatures and left them around the sheep pens. I have been wondering for the longest time what they were (the last one I found was from about a week ago) and I finally remembered to google it. Turns out they're northern short-tailed shrews. I've heard of a shrew, but I never knew what one was  They're ugly little critters and my dog, Maggie, went out to feed with me and she didn't see one on the ground so she stepped on it and all it's guts came out  And apparently they're venomous, but not enough to kill or hurt a human? Kind of creepy if you ask me!


Their prolly venomous like a mole or komodo dragon - bacteria is really what it is


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## SheepGirl (Jul 8, 2012)

CBL, could be. The Web site just said they were venomous...but they didn't say in what way. 

---

I'm pretty much outta room on my uploader thing here on BYH, so I joined PhotoBucket so I can upload all the good photos I take. You can check out my photography under my 'Website' below my name to the left.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 8, 2012)

Looking at the photos I recently took, I noticed that Lady Gaga has bi-colored nose...how cool!  I don't recall ever seeing it on a sheep before; I've seen it on cattle, though.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 8, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> CBL, could be. The Web site just said they were venomous...but they didn't say in what way.
> 
> ---
> 
> I'm pretty much outta room on my uploader thing here on BYH, so I joined PhotoBucket so I can upload all the good photos I take. You can check out my photography under my 'Website' below my name to the left.


Ya, i thought for years komodo dragons were venomous,  then I was like *derp* "Its bacteria!???" 

--

I will, Its easy for me to upload pics on my moms comp, but first I have to psot them somewhere else  

--

OMG! that is so cute!! New reason to love Lady Gaga


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 8, 2012)

Yep, we use electric fence wire too. It's nice and easy to bend, and if you do it just right it's easy to break off pieces w/o cutters.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 8, 2012)

I have applied to soo many places (even McDonald's) and nobody has contacted me back to offer me a job. But our vet for our cats/dogs is hiring a vet/kennel assistant so I'm taking my resume over there tomorrow  So let's hope it goes well...


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## ILuvSheep (Jul 9, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> I have applied to soo many places (even McDonald's) and nobody has contacted me back to offer me a job. But our vet for our cats/dogs is hiring a vet/kennel assistant so I'm taking my resume over there tomorrow  So let's hope it goes well...


     !!!


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## Symphony (Jul 9, 2012)




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## SheepGirl (Jul 9, 2012)

I dropped my resume off and now it's just a waiting game. My parents have been taking our critters there since the 80s (even though the current vet just bought the place a couple years ago) so I hope that helps


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## SheepGirl (Jul 13, 2012)

Still haven't heard back from the vet yet...so maybe I didn't get the job 

Anyway, I was eating oatmeal this morning for breakfast...you know, the awesome Dinosaur Egg/Brown Sugar flavor  Well I ate about half of it and then I decided I was full, so I contemplated throwing it out. But then a light bulb went off in my head and I went outside and fed it to my sheep!  Ciqala and Paulie were scared of the bowl but Ali walked right up to me and demanded to see what was in it. She kept trying to get a taste of it but it kept getting in her nose  But once she got the taste she gobbled it all down in like five seconds.


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## jodief100 (Jul 13, 2012)

Don't wait for the places you applied to to call you, call them first!!!!!  We are getting about 100 applications for every opening, no way to look through them all.  Anyone that calls thiers at least gets looked at.  They also get browinie points for gumption.  

Your lambs are adorable.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 13, 2012)

Lol, my mom says the same thing! I just hate sounding pushy...but maybe I need to be if I want a job! We're taking our diabetic cat to the vet tomorrow morning (he's had a fever for a week and he was just put on a 2nd antibiotic Wednesday) so maybe I will ask then


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## ILuvSheep (Jul 14, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Still haven't heard back from the vet yet...so maybe I didn't get the job
> 
> Anyway, I was eating oatmeal this morning for breakfast...you know, the awesome Dinosaur Egg/Brown Sugar flavor  Well I ate about half of it and then I decided I was full, so I contemplated throwing it out. But then a light bulb went off in my head and I went outside and fed it to my sheep!  Ciqala and Paulie were scared of the bowl but Ali walked right up to me and demanded to see what was in it. She kept trying to get a taste of it but it kept getting in her nose  But once she got the taste she gobbled it all down in like five seconds.


THE AWESOMEST FLAVOR THERE IS?? Ok, you are OFFICIALLY the awesome sheep lady now!!! LOL!


LMAO!


SO you get the job!


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## autumnprairie (Jul 15, 2012)

did you get the job?


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## SheepGirl (Jul 18, 2012)

Nope  But our Petsmart is hiring a couple positions so I will apply there...you have to be 18 but luckily I turn 18 in 8 days so it's perfect timing


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 18, 2012)

I worked at Petsmart in college and it was a pretty decent job.  Good luck!  I've always called after about a week or so of turning in the application. I usually say something like, "Hi, this is ________. I submitted an application last week and was wondering when you'd start the interviews?"      I used to be shy about it, but like someone told me, the only one who is going to cheer for you when applying for jobs is YOU!  You have to be your own cheerleader.  

How far are you from Gaithersburg?   One of my best friends is a vet at a small animal clinic there. I could put in a good word if it's not too far for you.


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## Symphony (Jul 18, 2012)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I worked at Petsmart in college and it was a pretty decent job.  Good luck!  I've always called after about a week or so of turning in the application. I usually say something like, "Hi, this is ________. I submitted an application last week and was wondering when you'd start the interviews?"      I used to be shy about it, but like someone told me, the only one who is going to cheer for you when applying for jobs is YOU!  You have to be your own cheerleader.
> 
> How far are you from Gaithersburg?   One of my best friends is a vet at a small animal clinic there. I could put in a good word if it's not too far for you.


Lol, its Maryland nothing is far away.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 18, 2012)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I worked at Petsmart in college and it was a pretty decent job.  Good luck!  I've always called after about a week or so of turning in the application. I usually say something like, "Hi, this is ________. I submitted an application last week and was wondering when you'd start the interviews?"      I used to be shy about it, but like someone told me, the only one who is going to cheer for you when applying for jobs is YOU!  You have to be your own cheerleader.
> 
> How far are you from Gaithersburg?   One of my best friends is a vet at a small animal clinic there. I could put in a good word if it's not too far for you.


Gaithersburg is about 45 min away and I used to live near there (I lived in Germantown) and I go down that way often, so I know the area pretty well  Plus my mom drives down that way for work so I can always carpool with her lol. But yes that would be awesome!  Can you PM me the vet's info?


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## autumnprairie (Jul 18, 2012)




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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 19, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> aggieterpkatie said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I will!   I'm also seeing my friend tomorrow, so I'll ask her if they're hiring.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 19, 2012)

and  !!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 19, 2012)

Yesterday I was on my way home from picking my brother up and I was rolling up my driveway to find my other brother and my grandparents chasing sheep  Apparently Billy and Paulie had escaped, conveniently just minutes before a nasty thunderstorm which lasted about an hour or so. (I know how Billy escaped, he rammed straight through the ladder and cinder blocks but I'm not sure how Paulie escaped without the ewes escaping, too.) My brother said they had been trying to catch the two sheep for about 10 min before I got home and I was able to get them in the pens within 3 minutes because they both followed me  Normally on my way home from picking up my brother I go through town, but yesterday I made a spur-of-the-moment decision and took the interstate. I'm sure glad I did, otherwise they would've been chasing these sheep for another 10 minutes (by that time it would've been pouring rain) waiting for me to get home.

Some good news, Piglet, my favorite little kitten found a new home with one of my mom's co-workers. We don't know about Claire or Flufnstuf yet...we might keep both or we may keep just one (my mom hasn't 'advertised' either to her coworkers, though ). The other two remaining kittens still need a home. If nobody else gets a new home, though, they will be spayed and they will move outside with their momma (who is an outdoor cat). You can see more pictures of the kittens on page 7 of my journal.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 19, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Yesterday I was on my way home from picking my brother up and I was rolling up my driveway to find my other brother and my grandparents chasing sheep  Apparently Billy and Paulie had escaped, conveniently just minutes before a nasty thunderstorm which lasted about an hour or so. (I know how Billy escaped, he rammed straight through the ladder and cinder blocks but I'm not sure how Paulie escaped without the ewes escaping, too.) My brother said they had been trying to catch the two sheep for about 10 min before I got home and I was able to get them in the pens within 3 minutes because they both followed me  Normally on my way home from picking up my brother I go through town, but yesterday I made a spur-of-the-moment decision and took the interstate. I'm sure glad I did, otherwise they would've been chasing these sheep for another 10 minutes (by that time it would've been pouring rain) waiting for me to get home.
> 
> Some good news, Piglet, my favorite little kitten found a new home with one of my mom's co-workers. We don't know about Claire or Flufnstuf yet...we might keep both or we may keep just one (my mom hasn't 'advertised' either to her coworkers, though ). The other two remaining kittens still need a home. If nobody else gets a new home, though, they will be spayed and they will move outside with their momma (who is an outdoor cat). You can see more pictures of the kittens on page 7 of my journal.
> http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh490/SheepGirl94/DSCN5115.jpg


Thats good to hear!

Piglet doesn't look so much like a Piglet no more  handsome boy


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## SheepGirl (Jul 21, 2012)

Piglet left about an hour ago to go to his new home  

It has been raining since 1 pm yesterday. It has mostly been a light rain, but there have been instances of a heavy downpour. (Thankfully no wind and no thunder & lightning ) Yesterday I wasn't too worried about the sheep because they weren't under the deck, yet they were still laying down and chewing their cud contentedly. But when I woke up this morning, they were all standing hunched up with their ears drooping  They really looked miserable lol. So I put an umbrella out for them (like the kind for patio furniture) and I bungee-corded it to the T-post behind their feeder so they can at least stay dry when they eat. The lambs don't really like it and so they go sit under the steps and they stay pretty dry that way (though they went from white to brown thanks to the mud). I put a tarp on top of the deck last night for Billy so when he goes under he's not getting wet, but he still chooses to stand out in the rain. The sheep don't really use the deck actually; they stay out in the rain.

We don't have any room in the garage for them anymore (my mom bought a bunch of chairs from antique stores and habitat for humanity's re-store that she plans to 'refurbish' and sell...so they're sitting in there), which is where I would've moved them to, so my mom may pick up some plywood and 2x4s for us to build a little shelter for them...if we do, I'll start a thread in the fencing & housing forum 

I've already put out three pounds of hay twice today to encourage them to stay under the umbrella and keep dry...but as long as they're eating they should stay fairly warm (this is really cold rain). I will probably go out every hour or two and refresh their hay supply (they love getting 'fresh' hay).

They say the rain will clear up by tonight but tomorrow and Monday we will have chances of thunderstorms. So far Wednesday is the only day with 'sunny' in the forecast.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 21, 2012)

Rain is finally gone!  (Let's just hope it stays that way...for now anyway )


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 21, 2012)

Good to hear!

AK is like that right now- Used to be rains at night but now its 24/7 it seems. Its funny cause this year has been really weird- During winter, one month would be INSANELY cold and the next would be like paradise, then insanely cold then paradise. Now its one month its raining the next its sunny. Realy weird.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 21, 2012)

BTW, my friend said they may be hiring soon so go ahead and fill out an application, but she can't make any promises.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 22, 2012)

CBL, that seems to be how it's been this summer...except every week (rather than every month) is different 

aggieterpkatie, awesome! I'll go by there sometime this week and pick one up  Thanks so much!


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## Symphony (Jul 22, 2012)

Rain rain come our WAY!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 26, 2012)

Well today is my birthday and I turn 18


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## marlowmanor (Jul 26, 2012)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


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## elevan (Jul 26, 2012)

Happy Birthday to YOU!


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## BrownSheep (Jul 26, 2012)

Well come to the club!....now as I have to remind my friends.....no more being naughty you'll get tried as an adult too.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 26, 2012)

Happy Birthday!!


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## bonbean01 (Jul 26, 2012)

Happy Birthday to you...happy birthday to you....happy birthday dear SheepGirl, Happy Birthday to Yooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!


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## autumnprairie (Jul 26, 2012)

Happy Birthday


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## SheepGirl (Jul 26, 2012)

Thanks guys! And BrownSheep, 

-----

So...I am taking my ram to auction on Tuesday. I'm thinking about taking Paulie (my wether) along as well. Mainly so Billy doesn't die of stress on the way there; last time he was separated from the flock he was panting and shaking. Also if I take Paulie then I will have more money to pay for feed and/or a new ram.

But our truck is broken...something about the axles leaking or something (plus there's a lot more wrong with it...it's got 260k miles on it and it's only 13 yrs old). All that mumbo-jumbo the mechanics talk about is beyond me lol. But $1400 worth of work is not happening right now (even though Billy, my ram, needs to go now) so I'm thinking about putting them in our expedition, but our dog kennel is too big to fit in there. So I'm wondering if it would be safe to have them 'loose' in the back? They would more than likely lay down, but Paulie is scared to death of Billy (and rightly so) so I'm just wondering about that... :/


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## SheepGirl (Jul 27, 2012)

Got a new bale of hay today plus 3 straw bales. This time I got straight timothy rather than a timothy/grass mix. And the straw really helps soak up the mud and especially with all these rainstorms we've been having we needed more straw! And our poor truck. My mom went 5-10 mph below the speed limit (with her hazard lights on) getting there because of the issues with the truck and we were literally 1/2 mile away from the farm when the tire started making a cranking noise. It did it all the way home, too. Soo my mom thinks the next car we get will be a new truck...she's already started looking online at prices with all the things she and my dad want, so I think that's going to be what we're going to get. But our hay guy is so nice (and he gives me a $5/bale discount ) and his son is pretty cute, too 

If we don't get a new truck by the time I need hay again (which will be another 6 wks or so) we might have him deliver 3-4 bales so that way we don't feel bad he wasted his time for just 1. But we don't live far away (probably 15-20 minutes), but it's more efficient to get more hay with just 1 load.

I am completely out of my other bale so I am happy I was able to get this one today. I got about 430 lbs out of my 4x4 bale, so we will see what I get out of this straight timothy bale.

Won't be on much (if at all) this weekend as I have family visiting so I will be spending time with them rather than you guys


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 27, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Well today is my birthday and I turn 18


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 27, 2012)

Hope you igure you truck out.... i'm no good with ANY thing mechicanical or anything like that. LOL. 

Grats for your b-day !! 

And 'yay' for the hay bale (?) LOL


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## bonbean01 (Jul 27, 2012)

None of my business...but my vote is rig up the back of the Expedition for Billie...and don't sell Paulie!!!!!  He is just the cutest sheep face ever...but...not my business I know


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jul 27, 2012)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> None of my business...but my vote is rig up the back of the Expedition for Billie...and don't sell Paulie!!!!!  He is just the cutest sheep face ever...but...not my business I know


x2


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## BrownSheep (Jul 27, 2012)

Yay for cute farmer boys.....I didn't miss that. I hat to say but selling Paulie would probably be a better decision in the long run. He won't produce anything for your program but memories and enjoyment. Selling him could also enable you to get another ewe......but I'm being hypocritical I'ld keep a two legged,one eyed,mean weather if I liked him enough....or you know if he was cute I'ld keep him then too


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## bonbean01 (Jul 28, 2012)

LOL Brownsheep...you are as bad as me!!!  Still have a sweet 3 year old ewe yet to have a lamb...gave her shots from the vet this winter...had her alone with the ram for several months...now she should look very preggo, but doesn't...but I keep telling myself that maybe she is and that she is not just getting chunky, but deep down I don't think she ever will have a lamb...hope I'm wrong.  They there is another 2 year old ewe that looks pitiful ---was a runt and still is and yet I keep thinking maybe she will grow this summer???  They are sweethearts, but not very practical to keep them...at least they all have 4 legs


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## SheepGirl (Jul 31, 2012)

I put in an application on Thursday at Petsmart and I drove down on Friday with my mom to put in an application at the vet office aggieterpkatie told me about. But last night I got a call from Petsmart and I wasn't home, so I called them back this morning and I have a job interview tomorrow.  I hope it all goes well!

So this past weekend we were supposed to have family visit, but instead we went to Virgina Beach to visit them. So we left Saturday morning at 7:30 and we didn't get there until 1:30  A six hour car ride which should've only taken 3-4 hours. Anyway, my mom and I drove down separately since my car has a blown gasket and the radiator needs to be replaced. My uncle's a mechanic so he will fix it up for us. But when we got there on Saturday, we drove through Smithfield and I saw a truck with hogs on it pulling into the packing plant and I was like "I had your cousin for breakfast this morning!" and my city slicker aunt was just like "ewww"  But we went to Isle of Wight and we went to the ham museum (they have the oldest & largest ham there) and then we walked around the shops there. We had lunch at this little ice cream shop/deli and I had a delicious Smithfield country ham sandwich.

On Sunday, TBH, I can't remember what we did. I keep trying to remember, but it keeps comin' up blank. We did leave Sunday night and we spent the night in a Williamsburg hotel and on Monday we went to Busch Gardens. (Note: If anybody has somebody in the military in their family, you can get into Busch Gardens for free once per year...that's how we're able to go every summer.) I had to ride pretty much all the roller coasters myself since my family consists of a bunch of wimps. lol. BUT I was able to get my mom to go on the new roller coaster they just built...Verbolten. It was awesome. And then we waited in line for 45 minutes for the Loch Ness Monster because someone puked on the ride so they had to clean it all up. My mom was going to ride it with me but she chickened out.

Anyway we got home last night around 9. My brother (he didn't come along on our 'vacation'...my mom was PO'd to say the least and still isn't talking to him) told me on Saturday Paulie and Katy Perry escaped and then on Monday all my sheep escaped. Luckily when I got home my sheep were all still in the pens and they laid plywood, ladders, and more cinder blocks up against both of the 'gates' where the fence is weak to prevent them from coming out. My mom was talking to my uncle on the phone last night and she said we're probably going to put the fence up in mid-August and my uncle wants to help, so he'll probably be coming up from North Carolina. So that's exciting.

okay...I think I covered everything I wanted to share about this weekend lol.

-----

I was going to take Billy (and maybe Paulie) to auction today but my car is being fixed so my mom can't take it to leave the expedition for me (sheep have to be at auction by 5:30). So I don't know what I'm going to do with him. I did get an email from somebody (I put Billy on CL) so we'll see what happens. I think I listed him for $250, but I'd be glad to get rid of him for $100. If this person is interested in buying him after the info I sent, then I will let them negotiate the price with me  I also contacted a Texel breeder about buying or leasing a ram, and he has a ram available so we'll see where that goes. I want to get rid of Billy before I get a new ram in.


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## Ownedby3alpacas (Jul 31, 2012)

Good luck with your interview tomorrow!!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks!

-----

I forgot to mention--I came back last night and I went out to check on my sheep and feed them and my gosh, the lamb's faces got so fluffy! I don't know what happened in the 72 hours I had last seen them. But Lady Gaga has such a pretty face on her. Something about the white wool/hair around her eyes and the dark mouse brown on her nose. I just love her pretty face! And her chin is so soft. Both lambs have high-set ears...I don't mind high set ears, just not on Southdown or Southdown cross lambs! lol.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 31, 2012)

I just heard Billy bleating...he's a pretty quiet sheep so I looked outside and OMG my ewes were out! I spent close to a half hour trying to lead them back in their pens with grain. By then I was hot and tired so I was like screw this and I chased them. It got them back in their pens in less than five minutes  You know, I should stop wasting my time trying to lead them back in the pens (aka being "nice") because it never works. Chasing them (aka being "mean") is what works. Ciqala was about to run through a gap between me and the shed but I stomped my feet and she did not want to deal with me so she ran right into the pen with everybody else.

They apparently broke through my brother's blockade. It took me about a half hour to re-build it but what I did is I tied some wire around the fence and the T-post, then I tied a cinder block to the T post resting on part of the fence with baling twine and I still have the other cinder block tied to the fence. Then I put plywood in front of the gate so the sheep can't go through it and it's being held up by a step-in post. Then I laid the other piece of plywood up against the fence and I stuck the T-post through a ladder so that way if they get past the plywood and they try to knock the ladder down they can't because it's attached to the T-post.

I will get a picture of it so you guys can see just how much is used to try to keep the sheep in lol. I just hope it holds up


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## marlowmanor (Jul 31, 2012)

Good luck with your interview.  I have an application in with out local Petsmart. I wish I could get a job there or even TSC (got an application in there too). It's been a while since I put the applications in though. I think either place would be neat to work at. I hope your blockade works and keeps your sheep in and you can sell Billy and get a new ram who is nicer to you.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 2, 2012)

Well I think my interview went pretty good. My interviewer said that he will give my application to the store manager and I would probably have a second interview later this week or early next week. So I hope that's a good sign 

So far my blockade is working  I keep forgetting to take a picture of it though lol. I'll do that tomorrow morning when I go out to feed.

I think I'm getting a texel ram. I will sell Billy (and probably Paulie ) at auction and then use that money to pay for the ram's lease (I just emailed the breeder about prices, so IDK what they are yet).

My mom was talking and she said we are probably getting a solid-floored car trailer in lieu of getting a pick-up truck so 1) my dad can haul his Galaxie when it gets fixed up for drag racing; 2) we can haul stuff we would otherwise haul in our truck; and 3) so I can haul my sheep (like aggie did for her hog ) and hay.

Tuesday afternoon my cousin randomly showed up and she didn't leave until 9 am this morning  But it's okay because I love her to death. She dressed me and did my hair and makeup for my interview (like I couldn't do it myself ) and then we went out to lunch to Applebee's after the interview. Then last night she, my mom, my grandmother, and I went to go put my grandparent's dog down  His name was Buster and he was 16...he was really losing it, just like my dog Pepper, before we put him down. (We put him down in May 2011 at the age of 16 years and 4 months...he and Buster 'grew up' together.) 

Oh did I mention we are putting our fence up in about two weeks? okay yes I did, but I'm so excited lol. BUT...that's if my uncle is coming up...he already said he would be more than happy to, but he still needs to get the days off.  I don't know when we're building our barn lol but I hope it will be soon after we put the fence up.


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## Pearce Pastures (Aug 2, 2012)

Congrats on the job prospect!  I betcha get it.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 3, 2012)

Oh I hope so.

-----

Here's my blockade. It's working so far 






My dog was out with me and I told her to 'give the sheepy kisses'...she had no idea what I was talking about so I told her 'give the kitty kisses!' and she went to town lol -- best part is my ewe let Maggie lick her, too


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## autumnprairie (Aug 3, 2012)

too cute on the kisses


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## SheepGirl (Aug 5, 2012)

I got a laptop yesterday  It is my graduation present, even though it's two months late lol. But I'm also registered for college and I just need to sign up for classes. I will probably just do two classes since that's all I can afford with my savings account haha...my parents are making me pay for everything. And I owe them $60/month for car insurance (since January), plus $20/week for rent (since my birthday)...and my mom is thinking about charging me rent for my sheep  So as soon as I get a job pretty much all of that money will be going to my parents  and to pay for college...and to pay for my sheep until I sell lambs next year.

yeah for being an adult.....


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## BrownSheep (Aug 5, 2012)

You just reminded me how spoiled I am. Great job on be self sufficient!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 6, 2012)

Haha well my cousin has it worse than me, so it makes me think how spoiled _I_ am!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 6, 2012)

Everything looks so different! My neighbor sold his farm back in June, and he's currently paying rent until mid August when he moves out and the new owners move in. But the new owners have been up here pretty much everyday and they took out all the shrubs & fencing near the house and they are back near the greenhouses taking out the shrubs/trees and fencing back there, too. Everything looks so much more open...and less green too. I am curious to see what they do to the barn lol. It was originally built for cattle because before my sheep neighbor moved in, it belonged to a cattle dealer and he had the whole place built up for cattle, so maybe since the new owners also have cattle they won't do much.

Here's a picture from a couple weeks ago. When they're done bulldozing I will get an after picture so you guys can see how different everything looks.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 7, 2012)

My blockade is still working (knock on wood) 

So all of the kittens except for Claire and Flufnstuf have found homes. My mom said we are definitely keeping Claire and we might keep Flufnstuf if our diabetic cat, Tigger, comes back positive for FIP. We had a kitten that we had to put down back in November because he developed wet FIP and the vet said that because of Tigger's weakened immune system, the virus he was previously able to fight off finally took hold. He has a fever that isn't responding to ANY antibiotic and he is losing a lot of weight so that's what the vet thinks may be the issue, except the dry form. So Tigger went in for a blood test yesterday so we should be hearing the results soon. If he comes back positive we are putting him down ASAP but if he comes back negative, I'm not sure what we'll do. Momma kitty (the biological mother to the kittens we gave away/foster mother to Claire and flufnstuf) got spayed today so tomorrow she's going outside.

I am loving my new laptop  I still need to transfer my 8,000+ photos from our desktop to my laptop but I need to get all the files organized. My pictures from this year are all nicely organized, but the photos from 2009-2011 are kind of all over the place in random folders. So it's a time consuming/boring project I don't really feel like doing  Plus I have my documents and PDF files I've saved from off the internet...of course I need to go through those and see if they are worth moving to my laptop. (For example stuff for school can all be deleted since I don't need it anymore.) I think I might do it tomorrow just to get it done and over with, since I have some more sheep photos I want to put on the computer so I can upload them to share 

My cousin (the one who spent two nights at my house last week) got in a car accident last night  She was entering a parking lot and there was somebody coming out the entrance and she totaled her car. Thankfully she is alright albeit a little shook up.

Sooo I think that's all my updates for now


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## SheepGirl (Aug 8, 2012)

Today I did start organizing my photos and deleting some school stuff and other files I don't want taking up space on my laptop. I didn't get through it all (I only worked on it for like an hour) and I plan on doing more tomorrow. I didn't realize I had soo many photos! Most of them though are really pixely and yucky looking because of the camera I was using so I kinda just wanna keep them on our family's desktop. Then I remember that most of them are my sheep pictures so I gotta have them 

Well my mom told me tonight that my uncle is definitely coming up to help put up our fence  Problem is, my mom only wants to fence in 2 acres  I think she's doing it so I can't get anymore sheep...she says she wants to 'save' it because she 'might' want to use it for something (we've had 2 acres for 10 yrs and she hasn't done anything, heck my family barely goes outside)... but anyway. My dad and I were talking about fencing in 3 of our 4 acres and my mom comes in and says we're only fencing in 2. ughh. soo that puts a damper on my plans. I really want Katahdins so I may have to settle on just a flock of 5 of those ewes plus then 5 of my wooled ewes. And then I will just drylot the 2 rams I'd need.

So yeah.

Earlier today my neighbor's pitbull ran into our yard...I don't know if she was chasing a cat or running over to see the sheep, but she was headed towards my sheep, but as soon as I got outside, she was on her way back home so I guess my neighbor called her over. BOY did that give me a heart attack!  And when I went out to feed tonight, Paulie was in Billy's pen. I have no idea how he got in there...I guess he jumped over the water bucket. But my biggest question is WHY would he want to go in there? He may have gotten spooked and jumped over there as a last resort effort, but I dunno. But yeah I went out there and Billy was chasing him all over the pen. So I put out hay for Billy and I lead Paulie back into the ewe pen and got out of Billy's pen as quick as I could. Thankfully he was too occupied eating to be worried about me. My boy sheep cause me such trouble...if sheep could reproduce asexually I sure as heck wouldn't have any rams or wethers by choice


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## autumnprairie (Aug 8, 2012)

glad you and your sheep are all ok


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## Southern by choice (Aug 11, 2012)

your sheep are beautiful!

Glad your cousin is okay.

Good Luck with your fence.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 13, 2012)

Well my neighbor is moving tomorrow so tonight when my mom gets home from work we will be going down and visiting with them 

I'm excited for this weekend...we are putting up a fence and my sheep can go back out to pasture. But I'm also wondering what I should do. Our grass hasn't seen a sheep (or any grazing ruminant other than deer) for over 10 yrs so it is super clean and I wanna keep it that way lol. I kind of want to triple hit my sheep with wormers and give them a foot bath. They don't have any obvious signs of worm infestations (scours, anemia, poor body condition, etc) or hoof troubles (well we've never had foot rot or foot scald, and my sheep aren't limping/have stinky feet) but I still want to make sure they go onto their pasture as 'clean' as possible. But I dunno. Maybe I will just leave them be and 'introduce' my pasture to my sheep's 'germs'  What are your thoughts?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 13, 2012)

Throw them out there. The worms will follow the sheep no matter what so not point in waiting or slowly. I know what you mean though. It is all perfect and no worms and you put them out there and then there are worms out there. Kinda funny. lol


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## ksalvagno (Aug 13, 2012)

If any worms are left from the deworming, then you are just putting the super bugs out there in the pasture. Better to have all of them out there so you can still deworm them with what is currently available. If you want, have a fecal done on each one and see where the counts are. If they are high, then deworm before putting them on the pasture, otherwise just put them out there.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 14, 2012)

We have a _really_ nasty thunderstorm rolling through right now...every lightning bolt that strikes has thunder loud enough to shake the house (and our house isn't old--it's relatively new). A couple sounded (and looked) like it came from literally right behind the house, but it will be late tonight or morning before I go out and see if my sheep got struck by lightning or not :/

ETA: Storm's over now and I went out and checked and all the sheep are still alive


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## Sugarbushdraft (Aug 16, 2012)

Wow, thats scareh... Glad your OK (along with your sheep!)


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## SheepGirl (Aug 16, 2012)

Okay, well my neighbor gave me all of his sheep supplies/equipment/medicine before he left, so what I think I'm going to do is trim everybody's hooves, clean them to get the mud off, and then put them in a foot bath (my neighbor gave me zinc sulfate and kopertox, but I think I'll use the zinc sulfate) and then put them out on pasture. Paulie and Billy will stay in the pens so I can easily catch them to take them to auction next week. And I put band-aids on Ali's teats since I never did go out and buy teat tape. So the lambs are getting weaned. I think in a couple days I will take the band-aids off.

My neighbor also gave me Privermectin and Cydectin (and a tube of Safeguard), but they all expired in 2009  But our vet gave us an antibiotic to put in our cat's eyes when they get 'goopy' and it expired in 2010, but we used it this year on 2 kittens and it worked perfectly (the goopiness was gone in 3 days), so I think the wormers MAY still be safe to use if I need it. 'Cause I don't feel like shelling out $70 each for a couple bottles of dewormer when I only need $15-$20 worth out of each bottle lol. So yeah I think I will just skip the deworming since I'm not sure I want to use expired stuff and I don't feel like buying 3 new bottles. But triple hitting sheep (and goats) with different classes of dewormers gets the worm load down to pretty much 0.

-----

But yesterday I tried to find the markers for our property...uhmm no luck on two of them :/ And we still need to take out all that brush (we took out a whole shrub/tree trying to find one marker) so I think we might ask our neighbor if we could borrow their Cat to take out some of it so we can put a fence there. My grandfather already sprayed a lot of it with RoundUp to kill it off to make it easier to get rid of. Then tomorrow I will be spray painting the grass where the posts are going to save time this weekend.


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## bonbean01 (Aug 16, 2012)

How much RoundUp did your Grandfather spray in your pasture?  Just asking since I believe there is a time to wait before putting your sheep on pasture that has been treated with RoundUp...can't remember, but just something to look into?


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## SheepGirl (Aug 16, 2012)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> How much RoundUp did your Grandfather spray in your pasture?  Just asking since I believe there is a time to wait before putting your sheep on pasture that has been treated with RoundUp...can't remember, but just something to look into?


Oh I have no idea :/ But my neighbor also gave me some 36" fencing and a couple step-in posts so I will be fencing that side off for a while anyway because there are some plants poisonous to sheep back there, and I want to get rid of them thoroughly before my sheep go out.


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## ksalvagno (Aug 17, 2012)

If the dewormers expired in 2009, that is too long. Especially for liquid dewormers. They won't hurt anything but they won't be effective and you will probably just make the parasites resistant to those dewormers.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

We got the fence up for the sheep this past weekend.

I'm taking Billy & Paulie to auction today. The only thing I will miss about Billy is that he comes when he's called and I can lead him anywhere with a bucket of grain (I was able to lead him halter-less from my neighbor's barn to my house--about 1/4 mile--with just a bucket of grain). But I can do without the attitude so he's going. Paulie is cute, but he's too submissive to be a companion for a ram--he even lets himself get beat up by the ewes. And I can't keep him as a pet because he won't even let me pet him. The only thing I can do with him is hand feed him. And the shearer also complains about him being too wrinkly  Luckily she's never cut him or nicked him on his wrinkles, but he does take longer to shear. I gonna miss not having any natural colored sheep  It will be so different! But it's nice because I will have money to spend on a new ram.

So me and my cousin just finished building an extension onto our dog cage...we nailed 2x4s and plywood onto it to make it 6' long rather than 4' so that way they can both fit in there...Billy's belly is a bit too wide to fit Paulie in next to him  I will have to get pictures because it looks soo redneck haha (matches our rusty truck lol). We just need duck tape and we need to spray paint it camo


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

Oh and the ewes are moving out to their new pasture tomorrow. And my mom told me to get a goat while I'm at auction to eat up all that brush...don't know if she was serious or not though


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 21, 2012)

Did you take Billy and Paulie today?  Did you stay to see what they went for?


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

I haven't taken them yet. They have to be there by 5:30 and my mom wants to come with me, but she has a conference call until 4 so we will leave around then. Sheep auction doesn't start until 9ish though. So I will be there the entire time until they get auctioned off. But good thing is the auction has free hamburgers and hot dogs so I get dinner there lol


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 21, 2012)

Good luck at the auction Sheepgirl! I hope the market brings a lot today for you.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

Well it was really easy to catch Paulie--MUCH easier than what I thought it would be. That saved me a whole lot of time so I got them there earlier. But we put them on our porch and we backed the truck up and loaded them that way. My poor ewe, Ciqala, was pacing along the fence line BAAing and panting and freaking out that I took Paulie away. I felt kinda bad, but I put out hay for them and she got over herself  I just got home and she's still baaing a little, but I'm pretty sure she will be too excited about the grass tomorrow to worry about him.

Okay, so I thought Billy weighed 175 and Paulie 150, so I was expecting to sell 325# of sheep. I also wanted at least $60/cwt for them. Got them there and they were auctioned early, after a load of hair sheep ram lambs, blackfaced lambs, some fine x long wool ram lambs, and a couple tunis lambs.

Billy ended up weighing in at 184 and I got $62.50 for him and Paulie weighed in at exactly 140 and I got $77.50 for him. So I ended up selling 1 lb less sheep than what I thought I brought but I sold 'em for $28.50 more than I wanted  So overall I'm very happy and I got $207.61 on my check after commission, head charge, insurance, and lamb refund (which is basically the lamb checkoff fee).

Calves were first, then a bunch of goats, and then a bunch of lambs. Billy sold first, and then there were about 5-10 sheep and goats before Paulie. But after they went through the ring, they were sorted into their pens (I guess based on buyers) and Billy & Paulie were in the same pen, and there was a 180 lb blackface lamb in there with them, a HUGE nubian buck, and I think a smaller lamb.

But there was a llama there that sold for $20  And there was a HUGE angus bull there too...he was soo much taller than any of the guys working in the chutes. My mom ended up not coming with me (rather my grandparents came along) and I got home and my mom was like "where's my goat?" and I was just like...uhmm you were serious?  So we may go back next week and bring home a goat. 

Edited my math 'cause I suck at it.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Aug 21, 2012)

You gotta get 2 goats........  Then one will be pregnant because she will INSIST on getting that GORGEOUS doe! 

Soon you'll have 2 herds- One goat one sheep 

Glad you got an extra $10 !


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

> You gotta get 2 goats........  Then one will be pregnant because she will INSIST on getting that GORGEOUS doe!
> 
> Soon you'll have 2 herds- One goat one sheep
> 
> Glad you got an extra $10 !


Actually, IDK where I got that $10 from...don't know what kinda math I was doin' lol. I really got $88.50 more than I wanted


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 21, 2012)

Very cool. Sheep sell much higher here it sounds like. Goats don't go very high though. About the same as sheep. Cattle are huge here and fetch good prices. I've never seen a llama here. lol Pigs, sheep, goats, cattle are the only ones I've seen here. I know they sell horses, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, mules and some others. 

Glad you got even more than you hoped. I hope you find a solid, nice ram soon.


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## BrownSheep (Aug 21, 2012)

Congrats! I m not allowed to go to auctions since i tend to stick my hands in the air...and wave them like ive got no care. Sheep go for higher prices here as well, but there has been a huge dip in the market this past week accourding to the industry guys ive talked to. They arent selling and olacing all their lambs on feed


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## SheepGirl (Aug 21, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Okay I seriously stink at math. I went back to the original post and edited it with the correct math. I actually got about $30 more than I wanted. I hope that's right...somebody double check my math lol

-----

SHK - Sheep tend to sell between $50 and $90/cwt here in late Aug. Lamb prices were down this week--most getting $120-$135/cwt. Goats sell by the head here and prices ranged from $20 to $130. I didn't stay for the cattle auction so IDK what they went for this week. We left in the middle of the feeder pig sale. I wish I would've brought my sheep about a month ago--prices were $20-$50 higher for sheep. The past two years the highest price I've seen for lambs is $270/cwt. It made me wish I had lambs to sell!! lol. I hope the prices rise in the spring when I go to sell lambs.

BrownSheep - hahahahaha. I noticed prices were down lately too. Like I said to SHK, makes me wish I would've brought them a month ago when prices were high and I was still really mad at Billy!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 21, 2012)

haha Even better you got more, eh? 

Most of the sheep that sell here are older and larger sheep. They get about 50-150$ per head. Some smaller but a few go to 180$. Goats go about the same but with the kids and younger goats for as low as 30$ but most is between 65-180$ and some nicer ones 200$. Cow vary so much. You have some that is sold by weight and some with their calves. It ranges alot in the cattle. Most of the bulls here get penned together and some in chutes if they are problem bulls. But this one bull a few weeks ago was an EASY 2000 pounds!! He was alone in a large pen. He was huge. Auctions are so fun.


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## autumnprairie (Aug 22, 2012)

on your sale


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## SheepGirl (Aug 22, 2012)

I gave the sheep I think 5 lbs of hay last night and when I went out this morning they barely touched it :/ So I caught Ali, brought her out of the pens (you should've heard Ciqala...I sware she has abandonment issues or something with the way she reacts when sheep leave her presence lol), trimmed her hooves, and stuck them in a zinc sulfate solution to clean/sanitize them. I led her out to the pasture and she went to town lol. Then I got Ciqala. I had to herd her into Billy's old pen and corner her so I can slip a halter on her too. I got her hooves trimmed and I also put her in a foot bath and stuck her out on pasture. The lambs were soo loud. So then I got Lady Gaga and I put her in the footbath and led her out to pasture. Then I got Katy Perry and did the same. I didn't trim the lamb's hooves because they didn't need it and I'm 'saving' it for October when I bring them to my 4-H meeting for my presentation... "How to Trim Sheep Hooves." 

So all the sheep were out on pasture now and I walked behind them encouraging them to move for about an hour or so. You should've seen their reaction when they saw their old barn!  They were baaing and trying to get through the fence so I shoo'd them away. But they were speed eating but when it started getting hot out they slowwwed wayy down and they kept wanting to go back in the pens because it's all shady there  They were breathing heavily and Ciqala was on the verge of panting. I was just kind of like....seriously girls? Go find a tree and park your butt in the shade lol. So I caught Ali by her leg and I slipped a halter on her and I walked her down to where the boulder/trench is...and all the other sheep followed. So I sat there for about an hour with them so they get the idea that it is shade for them.

I also built a one-sided shack for them as their shelter--I will have to get pics...it looks really bad lol. I don't know when we're building our barn so it will have to do for now. But right now they are down near the tree and the brush pile laying down in the shade (where I 'showed' them), so that's good. The lambs are having fun nibbling on the roots and vines down there. But then they realize they have a hard time chewing it so they give up for a couple minutes and then go back to it haha.


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## jodief100 (Aug 22, 2012)

WOW!  I guess I am very lucky to have a graded goat and sheep auction near me.  Those prices are way lower than what I normally get.  Goats range from $1.60/lb to $2.50/lb depending on grade and time of year.  I am not sure about sheep.  There are 3 buyers that are there every month, one trucks all he buys to New Holland, one to Chicago and one to New Jersey so they can pay premium.


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 22, 2012)

Aww Sheepgirl, I'm so happy your girls are finally out in their pasture. They'll get the hang of it right away, and the shade thing too. What are you doing for water out there for them? Do you have to fill a trough for them? I'm debating if I should get a heater for my trough in the winter.

I can't wait to see the pics of them out there. They will love it.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 23, 2012)

Here are some pictures 

The redneck cage extension - the plywood and 2x4s are scrap from us building our sheds. the wood came from the post delivery. so everything was free 






I put some straw in there.





Here are the boys in the cage





okay... now some pics of my ewes out on pasture!

Ciqala





Gettin' a drink. I have to put the pink bucket out there because the lambs are too short to drink out of the blue bucket. So I just dip the pink bucket in the blue bucket to fill it up and then the blue bucket fills up because it's got an automatic waterer on it. I would just have the pink bucket available, but the automatic waterer doesn't fit on it.





Katy Perry





Now some snuggle pictures!















So then Lady Gaga left and Ali was finally able to take a nap in peace...





And then Katy Perry shows up and makes herself comfortable lol










And here's one of Ciqala minding her own business...





And here are some pics from last night, when it got cool enough for them to move out of the shade and began to graze again...















Katy Perry was standing near me expecting I had food and then she heard the sheep walk away and while this picture was taken, she was baaaing lol.


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 23, 2012)

That's just wonderful, you've turned your dreams into reality! Your sheep are SO DARNED CUTE! I want to come and snuggle huggle them.


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## Goatherd (Aug 23, 2012)

All of your pictures are great, but the ones with the sun and the sheep are amazing!  Love their faces!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 23, 2012)

Lol, thanks  They are pretty huggable--if you can catch them  Once caught, though, they are pretty tolerant of whatever you do to them, which is nice.

But yep, I'm so excited  I will be getting my new ram here in the next month or so, and I will quarantine him and then turn him out to breed my ewes. I'm expecting to have 4-6 lambs born next year, maybe keep a ewe lamb or two, and then sell the rest and make room for more sheep hahaha. My mom tells me I don't need any more sheep but I'm just like...if you're charging me for the pasture, I might as well get my money's worth by stocking it some more lol.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks Goatherd!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 23, 2012)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> WOW!  I guess I am very lucky to have a graded goat and sheep auction near me.  Those prices are way lower than what I normally get.  Goats range from $1.60/lb to $2.50/lb depending on grade and time of year.  I am not sure about sheep.  There are 3 buyers that are there every month, one trucks all he buys to New Holland, one to Chicago and one to New Jersey so they can pay premium.


Yep, I wish ours was graded  I'm pretty sure cattle and hogs/feeder pigs are graded, but for some reason they don't grade lambs :/ I also think that goats should be sold by the lb not the hd, but I don't have goats so I'm not gonna worry about it lol.


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## autumnprairie (Aug 24, 2012)

I love the pictures especially the firts sun picture with them walking off into the sunset, it is amazing


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## bonbean01 (Aug 24, 2012)

Love the photos   The snuggle and snooze ones are just too cute!  We put our sheep out in their new larger pasture this spring for the first time after doing the fencing last winter.  They too thought the grass was great for about five minutes, then started to look toward "home" and baaaing...LOL...now they are just as happy to go out in the morning to pasture as they are at night when we bring them back.  

Thanks for the great photos!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

Thanks!

They're settleing in nicely and they are actually using the sheep shack I built  hahaha and you're welcome


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 24, 2012)

My goodness, that is the cutest picture of Katy Perry and Ali (the second one).  KP looks like she's smiling!  And I like the one with the sunset and the silhouette of the sheep bums!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

haha thanks.

I took a bunch of pictures this morning before it got too hot. Here's three I put together that I took this morning:


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

haha I saw thise in the POW. They are all good. I love Katy Perry too.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 25, 2012)

Forgot to update my journal about the cats...

Turns out Tigger is negative for FIP. We don't have any idea what he has, but he keeps losing weight. We've already put over $1000 into this cat since April, and we can't afford any more (especially since my mom didn't like him to begin with ).

And we're keeping Claire, but Fluffy kitty found a home with my cousin


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

I have called the USDA 3 or 4 times since bringing my sheep up to my house (whenever I would remember to...but normally when I'd remember, they'd be closed)...and I finally got a call back  My scrapie premises # is MD3188.

ETA: Makes me kind of wish I kept Paulie... he was born 3/18 and he was #88


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 27, 2012)

How do you become eligible for a scrapies premise sight ID SheepGirl? Do they have to do an inspection or something? Is that now part of the number you put on their ear tag or something?

As you can see I know nothing about those ear tags except for to use them as names when I have no name...as in "Hey Number 26, when are you going to have your baby?"


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

lol. I registered for the Mandatory Scrapie Eradication Program. Basically scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (I hope I spelled that right lol), and it's the sheep form of mad cow disease. The U.S. wants to eradicate it from our flocks so the U.S. can be a scrapie-free flock. I think Australia and NZ are the only countries that are scrapie free...though there may be others.

To register (scrapie tags are different than flock/farm tags), you can all 866-USDA-TAG and they will get your name, address, phone number, ask you what species you have (sheep and/or goat), and how many you have. Then they will send you the amount of tags you need for free. (Or you can order from a tag supplier, but it costs money.) Whenever you move a sheep off their farm of origin, they are required to have a scrapie tag in their ear so they can be traced back to their breeder. That way if they are diagnosed with scrapie on the rail or on the hoof, they can be traced back to their breeder, who likely will have scrapie in their flock. I believe all those animals are tested for scrapie (if the live test is available now) and/or genotyped for scrapie resistance...and then all genetically susceptible animals are destroyed.

I believe you only need an inspection (by your state vet) if you are in the Voluntary Scrapie Eradication Program.


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 27, 2012)

ok thanks Sheep girl. So in essence, the id number does not prove your flock is scrapies free, it just gives a form of tracing back to you in case scrapies shows up, did I get that right? If i got my sheep from someplace else and they do not have tags, then the scrapies trace would stop at me if I put the ear tags on, right?

So can a vet do a test to make sure your sheep don't have scrapies?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 27, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> ok thanks Sheep girl. So in essence, the id number does not prove your flock is scrapies free, it just gives a form of tracing back to you in case scrapies shows up, did I get that right? If i got my sheep from someplace else and they do not have tags, then the scrapies trace would stop at me if I put the ear tags on, right?
> 
> So can a vet do a test to make sure your sheep don't have scrapies?


You do not need to be tested for Scrapie. If it ever shows up then they will trace it back to the origin by the Scrapie number. Then they will test your sheep or goats for Scrapie and if positive then they will be destroyed. If after a few years of producing Scrapie free animals then you are declared Scrapie free.

They put the Scrapie program in because there were many many sheep and goats with Scrapie and they wanted to get rid of it so that's where it came about. 

If you are selling goats or sheep from your farm you must have a Scrapie ear tag with your farm ID, if not you are breaking the law. It is required by law.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

Yes, it is essentially a way to trace back to the farm of origin. If you got your sheep and they do not have a scrapie ear tag, then tag the sheep with one of your tags and write down the date, the seller's information, and the breed, and you can prove that the animal didn't originate at your place if it develops scrapie.

I don't think a vet can (unless it's your state vet and/or the live test is available now)....they can diagnose a scrapie-suspect animal based on its symptoms and they will probably advise to destroy the animal and have its head/brain sent off to your state lab.


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## Bridgemoof (Aug 27, 2012)

All makes sense now, thanks to both of you! I definitely will tag my sheep. We have gotten a lot that don't have tags, but I think I could track them down. Maybe not to whomever bred them, but to the last owners.  Although, Tim did take some animals to the livestock auction and he said they just put a tag on their ear there. I guess that identified that they came from us so they could track scrapies back to us if it came up.

I'm going to call the USDA like you did Sheepgirl and get FREE ones


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

Mine are coming in the mail


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## Southern by choice (Aug 27, 2012)

Just got off the phone with my state livestock agent that's with the USDA!!! My tags are on order too! 
Probably sounds ridiculous, but I feel like I accomplished something. 

Yep, I'm a dork!  
Glad for the people on this forum!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)




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## Bridgemoof (Aug 27, 2012)

I just got off the phone TOO!  I now have a Flock ID number and will have the tags in about 10 days.

Isn't it great SheepGirl that you got 2 more clueless shepherdesses converted to the Scrapies Eradication Program.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

Well it is a legal requirement, so yes


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## SheepGirl (Aug 27, 2012)

I made fried chicken for dinner this evening. I had my mom buy drumsticks from the store and then I went and looked up a recipe (I used Paula Deen's). I didn't use the hot sauce she has in her recipe because, while I like spicy/hot foods, I don't like hot sauce lol. But I didn't care for the batter on it. I tasted too much garlic (not a fan of it) and it was really super thin, but crunchy. She said to use self-rising flour, but I used regular flour you bake cookies with, so that may be why.

I think I was so disappointed in it because I guess I was expecting it to taste like KFC fried chicken (which it didn't ). I think I will stick to eating fast food or grocery store fried chicken instead of homemade 

I was the only one who ate it (it was just me and a brother home, but he doesn't like fried chicken so he didn't eat it), so I didn't get any opinions from anyone else lol.

I'm hungry for beef stroganoff so I think I'll make it tomorrow...I never mess up on that...I just have to follow the easy-peasy directions on the Hamburger Helper box


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Aug 28, 2012)

Can goat get scrapie / would the people think I'm an idiot for calling about my 2 goats to get tags? Lol, I need to get them tested for CAE, CL, Johnes Disease, sooo, if thye can get Scrapie, might as well have the tags, LOL.

Ya, I'll stick to KFC chicken as well!


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## purplequeenvt (Aug 28, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

> Can goat get scrapie / would the people think I'm an idiot for calling about my 2 goats to get tags? Lol, I need to get them tested for CAE, CL, Johnes Disease, sooo, if thye can get Scrapie, might as well have the tags, LOL.
> 
> Ya, I'll stick to KFC chicken as well!


Goats can get scrapie, but if you only have the 2 goats and you aren't going to be breeding or selling goats then there is no need to get them scrapie tags.


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## jodief100 (Aug 28, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

> Can goat get scrapie / would the people think I'm an idiot for calling about my 2 goats to get tags? Lol, I need to get them tested for CAE, CL, Johnes Disease, sooo, if thye can get Scrapie, might as well have the tags, LOL.
> 
> Ya, I'll stick to KFC chicken as well!


Goats have the same legal requirement.  They have  to be Scrapie tagged to sell them.  Some state have additional rules.  Here in Kenticky they have to be tagged if they ever leave the premisis.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 30, 2012)

So I had my first class in college last week and I was so excited I _started_ my homework right away. Apparently I didn't get near as done as I thought I did and I completely forgot about it earlier this week so now I'm rushing to finish it lol

I'm only taking two classes--Intro to Business (now) and English 101 (starts in October). My mom makes us kids pay for our own college, either out of pocket or through scholarships. I've applied for scholarships, but I haven't gotten any...yet. My GPA in high school was a 3.43 and I was actively involved in FFA as an extracurricular activity (both as an officer and a member), and I have over 220 hours of community service/volunteering. So you wouldn't think it would be that hard, but it is :/ My savings account my godmother/parents set up for me (and my brothers, too) is what I'm using for now to pay for college. But it's already run dry, especially after buying books.

butttt on the bright side, my 'sheep shack' has held up in the rain and wind so far  I need to get pictures of it 'cuz I think it's pretty snazzy if I do say so myself


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## SheepGirl (Sep 2, 2012)

Back in June I posted about how I was doing the Livestock Judging CDE for FFA. Wellll we never practiced. So I joined the Poultry Judging CDE at the last minute (I only went to two practices) and we had the contest yesterday and I placed the highest in our team  I got 5th place out of 20-30 other kids who did it (the guy on our team, who attended one practice got 10th or 11th place, and the girl who went to every single practice didn't place :/). Our team got 5th place (out of 7 teams). I also did it for 4-H (basically I copied my FFA answers and put them on the 4-H answer sheet), but I didn't stay for the awards to see how well I did.


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## Alice Acres (Sep 2, 2012)

Congrats! 

That brings back lots of memories. Really old ones! I did livestock judging team too - in 4-H and FFA. I also was often a handler in the dairy cow judging - as they always seemed to be short on people to parade the cows around at contests. That was fun as well. Learned more about dairy cows from doing that than anything else I did. It was 30 yrs ago already...wow, how time flies.

Do you still do oral reasons? I used to like that part - although it was kind of nerve-wracking.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 2, 2012)

Yep, we had to do oral reasons...geesh I am soo bad at those lol. The first one I couldn't remember all I had to say and the second set of reasons I gave I kept messing up what order I placed them in (though I did remember my reasons) and the judge kept laughing at me haha.

But my friend txted me my 4-H results...I got 14th in live birds, 1st in eggs woot ), 14th carcasses, and 13th overall. It's out of 20 or so people, so at least I got in the top 70%


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## Alice Acres (Sep 2, 2012)

LOl - yes those darn orders of placings. 
OK if it goes in some logical order. But I swear they numbered them badly, just so they could laugh at us trying to keep it all straight. 
I literally have not thought about this for DECADES...and now I have stuff like this going through my head:  "I place this class of market wethers 4-2-3-1. This class has a top and bottom pair. I placed 4 over 2 because....."  

Congrats on your overall placings, but especially that #1 in eggs!


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## Symphony (Sep 3, 2012)

Little Sheep all over the farms in the area, soooo cute and fluffy.  I want one or two or.....  Sheep are like pillows with legs.  I never thought I would feel this way about Sheep.  I don't overly love to eat Mutton or Lamb but its hard to beat a good wool blanket.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm going to go get my new ram today


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 3, 2012)

Ahhhhh!!!!! Exciting! Pictures! What did you end up finding?


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Sep 3, 2012)

purplequeenvt said:
			
		

> CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, but I Am gonna breed my doeling and I Am gonna get more does (as many as I can get  my parents may get in the way....) and gonna sell kids.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Sep 3, 2012)

purplequeenvt said:
			
		

> CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, but I Am gonna breed my doeling and I Am gonna get more does (as many as I can get  my parents may get in the way....) and gonna sell kids.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 3, 2012)

I got a Texel ram today. He is a yearling named Hank  I was originally going to get one of the breeder's ram lambs, but he succumbed to internal parasites a couple days ago. But Hank's eyelids are red and he looks healthy and I put him in the pen my ewes used to live in. And the breeder is a vet so he gave him a shot of Levamisole and told me to hit him with Safeguard and Cydectin. I was being dumb and I let him out in the pen before I could deworm him and trim his hooves and give him a footbath so I went to try to catch him and I couldn't, so I will work on it tomorrow when the sun's out lol. You should've seen my ewes when I brought him home...they were baaing at him (though he didn't baa back) and they stood at the fence line just staring at him. And Ciqala had her butt and rubbed it up against the fence  that girl I tell yah. lol. 

But I really like Hank. He's calm, he's not mouthy, and he hasn't attempted to charge me at all, even when I was chasing him around trying to catch him. He's more interested in eating the grass growing back in the pen rather than his hay. And the breeder said he has some color genes, so we will see if I get any natural colored lambs in March 

No pictures yet. Will get some tomorrow when it's light out and I will post them here


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## HankTheTank (Sep 3, 2012)

I like his name. A lot  He isn't red and white, by any chance?


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## SheepGirl (Sep 3, 2012)

HankTheTank said:
			
		

> I like his name. A lot  He isn't red and white, by any chance?


hahahah the first thing I thought of when I heard what the breeder named him is you  (though my mom first thought of Hank Hill from King of the Hill) But no lol he's just all white.


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## HankTheTank (Sep 3, 2012)

Well it's a very nice name. Someone else on here has a buck named Hank too, so there's a wether, a buck, and a ram


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## autumnprairie (Sep 3, 2012)

Congrats


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## SheepGirl (Sep 3, 2012)

Alice Acres said:
			
		

> LOl - yes those darn orders of placings.
> OK if it goes in some logical order. But I swear they numbered them badly, just so they could laugh at us trying to keep it all straight.
> I literally have not thought about this for DECADES...and now I have stuff like this going through my head:  "I place this class of market wethers 4-2-3-1. This class has a top and bottom pair. I placed 4 over 2 because....."
> 
> Congrats on your overall placings, but especially that #1 in eggs!


hahaha thanks 



			
				Symphony said:
			
		

> Little Sheep all over the farms in the area, soooo cute and fluffy.  I want one or two or.....  *Sheep are like pillows with legs.  I never thought I would feel this way about Sheep.*  I don't overly love to eat Mutton or Lamb but its hard to beat a good wool blanket.


 you know you want to get some more sheep like the little fluffy ones I have


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## Royd Wood (Sep 3, 2012)

> Symphony said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


edited because sometimes when you look at what you wrote yesterday it can seem innapropiate - guilty as charged


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## SheepGirl (Sep 4, 2012)

Here are some pictures of my new Hank  He's really friendly and I take back what I said yesterday...he's really mouthy!! lol he and Katy Perry baa back and forth at each other. He is thin (about a 1 or 1.5/5) but he was out on pasture with 25-30 ewes with another ram and he wasn't getting any grain, so his thinness is just a breeding/nutritional issue rather than a health issue (he looks really healthy to me otherwise). He's not really muscled but based on what the breeder's ewes looked like he will gain some muscle mass as he gains condition. I did manage to catch him today and I trimmed his hooves (which didn't really need to be trimmed) and I gave him Cydectin and Safeguard. He's friendly and he hasn't shown any aggression towards me when I walk into his pen/chase him around trying to catch him/and shoved dewormers down his throat. So that's good 







I like the milk chocolatey color of his eyes.





Sorry for the blurry pic but you can see how nice and pink his eyelids are 





Please excuse the Dr. Pepper can (I was drinking it and I set it there while I fed the lambs/snapped some pics ) but you can see his nice straight topline with the nice slope characteristic of Texels. I like the slope of his butt a lot better than the slope on my ewes, his just looks better.





You can see how thin he is, but I expect him to gain 0.5-1 condition point while I have him on the drylot. If I start giving him grain he will probably gain more. He gets let out with the ewes on Oct. 5.





Here he is again.





You can see how nice and wide he is. Like I said I expect him to gain muscle mass as he gains weight. The breeder's ewes (and his sire) were really nice and meaty.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 4, 2012)

Oh yah...forgot to say it's so weird having a white ram. All the boys I've ever had have been natural colored (with the exception of one ram lamb) and all the ewes I've ever had have been white (with the exception of one ewe lamb).


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## BrownSheep (Sep 4, 2012)

I know what you mean with the colors. We have two deeeeep black sheep. Some days Ild catch myself staring at them for 10 / 15 min


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Sep 4, 2012)

oooh he is PURDY! love him!

show some pics as he gets better then compare it to these pics!  lol


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 5, 2012)

Gorgeous!


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Gorgeous!


x2


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Sep 5, 2012)

Wow. He's a good looking boy for sure!! With just a little bit more weight on him I bet he'll be a real stud.  He has some screaming red eyes too!! Love to see that. I think he is very handsome and I think you made a good choose.


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 10, 2012)

So is he a Texel/Montadale cross?  Dr. L bought several Montadales from the Campus Farm at UM, but this was a while back.  I can't wait to see what kind of lambs you get next year!   I just got my ram for the year, too.  He's a Southdown..very "clubby".  He's thin too...my breeder said it's been a rough year for his ram lambs.  I expect this guy to gain a good bit of weight when he's here.  I'll have to get pics soon.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 13, 2012)

Thanks guys!

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

-----

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

So, I think that's all my updates.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 13, 2012)

Just kidding, forgot one thing 

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

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


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## neener92 (Sep 13, 2012)

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


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## autumnprairie (Sep 13, 2012)

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


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## bluebirdsnfur (Sep 14, 2012)

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


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## SheepGirl (Sep 23, 2012)

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

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

I'm not gonna have any lambs left for myself 

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

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

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

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

eta: a rant and a fun fact.

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

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


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 24, 2012)

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


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

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

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


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 24, 2012)

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

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

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


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## SheepGirl (Sep 25, 2012)

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

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

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

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


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## SheepGirl (Sep 25, 2012)

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


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## bluebirdsnfur (Sep 25, 2012)

Can you pick up Cigala and put her in the shelter with Ali at night and then put up a gate to keep them in for the night?


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## SheepGirl (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm going to make a gate and put it on the front once the whole thing is done and moved over a foot or two so it's in line with the fence posts. I'm going to make a little 8'x8' pen in front of it so I can have a place to herd the sheep to catch them. But she's warming up to it so far. She won't go IN it, but she will sleep in the shade on the back side of it.

(The black box is the shelter, the blue are the gates I'm going to make, and the red dots are the fence posts)






But anyway...Ciqala was in heat today. She just stood at the fence staring at Hank...I kept telling myself, "I don't want Feb lambs, I don't want Feb lambs..." welllll my excitement for using my new ram got the best of me AND I was thinking about all I could do with late Feb lambs...if they were girls, they would definitely be old enough to be bred around the same time as the rest of my ewe flock and if they were boys they would be a decent size to sell before May when market prices drop. So I haltered him up and brought him over to the pasture and he bred Ciqala...I just let him stay for one cover because then I got to thinking...I do really want March lambs lol so I took him back. But if she was bred, I will know around Oct. 13. So I will be watching to see if she gets a nice big mark on her butt.

It was so funny though earlier today...I let the lambs out since it was supposed to rain and in Billy's old pen there really isn't much shelter so I figured I'd just let them back in the pasture. Well Ali was soo happy to see them she head butted Lady Gaga  But then Katy Perry got excited and tried to hump Lady Gaga and Ali and then they started chasing each other over the pasture hopping like bunnies and kicking up their heels. I've never seen my 3 yr old ewe run so fast lol. It took a while for Ciqala to join in but she eventually started doing the bunny hopping thing lol.

But anyway, when I brought Hank over for his "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" Katy Perry was all into him and because Hank was on the halter (he isn't totally halter trained) he kept swinging his head and so I guess Katy Perry thought he was trying to head butt her so she kept backing up and charging into him  That little girl acts more like a ram lamb than a ewe lamb. I'm kind of worried about her lol because I want to breed her.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 26, 2012)

finally...a pic of my sheep shack!






it really isn't much. just 3 pieces of plywood leaning up against the fence, and then 2 pieces of plywood being held up by a piece of chainlink with a tarp on top. The piece of plywood on the ground always fell down, but it was supposed to be standing up so they have a windbreak.

my new shelter is soo much better. the only downside is is that i can't stand up in it lol.

i will see about getting pics tomorrow of it.


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 27, 2012)

haha Sheepgirl, that sheep shack is something else. Looks like something I would make, for sure! I look forward to seeing your new, improved one.

I can't believe you broke down and let Hank breed to Ciqala! You'll be happy though when you start seeing lamb pics of other people start in February, then you'll be glad you did it. Hopefully we'll have a mild winter again. I can't imagine how the sheep get around when we have snow like we had a couple years ago. Did you have your sheep then when we had like 3 feet of snow? I'll be shoveling walkways around the pasture for them, I can see it now! Oh and I can only imagine the little snow balls that will be stuck all over their wool. Agh!


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## SheepGirl (Sep 27, 2012)

Haha yepp I had my sheep then. It was terrible! I wasn't able to go to the barn for 2-3 weeks because the snow was so deep and I physically couldn't walk 1/4 mile each way up and down a hill in 3' deep snow.  Eventually we used my neighbor's snow blower and my other neighbor's tractor to plow our driveway and a path for me to get to the barn lol. But luckily my neighbor used his snow blower to make a path from his back door to the barn so he was able to feed and water them.

That was also the time I found out Billy wasn't a wether, and in fact, a ram. I hadn't been down to the barn in a couple weeks and I noticed my ewe had gained a lot of weight. I actually wrote down in my FFA SAE record book I thought she would lamb March 21--she ended up lambing March 18 with twin boys (one of them Paulie) 

Haha I hate the snow balls...they are so hard to get out of wool!


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## SheepGirl (Sep 27, 2012)

I got pics of the new shelter. But I don't have time to upload them because I have to go to class, so I will work on it when I get home


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## SheepGirl (Sep 27, 2012)

Pics 

Ciqala was still in heat when I went out to feed.





The wool on her brisket looks like a carpet...or a bunch of maggots (how I remember Lady Gaga's flystrike). Cool but disgusting at the same time 





The ewe flock





Katy Perry





Lady Gaga





Lady Gaga <3





now, pics of the new shelter...

we didn't make a 'real' roof (as in having it slope) because the shelter is on a slope so we didn't bother with it

Haven't nailed on the front board yet nor is the roof nailed on/finished. I realized the other day I'm too scared to use power tools (we pre-drill the holes where the nails go) without someone supervising me to make sure I'm using it right lol 





Inside corner





How we attached the 2x4s to make the walls





How we attached the walls together.





Roof support





How we attached the roof support 2x4 to the wall





As we were hammering the nails through the connector, it started to bend so we nailed a chunk of wood underneath to prevent it from bending.





View from the back





She has finally decided she likes it


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 27, 2012)

Oh my! That looks great Sheepgirl! You did a really nice job. It kind of looks like you have a hot tub in the backyard from the outside, lol. I'm sure your sheep will appreciate it very much, especially tonight. I don't know about you but we are getting torrential downpours and thunder and lots of lightning. One flock is in the barn, the other is outside without shelter. :-( Poor babies!

Now you'll get to see how your roof works out. But even if it gets wet in there, it sure beats standing out in the rain. I'm sure they are all cuddled up in there, and hopefully dry!

I am not a fan of power saws, they scare me. But other power tools are okay. I'm going to go show your design to Tim right now! Thanks for posting pics.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 28, 2012)

haha yeah we had a lot of thunderstorms last night. Don't know if the sheep went in or not, and I don't know if it was dry in there or not, but the sheep were still wet when I went out to feed this morning  So maybe they were grazing in light rain but went in the shelter for the heavy downpour?

-----

There's a job at a petting zoo (only for the month of Oct) so I'm going to be going to the walk-in interview day on Monday. So hopefully I get it  I told my mom that if I get it, it will be used to pay for my sheep only (not rent or car insurance/gas) and she was fine with that, so if I do get it, I will be able to pay my mom back for feed and some of the ram (I paid for 5/6 of him, but my mom had to pay for the rest ) plus then I will have extra money to pay for feed until I sell lambs and I can buy myself other sheep stuff I need (err, want)...like a scale, a stand (or a sheep chair), and some more feeders (I'm getting tired of using glad containers for feeders...they're too small lol).

And then there's a new McDonald's opening up in November, so I'm applying, so let's hope I get that job, too!


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 28, 2012)

Your lambs are looking really good.  The shelter looks good too.  You may want to paint the roof or seal it since is OSB. It lasts really well once painted, but not so much if it's not painted.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 30, 2012)

Thanks 

But we will be putting shingles on the roof (probably today) so it won't get messed up. We were going to get the metal roofing and just have that, but it was too flimsy for my mom's tastes so we went back to the wood isle and got two pieces of OSB and we also picked up some tar paper. We have an extra pack of shingles left over from building the sheds so fortunately we didn't have to buy it specifically for the sheep shelter.

And then sometime this week I get to paint it to match the rest of our sheds lol. Luckily since it's small it shouldn't take too long.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 30, 2012)

So right now there is torrential downpour...I looked outside and of course, my sheep are outside staring off into space with droopy ears.  They weren't even near their shelter! So I put on a jacket and I went outside and herded them towards it. Well the lambs knew where to go and they went right in. Ali and Ciqala had to be herded closer. Ali went right in but Ciqala went right past it! So I got her in there and they're still in there.  So I have a feeling they (the lambs, at least) wanted to go, but because Ciqala, the matriarch, didn't want to go, the others didn't move over there by themselves.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Sep 30, 2012)

Awww... I love Lady Gaga and Katy Perry <3 how do you tell them apart???


LOL!! Nice sheep


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 30, 2012)

That's funny Sheepgirl. Sheep are pretty dumb sometimes! And oh really, that Ciqala! It drives me crazy when I see the sheep out on the rain when they could be in the barn nice and dry!  I don't think we had a torrential downpour here. We were gone all day getting some new Finn sheep,  and we drove through rain from Cumberland to Hagerstown, but when we got home the roads didn't even really look wet. It just drizzled a little this evening.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 1, 2012)

Oh I know  It's like ever since they moved to my house they would rather be in the rain rather than looking for shelter. At my neighbor's farm they would at least go to the barn when it rained. 

But yeah, it was raining and thundering and lightning. It was only a downpour for 10-15 minutes, but it lightened up some and the rain was off and on the rest of the night.

-----

I just got back from my interview at the petting farm...and...(wait for it)...

I GOT THE JOB!!  

It's only for a month, but it's better than nothing!


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## marlowmanor (Oct 1, 2012)

Congrats on the job.  I bet that will be a fun job even if it is temporary.


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## GoatCrazyLady (Oct 1, 2012)

your babies are jist PRECIOUS!


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 1, 2012)

Yay on the job! That will be so fun, too!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 3, 2012)

Well today was the first day of my job  I got there at 7:30 this morning and I cleaned the chicken pen and then I cleaned the guinea pen. After that I went back to the main barn and cleaned the alpaca pen, the rabbit pens, and swept the aisle. During the day I stayed in the main barn and brought customers through showing them the hamp boar, alpacas, chicken/chicks, ducklings, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkey, pot belly pig, and the york sow with 7 pigs. Well when momma pig got up to reposition herself, she laid down on the runt  I was kicking the mom to get her to get up (no luck) and I ended up just doing my best to pick up her hind end and pull the lil baby out. Fortunately she was still alive.

And of course there was a huge crowd of people watching...

but anyway, after the school groups left the farm pretty much closed. And because I'm the only one with experience with animals, they had me walk the mini horse and the quarter horse to the back field, the dairy calf to the other side of the farm, the donkey back to her field, and I also had to move a huge brahma steer, a buffalo, an angus heifer, and an elk to another pasture and then a Kat ram and the male donkey moved there. I also had to move the calf in the dairy barn out to the field. And then I cleaned pens and I left 

So here I am now lol. It was a fun day and I got 8 hrs of work in


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## Southern by choice (Oct 3, 2012)

on your job and sheep shed!!!

Busy 1st day!


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 3, 2012)

Whoa that sounds like a lot of work Sheepgirl! But fun, too to work with all of those different animals. Good thing you saved the little piggy!

Ask them if they would like another pot bellied pig  I happen to have one  lol


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 3, 2012)

Congrats on the job and high-five for saving the piglet!  Bet the crowd was relieved!


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## aggieterpkatie (Oct 4, 2012)

Congrats on the job! Is that the really big petting farm over there that does lots of events and tours and things? I don't want to say the name on here.   I've always wanted to check it out, but never get over that way.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 4, 2012)

2nd day was better...there was no school groups there  It made for a relaxing day. And I got to go around and actually see all the animals...rather than just go in and clean their pens lol (and help band tails on five newborn lambs )...there's turkeys, chickens, a dairy cow and dairy calves, goats, sheep, llamas, ducks, geese, emus, a kangaroo, a wallaby, a buffalo, a brahma steer, an angus heifer, an elk (or maybe it's a deer? don't know lol but he's huge), donkeys, pigs, alpacas, zebras, horses, cats, and dogs.

But tomorrow there's supposed to be 200-some kids there. They said some days will be up to 1000 

aggie - this place has 3 locations, one near me, one in Jessup, and one in TX. Is that the one you're talking about?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 4, 2012)

> But tomorrow there's supposed to be 200-some kids there. They said some days will be up to 1000


 haha

A kangaroo? Cool


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## SheepGirl (Oct 5, 2012)

Hank went out with the ewes today. Nobody was in heat today, but I figured his 30 day quarantine period his over and this is the breeding date for the earliest I want lambs so he went out.

It's so weird. Me looking out the breakfast room window while sitting at the table at four sheep seems like not a lot. But when there's five it seems like a huge flock.  But anyway, I got a really nice picture of Hank with his marking harness on (with a red crayon) with his bright white fleece and a red/white/blue halter on and it's so pretty and clear and bright with the green grass and blue sky, but it's a lil inappropriate because he was a lil excited...if ya know what I mean 

But here are some family-friendly pics (I will try to get better ones tomorrow...99% of the ones I took today were blurry because somebody always kept moving their head or their foot.)

all harnessed up for 'work'






him with my ewe flock





he has such a pretty face!


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 5, 2012)

They look great together! So great you have a marking harness on him. He looks healthy and happy with the flock!


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## bonbean01 (Oct 5, 2012)




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## boykin2010 (Oct 6, 2012)

I really liked using my marking harness this year. I used red also and they looked as if there had been a massacre or something by the time he got his job done! I have 13 ewes so there was someone getting marked just about every day.


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## bonbean01 (Oct 6, 2012)

LOL!!!  Never thought about the colour, but yes...red would look like a blood fest for sure


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## SheepGirl (Oct 7, 2012)

Haha yep! I probably should've picked another color, but I got red and blue. He's going to stay in there until early January just so he can catch the ewe lamb's first heat. So I will be switching his crayon every 17 days from red to blue to red to blue 

I also forgot to mention...when I first got Hanky and I put my fingers around his spine, I could get to the second joint on my finger. Now it's up to my first joint  So he's gained about an inch of fat & muscle with 90 +/- lbs of hay and ~23 lbs of grain. Once he gets to a BCS of 2.5-3, I will stop feeding him grain. (Right now he's about a 2.) I did the weight estimator thing with the calculation of  ((heart girth x heart girth x length)/300) when I first got him, so I want to do it again and see just about how much weight he's gained with that 1/2 of a condition point.

And Ali was bred today...she looks like she was attacked by something with red all over her  So if she took, she'd be due March 3.


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 7, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> And Ali was bred today...she looks like she was attacked by something with red all over her  So if she took, she'd be due March 3.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 8, 2012)

I re-measured Hank today and re-calculated his estimated weight and he's gained 25 lbs in 35 days  Hopefully he keeps it up and he will be up to 175-200 lbs (like he's supposed to be) in no time.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 8, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> I re-measured Hank today and re-calculated his estimated weight and he's gained 25 lbs in 35 days  Hopefully he keeps it up and he will be up to 175-200 lbs (like he's supposed to be) in no time.


Wow. He's growing fast. He's going to be a big boy for sure!!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 10, 2012)

Just got back in from feeding and Ciqala gave me quite the scare 

It was AFTER feeding and Ciqala was pacing the fence line and BAAing as loud as she could and she stood in the corner of the field and then she ran all the way back as fast as she could and started panting heavily. My stomach dropped I thought something was seriously wrong with her. And there were no dogs or other critters, except for my dog, Maggie, and the cats, but she sees them everyday almost all day long (the cats, at least), so I didn't think she was scared of anything. But I brought Maggie in the field with me and I put her on my hips like a baby (I don't want her on the ground in the field when Hank's in there) but by then Ciqala had settled down and started grazing with Ali while Hank and the ewe lambs were playing with each other.

Speaking of which, I need to get a video of them, lol. They do it everyday. The ewes finish their feed first so I chase them away to start grazing and the lambs and Hank finish their feed at about the same time. So usually they will switch feeders with each other seeing if anybody left anything and then Hank always does the little seductive baa and the licking and the sticking of the leg out to the ewe lambs...you know, normal ram stuff. Well the lambs kick up their heels in his face and run around the shelter hopping like bunnies and Hank chases them. Well the lambs out smart him and they go different ways and Hank doesn't know where to go so he just runs around it trying to get to both of them hahah. After about 2 or 3 times running around the shelter Hank gets annoyed with it and he goes and bothers the adult ewes with the lambs following him out to the field


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## SheepGirl (Oct 12, 2012)

It's been 16 days since I had Ciqala bred so we will see if she gets marked here in the next couple of days. If she doesn't she's due 2/22. If she does then she's due 3/9 or later.

But I got some pictures yesterday--I've been waiting for a sunny day! It's been icky & cloudy for a while.

c'mon girls! (yes, you too hank)






pretty day





the flock waiting to be fed. i hadn't put out any feed yet because i wanted to get pics of them 





lady gaga





1/2 Mont 1/2 Babydoll ewe and purebred Texel ram





3/4 Babydoll ewe and 1/2 Babydoll ewe


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 13, 2012)

Pictures are great!


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 13, 2012)

Can't wait to see babies.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 13, 2012)

Woke up this morning and Ciqala was marked  Which means no Feb babies! yipeee! lol so if she settled she's due 3/9.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 13, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Woke up this morning and Ciqala was marked  Which means no Feb babies! yipeee! lol so if she settled she's due 3/9.


That's good. You're still going to have some Feb babies though, right?


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## SheepGirl (Oct 13, 2012)

Nope, so far just 3/3/13 and 3/9/13.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 13, 2012)

I thought the first one that you just HAD to let Hank breed was going to lamb in Feb? Maybe not.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 13, 2012)

lol yeah but she was remarked today which means she didn't settle for a feb lambing. but since she was marked today, she's gonna have march lambs, which is what i really wanted haha...i only let them do one cover when they bred 17 days ago because i kept thinking about it and i decided i do want march lambs so i'm happy she didn't settle last time. hopefully she settled this time around


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 14, 2012)

That's great they held off to have March lambs. My Jacobs are looking like 3/4 and 3/07 if they took, so we are going to have a lot of lambing pics on our forum in March!


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## bonbean01 (Oct 14, 2012)

So true Bridge!!!!!  Lambie photos are just too cute  Ours should start arriving in January and I can't wait!  Still super miss my sweet Suzie and I'm hoping time and new baby lambs will help with that 

I'll be wanting to post new lambie photos too, but I mess it up on here so badly...need to practice...LOL!

Great news Sheepgirl...like that marking harness and I may have to get one of those next year...just not in red


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## jodief100 (Oct 15, 2012)

They are adorable!!!!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 15, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> That's great they held off to have March lambs. My Jacobs are looking like 3/4 and 3/07 if they took, so we are going to have a lot of lambing pics on our forum in March!


How exciting! I can't wait to see some pics of baby Jacobs 



			
				bonbean01 said:
			
		

> So true Bridge!!!!!  Lambie photos are just too cute  Ours should start arriving in January and I can't wait!  Still super miss my sweet Suzie and I'm hoping time and new baby lambs will help with that
> 
> I'll be wanting to post new lambie photos too, but I mess it up on here so badly...need to practice...LOL!
> 
> Great news Sheepgirl...like that marking harness and I may have to get one of those next year...just not in red


Only three more months to go for you, lucky!  I'll be expecting pictures  lol

yes...if I knew Hank was such a messy breeder, I don't think I would've chosen red . The rams my neighbor's used in the past only got the color on the ewes butt. not all over their body/head and also all over themselves. 



			
				jodief100 said:
			
		

> They are adorable!!!!


Thanks!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 15, 2012)

Hank was really enthusiastic about breeding Ciqala. Much more so than Ali...I saw him breed her a couple times, but he didn't leave quite the mark Ciqala has. He even got himself all marked up! 











and a couple flock photos...











leaves are changing colors soo fast!


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 15, 2012)

Their heads


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## SheepGirl (Oct 15, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Their heads


I'm not joking, either!  Below is a pic of Lady Gaga sniffing my dog with marks all over her body and then also 2 dots on her head. And she hasn't even come into heat yet so I'm not sure what Hank was trying to accomplish!


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 15, 2012)

That Hank, he's a mess! lol  

I'm glad he's so enthusiastic about his job. Now I wish I would have put ram markers on all my rams, darn. Next year!


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Oct 15, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> 2nd day was better...there was no school groups there  It made for a relaxing day. And I got to go around and actually see all the animals...rather than just go in and clean their pens lol (and help band tails on five newborn lambs )...there's turkeys, chickens, a dairy cow and dairy calves, goats, sheep, llamas, ducks, geese, emus, a kangaroo, a wallaby, a buffalo, a brahma steer, an angus heifer, an elk (or maybe it's a deer? don't know lol but he's huge), donkeys, pigs, alpacas, zebras, horses, cats, and dogs.
> 
> But tomorrow there's supposed to be 200-some kids there. They said some days will be up to 1000
> 
> aggie - this place has 3 locations, one near me, one in Jessup, and one in TX. Is that the one you're talking about?


OK I am JEAULOUS! ! Thatd be a great job.... And btw... this is an elk..





Dark neck.... medium shade body... white - tannish rump. BIG horns.
  On the pics, Hanks so purdy tho !!!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 15, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*ahem* I believe they are antlers.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Oct 15, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Picky picky 

Fine, antlers.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 22, 2012)

I ordered my scale today  It was free next-day shipping, too! So I will hopefully get it tomorrow and be able to weigh my sheep to see how much they weigh plus be able to continue to weigh my lambs every month...since they are starting to get too big size wise for me to pick up and be able to see the numbers on the bathroom scale!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 22, 2012)

My grandmother made apple pie the other day and OMG it was soo good. Well she didn't have any left so I got a little creative...a drive to McDonald's got me two apple pies and a caramel sundae. Well when you eat the apple pies you dip them in the sundae and YUM! you have a delicious dessert


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## SheepGirl (Oct 23, 2012)

17 days ago I put Hank in with the ewes.

17 days ago I saw my blue crayon for his marking harness.

Today I cannot find his blue crayon.  I've looked everywhere!

Looks like I have to go buy another crayon. But I will get one a different color so that way when the blue one shows up I won't have two blue crayons.

But what color to get? Sheepman Supply has orange, yellow, green, purple, and I think brown and black. It has to be darker than red, but lighter than blue. Unless I get yellow and then my ewes get their red butts turned orange


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 23, 2012)

Yes! Orange for Halloween! Perfect!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 23, 2012)

I was thinking green. lol

btw I have some livestock paint sticks. I went out an painted Arianna's back a little just for fun. Black, blue, orange, red, and purple. She looked funny but then it rained and washed it off her. Come Christmas time I'm going to paint lots of red and green on her and take pictures.  haha


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## SheepGirl (Oct 23, 2012)

Lol, maybe I will just buy all the colors! 

but anyway, I got an email from FedEx and they said my scale will be here tomorrow 

I'm so excited. I've been wanting a scale for my sheep for a long time and I had to wait until I paid my mom back before I could afford the scale.

Hopefully it's here by the time I get home  But of course that will make work go by tomorrow sooo slowww. Oh well!


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## aggieterpkatie (Oct 24, 2012)

We used to always go red to green to blue.  Black is too dark, because you wouldn't be able to see the blue if they are bred a third time.  Yellow won't show up well, I don't think.  Orange may look too similar to the red.  I'm jealous you live close to sheepman. Their shipping is so expensive I try to only buy stuff from them when they're at Sheep and Wool.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 24, 2012)

Didn't get my marker today so I will have to get it tomorrow. But we've used yellow before and you're right, it doesn't show up very well on white sheep. On natural colored ewes it works great. So maybe I will get green, since that combination works well for you 

But I got my scale today  It was easy to catch Hank. I just put some feed in front of his face, grabbed his harness, and used that to hold him while I got his halter on. I walked him over to the scale and he weighs 122.8 lbs. Yesterday I 'weighed' him and he was 133 lbs. Being that he gained 33 lbs (although the actual weights weren't accurate) since he's been here, he must've come here at 90 lbs  He was given a 200 lb dose of levamisole the day I brought him home--I'm surprised that didn't kill him 

I caught Ali next. She was a tad bit more difficult. But I grabbed the wool on the side of her face and I moved my hand to around her neck and I put the halter on and walked her over to the scale. She weighs 144.6 lbs! Almost 15 lbs more than what the tape measure method of weighing said. Keep in mind all of my sheep (except for Hank) have BCS of 3/5 (maybe a 3.5 but nobody's made it to a 4 yet).

So I caught & weighed those two in about a half hour. I was then working on Ciqala. I was thisclose to coaxing her close to me so I could grab her leg and then my brother had to come running to the backyard throwing his football and he scared her away and I couldn't get her at all. I then tried for another hour to catch her (I sooo wish my sheep shelter was completely finished so I can build my catch pen!), but to no avail. I was 'bout ready to give up since it was getting dark quick. But I called my mom out and we were so close to catching her but she and Ali jumped over the 2x4 my mom was holding to act as a barrier. Well then my brother comes out again with his football.  I yelled at him and told him he had better come out and help me catch this daggone sheep since he frightened her to begin with. So he came in and he decided it was good to wear her out so he was chasing the sheep all around, but I was yelling at him not to chase them because they're newly pregnant (hopefully) and I don't want any of them to miscarry from the stress. My brother wouldn't listen to me and he chased her all around, but we did manage to corner her in the shelter and I was able to slip a halter on her. So I brought her over to the scale and...you won't believe this...she weighs 199.4 lbs  At least 40 lbs more than what my tape measure method was telling me! But I brought her back over to the field and the poor thing was panting like no other 

So now I won't be surprised if they come back into heat...and that delays my lambing season by 2.5 wks so I'm kind of frustrated about that. But anyway, all I can do right now is wait and see if they're (still) pregnant or not.

Recap:
Ciqala - 199.4 lbs
Ali - 144.6 lbs
Hank - 122.8 lbs
Katy Perry - 62.0 lbs (weight from yesterday)
Lady Gaga - 50.5 lbs (weight from yesterday)


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 24, 2012)

Glad you got your scale. I hope we can get a 'real' scale here soon. lol 
Those are some big girls!! 199 

That's why I take NO stock in tape weights. They just don't work. I've never seen it even close to the real weight of the animal.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 24, 2012)

Actually it wasn't even a stock weigh tape  They don't make those for sheep. But to 'weigh' sheep you measure around their heart girth and then measure their length. Then you do (heart girth x heart girth x length) / 300 and that gives you an estimated weight. I did 'weigh' the lambs with the tape after I weighed them on the bathroom scale and it came within 3 lbs for both.

But I'm surprised she came in at 199. She does have a big barrel and huge capacity and she is a short stocky girl. I think it's so funny because in 2011 when she went to the fair she was penned next to some yearling shropshire ewes when the Fiber Optics tent flooded and they towered over her but they still weigh roughly the same! But the show sheep are bred to be tall and lean rather than shorty & big bodied, so I guess it's just the shropshire's bone that gives them the weight but it's my ewe's body full of grass that gives her her weight!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 24, 2012)

Those are the ways I know how to do it too. Measure this then that and multiply this by this and divide by this kind of thing. That's not surprising they were close, them being young and all. 

Question. When your ewes lamb what are you going to do with the lambs? Sell them, keep them?


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## SheepGirl (Oct 24, 2012)

I will wether all the ram lambs, but any that have big butts will be 'saved.' I will then weigh them at 30 days old and if they haven't gained at least a 1/2 lb per day then I will wether them then.

I would love to keep all of the ewe lambs to expand my flock quickly, but I will likely only keep 1 or 2. I'm trying to establish culling requirements (this year doesn't count )...that I only keep ewe lambs that gain at least 0.4 lb per day and then they have to come out of a ewe that weans a litter at least 50% (preferably 75%) of her body weight at 60 days old. So who knows how many ewe lambs I will end up keeping  I may end up keeping none.

But any wether lambs and cull ewe lambs will be fed out to probably 100-110 lbs and then sent to auction or if I can find a customer I will sell the lamb direct to the consumer and then collect carcass information from the butcher. I did have a couple of people at fair I exchanged information with wanting to buy lambs so I may sell a couple wether/ewe lambs to them. (One guy wants 2 lambs for his daughter and one lady wants 2 butcher lambs and 2 ewe lambs to breed.)


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## Bridgemoof (Oct 25, 2012)

Yay on the scale!  Boo to your brother   what a pain!

So, your flock is coming along well in weight. It's great to have an accurate scale.

What kind of scale is it again? Is it a hanging scale and you have to put them in a harness?  Can you post a link to the scale you bought? I am thinking about getting one and don't know much about them.

I also like your culling requirements. Here's mine:
1. If they're cute, don't cull.
2. If they have a name, don't cull.
3. If they are wooly, don't cull.
4. If they are a runt and need special attention, don't cull.
5. If they are sick and need special attention, don't cull.
6. If they are strong and healthy, don't cull.
7. If they have lambs, don't cull.
8. If they are a ram, don't cull.

Needless to say, my flock won't be thinning out anytime soon, lol.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 25, 2012)

> I also like your culling requirements. Here's mine:
> 1. If they're cute, don't cull.
> 2. If they have a name, don't cull.
> 3. If they are wooly, don't cull.
> ...


Bridge - You're a nut!! lol


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## Southern by choice (Oct 25, 2012)

I am looking for a good scale! They are all ranging at the $300 mark. What kind did you get?

Bridge- you are a nut!  But I have to say I could be real close to being a nut myself!


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 25, 2012)

Um you are going to have a LOT of critters, fast.


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## Symphony (Oct 25, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Those are the ways I know how to do it too. Measure this then that and multiply this by this and divide by this kind of thing. That's not surprising they were close, them being young and all.
> 
> Question. When your ewes lamb what are you going to do with the lambs? Sell them, keep them?


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## SheepGirl (Oct 25, 2012)

bridget!!! 

The kind I got was the VS-660 and what made me really want to get it was that it was only $315. All the other scales I've seen are $800+. And free next-day shipping, too!  The only downside I've seen is the owner's manual--it's not grammatically correct and they spell please like pls. So that worries me a little that so little attention was paid to the owner's manual, but so far the scale is good (course I've only had it a day)


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## Southern by choice (Oct 25, 2012)

Thanks for the scale info. 

BTW I love the POW photos of your sheep! Especially that first one where they are all running toward you!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 25, 2012)

hahah thanks!


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## SheepGirl (Oct 29, 2012)

So it's been raining all day and I was wondering why the sheep wouldn't go in their shelter. Well when I went in there (I had grain so they'd follow me in), I figured out why! The sheep would be eating the hay in the corner or the grain in the pans and Hank would come up behind them and rape them! (They aren't in heat that's why I'm calling it raping.) So to get my sheep to use their shelter I have Hank in 'jail' in a dog kennel in my garage. I'm sitting with him right now so he's not lonely. But he's laying down and chewing his cud right now and I'm looking out the window on the back door and my sheep are in their shelter  Problem solved lol.


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## SheepGirl (Oct 29, 2012)

I put Hank back out with the ewes because I was getting cold, lol. I didn't want to stay out in the garage with him but I didn't want him alone...so out he went. So far he's been behaving himself.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 29, 2012)

Congrats on POW!  I do love that cuddly look and wooly coat! Kinda like a pyr.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 2, 2012)

Haha thanks 

-----

Power came on after nearly 80 hours without it 

Sheep are good and so far they are due 3/3 and 3/9. But I think Ciqala will have hers on 3/8 since it's a Friday. She always lambs on a Friday (except once and it was a Thursday). Ewe lambs have yet to come into heat (and that's good because they aren't heavy enough yet), but Hank always feels the need to breed them when they're eating.  He especially loves Lady Gaga. If both lambs are eating, he will always go for Lady Gaga rather than Katy Perry. So I've been bringing them out of their field and feeding them right in front of the gate. I always have a handful of grain to lead them back in with. And my dog Maggie loves to eat along with them lol I always tell her not to eat the sheep food, but she sure does love the pellets! (She won't touch the barley, though.)

But anyway, at work there are 2 day old twin bucklings (they are soo tiny and they are much more active then lambs and they filled out a lot quicker, too) and this morning a baby girl alpaca was born! I was there when the momma alpaca passed the afterbirth. I couldn't get over how much crias look like little giraffes! hahaha and they are soo much softer than newborn lambs, too! (But lambs are cuter ) When I clean the farrowing crate, the baby pigs (now a month old) nibble on my boots and they've chewed through them. They are always at my feet when I clean out their poop & pee. But good thing is, since they were a week old, they have only gone potty on the edges of the farrowing crate. Which makes it easy & fast to clean so they don't have much time to chew on me. But Sunday is my last day ...  The rented critters (the dairy cow, sow, and boar) are going back to their home farms on Monday. But the poor sow, Helga, won't stay long at her farm--she's from a commercial hog operation (it's legit...the barns are ventilated and they are kept at 70* and the sows are fed meticulous diets and everything) and she's 4 or 5 yrs old so she's going to be culled here soon. I wanna buy her or some of her pigs but my mom thinks pigs are ugly so she won't let me have any...  And she doesn't know how to eat pumpkins. Boarris the hamp boar does, though! He pretty much eats them whole, lol while Helga plays with it.

Okay....I think that's all my updates for now


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## Southern by choice (Nov 2, 2012)

So glad you got your power on.  
That job sure went by fast. I know it was only a short term job but it just seems like it was the other day.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 2, 2012)

Oh I know. The month of October flew by but I had a lot of fun!  And I have a job interview at McDonalds coming up...so hopefully I won't be unemployed for long lol.

And probably on Monday I will upload all the photos I took at the farm and I will create a new thread with critter pics


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## bonbean01 (Nov 2, 2012)

So glad you got your power back on!!!!


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## Southern by choice (Nov 2, 2012)

I'd love to see pics of the farm you were working.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not a closet sheepie  I find myself in the sheep section more and more!


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## Bridgemoof (Nov 3, 2012)

Wow Sheepgirl, time really did fly by fast for your petting zoo job! Can't wait to see pics, especially of that little cria. Our little piggies that are in the house have been chewing on our shoes, too. They are like having little puppies! Little piggies are cute as can be. Big piggies are smelly and dirty 

Southern, you KNOW you NEED a sheep! or two..or three....


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## SheepGirl (Nov 5, 2012)

Last night after my last day I had a job interview with McD's and I start today 

So pics won't come during the day today, but tonight.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 5, 2012)

Sheepgirl you are pretty amazing!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 5, 2012)

haha thanks 

so at my first day of work, I did the cash register and I did a lot of cleaning and restocking. soooo much fun. lol jk. haha it went by fast though.

okay, anyway, here are some pics  I couldn't find my camera cord so these are pics I uploaded earlier.

A Jacob x Dorset ewe with her purebred Katahdin-sired lamb






Dandy the llama. He was born in April. I find it fascinating that he was born this year and he is almost as tall as his mom already but the yearling alpaca is still pretty short in comparison to her mother.





Goat/sheep feed area





Wanting food





A goose





Cody the bison





Helga 





One of the baby pigs


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 5, 2012)

That would be a Chinese goose.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 5, 2012)

Very cool! Love the pics, thanks for sharing them.


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## BrownSheep (Nov 5, 2012)

I was looking at that ewe and I thought boy...if it weren't for the spots she looks kind of like mine....and then I read the Dorset part...yeppp that explains it.  How was the  bisons temperament?


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## Bridgemoof (Nov 6, 2012)

Nice pics Sheepgirl! I like the Jacob x Dorset ewe. She looks pretty! 

I also love the goat feeding troughs. So nice!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 9, 2012)

I have plenty more pictures of all the different critters, but I asked my mom what she did with my camera cord and she couldn't remember :/ So it may be a couple (more) days!

But the bison was nice in the beginning, but in the last week or two, one of my co-workers, Judy (the funniest girl ever) was doing something with the hay feeder in the field and Cody (the bison) cornered her there and swinging his 200 lb head around her so she was hitting him to get him away and since then Cody held a grudge against her (and me for some reason) but the lady that raised him (my boss) still had complete control over him lol. Apparently he used to be a show bison, too. But my boss she's able to yell all the way across the farm "Cody, stop it!" and he listens! She's done it a couple times haha. But Cody is afraid of Red Bull, the big Brahma steer, so whenever we had to go in and open/close gates, we would always have Red Bull escort us. And actually the last time Judy went in there Cody was blocking her from going back through the gate and Red Bull came over and protected her (he just walked up knowing she needed a body guard, which was pretty cool) and walked her to the other gate on the other side of the field and kept Cody away, even though he was tailing them.

-----

My uncle that helped us build our fence is coming up with his boy scout troop tonight and they will be camping out in our side yard. There will be 16 teenage boys here  Luckily they won't be in my house unless they need to shower or use the bathroom! (I hope they don't pee in my grass, since we don't have any trees on that side...) But anyway we live 45 min to an hour away from Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg so they will be going there and doing tours and everything. My only concern is that they are camping right next to my sheep so I hope the tents don't scare them and they don't feed my sheep anything! But hopefully being boy scouts they know better than to feed the "wildlife." I don't know if my one cousin will be doing boy scout stuff or if she and I will get to hang out and go to the mall or the movies or something...or find something nice to do. 'Cause I only work 5 hours on Saturday and I have off on Sunday


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## jodief100 (Nov 9, 2012)

Very nice pics!  I love the bison!

We have my stepson's scout troop out once a year, they will be hear in two weeks.  They are very good about following the rules, you just have to tell them.  The "city kids"  do not always know the basic rules of farms.  Such as "don't feed the sheep".


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## SheepGirl (Nov 9, 2012)

The guys at work are so funny. Especially the Spanish guys that work the night shift in the grill. They are always like "What's your name? How old are you?" (I'm 16. JK I'm 18 but still you're too old for me ) And it's just like do you not remember the first time I told you? hahaha  And two of them are like "Do we look alike? Who's more handsome?" It's like if you both look alike then wouldn't you both be equally handsome?  And then the teenage guys, my age or a year or 2 younger and older (from what I was told) have a bet to see who can get my number first. It's just kinda like ummmm....  lol But I have to admit, some of them are pretty cute. Others....ehhh. lol

Oh and tonight I came home from work and my mom was like "We're building a barn in the next couple of weekends and you have to pay for part of it." So yeahhh! (Except the part where I have to pay lol) BUT because I get to pay for part of it, my mom said there really is no size limit (of course when I said 16x24 she kind of rolled her eyes! ). But I have to come up with exactly how much space I need & how I want to lay everything out. I know I want 2 permanent lambing jugs/"sick sheep" pens, a chute along the long side where I can put my scale and have a two way sorting gate to have the sheep go either back to the rest of the barn or up into a loading chute, and a space for a feed/storage pen. Plus I want to have one or two pens on the outside to use as a drylot or a space to put my ram or feed out some lambs. Currently I'm trying to think of what my neighbor had in his barns that I liked or would like to improve upon...so I'm going through the different seasons (breeding, shearing, lambing, maintenance, etc) figuring out how we handled different management tasks and what we used. What my neighbor had was pens throughout the barns with gates in the front and going to different pens, and that's how I would catch my sheep. So I have to figure out if that's what I want to do or just have a big 'loose' area. Decisions, decisions...and I have to make them quick since I have a week or two! (So if you have any suggestions/advice/ideas...feel free to throw them at me )

But anyway the Boy Scout troop is here. Yipeeee......off to go tell them the rules with my sheep & the outdoor kitties. And my mom can tell them everything else.


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## Bridgemoof (Nov 10, 2012)

Wow so exciting about the barn! That's so fantastic! And that you get to design it just how you want, that's really cool.

Let us know how the boy scouts went, that sounds like fun! I hope your sheep aren't scared. They probably will get NO sleep because the boy scouts were probably up all night.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 12, 2012)

Well my mom took down my sheep pens Saturday. That made me really mad because now I have no pens should I need to separate a sheep real quick (like for maybe an emergency or something). She said I could put the pens back up out in the field. And I'm like, so what's their shelter?! She's like 'they don't need one' -- she's probably right but I would still want to have one in the pens because it's better in case our neighbor reports us to animal control (they've done it once before, when we "weren't able to control our barn/outdoor cats from going into her OPENED garage and peeing in there"). ughh.

anywayy....the boy scout troop left this morning. they took a liking to our pool table and ms. pac man machine in our basement and then they all fell asleep in our tv/media room last night  and then they got yelled at this morning 

but anyway my mom said yes to a 16x24 barn!  Sooo I think I have the layout I want but my mom said it's an inefficient use of space. So IDK. What do you think? I know I may need to redesign it because we are having the posts 8' a part (like my neighbor's barn) so I may need to adjust the size of my feed/storage area to make it easy to construct.






My whole idea behind it is that I can use the pens as lambing jugs/sick sheep stalls plus I can herd the sheep in there and funnel them into the chute where in the scale area I can also vaccinate, deworm, tag, etc. Then there is a 2-way gate...they can go either to the loading chute or they can go back out into the barn...where during shearing, they're caught as they come out and are sheared/have their hooves trimmed. (When we sheared at my neighbor's we'd have all of them in a pen in the masonry barn and I was responsible for catching the next sheep and moving it out into the shearing pen...I get tired of it real quick, especially when the pen thins out! ) Then with my feed/storage area, I planned it so I have enough room for 2 round bales and then I want to put a shelf 5'-5.5' off the ground and put ~10 straw bales up there. (High enough off the ground so I can walk under when there are no round bales under it.) Plus enough room to store feed & minerals. Right now I have all my sheep supplies/equipment in an old dresser in my garage, so that's just going to move out there. Then the creep feed area is just temporary and only up when I need it. The 4' and 6' panel I will need to put out will be put in the storage area when not in use.

I still don't know where the door(s) is going to be or how big it's gonna be...or even where we're going to put the barn(!) so all of this is just tentative.


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## Alice Acres (Nov 12, 2012)

Congrats on your new barn! 

The 1st thing that jumped out at me, oddly, was the hay feeder. It should either be moved, or flipped 90 degrees. The way it's placed, it doesn't give enough space for feeding; and with your door and loading chute out that way, it will either get beat up, rammed into, or create big headaches over time with the flow of the sheep. 

I've lifted too many bales of hay and straw to even consider a shelf 5 feet in the air to store straw.  I'm all for using vertical space, but that just wouldn't work for me....plus I'm kinda' short. I would consider it for storage though - especially seasonal stuff - lambing supplies, shears, etc.

I like your little corner with lambing pens, chutes, scale etc. I can see that working (I was mentally running my sheep through it.) I don't know what your plans are, will 2 pens be enough? You may need a designated ram pen, if more than 2 lamb simultaneously, if you have sick ones, etc. 

One thing we inherited with our barn, is a mounted cabinet on one wall. It's not huge - think like a medicine cabinet type box - and it's right inside the main pen area. It's high enough up on the wall that it is out of range of stock (even when we had steers in there), and little nosy people too. We keep some well used supplies in there, so they are at hand and don't need to go out of the animal pen area to get them. I can't claim credit for it, but we use it and love it.

Is there another door to the outside, or just the loading chute? No pasture access?

Keep it coming!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 12, 2012)

> The 1st thing that jumped out at me, oddly, was the hay feeder. It should either be moved, or flipped 90 degrees. The way it's placed, it doesn't give enough space for feeding; and with your door and loading chute out that way, it will either get beat up, rammed into, or create big headaches over time with the flow of the sheep.


I just put that hay feeder there to make it look like non-wasted space to my mom  But I do have a small hay/grain feeder that would fit perfectly in that area, giving about 3' all around. And if it doesn't work then I will just drag it out into the open area. And with the two way gate I was thinking of moving it before the sheep gets moved out of the scale area, so it won't get damaged.



> I've lifted too many bales of hay and straw to even consider a shelf 5 feet in the air to store straw.  I'm all for using vertical space, but that just wouldn't work for me....plus I'm kinda' short. I would consider it for storage though - especially seasonal stuff - lambing supplies, shears, etc.


I wanted to have the shelf to be able to save space and also keep my hay as dark as possible so it doesn't get too exposed to the sun and get sun bleached. I'm short too  (5'3") Do you think a 2-step step stool would make it easier? I know our straw bales are really light (35ish lbs) and I won't be using much straw (probably less than 20 bales a yr because I like dirt floors the best and so do my sheep). 



> I like your little corner with lambing pens, chutes, scale etc. I can see that working (I was mentally running my sheep through it.) I don't know what your plans are, will 2 pens be enough? You may need a designated ram pen, if more than 2 lamb simultaneously, if you have sick ones, etc.


I think two pens will be enough. Due to the amount of pasture we have, I only imagine I would ever have 10-15 ewes here. This year I only have four ewes, but I'm going to be expanding every year until I reach my limit (or I move out ). What my neighbor did and what I plan on doing is only using the lambing jugs for young ewes (up to 3-4 yrs old)...my old ewe is a pro and a good mom so I'm not going to put her in a jug at all. I was thinking of having the ram use my current sheep shelter (the little 8x8x4' tall building we built) and then having a dry lot or a little bit of pasture. But I don't think I would let the ram use the barn unless he was in there during breeding.



> One thing we inherited with our barn, is a mounted cabinet on one wall. It's not huge - think like a medicine cabinet type box - and it's right inside the main pen area. It's high enough up on the wall that it is out of range of stock (even when we had steers in there), and little nosy people too. We keep some well used supplies in there, so they are at hand and don't need to go out of the animal pen area to get them. I can't claim credit for it, but we use it and love it.


Good idea! I was thinking of getting a shallow cabinet, too. But what I'm using now is a dresser...but I'm just worried it will get disorganized quickly because of how deep the drawers are! 



> Is there another door to the outside, or just the loading chute? No pasture access?


There will be a door to the outside, but I don't know where it's going to be quite yet...mainly because I don't know where the barn is going to be. My mom wants it in the field, but I want it outside of the field so I don't lose any grass since I'm limited on it anyway lol. But my mom wants to use her salvaged doors she picked up on the side of the road destined for the dump, and have them slide, but I really don't want to use them at all because I think they're ugly. And they're not big enough IMO, from what I remember. I haven't seen them in a couple years, though. They've been hiding in our shed 

But I want two 4' doors in the center that slide out to the side. They will likely stay open 24/7. I may also put two 4' gates there so I can also lock my sheep in there without closing the doors. And I also want doors I can open to make putting hay in there easy. But symmetry and visual appearance is VERY important to my mom so I'm not sure how I can make the back wall look nice considering I need a door on the feed/storage side.

Thanks for your thoughts & input, Alice!!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 12, 2012)

Okay, here's my updated plan, taking into consideration Alice's points.






Pretty much the same layout except I made the pens 4x5 instead of 5x5 and I made the feed/storage area 8x8. I also moved the creep area in between the pens and the feed/storage area and I also put the chute going down so the 2 way gate won't get damaged. The gate leading out into the loose area of the barn from the chute will stay closed unless in use. This layout also enables me to put the 8x8 area below the feed/storage area to use (ie separate it) while still having enough room for ~10 ewes.

I think the creep area will be permanent and I will just make 4' of the wall exposed to the loose area a creep gate and then I can put a piece of wood halfway down the openings to make it impossible to go through so that way I can put maybe multiple ewes in there with their lambs? It's only 32.5 sq ft so maybe not....maybe I can put 4 feeder lambs in there instead or maybe use it to wean lambs and keep them in there for 1-2 wks. Then maybe I can plan my lambing season to have groups lambing 1-2 wks a part so the lambs have enough space (because if my eventual 10-15-ewe flock has 20-30 lambs that's less than 2 sq ft/lamb! so maybe 5-10 lambs will fit better). but then the lambs who are to be weaned won't have access to their creep area...hmmm. maybe I will use that extra 8x8 space for weaning lambs? hmmm. kind of thinking out loud here lol

Better? Worse?


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## SheepGirl (Nov 14, 2012)

FOUND MY CAMERA CORD! 

I asked my mom again where it was and she said to check the computer desk. Lo and behold it was there!

Pictures coming soon...


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## SheepGirl (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm going to organize these photos by species...warning--there are a LOT! 

*Small Animals*

Rex Buck





Guinea Pig





*Cattle*

Brown Swiss First-Calf Heifer





She lays down in the stanchion when she's bored/doesn't want to be milked by little kids





Brownie, the Jersey bull calf





Red Bull (Brahma Steer) and Samantha (Angus Heifer)





Red Bull





The Angus heifer, Bison, and Brahma steer





Samantha





Red Bull and Cody





Holstein steer (~6 months old) and Holstein heifer (~4 months old)





*Equines*

Di the pregnant Donkey





Reba, a Belgian mare





Muffin Man, a Miniature horse





Fancy, a Quarter Horse





*Hogs*

Baby boar





Baby pigs (with Bacon, the bottle baby in the middle)





Sow and baby pigs sleeping on a heating pad





Baby pig





Bacon, the bottle pig. He is only a day younger than the other pigs but he came from a litter of 18. And his mom stepped on his foot. So he was moved to this litter, even though he has to be bottle fed.





Helga





Baby pigs





Cuddled up on a cold night. We put extra bedding in there to keep them warm 





Most nights we would take one panel off of the farrowing crate so the sow can get more bedding since it gets cold at night. In the mornings, we'd find her like this, anxious to be fed. Definitely scary as she tried to bite us for her food!





Boarris, the Hamp boar. Sorry for the blurry picture.





Baby pigs attack me when I open the panel for the sow 





Look at how much they grew! I felt bad for the sow having huge babies attacking her udder lol





Bacon got smushed 





Peanut and Butter, 4 mo potbelly gilts





Jelly, a Razorback gilt -- she was such a biter when she got ready for the pig races!





*Llamas & Alpacas*

Speckles, Dandy's mom





The three alpacas. The white one has a neurological issue where if she runs she will fall over. So she was always easy to catch and handle. The two black ones were total (female dogs) and soured my experience with alpacas. Never will I own one. I love llamas, though! 





The momma alpaca and her newborn cria





Newborn cria





All dried off and perkier




















*Poultry*

The mean goose





An emu





Turkeys





A turkey





Tom





Closeup





A rooster





This turkey always wandered outside the pen and then it would try all day, every day to get back in the pen.





Turkey





Yet another turkey





Another rooster





*Sheep & Goats*

Ewe with one of her twins (the smaller one) and another ewe's lamb





I think this one here was the prettiest goat they had















Hanging out around the hay feeder





The Jacob x Dorset ewe again





The sheep chillin out





Cookie the goat





Sheep & emus





Sheep, goats, & geese





The new buck. To be honest I didn't think he smelled bad. He smelled like wet straw.















Baby goats (the animal manager, my boss, said they were pygmies)





Katahdin ram with Will the donkey jack





*"Wild" Animals*

The wallaby (left) and kangaroo (right)





The zebras, Zimba and Ziggy.










Skippy, the very old red deer.





Smile!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 14, 2012)

The Zebras are awesome. I like the cattle, but I'm not a fan of Brahma cattle. That Brown Swiss is adorable though!! The Hogs are great as are the Alpacas. I love the goats and that Jacob x Dorset ewe is a looker!!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 14, 2012)

I got a picture of my Hank the other day and I was finally able to put it side by side the picture I got of him when he first got here. In the picture it looks like they're from different spots, but if you look closely his cannon bone is the same length. Look at how plump and muscular he's gotten as I've fattened him up  Which means I was right about him gaining muscle as he gains weight & I'm so proud of him!  He still has more muscle/fat to gain since he's still hovering in the 2.5/5 BCS range. (I stopped feeding him grain about a month or so ago so all he's on now is average grass.) I will weigh him when I weigh the lambs next week to see how much he's gained since I last weighed him.







I'm also excited because he has Bev Pearsall Texel genetics in him, too (some people say the best texels on the east coast).


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## autumnprairie (Nov 14, 2012)

the pictures


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## SheepGirl (Nov 14, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> The Zebras are awesome. I like the cattle, but I'm not a fan of Brahma cattle. That Brown Swiss is adorable though!! The Hogs are great as are the Alpacas. I love the goats and that Jacob x Dorset ewe is a looker!!


The zebras were pretty cool. Nobody is allowed to get within 6' of them but I was able to (and so I snapped pictures only when I was behind the fence) because I moved Reba from her day pen into the field and she has to go through the zebra's field to get to hers.

I'm not a fan of brahmas either (I think they're ugly ), but Red Bull was really muscular and so sweet & he protected us from Cody any time we went in there to open their gate in the evenings. I don't know if it's just him, or if it's the breed that's like that. But I was impressed. And the brown swiss was sooo sweet. But of course the only time she pooped or peed was when she was being milked or when she was being led back into the field with Red Bull, Samantha, and Cody in the mornings. Just more for me to clean up, lol.

I loved the baby pigs. They are actually for sale, too, $40/hd. I really want to buy the two larger gilts and the largest barrow but my mom thinks hogs are ugly so she won't let me have any  I told her I would still buy one and she said if she found a pig on her property I gotta move out.  I love hogs and I want to raise them, but not as long as I'm living with my parents :/

The alpacas were nice looking animals but they were complete brats. The llamas had a much better temperament & you could just walk right up to them and put a halter/lead on them to bring them into the barn. It took a half hour each morning for three of us to catch 3 alpacas. And the one black alpaca always kicked at us and her yearling daughter started doing the same thing, too.

Of course you would love the goats  BTW, is that buck a kiko? I know he's not a dairy breed, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what he was.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 14, 2012)

autumnprairie said:
			
		

> the pictures


Thanks!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 14, 2012)

Judging by the length of the buck's hair I'm going to say he's an older buck. He's over a year old for sure. If he's that old then he is a short Kiko. He doesn't have Kiko horns and his legs are too short. Like Nigerian short. His head looks like a Kiko head would but lots of goats have heads like that. The biggest thing that tells me he isn't Kiko is his ears. Those are Nigerian ears. I would say that if he has any Kiko in him it is crossed and he doesn't have much in him. Alot of times Kiko ears carry thru on crosses. He looks to be a bigger Nigerian or a Nigerian cross to me.

btw I like pigs too. I really want pigs but that'll never happen here. :/

As for Brahmas. I think they are ugly too.Not all though. The bulls look good sometimes but I HATE the ears and I hate how the cows look like they're crying all the time. But I do like the size and the muscle of them.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Nov 14, 2012)

Awesome pics!!!! Thanks!!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 15, 2012)

SHK - Nigerian may be it because he is smaller, but he looked too stocky to be dairy (or at least purebred dairy). So maybe he's a Nigerian x meat goat cross?

FWR - Thanks! 

------

Today I had a day off. I started my day going out to lunch with my old boss and co-worker from the petting farm I worked at. I had a great time and I went back to the farm and (I knew I should've brought my camera) there were SOO many baby goats (like there was 15 does that had kidded), plus the animals from their other MD location were moved there so there were a bunch more critters! And omg the pigs got sooo big! Even little Bacon! 

Then I went home for about 2 hrs and then off on the road again! I went to Southern States to get more feed & I placed an order for custom tags (okay, so they weren't really custom...I just wanted a color/size/number range they didn't have in stock). Then I went to Sheepman Supply & got some feed pans, a crook, and a halter. My friend works there so I spent like forever talking to her and I got so sidetracked I forgot half the things on my list!  And of course I didn't write it down, and I realized how much I forgot when I went to class. Well SS isn't open past 5 so I had to go to TSC and buy some things I didn't get at SS. (I didn't buy everything because TSC is overpriced IMO.) Basically I'm buying stuff that my neighbor gave me that's expired...which is pretty much everything. Some of the stuff is still good, so that saves me some money! lol. So I think on Saturday I will go back to Sheepman and buy the other stuff I forgot.

So that was my day 

I'm half tempted to order some chickies, too. I want to get some White Rocks, White Leghorns, and Red Sex Links, but I want at least 25 of each breed...but I don't think my parents would let me order 75 chicks, even if I did promise to sell/get rid of over half of them when they are a couple weeks old. My mom already said I could (I didn't tell her how many I wanted, though!!), but I have to ask my dad first. And he didn't give me an answer yet.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 15, 2012)

Hi Sheep girl!
I loved the pics. There were a lot of pics of sheep! 
I thought the buck had those weird Kiko (Moses) eyes too!
Are the zebras mean? They look cool but also like you'd wanna stay away from them.

Hope you have a good weekend!


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## BrownSheep (Nov 15, 2012)

Let me warn you. Chickens are such a pain in the butt.  Right now I have about 80 and I am only get 3-8 eggs a day due to A) molt b) age(of some)and C) the cold.  They eat sooooooooooo much feed and make such a mess. If I could I would cut down to a flock of twenty made up of my BCMs EEs and either the Redstars or Welsummers. 

Turkeys on the other hand  . I love my turkeys soooooo much. IMO they have much more personality than the chickens and are way more social.  I have heritage and the meat birds and I love them both. I reallllly want more turkeys.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 15, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> Let me warn you. Chickens are such a pain in the butt.  Right now I have about 80 and I am only get 3-8 eggs a day due to A) molt b) age(of some)and C) the cold.  They eat sooooooooooo much feed and make such a mess. If I could I would cut down to a flock of twenty made up of my BCMs EEs and either the Redstars or Welsummers.
> 
> Turkeys on the other hand  . I love my turkeys soooooo much. IMO they have much more personality than the chickens and are way more social.  I have heritage and the meat birds and I love them both. I reallllly want more turkeys.


I agree. Chickens in small amounts is good, but when you get alot it is a real pain and NOT fun at all. Tons of work. Lots more work then goats and I'm sure sheep.

btw @BrownSheep I like heritage turkeys too!! They're great.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 15, 2012)

Your experiences are complete opposite of mine! lol  If I had to choose between turkeys and chickens, I choose chickens. The turkeys I worked with ate a TON and they pooped a TON. The chickens didn't need their feeder filled nearly as often and most days we didn't even have to clean their pen. (The turkey pen on the other hand had to be cleaned every day.) But I know I will start off with a lot, but I will only select the top 10-15 growers of each breed to keep. The rest would go to auction/sold on CL. No way would I start off caring for a new species (completely on my own) with that many hd!


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## neener92 (Nov 15, 2012)

Love all your pictures!


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## elevan (Nov 15, 2012)

Great pics!  Thanks for sharing them with us.


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## BrownSheep (Nov 15, 2012)

All my birds free range so I don't know about accumulating turkey poop  .  But if my deck is anything to go by, yeah, that would not be pretty.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

SBC - Thanks! and hehehe what can I say? Sheep are my favorite  The zebras aren't 'mean' per se, but they do bite and kick (and that's about all they do). Even the lady who raised them from day 1 gets bit if she goes in with them. And a rope was put up ~6 ft from the fence line because the zebras can jump and put their head in between the hot wire (turned off) and the woven wire and reach out 5-6 ft to reach who ever is on the other side of the fence line to bite them. But the zebras respect the horses (even little Muffin Man!) because they don't tolerate the wild horse crap. Zimba and Ziggy always kick each other, except for when they're eating. When the horses get moved in with the zebras at night, all of the kicking & biting the zebras do to each other stops because they know they'll BOTH get beat up by Reba or Fancy. Even Muffin Man got a little agitated with one of them and he did his best to kick them once!

neener92 & elevan - thanks!

BrownSheep - and it smelled worse than chicken poop, too  lol


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

Sheep pictures! Some pics are from 10/24 and some are from about a week ago.

Hank, my Texel






The ewes





Lady Gaga loves to climb on the stump in the brush pile





This picture (the original file on my computer) is my favorite one. When I uploaded it, it didn't turn out so hot  But I love the lighting.





I love the colors in this one of Katy Perry. Very autumn-y. lol





The flock





And I was fooling around with Hank, seeing what pics I could get of him. So I got a pic of his eyelid and his yearling teeth


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 16, 2012)

Nice bright eyes. Very good.

Is it me or does he have some dirty teeth?


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

Uhmm are you saying I should brush his teeth?!  But no I think that brown stuff is from the molasses he had in his feed, but I'm not sure. He hasn't had any feed in like a month though. It's more of a stain (maybe he drinks coffee?) then stuff stuck on his teeth. But his teeth still work so I'm not worried about it lol.


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## autumnprairie (Nov 16, 2012)

Love the pics


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## Southern by choice (Nov 16, 2012)

Coffee on his teeth!  

Great pix as usual!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 16, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Uhmm are you saying I should brush his teeth?!  But no I think that brown stuff is from the molasses he had in his feed, but I'm not sure. He hasn't had any feed in like a month though. It's more of a stain (maybe he drinks coffee?) then stuff stuck on his teeth. But his teeth still work so I'm not worried about it lol.


haha 
Well do you give him coffee?????


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## Pearce Pastures (Nov 16, 2012)

Yes, brush them pearly whites, and do please take a camera with for us or a video recorder---I really want to see this attempt.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

haha no I don't give my Hanky any coffee. 

But I wouldn't even know where to begin...human toothpaste? dog? or maybe I should create my own concoction...


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## autumnprairie (Nov 16, 2012)

Baking soda?


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

...that may work!


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## Bridgemoof (Nov 17, 2012)

The pictures are beautiful! Your pasture still looks so lush and green and....grassy!  My sheep would think they died and went to heaven if they had pasture like that.

Lady Gaga is SOOOOO darned CUTE! I want to hug and squish her. Now.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 17, 2012)

sheepgirl, how old were you when you started working with sheep? It is clearly your passion and you are very knowledgeable!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Nov 17, 2012)

Love the pictures.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 17, 2012)

Bridet - hahaha  The grass is definitely getting browner and shorter, so I may have to feed hay to my sheep this winter. And also did you hear we are supposed to have a nasty winter, too?  Lady Gaga is adorable, but my favorite part about her is the super soft wool on her face. It's dense but otherwise feels like a cotton ball.

SBC - I got my first ewe 4 days before my 12th birthday. But what made me get her is the year before when I watched my neighbor's flock (with my dad) during lambing season  He was definitely very brave giving my dad & I the responsibility of lambing his flock! But he had an urgent business trip that he wasn't allowed to miss, so I guess he did what he had to do. But no lambs were lost and there were a couple more times when we had to watch the flock that year and so finally he just called my mom and said "I'm going to give her a lamb as payment if that's okay with you." Thankfully my mom said YES!  So I went four days before my 12th birthday and we penned up all the lambs (who were all wild) and I just picked the first one we could catch.  So I kept her down there free of charge (even free stud service ) in exchange for helping him out with his flock (he was also in his 70s so he couldn't really do everything by himself).

But thanks! I love muh sheepies! 

TBC - Thanks! I saw the pics of your doelings and they have gotten so big and pretty!!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 17, 2012)

Hank has lost a tooth! He will be 2 in Feb, so it makes sense.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 17, 2012)

Oh Sheepgirl, that's from too much coffee and you didn't brush his teeth! He can't do it himself, he doesn't have thumbs!

JUST KIDDING!!!! 

If you ever brush their teeth, well, then I'll know you've gone over the edge!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 17, 2012)

I don't think I would ever brush a sheep's teeth--so no worries there!! hahaha


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 17, 2012)

I agree. If you really went and brushed one of their teeth then you've gone off the deep end.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 19, 2012)

I love my kitten! <3 I taught her how to sit on command. I need to take a video of her.


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## autumnprairie (Nov 19, 2012)

I love videos


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## Pearce Pastures (Nov 19, 2012)

That is amazing!  I need to see this.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Nov 19, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Judging by the length of the buck's hair I'm going to say he's an older buck. He's over a year old for sure. If he's that old then he is a short Kiko. He doesn't have Kiko horns and his legs are too short. Like Nigerian short. His head looks like a Kiko head would but lots of goats have heads like that. The biggest thing that tells me he isn't Kiko is his ears. Those are Nigerian ears. I would say that if he has any Kiko in him it is crossed and he doesn't have much in him. Alot of times Kiko ears carry thru on crosses. He looks to be a bigger Nigerian or a Nigerian cross to me.
> 
> btw I like pigs too. I really want pigs but that'll never happen here. :/
> 
> As for Brahmas. I think they are ugly too.Not all though. The bulls look good sometimes but I HATE the ears and I hate how the cows look like they're crying all the time. But I do like the size and the muscle of them.


What?? ? How could you not love the ears?? their the best part XD. I hate the hump tho, its too big, looks like put a fudgehog on their back!!

Oh and the buck looks ND, IMO. The bucks look chunky compared to the does, imo, unless the does have kidded recently or just fat. lol.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 19, 2012)

Here she is! http://s1248.beta.photobucket.com/user/SheepGirl94/media/DSCN7625.mp4.html

Sorry my voice sounds kind of funny lol part of it is me with a cold and the other part is the audio...even Claire's meow sounds funky.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 22, 2012)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


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## Pearce Pastures (Nov 22, 2012)

Like the video


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 22, 2012)

Yeah that's crazy. lol


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Nov 22, 2012)

Cool ! 

Tried to teach my cat to sit on command, she hates me tho so it didnt work


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## SheepGirl (Dec 3, 2012)

Long time, no update! McD's has been scheduling me so many hours it's hard to find time to get on the computer (not that I'm complaining lol). Buttt I did want to share a couple of photos with you guys.

My grandmother & I made two pineapple upside down cakes today. One went to her RV and one stayed here in our house. 






Then I was looking out the kitchen window and saw a bunch of lazy bums. So I had to take a picture.





Then I went out to feed the lambs and I remembered I hadn't taken any pictures of them since early(ish) November, so I figured I might as well take my camera. And I also took out some Santa hats and some reindeer antlers! 

pssssst. hey reindeer! make sure Santa gets me a bag a carrots and a pan full of feed.





While I was feeding the lambs, I held onto Hank and then I remembered Hank lost his tooth. Well I checked his teeth and his tooth has definitely grown back! LOL I guess you could say he's 1.5 years old! 





And then I put out some fresh mineral into my new mineral feeder (just a fenceline feeder that I bolted onto a 2x4 and then nailed onto the plywood) and Ali went to town. She doesn't like 'stale' minerals but she loves the 'fresh' stuff.





And here she is looking all regal.





annnd my hanky panky.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Dec 3, 2012)

Hank is soooo cute <3 LOL. So are the lazy bums.


Ew, pineapple cake. Lol


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## Southern by choice (Dec 3, 2012)

> My grandmother & I made two pineapple upside down cakes today.


My favorite...     Just not right sheepgirl, now I really want some!

Your sheep...too sweet!


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 3, 2012)

Aww really cute! Hank is adorable. 

Yum on the cake


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## marlowmanor (Dec 3, 2012)

> My grandmother & I made two pineapple upside down cakes today. One went to her RV and one stayed here in our house.


Pineapple upside down cake is my dad's favorite! Your sheep are adorable. Must be so cool to have a friendly ram.


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## bonbean01 (Dec 3, 2012)

Loved the photos and want some of that cake 

Marlo I was thinking the same thing...how cool to have a friendly ram...mine you don't turn your back on!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 4, 2012)

CBL - How can you not like pineapple upside down cake?! It's sooo good and it makes the house smell amazingggg. 

SBC - hahaha! 

Bridgemoof - thanks! and yes the cake is yummy 

marlowmanor & bonbean01 - the cake is delicious! it's one of my favorites. between this and german chocolate and regular white cake with chocolate icing. haha. but Hank looks friendly but that was only because he was near me when I was feeding the lambs. I have to hold onto him or else he goes and takes all their feed. My ewes are getting wild so I don't have to worry about them stealing any feed lol. I am usually able to walk up to him and grab his harness before he notices & runs away, but he never walks up to me!  But I never let him walk beside/in front/behind me unless I'm holding onto his marking harness. It makes controlling him super easy!


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## Four Winds Ranch (Dec 4, 2012)

Yummm, to the pineapple upsidedown cake!!!    It is reminding me that I REALLY need to start on my Christmas baking!
It is sooo nice to look at your GREEN pictures!    I am used to seeing white for at least the last 2 months now, with another 4 to go!  :/  Sometimes I wonder why I don't move somewhere warmer, but, snow and cold temperatures have their good points too!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 6, 2012)

FWR - You're lucky you've gotten some snow! We had a little bit, but it didn't stick. Last year we only got a couple of snow storms and they didn't stay on the ground that long.

-----

Well I'm taking Intro to Business in College (as my only class until next semester ) and I had to write a business plan and I think I've finally finished it. Today I have to present my business to the class of 30 people so hopefully I don't end up talking their ears off about sheep! 

My business plan is really very simple, just selling commercial lambs and wool. No marketing needed!  Just take lambs to auction and wool to the wool pool. I could've made it a lot more complex, like selling lamb direct to the consumer or selling seedstock, but then I would've had to research more into regulations (for direct marketing) and then also find a way to market my products and include that in the marketing plan.

So I just took the easy route  But I did find out that I will be making $30/ewe in 2013 and by 2015 I will be making $120/ewe


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## SheepGirl (Dec 7, 2012)

I built myself a Web site  Check it out & tell me what you think--what you like, dislike, think I should change/keep the same, etc 

http://twinwillowacres.webs.com/


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 7, 2012)

Very nice!  Like the font and clean background.  Looks classy.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 7, 2012)

Congrats. That's awesome. 

I'm trying (have been for months) to get the writing done for mine. :/


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## SheepGirl (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks Pearce!

Straw - I've been working on mine since June/July when I moved them to my house


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 7, 2012)

haha long time.

I have a hard time with my homepage. lol


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 8, 2012)

Sheepgirl, I am SO impressed with your website! You did an outstanding job. You should post your business plan here, too! I bet everyone in your class was very interested in your plan.

After looking at your site, I could imagine you singing this song "I like big butts and I cannot lie, what the other shepherds can't deny..." 

Great work. I need to get busy making one. Oh, one note, I bet with your medium coarse wool would be very good for felting!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 8, 2012)

I really love WEBS.com.  That is who I use and I find is very easy to maintain without coding HTML.


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## marlowmanor (Dec 8, 2012)

Nice website. I did see some grammar mistakes on a page though.


> DISEASE TESTING: We currently do not test for any diseases (i.e. OPP, Johne's, etc). _If you want are interested in buying an animal from us and you want our stock tested, we welcome that--at your expense._
> 
> NEW STOCK: _When new sheep come in (usually only rams), we quarantine them for at least 30 days and we hit them with three classes of dewormers, we trim their hooves, and we put them through a foot bath._


1st spot italicized should read: If you are interested in buying an animal from us and want our stock tested, we welcome that--at your expense.

2nd spot italicized should read: When new sheep come in (usually only rams), we quarantine them for at least 30 days, hit them with three classes of dewormers, trim their hooves, and put them through a foot bath.

Hopefully I didn't offend you by correcting your grammar.  It comes natural to me.


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 8, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Sheepgirl, I am SO impressed with your website! You did an outstanding job. You should post your business plan here, too! I bet everyone in your class was very interested in your plan.
> 
> After looking at your site, I could imagine you singing this song "I like big butts and I cannot lie, what the other shepherds can't deny..."
> 
> Great work. I need to get busy making one. Oh, one note, I bet with your medium coarse wool would be very good for felting!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 8, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Sheepgirl, I am SO impressed with your website! You did an outstanding job. You should post your business plan here, too! I bet everyone in your class was very interested in your plan.
> 
> After looking at your site, I could imagine you singing this song *"I like big butts and I cannot lie, what the other shepherds can't deny..."*
> 
> Great work. I need to get busy making one. Oh, one note, I bet with your medium coarse wool would be very good for felting!


  hahahahaha! girl you crack me up!

but thanks!  I was thinking about posting my business plan here, but I think I will do that after my instructor grades it and then I will make improvements and then post it 

Haha I'm sure it would be! I was thinking of keeping Ali's fleece and doing SOMETHING with it because her fleece is very crimpy and really nice. It's not uniform all the way around her body, but I can always skirt those parts out  But I love her neck. The wool there is really fine and it is also longer than the rest of her wool. I'm gonna have to take a picture!



			
				ThreeBoysChicks said:
			
		

> I really love WEBS.com.  That is who I use and I find is very easy to maintain without coding HTML.


Isn't it? I love how easy it is and I like how nice their templates are.



			
				marlowmanor said:
			
		

> Nice website. I did see some grammar mistakes on a page though.
> 
> 
> > DISEASE TESTING: We currently do not test for any diseases (i.e. OPP, Johne's, etc). _If you want are interested in buying an animal from us and you want our stock tested, we welcome that--at your expense._
> ...


Nope  I appreciate it! Thank you  I will go make the corrections now lol


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## Southern by choice (Dec 8, 2012)

I really like the lead in about how they are not show sheep. Nothing wrong with the showing but I see the same with the ND goats.
Maybe a bit different...kind of in reverse. I am seeing the ND's being bred to be on the smaller side and titles and blah blah blah, when my kids are going to the family farm that WANTS a goat that can produce good amounts of milk, excellent parasite resistance, good moms, no interference and no bottle babies a $350-$450 doe is ridiculous. To me showing just exposes them to everything on everybody elses farm. NO WAY! 
Showing is fun but I've met very few who know anything about their own goats parasite resistance.


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 8, 2012)

I like showing for my son's sake, and we have both registered and grade animals (both are awesome!).  He is a very shy, timid kid and for whatever reason, as sweet and as much as everyone likes him, he is not very confident in himself.  We tried baseball, pop warner football, boy scouts---he put up with it but was no more confident for it all and was not enoying himself.  Then we started 4H and he is a changed kid.  He learned everything he could about his animals, from the parts of a chicken egg, to the process of kidding, to the history of the breed and he was beaming with pride when he showed his babies.  

BUT it does make me nervous and there are ridiculously uneducated folks out their bringing their animals to these same shows.  Last year, one person's kid was disqualified from the show---why?  Because they were showing a pygmy goat as an alpine. You would think that would be one of the basics


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## SheepGirl (Dec 9, 2012)

Rained all day today. So I put some straw in the shelter where it started to get muddy and whaddayaknow. I found my blue marking crayon!! I guess my mom put it in the garage with all my sheep stuff. so hahaha now I can change out the green for blue


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## SheepGirl (Dec 12, 2012)

I got a 100% on my presentation of my business plan and a 96% on my actual business plan!!  

So I will edit it some (like names and such) and post a template version of it, probably tomorrow.


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 13, 2012)

Yes! I am anxious to see it. I guess I have to wrote some kind of business plan for tax purposes and I've never even seen a farm business plan before, so this will be great! I need to do it for myself, too, so I can plan what I want to do with all these sheep this coming year, besides pet them and put coats on them.


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## autumnprairie (Dec 13, 2012)

congrats, great job


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 13, 2012)

Great job!!  That is something to be very proud of!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 14, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> I got a 100% on my presentation of my business plan and a 96% on my actual business plan!!
> 
> So I will edit it some (like names and such) and post a template version of it, probably tomorrow.


Awesome!!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 16, 2012)

Thanks guys 

Well I FINALLY got it completed. My cousin's random appearance delayed the posting of it and she spent the night, and then I had to work. So here it is! http://twinwillowacres.webs.com/business-plan

I was thinking of adding in my instructor's notes and also my business plan presentation, too...but I'm not sure yet.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 16, 2012)

btw Moses granddam on his sire's side is ECR Hanky Panky.

Now to check out the plan.


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 16, 2012)

Wow that is impressive!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 16, 2012)

Just finished reading it. Very cool.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 16, 2012)

I know your family (Mom and Dad anyway) must be so proud of you!

With young people like you sheepgirl there is hope for America yet!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 16, 2012)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> With young people like you sheepgirl there is hope for America yet!


-Phil Robertson


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## SheepGirl (Dec 16, 2012)

Oh forgot to mention... the parts under "What Goes Here" is the template/outline my instructor gave us. The italicized parts under "Example" is the actual text from my business plan. Overall it came out to 10 or 11 pages.

-----



			
				Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> btw Moses granddam on his sire's side is ECR Hanky Panky.
> 
> Now to check out the plan.


Hahaha, well as long as I'm not the only one using it as a name for an animal! 



			
				Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Wow that is impressive!


Thank you!



			
				Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Just finished reading it. Very cool.


Thanks!



			
				Southern by choice said:
			
		

> I know your family (Mom and Dad anyway) must be so proud of you!
> 
> With young people like you sheepgirl there is hope for America yet!


Awww! How thoughtful! You're too nice


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 17, 2012)

Sheepgirl, thanks so much for posting this. It's an excellent job. Reminds me how much work I have to do, though, before I go to my accountant with all my farm receipts  But this gives me a really good basis for where to begin with my farm plan!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 20, 2012)

I let my dogs out in the field with the sheep today. It was soo funny! The lambs were hopping around and Lady Gaga was chasing the dogs (mainly Grizzly, the one she doesn't know very well) and Katy Perry was head butting them (not like being mean, but more playful). The mature sheep just stood around watching. I joined in the fun too and ran around a bit as well. Lambs, dogs, and girl were chasing each other around lol.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 24, 2012)

MERRY CHRISTMAS SHEEPGIRL!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 24, 2012)

Merry Christmas!!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 24, 2012)

Merry Christmas!  

We are having a white Christmas this year! First time in a long time. I had to work today, 9-5. It was SO busy, especially around 10-11 and again 1-2. I didn't have time to breathe! My boss let me off an hour early and then I got halfway home in my rear-wheel drive car while it was snowing when my mom called and said she was coming to pick me up  Luckily I had just entered a small town where there's a business so I was able to just park my car there. We're going to pick it up tomorrow. I should've just driven the rest of the way home lol.

It was so funny at work today lol--like 7 guys are fighting for my attention and so whenever I would need to stock something, they would all volunteer to carry stuff for me (like bags of milk or packs of water bottles, milk jugs, apple juices, etc). I would've been more than happy to do it myself, but oh well lol. They were even fighting over who would clean my car off for me  I ended up doing it myself because my boss started yelling at all of them to leave me alone and get back to work 

So when I got home I went outside to see my sheep. My close-faced ewes had little snow beards  They were so adorable. Unfortunately it was getting dark & foggy so the pictures didn't turn out so well. I also got a picture of my sheep grazing in snow, showing how they do it--they use their nose and push a section of snow off to one side and then they eat the grass, now exposed. So I bet tomorrow morning, there will be a bunch of patches of grass in the field lol.

Sheep don't want to use their shelter at all (they're laying in the snow), so the cats are taking advantage of it. Tomorrow when it's light out again I will take some nice photos. We live next to the woods so it's always so picturesque with snow 

All this Christmas talk reminds me....I still need to wrap the presents I got for my family!


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 24, 2012)

That's funny about the guys at work Sheepgirl! And little do they know that being a farmer, you probably can carry heavy stuff with no problem, lol! You just let them continue to fight over you. 

Love the snow! I can't wait to see your Christmas day sheep in the snow pics! Merry Christmas! I've got to go finish wrapping presents, too!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 24, 2012)

You keep those boys away.....

Yeah, it is a White Christmas, but I feel sorry for all of the road crew workers that have to work to clear the roads.


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## elevan (Dec 24, 2012)




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## SheepGirl (Dec 25, 2012)

Bridgemoof - I hope you had a fabulous Christmas! And yes it's so funny because the boxes of frozen fries are 40 lbs and you should hear how many of them offer to carry it for me  I just tell them I've got it, and I'm used to lifting 50 lb feed bags!! hahaha

TBC - You sound like my dad!! hahaha But yeah--I didn't think of it that way  Those poor people had to be out plowing roads on Christmas Eve... they did a good job though!  Unfortunately we're supposed to get more sleet/ice/snow tonight, so more work for them. I hope you had a great Christmas!

elevan - Thanks! Merry Christmas to you, too! 

------

Took some pics of the sheep in the snow today before/during/after breakfast 

I was pretty good sneaking up on the flock this morning.





JK, who am I kidding? They always know when I'm outside. It's like they can smell me (not that I'm smelly!! )





Snow face!





The babies





BAAAAAA humbug





I LOVE the way Katy Perry is filling out! She looks so good! And you can also see that Hank has bred her....





Sheep digging through the snow to eat the grass





The flock grazing





Here's one with all of them





Snow beard!





Everybody





Ciqala





Hank when he first put his nose in the snow





Him shoving the snow away so he can get the grass underneath





And....one of my Christmas presents! I LOVE this shirt! And notice how it has five sheep and they look like mine?!


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## elevan (Dec 25, 2012)

Cool shirt!

I love your sheep, they always look so nice and their personalities really come through in pictures.  Thanks for sharing them.


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## PendergrassRanch (Dec 25, 2012)

SUPER jealous of your snow! 

Love that shirt! Haha!


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 26, 2012)

Love the snow pics! Those sheep are so darned cute! Shirt is totally you, too!


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## CocoNUT (Dec 26, 2012)

Beautiful photos Sheepgirl! Your sheepies are so cute! Cute shirt too.


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## aggieterpkatie (Dec 26, 2012)

I'm jealous of your snow!!!  It snowed for about 20 minutes on Christmas eve, and then switched to rain.  Today all we're getting is rain too.  :/


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## jodief100 (Dec 26, 2012)

The pictures are beautiful.  Thank you for sharing your wonderful sheep with us.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 26, 2012)

Thanks guys! 

The snow started melting towards the end of last night, but this morning I woke up and it was snowing more. Then it stopped snowing and started sleeting, and then it started to rain. For the past hour or two there hasn't been any wetness falling out of the sky so the sheep went out and grazed a little. Even though they were laying down most of the day, they aren't shivering and their rumens are looking full. I gave the lambs their normal ration but I did, however, give each of the mature sheep a lb of grain, just to make sure they have plenty of energy, especially since I ran out of hay  

But it's starting to snow a little bit again--not much, just a snow flake here and there.

I have to work tomorrow so I'm not looking forward to driving--particularly down/up our driveway; it's a hill, gravel, and there's a 90* bend in it at the bottom of the hill.


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 27, 2012)

Be careful on the roads, Sheepgirl! I think they should be okay today, though.  But now we have HIGH winds to look forward to all day! I sure hope the power doesn't go out.  Why couldn't it have just stopped at snow?


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

The wind was AWFUL today! But yeah, the roads weren't too bad. It was just my driveway I was fishtailing around in! 

-----

Oh yeah...can't remember if I posted this or not but I contacted the shearer, I guess a couple weeks ago and she will be out sometime in April. Be on the lookout for shearing photos!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

Is it the same shearer as last time. The one that competed in NZ. (Where the Kiko goat is from  )


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

Yes  She makes my sheep look amazing and she has very little second cuts and she only nicks about one out of every 3-5 sheep she shears so she's great!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

That's awesome. I bet it's something to watch her. I've seen sheep sheared before but nothing like what she can do.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

Yes it is. She's so great, I love her lol


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

You should learn how to do it...


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

LOL she has offered to let me intern with her BUT I just don't have the strength to throw around 150-250 lb critters lol. But she, she is ripped. And she told me she can no longer feel her back. lol not exactly something I want!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> LOL she has offered to let me intern with her BUT I just don't have the strength to throw around 150-250 lb critters lol. But she, she is ripped. And she told me she can no longer feel her back. lol not exactly something I want!


From bending over so much I'm guessing?


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

Pretty much.

But I think in the future I might buy some electric shears and try to shear my sheep myself. They'll be my test dummies  I will give them lots of grain afterwards so they'll forgive me.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

I shouldn't be _that_ hard to at least get it done...


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## SheepGirl (Dec 27, 2012)

I have a hard time tipping my ewes. It's so hard. I can do it up until they're about yearlings, but when they get more mature and put on the 'adult sheep body weight,' then I can't throw them around anymore lol.

Wait until SBC's lambs are full grown and then maybe you can try!


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 27, 2012)

Sounds like a great idea for workout video for farmers.  I can see it now....Jillian Michaels tossing around sheep to cruddy workout music


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## HankTheTank (Dec 27, 2012)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Sounds like a great idea for workout video for farmers.  I can see it now....Jillian Michaels tossing around sheep to cruddy workout music




And a one! and a two! And a three! now TOSS! *faint baa-ing in the background*


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 27, 2012)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Sounds like a great idea for workout video for farmers.  I can see it now....Jillian Michaels tossing around sheep to cruddy workout music


LOL!!!!!!!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 28, 2012)

hahaha that would actually be a GREAT work out video!!!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 28, 2012)

Well I went and got my hay today, a round bale and 6 bales of straw. It's all that would fit in my truck  And one of my hay guy's sons looks like Tom Cruise  haha jk. but he is cute though. ANYWAY...let me stop talking about boys. Sorry that's the teenage girl in me 

I spent about an hour outside tonight, I got some hay put out for the sheep since we're supposed to get 3-4" of snow overnight and I put some straw in their shelter and in front of their shelter since it's all muddy and goopy and nasty. I also took a T post and smashed through their frozen water.

I wasn't planning on giving my ewes & ram any grain but they were standing at the gate BAAing at me so I gave in. I. Won't. Give. Them. Any. Tomorrow. jk I probably will because they will beg, but I will definitely not give them as much. I need to wean them off of it so they don't get too fat. This is their third day of 1 lb of grain each. My sheep are pretty tolerant of drastic grain additions in their diet, which is nice. They're not so tolerant of grain reductions, though!! They complain so much.

But I was able to catch Ciqala. She stood right next to me as I was holding the feed pans so I set the pans on a post, grabbed her around her neck and gave her a big hug and lots of kisses and told her she was my favorite. And then she wouldn't let me touch her anymore, even when I had grain.  Guess the feeling wasn't mutual!! 

Soooo I think that's it for my update for now.

Oh jk. The store manager at my McDonald's is (I think) Jamaican and he said the only meat he eats is lamb and he asked me if I had sheep and I was like yes, so I think he might buy a lamb off of me? He was really interested in my sheep lol.


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## CocoNUT (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh I hope you asked your hay guy's son to lift those bales of straw for you! (So you could secretly watch his muscles strain....) lol! Man...if ONLY we had a young, handsome guy that worked where I get my hay......FOR MY DAUGHTER to gawk at...of course! 

I totally think you should sell the Jamaican guy a lamb or two. Maybe even work out a deal where he could fix you up with some recipes or something neat like that! It'd be a great way to set up a regular customer or something like that. I say go for it! 

And I know everyone has said this before...but I'm also very impressed with your talents and aptitude and drive. I'm really in awe of you!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

CocoNUT said:
			
		

> Oh I hope you asked your hay guy's son to lift those bales of straw for you! (So you could secretly watch his muscles strain....) lol! Man...if ONLY we had a young, handsome guy that worked where I get my hay......FOR MY DAUGHTER to gawk at...of course!
> 
> I totally think you should sell the Jamaican guy a lamb or two. Maybe even work out a deal where he could fix you up with some recipes or something neat like that! It'd be a great way to set up a regular customer or something like that. I say go for it!
> 
> And I know everyone has said this before...but I'm also very impressed with your talents and aptitude and drive. I'm really in awe of you!


Alright, now that I know you live so close, I need to know where you purchased your hay.  I have a feeling I know.  Were you at the Corn Maze?


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 29, 2012)

You mean the corn maze on Rt. 15 with all the crazy stuff there now? We are lucky where we live because there are so many horses around, there is so much hay for sale! Sheepgirl, you are so cute! Let me give you a clue about girls, even if they're 50, they still ohh and ahh over the Tom Cruise looking young guys.  Remember when I posted about the young Irish Hunstman guy who came to our farm?  

Glad you are all set with hay! We have one round bale in the barn which I am hoping will last until Tim gets home. The mama goats have been SOOO hungry! 

No snow here yet at 6:50 a.m.!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> You mean the corn maze on Rt. 15 with all the crazy stuff there now? We are lucky where we live because there are so many horses around, there is so much hay for sale! Sheepgirl, you are so cute! Let me give you a clue about girls, even if they're 50, they still ohh and ahh over the Tom Cruise looking young guys.  Remember when I posted about the young Irish Hunstman guy who came to our farm?
> 
> Glad you are all set with hay! We have one round bale in the barn which I am hoping will last until Tim gets home. The mama goats have been SOOO hungry!
> 
> No snow here yet at 6:50 a.m.!


No, I am talking about Lawyer's Moonlight Maze just outside of Thurmont on MD 550.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 29, 2012)

Little late on this but I am going to put the sheep in the milking stand and shear them that way. 
I don't want any "lines" on them once they are done. 
We are getting them use to the stand. I certainly won't be fast but I know if I can do it reasonably well I could help a lot of people in my community. I wouldn't charge for it but maybe if they wanted could throw in a few dollars so I can keep my blades sharp and my equipment running well. It would be nice to be able to do something like that for people who only have a few sheep and need the help.

...and sheepgirl STAY AWAY FROM THE BOYS!


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## jodief100 (Dec 29, 2012)

Sheepgirl- I sometimes forget your are still a teenager since you are so responsible and do so much work.  

Sounds like your manager could be a regular customer.  I love my regulars!   My friend Paige who I worked with at my old job, referred a new coworker to me.  He is from Camaroon.  He is one of my best regulars now.  Funny thing is- he has MY old job!  

Hopefully you will never outgrow gawking at the cute boys.  You will find the older you get- you start preferring more "mature" men.  I had a service tech at work one of my customers sent to help me out with a new machine we were building.  He looked just like Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine- Not Lincoln) and I kept getting distracted.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

Let me speak for your father, stay away from Boys.  Period!!!


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## jodief100 (Dec 29, 2012)

ThreeBoysChicks said:
			
		

> Let me speak for your father, stay away from Boys.  Period!!!




An engineer I work with at Siemens (he works for Siemens- one of my customers) , his wife had their second child this year.  When I congratulated him, he said "well, I have to buy a shotgun for this one, it's a girl"


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## CocoNUT (Dec 29, 2012)

Ok ladies...let's remember the REAL reason we want her to stay clear of the boys....cause they're nothing but trouble! nah - it's inevitible...especially in those teen years...aaaah...SO GLAD I'm not a teen anymore! 

Sheepgirl...boys are a DISTRACTION...that's why everyone wants you to stay clear. But you seem to have a good head on your shoulders...just don't give up EVERYTHING you work so hard for just to chase some guy who 10 years from now might not be worth anything! Get them to come after you...make them WORK for your attention...and they HAVE to respect you. PERIOD. Plus...you have a lot of time for boys....

Nevermind between school, your business, AND work...you don't really have all that much time for boys! (At least the 'bad' ones!)


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

I have three boys, and tell them to stay away from girls.  They have a not to do and do not need the distraction.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2012)

You guys crack me up!! lol

And yes, he did get 5 of the 6 bales for me  Unfortunately he was wearing a carharrt jacket so no looking for me!! hahaha gotta go back in the summer, though....  lol

But yes, I get my hay from Lawyer's. He gives me a $10/round bale discount  He just told me the first time I bought hay that they normally sell for $35 but he will let me take them for $25 each 

hahaha Southern, I'll try  And shearing on a stand won't be so bad, but you might want to have someone hold onto them or put side rails on because I can guarantee you once you turn those clippers on and come at the sheep with 'em they'll try to fall off! lol

And I'm hoping I can sell him a lamb or two. Not only will I sell them, but I can also ask the butcher about carcass data (dressing %, %RTC, grade, etc). So that will be nice.

And I like more mature guys too.  I like Hugh Jackman in Wolverine as well!! But I'd be wayyy to shy so I stick with guys my own age lol.

TBC - lol my dad tells me that every day haha. He doesn't like all the guys hanging around me at work.

Lol CocoNUT, I already try to stay away from the guys who smoke, do drugs, and drink too much. I know my parents wouldn't approve so I do my best to stay away! I can still admire their attractiveness but their bad habits are a turn off.  lol


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## CocoNUT (Dec 29, 2012)

Good for you! 
Maybe us "girls" should all go to Lawyers in the spring/summer and buy hay? 
I'm gonna guess you get the "cute girl" discount on your hay! Good for you....

Looking is always free and generally doesn't get you into trouble!


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2012)

Haha fine with me!!  They have all sorts of hay and it's all stored in their old turkey barns, and it's really nice stuff. Green all the way through, not really dusty, and no sun bleaching!



> Looking is always free and generally doesn't get you into trouble!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

Just so you know.  His Dad and I are friends....


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## CocoNUT (Dec 29, 2012)

Just so you know I wasn't suggesting anything immoral, dirty, untoward, etc. I didn't mean to offend...


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

CocoNUT said:
			
		

> Just so you know I wasn't suggesting anything immoral, dirty, untoward, etc. I didn't mean to offend...


No offense taken.  I was messing with sheepgirl.  Meaning I could talk to his dad for her . But I was only kidding.  The young man is a fine young man and extremely responsible for his age.


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## CocoNUT (Dec 29, 2012)

hmmm.....well.....that's the kind of young man she SHOULD be around...if she HAS to be around any....


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Dec 29, 2012)

I am behaving and staying out of it.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Dec 29, 2012)

Lol, you guys are tooo funny!!!!


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## Southern by choice (Dec 29, 2012)

Coconut...do not corrupt the young lady!  

... and sheepgirl... you stay away from the guys that drink too much???  what do you mean  "too much"???? You just put that back with NO smoking, NO drugs *AND NO drinking!!!!* 

Are you starting to feel like you've got a lot of old timers here... like way to many parents??? That just shows how much we all care about you!


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## bonbean01 (Dec 29, 2012)

My Dad had three daughters...he was a farmer...he did not think any jokes about the farmer with three daughters was funny 

When a date would show up to pick any of us up...he went outside to have a little talk with them first...don't know what he said to them...but they seemed terrified to go past holding hands 

And yes...we are looking out for you because we care about you sweetie


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2012)

omg I love you guys! You all are too funny!!

But SBC, lol. I tolerate social drinkers, or someone that has a beer every once and a while, but I don't like someone who drinks every day or is an alcoholic lol.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 29, 2012)

Welllll... ok.   good girl! But no underage crap!!!


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## bonbean01 (Dec 29, 2012)

I agree


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2012)

thanks guys! 

hahaha and don't worry. I've never drinken, done drugs, or smoked because I know my parents will find out one way or another. lol


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## SheepGirl (Dec 30, 2012)

Well my mom & I went to Lowe's yesterday and bought an 8x10 metal shed. Unfortunately it's not for my sheep to use, but rather for me to use to put my hay & other sheep supplies in, since my mom doesn't want my stuff in the garage any more  Haven't had a chance to put it together yet, but it will be done soon because my mom also wants to park in the garage and she can't do that when I have a round bale against the back wall 

I will post pictures as it's being constructed. We also bought plywood so I can have a floor.

It will only be a temporary fix until we build our barn. We were supposed to build it back during Thanksgiving, but that never happened, so it probably won't be until Spring.


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## Bridgemoof (Dec 30, 2012)

Well don't try and put it together today, you might have pieces of sheet metal sailing across your pasture! I hate these high winds, the sheep don't like it at all. 

Nice that you got your own storage facility, though!


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## Southern by choice (Dec 30, 2012)

That is great! Will a round bale fit through the door?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 2, 2013)

Come up with a name theme yet?


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## SheepGirl (Jan 2, 2013)

Yep, I'm so excited to have it! We haven't built it yet, though--maybe this weekend. My mom wants it done ASAP so she can park in her garage!! lol. But she's been needing to put all the Christmas decorations away first so we haven't had time to build it.

But a round bale should fit through the door...the doors open to I think at least 54" so I would guess a round bale could fit through. I'm going to see about getting two round bales in there and then 7-10 bales of straw, plus my sheep equipment (elastrators, hoof trimmers, hand shears, breeding supplies, etc), and grain in there. Might get a bit crowded, but it's just for me & my sheep stuff lol. And then maybe I can get a solar light so we don't have to run electricity out there. And then I can hang up photos of my sheep inside on the walls 

And I think I'm going to go with Twilight or Superheroes for my naming theme. I will wait until naming them until after Ciqala lambs to see what kind of lambs I get. Ali's due on a Sunday and Ciqala's due on that next Saturday, so it won't be long.

-----

I've been thinking about my two mature ewes.

I really like Ciqala's udder capacity (I milked her a couple days after she lambed this past yr and I got 2 cups out of her left half, and I didn't even milk her dry on that side), her parasite tolerance, her foraging ability (wanting to graze instead of eating hay), her hardiness (willingness to stand out in snow/rain) and her mothering instincts (she's very protective and she does her best not to let her babies out of her sight, whereas Ali tends to be scatterbrained).

I really like Ali's udder conformation and her thriftiness (ability to stay fat on grass & mineral alone, even coming out of winter over conditioned).

So what I think I'm going to do is concentrate on combining these two ewes into a single 'package' by keeping a ram lamb out of either of them and crossing it onto the other ewe (like if Ciqala has a ram lamb I will breed him to Ali; if Ali has a ram lamb I will breed him to Ciqala) and seeing what kind of a ewe I get. I'm hoping for a more open faced ewe, because with Ali, the wool below her eye tends to grow long, whereas the wool above her eye stays short, and then it makes her slightly wool blind. So I think that's gonna be a little side project with my flock. I may also want to add Katy Perry's genes into that mix, too, depending on how she is as a mother.


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 2, 2013)

That's exciting Sheepgirl! So I take it Ali and Ciqala aren't related, right? That sounds like a good plan. It's fun to be able to improve your flock. I really don't want to take my ram lamb Mac to market because he turned out so good! I think I'll hang on to him and breed him to a few different sheep. Let me ask you this. Dipsy was Mac's daddy. LaLa is Dipsy's sister. Can I safely breed Mac to Lala? Or is nephew to aunt to close?

Good luck with the shed!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 2, 2013)

> Dipsy was Mac's daddy. LaLa is Dipsy's sister. Can I safely breed Mac to Lala? Or is nephew to aunt to close?


imo yes. I will not and do not agree with people when they breed within three generations. But that's just me.


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 2, 2013)

Thanks Straw for your humble opinion


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 2, 2013)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Thanks Straw for your humble opinion


Oh you're welcome Bridge. Anything for you. lol

But like I said, that is me. Alot of people, I'm sure, do not agree and are fine with that kind of thing.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 2, 2013)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> That's exciting Sheepgirl! So I take it Ali and Ciqala aren't related, right? That sounds like a good plan. It's fun to be able to improve your flock. I really don't want to take my ram lamb Mac to market because he turned out so good! I think I'll hang on to him and breed him to a few different sheep. Let me ask you this. Dipsy was Mac's daddy. LaLa is Dipsy's sister. Can I safely breed Mac to Lala? Or is nephew to aunt to close?
> 
> Good luck with the shed!


Actually, Ali is Ciqala's daughter. So I will be inbreeding/linebreeding, depending on who's son I use (if I use Ali's it will be grandson x granddam or if I use Ciqala's it will be half brother x half sister). I think it will help homogenize the good traits. ETA: I think if I do the half sibling breeding it will concentrate more on Ciqala's genetics, which is more of what I want lol--I like her traits better than Ali's! haha

And I have bred son x dam, half brother x half sister, and twins to each other before. Of course on accident, thanks to Billy. 5 of the 8 lambs were either stillborn or died at 1 day old. I think it was more of a nutritional deficiency moreso than anything else because their symptoms matched up with a selenium deficiency or polio. Or it could've been something genetic with those same symptoms. But I think you will be safe.

TBH, I'm thinking KP & LG are actually Ali's babies because they just look so much like her, rather than Ciqala's. My neighbor told me he watched 44 lamb and then I moved her & the lambs in a pen, and then I went down to the barn a couple hours later and there were 2 more lambs in there. So maybe he confused my two ewes? He was almost 80 and I know he was in a rush because he had my mom come and pick me up from school to come take care of them lol and maybe he forgot to wear his glasses lol... And that would explain why she 'randomly' came into milk (though she didn't come into milk until about a week after she lambed) but if they are Ali's babies, that means they are the result of a twin sibling breeding.  And they turned out fine. For the most part LOL...I could've done without KP's mouth!


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## SheepGirl (Jan 2, 2013)

Found a baby picture of Ciqala! This is when we first caught her and penned her up for me to get tame. She was a wild little thing and that ewe lamb penned with her broke her leg. She ended up being sent to market and then she has a ram lamb as a companion and then a wether lamb. She eventually was turned out to pasture with the other 2006 ewe lambs, once she was friendly enough. In this picture, she is no more than 4 mo old. I think she's more around 3 mo though. She grew pretty fast for a 1/2 Babydoll lamb! Of course she is also 1/2 Montadale lol


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## SheepGirl (Jan 3, 2013)

I had a calendar made with my sheep photographs I took throughout the year last year and it came in the mail today and it looks GREAT!


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## SheepGirl (Jan 3, 2013)

Okay, I have a day off today and so I spent like 1.5-2 hrs outside taking photos of my sheep. Sooo here they are!

Ciqala's starting to get a baby bump





Here's everybody





The lambs





A Texel ram and a 1/2 Montadale ewe





Next 4 pictures are of eyelids.... in order left to right it's Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Ali, and Hank. I couldn't catch Ciqala so no pics of her eyelids. 










And two mouth pictures.... first one is of Hank and he is growing his 2nd 2 yr tooth and it is almost all the way in. Second one is of Ali and her terrible mouth conformation. 1, she has an overbite; 2, her teeth are off center; 3, she has a split pad. When she was a lamb, she lost one of her 2 yr teeth (don't know how she lost it) and her teeth all moved together. So that may be a reason why her teeth are off center. BUT even though her mouth conformation is considered 'bad,' she still comes out of winter every year with a BCS of 3.5 or 4, usually on just the dormant grass alone.








Hank wanted some feed....





And then I got behind him and took this picture.





Here's the ewe flock





These ladies were staring at Katy Perry beating up a cat.





This cat always rolls around when he's near me. It doesn't matter where he is: straw, snow, grass, dirt, mud, poop.





Hank chased him away after sniffing him





And here's another picture of Hank. Still underweight (but looking MUCH better than when I got him), but I'm not too worried. He's healthy & active and I also want to see how big his leg muscles are when I get him sheared before he gets too much fat on him.





I liked the way this one turned out.





I don't know if you can see this or not, but look at her teeth  I may have to edit this photo on my computer and then upload it so you can see what I'm talking about.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 3, 2013)

Okay, here's a cropped version of the last photo...she just kept standing there like she forgot to close her mouth! lol so I took a picture


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## greenbean (Jan 3, 2013)

They're all so cute!


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## jodief100 (Jan 3, 2013)

What adorable fuzzy Teddy Sheep!


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 3, 2013)

I just love your sheepies!  Love the pic of Lady Gaga and Kate Perry against the fence line!  Your cat looks like it is playing dead.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 3, 2013)

Thanks! 

Oh and I forgot to upload this picture, but it's a photograph of Ali's neck wool. I love how crimpy and pretty it is! I want to do something with it when she gets sheared. But I don't know what.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jan 3, 2013)

Nice pictures.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 5, 2013)

Can't believe I forgot to upload this one!

Here's Ciqala. She looks like she's smiling.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 5, 2013)

You could brighten up those eyes with some mascara! It would really bring out her smile!


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## PendergrassRanch (Jan 5, 2013)

I love that smiling picture! All your sheep are so gorgeous. I can't wait to get sheep.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 6, 2013)

A lady came into McDonald's today and ordered a cheeseburger and a quarter pounder with cheese. Guess what she was wearing? An HSUS sweatshirt!!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 6, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> A lady came into McDonald's today and ordered a cheeseburger and a quarter pounder with cheese. Guess what she was wearing? An HSUS sweatshirt!!


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## SheepGirl (Jan 6, 2013)

The people down the street from me are selling their cattle. In the two years they've had them, they've always been on a dry lot. What do you think, should I get them?

http://frederick.craigslist.org/grd/3527260601.html

JK I'd rather spend that money on buying new sheep


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 6, 2013)

My favorite breed of cattle.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 6, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> > A lady came into McDonald's today and ordered a cheeseburger and a quarter pounder with cheese. Guess what she was wearing? An HSUS sweatshirt!!


I know


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 7, 2013)

SHEEP! Think sheep not cows


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## BrownSheep (Jan 7, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> The people down the street from me are selling their cattle. In the two years they've had them, they've always been on a dry lot. What do you think, should I get them?
> 
> http://frederick.craigslist.org/grd/3527260601.html
> 
> JK I'd rather spend that money on buying new sheep


Send them to me!!! Yak highland crosses would be rather dapper don't ya think?


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## SheepGirl (Jan 7, 2013)

Haha that would actually be an interesting cross! And Bridge lol I know--for $1500 I could buy 5-8 ewes!

-----

Well I will be going to the Big Apple on Thursday. My grandmother, mom, aunt, cousin, and I are driving up there and meeting two other aunts and two cousins there (they are flying because they're coming from NC and FL). It's a girls weekend full of shopping, touristy stuff, and a lot of fun!  We've been planning this since Thanksgiving so it is very much anticipated! It will be my first time in NYC, and I think only the third or 4th "major" city I've been to. I've been to Toronto, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Oh and Washington, D.C. of course lol. I go there multiple times a year. So I guess it's like the 5th one. But definitely the largest one!

My mom works at a major hotel chain's HQ so we get an employee discount for our hotel. Eight of us (4 aunts and 4 granddaughters) are covering our grandmother's hotel room. She's gotta pay for everything else, though  But we are staying at a hotel right in Times Square and for three nights, my portion (plus part of my grandmother's) is $120, which isn't bad at all. I have this paycheck & my last paycheck saved for this trip. I just hope I don't spend it all! My cousin who lives in Rockville has recently gotten into name brand fashion; she's a waitress and gets REALLY good tips (like $200+/day) so she can afford all that stuff. $200 to me is like not even one week's worth of pay!! haha. But she's excited to be going to all of those designer stores and spending lots of money lol. She told me she wants to buy a $200 pair of sunglasses  I told her I would buy a $200 sheep. 

But I'm so excited and will be taking a bunch of pictures!


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## BrownSheep (Jan 7, 2013)

That happens to me a lot! Somebody will mention what they paid for shoes, clothes, or a car and all I can think is I could by couple sheep fr that.


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## jodief100 (Jan 8, 2013)

Enjoy your trip!

I am the same way.  When someone says how much they paid for something, I think how much I had to wrok to get that and what I woudl rather have bought- like new goats.  Or muck boots,  or some nice quilted overalls.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 8, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Haha that would actually be an interesting cross! And Bridge lol I know--for $1500 I could buy 5-8 ewes!
> 
> -----
> 
> ...


PRADA! I will look forward to seeing some great shoes.... Whenever I'm on BYH the Jimmy Choo  ads pop up!   

Have fun! I love NYC!


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 10, 2013)

Have a blast today in NYC! As you probably know, I missed out on my NYC shopping trip because of baby goats :/ So shop for me! Hint: There are no farm stores in NYC. I'm not sure what you'll end up buying! You just might have money left over for some sheeps!


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Jan 10, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> The people down the street from me are selling their cattle. In the two years they've had them, they've always been on a dry lot. What do you think, should I get them?
> 
> http://frederick.craigslist.org/grd/3527260601.html
> 
> JK I'd rather spend that money on buying new sheep


I saw those and was begging my husband....    He said no though. Pooy head.  Doesn't he know we NEED big fuzzy cooos. They're highlands so you can't call them cows.


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Jan 10, 2013)

And all designer clothes end up at Goodwill eventually. So sayeth my Ralph Lauren barn coat.


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## CocoNUT (Jan 10, 2013)

Absolutely! Goodwill ROCKS!


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## SheepGirl (Jan 10, 2013)

SuburbanFarmChic said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well that heifer hasn't ever had a calf, so it's probably a good thing you aren't getting them lol. I've driven by their farm every day either to/from school or to/from work and there has yet to be a calf in the pen with them :/ She should've had a calf by now, especially since she's been with the bull for two years now.

-----

But whenever my aunt & cousin get here, we will be leaving for NYC!! I will be taking my laptop with me since there is free wifi in the hotel lobby so I may check in. Also my laptop serves as an excellent music player on the trip up there


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## SheepGirl (Jan 13, 2013)

Well our alternator went out in our car so we are stranded in Jersey City :/ BUT we are 4 minutes away from Carlo's Bakery (Cake Boss ) so guess where we are going for breakfast?!

But I will give a full update and post pictures when I get home tomorrow.


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 14, 2013)

Can't wait to hear about your whole trip!


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## SheepGirl (Jan 15, 2013)

We stopped at a gas station on our way into NYC and as soon as my mom got back in from pumping gas, I was like "hurry up, mom, lock the doors." My cousin said I was such a little white girl  But my overall impression of the city was that it was very safe. There were cops on every block. I ended up becoming feeling very safe by the end of the trip, I would've walked on the streets by myself if I knew where I was going! We only ran into 2 or 3 nasty people. Every body else was very nice & helpful. But it was soo much fun! We got back last night around 7:30ish.

*THURSDAY*
We arrived in NYC around 9:30/10ish. It was me, my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt & cousin from Rockville. We met up with my aunt & cousin from Florida at the hotel. On our way into the city, we saw the Statue of Liberty. My mom yelled out "Look, the Statue of Liberty!" and my grandmother was like "the real one?!" and my mom replied "Yes, this isn't Vegas!"   It was sooo funny! lol But we got to our hotel (the Marriott Marquis) and we were on the 20th floor and the bubble elevators were awesome. We went out and walked around Times Square (which looked SO futuristic, it was awesome) and we went to the M&M Store. Three levels of chocolate! Almost as good as Hershey World in Hershey, PA 

*FRIDAY*
Friday my aunt & cousin from North Carolina showed up in the morning at the hotel. We started out with breakfast at this random little bakery in the city. I don't even remember what it was called! lol But we then went to the bus tour building and we got our NYC Bus Pass card and our bus tickets. We then went on a bus tour of NYC and we got off at the Empire State Building. We went up to the 86th floor for free with our NYC Bus Pass Card (if you go to NYC--definitely buy one for each person; it is soo worth it, especially since many places are $40-$50 each for admission).












We then ate at the restaurant on the bottom floor of the Empire State Building. They had a 10 oz Filet Mignon for $31.50 

Then we made our way over to the 9/11 Memorial. It was soo pretty. Each spot that once has the Twin Towers (each about 1 acre in size) now has a reflecting pool. They are building like 8 or 12 World Trade Center towers all around the Memorial.











After we went through the Memorial, we went to the gift shop and I got a picture with an NYPD officer!!  That was one of my goals of the trip, lol. So after this we walked back to the hotel and six of us went out to an Irish Pub. The food was FABULOUS. Everybody enjoyed their food. My grandmother had TWO Irish Coffees (yes, with the whiskey in them, too) and we all had dessert. I had my first REAL New York Cheesecake there  Oh and it was soo funny afterwards. We were walking Times Square again and there was a group of about 8-10 cops--young and all were extremely attractive. My somewhat drunk grandmother YELLED out "HUBBA, HUBBA!" and the cops all looked at her and she just started laughing and she laughed so hard she peed her pants!   Oh what Whiskey does to you..... lol

*SATURDAY*
On Saturday we went to Grand Central Station and then we went to the New York Public Library (staircase pictured below).






We then stopped at Madame Tussaud's and I got pictures with Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kim Kardashian, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, John Wayne, Elvis, Leonardo Di Caprio, George Bush, Ronald Regan, Kate Middleton and her husband (my mom laughed at me the first time I said that--she was like "that would be Prince William"), Marilyn Monroe, Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, Usher, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and a bunch of other people. It was soo cool seeing how tall (or short!) some of these people actually are. I was surprised at how tall Taylor Swift was. And how short Usher was.

After Madame Tussaud's we walked around and found the Cake Boss Cafe. OF COURSE we had to go in and I had THE most delicious Oreo Tower Cake.






We then went to the Museum of Natural History (you know, where Night at the Museum was filmed?), but my cousin & I were soo disappointed because all we wanted to see & take pictures of was the T-rex, Sacajawea, the monkey, the dum-dum I want gum-gum statue, and Owen Wilson's little town. We only saw the T-rex and the dum-dum I want gum-gum statue. Everything else we couldn't find and it looked nothing like the movie. You would've thought they would've at least made it more realistic :/ Oh well. It was still interesting, though.

(Sorry for the blurry photo--the Museum had poor lighting)










In the Hall of African Mammals, they had these (I think they're Gemsbok?) and I was really shocked of how well the taxidermist captured the alert look on them. It reminds me of when I would approach the sheep flock at eye level and I would have them face me, heads high, ears alert, and eyes wide. They did an awesome job with this.





After that we went to Central Park to go to the Castle. We climbed all the way to the top. It was really pretty. We also saw Cleopatra's Needle (I think that's what my aunt said it was).
















We were then going to go to the 48th floor of the Hotel to eat at the restaurant there. Turns out the buffet starts at $80 per person. NO WAY could any of us eat that much food. So instead we went to John's Pizzeria. We still had to go some place fancy because we all brought dressy clothes and us granddaughters all wanted to dress up and look pretty!

Then when we got back to the hotel we changed into normal clothes again and we wanted to go ice skating. Well skating at Rockefeller's was like $38 and skating at a park was like $18. But the line was like 2 hours long so we ended up not doing that  We ended up just walking around some more and then going back to the hotel to sleep.

*SUNDAY*
Sunday we went to the Staten Island Commuter Ferry because they (drive?) real close to the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island was closed due to Hurricane Sandy damage, so we had to do the next best thing so we could see Lady Liberty. But oh my gosh, it was soo foggy out! The picture below is of the city while we were on the Ferry.
















We then walked down Wall Street and saw the NYSE. It was pretty cool. We then went down the Fashion District and saw DASH, Prada, Chanel, etc. My cousin got yelled at by one of the security guards in DASH because she was taking a picture of an outfit  But I saw a really pretty suit jacket, made of wool. Guess how much it was? $952!!!!  I wish raw wool prices were even 1% of that!






After that we headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge, but there was construction going on so you couldn't see over the sides of it to take pretty pictures. So we gave up and took the subway over to Macy's. Macy's was on 34th Street (Miracle on 34th Street) and it is 11 stories high and they had an Auntie Anne's, Ben & Jerry's, McDonald's, and so much in there. They even sold Carharrt clothing!

This was the roof of someone's apartment/condo/house. They had a lawn, a grill, a couple trellises, and a hot tub. Could you imagine what kind of parties they would throw?





Walking off of the Brooklyn Bridge, I saw this building. I thought it looked so cool.





Pretty much Macy's was our last stop, then we had to go back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. My family from NC & FL went to the airport and all of us from MD got our car and started driving home. We started going through a tunnel when the car battery light went on. When we got out of the tunnel, we stopped at a gas station and my mom checked the cables or whatever to see if anything was loose. Nope. Then our lights inside our car started getting dim. So my mom started freaking out so we unplugged our GPS and the phone that was charging. Then my mom's gages went caput. We were freaking out and all the local auto shops were closed because it was Sunday night. Our head lights went out, too, but we kept trucking because my mom didn't want to pay for a towing bill on top of whatever was wrong with the car. So we finally found a Sears and our car had completely died by the time we pulled into the parking lot. We ran inside, but the auto part of the store had already closed down. But the guy was still there and he got us all hooked up for the first appointment of the next day and he even walked us to our hotel (which was great because there were a lot of sketchy people hanging out near the mall that night and who wouldn't have wanted to see what us five girls had in our suitcases?) and showed us how to get back to Sears the next morning! He was soo nice.

*MONDAY*
We woke up stranded in Jersey City. But we bought train tickets over to Hobokken (it was only a mile, but a mile our feet were too exhausted to walk because of all of our walking this past weekend) and we went to Carlo's Bake Shop!! Unfortunately Mondays are the family's day off so we didn't get to meet any of the sisters or Buddy. But it was still a nice experience. I bought an autographed DVD of the 4th season of Cake Boss and I bought a strawberry cheesecake. It was AMAZINGLY delicious and it was nice and creamy.

After that, our car still wasn't done so we went to a little park and we got pictures of NYC from NJ. It was about time to check out of our hotel so we went back and had them hold our luggage for us. Well then we walked over to the mall, hung out for a half hour, walked over to Sears, got our car, went over to the hotel to get our luggage, and FINALLY went back home. I slept the first 1-2 hours. Apparently it took an hour to go a mile due to an accident--boy am I glad I slept during that part! But the rest of the ride home was bearable. I was awake for the last 2-3 hours of the trip. And we stopped at my McDonald's on the way home and my mom came in with me (I had to check the schedule and the family wanted food) and my mom was like "you should hook up with him. he's cute. i think he likes you."  and on and on lol

Me in front of Carlo's





My box of delicious goodness





This is the best picture of my cheesecake I got. Because then I wanted to eat it.





Me in the park





This is the world trade center(?) under construction





The empire state building





BUT I'm just happy to be home! And my sheep are, too. My brother opened up the door to the house and the dogs came out to see us and I yelled "MAGGIE!" and she came running over to me wagging her little tail and my sheep of course heard my voice and ALL of them were baaing at me. Not just one little baa each. They were long, drawn out baas that were VERY loud. And they kept baaing until I got out there with their food and then they were jumping around. And they all let me pet them  Normally I'm lucky if I get to pet all of them in one night lol. I guess they missed me feeding them! Lol I had my grandfather feed them for me. He was so stubborn about it, though. He kept saying "I'm going to feed them like a real farmer and I'm just going to throw whatever out and they can all eat it." I was like "No, if you want $20, you will feed them the way _I_ feed them and you will make sure that the hay gets in the feeder and my lambs get their correct ration and make sure Hank doesn't steal their food. Ideally I would have different pastures & pens to separate everybody by their production stage to feed them correctly, but I just have this one area so when I feed I have to guard the feed pans when the lambs eat." The amount I paid him equated to about $40/hour so I hope he fed them correctly and didn't do what he wanted to do. He was telling me though that he had to fight Hank to keep him away, so I'm thinking he followed my instructions. Hank knows he will get kicked by me if he comes near the lambs when they eat so he has learned to just stick his head in the hay feeder and he's happy. He learned fast 

-----

Just got back in from feeding my sheep  THE GATE WAS WIDE OPEN! OMG, it must have been open all day since the last time I went through it was last night. Unless someone went in there? But fortunately the sheep were still in the field. I'm surprised they didn't venture out!


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## Pearce Pastures (Jan 15, 2013)

WOW what a cool trip!  LOL, at grandma.


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## HankTheTank (Jan 15, 2013)

Cool trip! You know, I've only been to the city twice, and I've NEVER seen the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.. and I live in NY!

No pictures of the policemen....?


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 15, 2013)

Wow what a recap! NYC is so much fun, I'm glad you had such a great time and got to see so many things! I love your pics of everything. I have been impressed with NYC the last couple of times I went at how clean everything was and how many cops were around. Thanks for the photoblog! 

Oh and I'm glad your sheep are still alive after Grandpa  I'm sure they missed you very much.


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## bonbean01 (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks for the photos...and I'm glad you had a great trip 

Have to admit...I have no desire to go there...must be something wrong with me


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 15, 2013)

Ok I want to go so bad now. lol

Glad you had a great time. Seemed awesome!!

btw HUGE post. Pictures were great and stories were funny. haha


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## SheepGirl (Jan 15, 2013)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> WOW what a cool trip!  LOL, at grandma.


Lol, she was such a hoot. On our way into the city she was so funny. She was like "Hi Lady Liberty! We will see you tomorrow!" and she was waving at her. My grandmother is so adorable <3 I hope I can be as cute as her when I'm old.



			
				HankTheTank said:
			
		

> Cool trip! You know, I've only been to the city twice, and I've NEVER seen the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.. and I live in NY!
> 
> No pictures of the policemen....?


Awww! You should go. Only problem is is that the admission for the Empire State Building is $40. But we got in for "free" because of our NYC Bus Pass (each pass was $140 but it got us unlimited bus/tour rides for two days plus one free admission into any attraction for two days).

But hahahaha no, no pictures of the cops. I was waaaayyyy too nervous to ask. The only reason why I got my picture with the one cop was because my mom asked for me  lol and I think I look awful in that picture, so that's why I didn't upload it 



			
				Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Wow what a recap! NYC is so much fun, I'm glad you had such a great time and got to see so many things! I love your pics of everything. I have been impressed with NYC the last couple of times I went at how clean everything was and how many cops were around. Thanks for the photoblog!
> 
> Oh and I'm glad your sheep are still alive after Grandpa  I'm sure they missed you very much.


Yes, the city WAS very clean. Sometimes you would walk across the street and smell sewage, but it was whatever. And walking down into the subway it stunk really bad but when you got into the train it was very clean and I didn't feel like I needed to wash my hands afterwards! lol

But yes I'm sure my sheep missed me. Only because I feed them, though 



			
				bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Thanks for the photos...and I'm glad you had a great trip
> 
> Have to admit...I have no desire to go there...must be something wrong with me


Thanks! TBH, I only wanted to go to see the 'famous' things...like designer clothing, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, NY cheesecake, NY style pizza, etc...I wasn't really interested in the tours & the history of the city and all that stuff. I love being able to watch movies & TV shows now that feature NYC and be able to say "I was there!" It was so surreal being in the city, though. You see it all the time on TV but when you're actually there, it's very neat.



			
				Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Ok I want to go so bad now. lol
> 
> Glad you had a great time. Seemed awesome!!
> 
> btw HUGE post. Pictures were great and stories were funny. haha


Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed how long it was!! lol  But it was a great trip and I think you should go, too. Seeing everything was amazing.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 16, 2013)

So glad you had a great time in NYC! I love NY!!!


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## CocoNUT (Jan 16, 2013)

HankTheTank said:
			
		

> Cool trip! You know, I've only been to the city twice, and I've NEVER seen the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.. and I live in NY!
> 
> No pictures of the policemen....?


Yeah! Didn't you take at least ONE photo of the cute, young cops?! I think your grandma sounds like a barrel of laughs! HUBBA HUBBA! LOVE IT! 

Ok...awesome narrative! I remember when I went - I was totally claustrophobic! Too many buildings...not enough "space" for my taste! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! Man things are expensive there aren't they? Good thing you had those bus tickets and the family discount at the hotel...and the $80 buffet?! WOW!    I'm also glad you all had your 'fancy' dinner too. You gotta do that when you're there. 

I'll bet your sheepies missed you too! Hence no one escaped when the gate was wide open!


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## greenbean (Jan 16, 2013)

Love the photos!  I think you're brave to go to NYC!  However, I really dislike big cities and crowds.    Glad you had a good time!


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## Southern by choice (Jan 21, 2013)

Just saying hi sheepgirl!  "HI"


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## SheepGirl (Jan 21, 2013)

Hi!  How are you?


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## jodief100 (Jan 22, 2013)

Thank you for your story about your trip.  Now I don't need to go.  Thanks to your beautiful photos and descriptions of how much everything cost, I no longer have a desire to go.  

I am glad you had a good time going on vacation for me.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 22, 2013)

You're welcome


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## Symphony (Jan 23, 2013)

Looked like fun.  Who was that model in front of the Cake shop....


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## Royd Wood (Jan 23, 2013)

Great pics and daily account - you had a fantastic time me thinks
NYC is on the radar for us this year and those pics make me more determined to make it happen for Mrs Royd and the little Royds
Thankyou for the post


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## Symphony (Jan 23, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> Great pics and daily account - you had a fantastic time me thinks
> NYC is on the radar for us this year and those pics make me more determined to make it happen for Mrs Royd and the little Royds
> Thankyou for the post


Oh god he's married with children.  There are little Royd's in this world.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 23, 2013)

scary thought!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 23, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Royd Wood said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## bonbean01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Yes...and every one of them has their very own rake!


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## marlowmanor (Jan 23, 2013)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Yes...and every one of them has their very own rake!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 23, 2013)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Yes...and every one of them has their very own rake!


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## RemudaOne (Jan 23, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Royd Wood said:
> 
> 
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## ragdollcatlady (Jan 23, 2013)




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## stitchcounting (Jan 23, 2013)

Glad you had fun in my city. It kinda funny ready your journal, like all of there things i just walk by or run by if im late to school. And that pent house you saw on the train is right across the street from my school. You could have bought chick in brooklyn, sheep..... cooked in queens lol.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 23, 2013)

You guys crack me up   I literally LOL'd hahahahaha


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## Royd Wood (Jan 24, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Royd Wood said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What - you thought I was a lonely singleton 

You will be pleased to hear all my Royds big and little follow after their mothers


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## Southern by choice (Jan 24, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> Symphony said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mothers...you mean you actually got more than one woman to marry you.


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## Royd Wood (Jan 24, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> Royd Wood said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


lol - who said anything about marrige


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## Southern by choice (Jan 24, 2013)




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## SheepGirl (Jan 24, 2013)




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## SheepGirl (Jan 24, 2013)

We got about an inch of snow last night and we're supposed to get more tomorrow. I liked having the snow. It gives me sheep something to drink  With this below freezing weather all week, their water buckets (I have four out there and I bring two in the house at night to thaw and bring it back out during the day) freeze really fast. I've even tried putting water in their shelter and building up a bunch of straw around it to try to insulate it, but it didn't work. So they've been happily munching away at the snow.

And the ewes really went at their hay tonight, too. I gave them twice the amount of what I've been giving them. Let's hope I don't find it in the feeder tomorrow, lol! But Tuesday I caught Ciqala and took pictures of her. I got a picture of her teeth and her eyelids. Finally I have pics of teeth/eyes of everybody lol. Her teeth actually look pretty good for her age. Only some teeth are showing wear, but the rest look pretty solid.

I told Ali that she has a little over one week (Feb 1) before she gets her CD/T shot and she starts getting 1/2 lb of grain. She didn't seem to understand what I told her as she kept the same expression on her face, lol. Whereas Ciqala has almost 2 weeks (Feb 7) before she gets her CD/T shot and she starts getting 1/2 lb of grain. She looked grumpy, so I imagine she knew what I was saying. She's never been a fan of getting her vaccination. And I bet she's not happy that she has to wait longer to get grain. Poor Hank is going to be grumpiest of all though--he's not getting any grain!


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## stitchcounting (Jan 24, 2013)

What are CD/T shots? 
I feel a lil more normal now... i talk to my pets too.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 24, 2013)

The CD/T vaccination protects against _Clostridium perfringens_ types C & D (enteritis and overeating disease) as well as _C. tetani_ (tetanus). I do it 30 days pre-lambing so the lambs get protection from the vaccine in the colostrum (first milk).

And I talk to my sheep when I feed them and pet them and scratch them--it helps to break the awkward silence  I talk to them in a baby voice like "aww look at you cute lil sheepie" so that's probably why they don't take me seriously  lol Sometimes the cats like to talk to. Some are more talkative than others, five of them especially. The other 8 or 10 or so don't really like to talk back to me hahahaha.


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## stitchcounting (Jan 24, 2013)

Wait, wait wait!

You're saying that your sheep and cat talk about to you??!
I know a good therapist, I will but you in contact with him.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 24, 2013)

hahahahaha. I'm not crazy  I do it out of boredom and to break the silence, mainly. Though sometimes the sheep baa back at me. Mostly they stay silent and stare at me like I'm crazy. (I call them socially awkward ) The cats talk to me. Like today I had a conversation with Tom Cat.

me: "Are you going to help me feed the sheep again today?"
him: meow
me: "Are you sure? There's fresh snow outside."
him: meow
me: "Okay, but don't blame me when your feet freeze."
him: meow
he then followed me outside and meowed at me
me: "I told you there was snow out here, but you didn't listen to me!"
him: silence.

This is him






That's pretty much how my conversations with my critters go.


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## stitchcounting (Jan 24, 2013)

ahahaha okay thats much better . Does your cat have a tail? Your sheep are socially awkward, and my rabbit is anti social.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 24, 2013)

Lol, yeah he does, he's just laying on it. We do have one cat without a tail. We don't know how she lost it. But her name is Momma Kitty #2 (Momma Kitty #1 is her sister). But I just call her Momma. She loves baby kitties, even if they aren't hers. But she's spayed now, so no more kittens of her own!

I have a rabbit, but he's just kind of here. He doesn't do much. My mom did open the door to his cage so right now he's hopping around the house, and our two indoor cats are having fun with him. They are out of barn cat stock, both lived their first couple of weeks outside before we brought them in and bottle fed them. The older one was found abandoned/stuck in between plastic barrels, according to my neighbor he had been hearing the mews of kitten for a couple days but couldn't find her. But I found her, brought her home, and we started to bottle feed her. The second one I stole out of a litter  because she looked almost exactly like the kitten we had in 2011 but lost to FIP  But I'm sooo glad I have her. I taught her how to sit, she comes when she's called and she makes my dog (my shadow) jealous lol. But anyway, back to my point, lol--they're out of barn cat stock (our barn cats are known to kill wild rabbits and squirrels in addition to mice and shrews) so they're 'trying' to hunt him, but because they weren't taught to hunt by their moms, they're really just playing with him, batting at his ears and jumping on his back and biting the top of his head  and he just sits there. Sometimes he will chase after them and the cats are almost in shock so they chase after him. But when my dog starts to play with the bunny, he runs to the cats for protection!  pshhhh like they're gonna protect him lol. Once the dog comes, it's all cats for themselves lol


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## Symphony (Jan 25, 2013)

stitchcounting said:
			
		

> What are CD/T shots?
> I feel a lil more normal now... i talk to my pets too.


You got to have something to swear at....I mean talk too.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 25, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> stitchcounting said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


x2 haha


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## jodief100 (Jan 25, 2013)

I sing to my goats.   Is that weird?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 25, 2013)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> I sing to my goats.   Is that weird?


yes, Jodie it is.


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## HankTheTank (Jan 25, 2013)

When I was socializing my goats when I first got them I would talk to them, read to them, play the guitar near them, sing along to the radio to them  I'm glad it worked otherwise I would have felt a little strange.. I still talk to them all the time. They also get goodnight kisses


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## bonbean01 (Jan 25, 2013)

No Jodie...singing to your goats is totally normal!!!!  I sing to my sheep sometimes....heck, to be honest...have sung to my chickens too...but don't sing to the catfish in the pond...yup...totally normal...that's me


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## Royd Wood (Jan 26, 2013)

Just done the 1am lamb check - heres the script - strictly talk (not singing bon) in a strange pitch in even stranger manly-ish voice

Lights on - action

Its only me ladies
Dont freak out - it really is only me 
pull face to smell of second cut beltch 
Who's going to lamb tonight then
is it you grandma
oh hello little lammy
your ok - your mummy is right beside you
No I'm not the big bad wolf
Hello Robbie whats that little lamb doing on your back

Voice change
Oh stop bleating 
theres plenty of hay till the morning


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## CocoNUT (Jan 26, 2013)

Ok your kitty is adorable! Mine just sit there and YOWL while I'm in the back, feeding critters....they set Gus off! 
I talk to my critters....and they actually talk to me! Singing...well....I'm not really good at that...so I just blabber!


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## stitchcounting (Jan 26, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> stitchcounting said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




true true


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## SheepGirl (Jan 30, 2013)

Not much going on... just my normal routine... wake up, get ready for work, go to work, come home, feed the sheep, shower, get on the computer, and go to sleep. LOL same ole, same ole.

I did sign up for classes, I'm taking Psychology, Stats, and English. Not much, but with a full time job where I only get 2-3 days off a week (which will be the days I have class), I think I have more than enough on my plate, plus lambing season is upon us in a little over a month 

Speaking of which---we are ALMOST to February (one more day haha) which means one more month until lambing season!! It'll be a short season, though, lol, with only two ewes lambing within a week of each other and then another ewe lambing in May. She didn't rebreed so 1) she's pregnant or 2) she didn't get pregnant but stopped cycling. I'm not sure how late my sheep cycle (they're always bred for March/April babies), so I don't know when to expect them to stop having heats lol. I'm hoping she's gonna have a baby! I'm really torn though. I hope Katy Perry has a boy. That way I can keep him intact--not like I can use him his first year, because he'll be too young when I want to breed. BUT if she has a girl, I don't really wanna have another straggler lambing in May by herself. My intention is to keep most if not all of the ewe lambs if they have an ADG of 0.4 lb/day or higher.

I'm working on trying to figure out an adjustment because of my ewe's frame sizes. One is like 26" and 200 lbs and the other is about 23-24" and 145 lbs. (And that's with a BCS of 3/5--neither are fat or thin, but just right.) Obviously their lambs will grow at very different paces (larger framed sheep tend to grow faster). That said, if Ciqala has any girls, likely they will be the ones to meet my standard because I expect them to be growthier.

I'm also looking into entering wether lambs into the carcass contest at our fair. They have to be at least 80 lbs, so that means my lambs have to gain at most 0.428 lbs/day. I think this contest is geared to large framed sheep OR those who are born earlier than early March! lol. If I had a better shelter I would consider lambing in February. Not that early March weather is that much better...but it's still better than any weather in February! haha. But with half Texel lambs I think I might win...or at least be in the top 5  Plus my old ram, Billy, was really muscular (dude, you should've SEEN and FELT his butt! .... okay, that sounded a bit weird, BUT you get what I'm saying....I hope  ), and because it is his mother and twin sister doing most of the baby making here, I think they've got pretty good meat genetics in them so they can take credit for half the win lol.

Okay, I'm just rambling here. So I think I will stop. Oh nevermind, forgot something.

When the weather gets nicer and it's sunny out I'm going to do some photo tutorials of hands-on management-type stuff with the sheep. I may make them videos, depending on how easy/complicated it would be. But the things I'm thinking of doing are vaccinations, hoof trimming, Body Condition Scoring (when sheep are sheared), and when lambs arrive--tail docking, ear tagging, umbilical dipping, etc. I'm actually looking forward to doing them, lol. So I hope it happens sometime soon!

Okay, I'm done now


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## CocoNUT (Jan 31, 2013)

Ooooh...let me know when you get to those tutorials...those sound REALLY good! 
It does sound like you have a LOT on your plate...but I think you'll do just fine! You may be crazy...but you'll be fine! 
Lambies...lambies....can't wait for everyone to have their lambies! 
Watch out with this wind today! It's getting crazy around here!


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## jodief100 (Jan 31, 2013)

Can't wait for little lambies!!!!

Your schedule sounds good, one in the fuzzy studies, one straightforward class and one basic requirement.  That shouldn't overload you too much.


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## Bridgemoof (Jan 31, 2013)

Yep one more day til Feb, only a month away!  So let me know when you up their grain portions and how much each ewe is getting. I THOUGHT I was going to have 2 January lambs, but now it's looking like February lambs, unless I get lucky TODAY!

I'm really looking forward to your video tutorial. Tim does anything related to shots or hooves. I am such a wimp and don't think I can give a shot. I get really squeamish. I can take their temps though, by golly!


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## Southern by choice (Jan 31, 2013)

I think you are right on with the tutorials! Trying to do the same on my website... more for education and info.
Very excited for your lambing to come!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 1, 2013)

Well today Ali is 30 days woot) from lambing so I started her on 1/2 lb of grain (my ewes are GREAT with sudden changes in diet....I can start them on a pound of grain a day and feed it to them for a week or two and suddenly stop and their poop/behavior/etc doesn't change...I love how my sheep are so versatile) and I gave her a CD/T shot. And I asked my mom to take pictures for a pictorial of vaccinating, BUT the pics she took turned out blurry :/ She claimed she was 'too cold' to take good pictures...pfffft yeah right. haha

So we will try six days from now with Ciqala. Hopefully those pictures will turn out okay. If not I will just have to try with Hank...he's due for his shot too. Or maybe I can just forget about Ciqala and just do it with Hank. I've never given him any shots so I'm not sure how he'll take it. My ewes are awesome--they just stand there like nothing even touched them, so they make great models. But I'm trying to remember how Hank acted when his last owner gave him a shot of Levamisole. I think he took it okay lol. But we shall see.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 5, 2013)

My great uncle passed away on Sunday & tomorrow evening is the viewing and Thursday morning is the funeral. We saw him 1-2x/year at our annual family reunions/picnics (one at my great aunt's house Memorial Day weekend and one at his house Labor Day weekend). Seeing him often like that my entire life (and my mom's, too--they've been having these picnics since the 60s) makes it hard to believe he's gone. But his health has been declining the past couple of years...not being able to move around much, needing an oxygen tank, etc. My aunts & uncles will be coming up to our house tomorrow. My aunt is flying in from FL and my uncle is driving in from NC. My grandparents (he was my grandfather's little brother) were in NC with their RV but they drove their car up yesterday. It's so weird having them here without their RV!!

I have nice black slacks and a black knee-length pencil skirt, but I don't have any nice/appropriate shirts to wear. So looks like I have to go to the mall after work today and find something :/

----

On a more positive note, three more weeks for lambs!


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## jodief100 (Feb 5, 2013)




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## Bridgemoof (Feb 5, 2013)

Sorry about your Great Uncle Sheepgirl.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 5, 2013)

Sorry sheepgirl.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 7, 2013)

Thought you could use a laugh....


My DD tells me she had a dream that "Sheepgirl" came down and dropped off a Texel to us.    

I beginning to think we have BYH and sheep on the brain. How can I get the sheep I want without more land? So far there is 4 oops 5 other breeds of sheep I'd like to have. See, that is what's so hard about sheep.


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 7, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> Thought you could use a laugh....
> 
> 
> My DD tells me she had a dream that "Sheepgirl" came down and dropped off a Texel to us.
> ...


Which breeds do you like?


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## Southern by choice (Feb 7, 2013)

Well... I love sheepgirls sheep..so one day maybe I'll have one. I like the icelandic, the scottish black face, katahdin, suffolk, shetlands, of course the jacobs, and ... any thing black/white.  Of course there are others that I think are soo cool. That's the trouble with sheep... too much variety.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 7, 2013)

No Romneys or Barbosa?????


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## SheepGirl (Feb 8, 2013)

Thanks guys 

SBC -  Well I guess next time I'm in NC, I will bring Hank and I will drop him off at your place  lol

-----

Well last night I vaccinated Ciqala for CD/T and she started getting 1/2 lb of grain. I wanted to have my mom take pictures of it so I brought Ciqala up to the garage (since it was dark out) but my mom complained it was too cold. So I brought Ciqala over to the porch and I got her to go up the steps because I wanted her to look through the living room window and scare my mom  But my mom heard Ciqala's hooves and she opened the door and she let us come in the house!  I took pictures  My mom is crazyyyy letting a 200 lb sheep in the house. I was surprised though, she didn't pee or poop anywhere! Pics will come tonight (except for the vaccinating part because they still didn't turn out good ) and if it's nice & sunny tomorrow afternoon, I will do a vaccination pictorial with Hank as my model.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 9, 2013)

Sorry I didn't upload the photo last night, but here it is tonight 






The cat's name is Sophie, I found her 2 yrs ago in my neighbor's barn stuck between two barrels. She was stuck there for a couple days according to my neighbor (she had been meowing the entire time). She was about 4 wks old and we bottle fed her and she was a nice cat. But within the last year or so she has turned into such a (female dog), if you even touch her she hisses at you and smacks you with her paw. Makes nail trimming a PITA, so we just got her one of those claw boards. Seems to be working so far. If you do catch her, you can hold her and stretch her out (like this) and she seems to be okay. But only for like 3 min max.

I also took a bunch of pictures of my sheep (~230) tonight so I will be uploading a select few (okay, who am I kidding? it's going to be like 15 like usual lol), probably on my lambing thread.


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## BrownSheep (Feb 9, 2013)

Orphan kittens are all PITA. All of our " house cats" started off as orphans...Not a one of them is a nice cat.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 9, 2013)

Yep, orphan kitties are not nice creatures at all lol. I hope my Claire kitty doesn't turn out like that. I put her on the momma kitty we had inside with her kittens so she wasn't bottle fed by us, so I'm hoping she turns out okay. She's really great and so personable and friendly and not scared of anything. When the dogs come in from going to the bathroom, they get a treat and she thinks she should get one, too. 

All the cats outside--the friendly ones at least--are all really nice and love to be scratched and pet and loved on. None of them are mean, except to each other lol.


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## Bridgemoof (Feb 9, 2013)

I LOVE THE SHEEP IN THE HOUSE PIC!   Your mom is a good sport!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 9, 2013)

Yeah that's funny. I bring Arianna in the house too but only when the ground is dry so no mud comes too. She goes up on my bed.


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## HankTheTank (Feb 9, 2013)

I watched TV with Hank a couple times last summer... 

Your sheep are all so cute


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## Southern by choice (Feb 9, 2013)

I can't believe your mom let the sheep in the house!
My kids do this by _sneaking_ them in when I'm not around...     
I don't mind babies though


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Lol I was surprised my mom let the sheep in the house. She's so finicky about everything being ultra clean so I was shocked she let a dirty farm animal in her house! 

------

Today was a beautiful day. Nice and sunny, in the 50s, not too windy. So instead of doing that pictorial thing with Hank, my mom shot a video of me. So I will be uploading it either onto youtube or my website and then I will post the link here.

We also got the fence up (finally had help AND nice weather on the same day!! woot!) so now the ewes are in the dry lot pen and Hank has the field all to himself. He felt left out though when the ewes started eating their hay. :/ So I put some hay out for him too.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

ughhh this has been uploading for like 10 minutes already and it's only at 8% 

this is gonna take awhile!!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)




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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

We are at 25%


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## Southern by choice (Feb 10, 2013)

OK it's 7:28 now....


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Only 61% .... 

Who would've thunk it would take this long? The video is only a minute and a half!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

....75%


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## Royd Wood (Feb 10, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> ....75%


ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

Yes still waiting. Hurry it up will ya!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 10, 2013)

I know really.... I'll bet she is out playing with her sheepies.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Lol, I KNOW it is taking forever!!

It's at 90% now, so hopefully not too much longer


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh good! Only another hour!!!!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

94% now. We are almost there!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

99%


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

16 minutes ago...


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

It's been sitting at 100% since 9:53


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)




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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

What are we waiting for again?


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

A video tutorial on how to give SubQ shots featuring yours truly and Hank.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh. Well I already know how.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Well I'm thinking of putting together a series of videos called "Basic Shepherding" -- this one is first in the series  I want to do newborn lamb processing, hoof trimming, sheep shearing (not me doing it though!! my shearer lol--have to ask her if it's okay first though), and a bunch of others. Hopefully they don't all take this long to upload


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

> Hopefully they don't all take this long to upload


x2 on that! ha

Sounds like a good idea. Could help alot of people I'm sure.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Finally!!!!

and straw--yep, i'm doing it to basically help educate people.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

Link??


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

I've been waiting four freaking hours for this 90 second video. Better be good!!! lol


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

I had to put it on my website first, silly 

Okay, first, please ignore my eyes squinting (the sun) and my overall awkwardness. It was so weird talking technical sheep stuff in front of my mom lol. And I apologize for my mom's weird angle shot when she tries to zoom in close to the injection.

http://twinwillowacres.webs.com/basic-shepherding


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh and ignore the part in the beginning where I ask if it's recording 

I couldn't figure out how to edit it out of the video lol


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

My mom also took this lovely picture of my Hanky Panky






And because I haven't posted any photos of it yet, here is Hank's apartment. I have those boards there to push the sides in so the roof doesn't fall off because we haven't gotten a chance to fix it yet. We've decided instead of cutting a new piece of plywood we will just cut the 2x4s on the back wall. That way it will fit together like it is supposed to.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

You give it pretty much in the same spot I do. I grab the extra skin behind the shoulder though. It's almost like you can grab the upper leg and get either the muscle there or you can slide back off the muscle and just grab skin. I just stick it in, draw back to make sure I'm not in blood, then shoot it in. I too give a real quick rub and let them go. I can not imagine doing that with a sheep though. All that wool in the way. 

btw did you upload this to youtube first then to your site? Just wondering.

Hank is handsome. How tall is he and your other sheep?

btw Hank looks like he likes running with the ladies better. ha


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## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> You give it pretty much in the same spot I do. I grab the extra skin behind the shoulder though. It's almost like you can grab the upper leg and get either the muscle there or you can slide back off the muscle and just grab skin. I just stick it in, draw back to make sure I'm not in blood, then shoot it in. I too give a real quick rub and let them go. I can not imagine doing that with a sheep though. All that wool in the way.
> 
> btw did you upload this to youtube first then to your site? Just wondering.
> 
> ...


Sheep have a bare patch of skin right behind their arm, so that's where I do it with my sheep 

But no, I uploaded it to photobucket and then when I edited my website, I did insert>video and then I copied the embed code there.

Hank, I'm not sure of his exact height. Probably in the 23-25" range. He's taller than Ali, but shorter than Ciqala lol. When they get sheared I want to get 'official' heights on them lol. I'm thinking they will be sheared in the garage so that way there is a clean concrete floor and also so there's an outlet the shearer can plug her shears into. Ideally I would like to have it outside so that way if it's nice out the pictures will turn out good, but shearing on grass or gravel (even with a carpet laid out) is just weird, esp. since we've always done it on hard, compacted dirt. And also by having it on the level concrete floor will give me a more accurate measurement of their height lol.

And yes he misses his girlfriends. But he has a huge bachelor pad now!! And he doesn't have to worry about taking care of the kids because his girlfriends will have it under control. lol


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 11, 2013)

Hank looks so sweet.


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## Bridgemoof (Feb 11, 2013)

I just watched the video, turned out great! My sheep wouldn't be so willing to just stand there and let me poke em.  Hank is a good boy! My big question is, how in the world can a farmer even OWN a white jacket? AND keep it clean looking?  

Then I watched the video of Lady gaga when she was just a little baby. So cute! We need a video of her stotting around!


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## Remuda1 (Feb 11, 2013)

Hey SheepGirl . Just wanted to say that is one really nice website.  It absolutely looks professional. I can't see the video on my tablet but will definitely check it out when I can get to the desk top.  Great job, congratulations!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 11, 2013)

> My big question is, how in the world can a farmer even OWN a white jacket? AND keep it clean looking?


I was thinking the same! I have a black one and most of the time it is brown from mud.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 11, 2013)

Lol, Bridgemoof! I wear that coat to work and outside to feed the sheep (most days I'm too lazy/comfortable to get out of a jacket I've already warmed up and change into a 'cold' jacket lol). It stays pretty clean. Only time it gets muddy or dirty is when the sheep jump up on me with their muddy hooves trying to get the feed out of the pans lol. And that coat was just washed yesterday but putting up the fence & then feeding made it all muddy :/ So when my coat is muddy & I need something to wear, I steal my dad's Carhartt jacket--way too big but it keeps me warm!! lol

Remuda1, thank you!!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 12, 2013)

My sheep made the cover of The Shepherd magazine!! http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/507673


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## Remuda1 (Feb 12, 2013)

Well that's just awesome!! Congratulations to you, way to go girl


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 12, 2013)

For real??? Awesome!


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## greenbean (Feb 12, 2013)

That's awesome!  Congrats!!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 13, 2013)

Thanks I think it's pretty cool


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## Southern by choice (Feb 14, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Thanks I think it's pretty cool


Me too!   


So it's not enough to have POW, what 7 x.... now magazines too!  

Sheepgirl I thinkif you took your sheep to NYC with you they'd of ended up in PRADA... little fashion models!


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## Bridgemoof (Feb 14, 2013)

That's fantastic Sheepgirl! Did you submit the photo to them? Is that Ciqala? Do you get a subscription to that magazine? I am always wondering if it was worth it to get a subscription. If you do, do you like it?


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## SheepGirl (Feb 14, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

Probably!! They could fashion any wool sweaters 



			
				Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> That's fantastic Sheepgirl! Did you submit the photo to them? Is that Ciqala? Do you get a subscription to that magazine? I am always wondering if it was worth it to get a subscription. If you do, do you like it?


Yep, I submitted the photo to them I think sometime in January. And yep, that is Ciqala  You know my sheep better than my mom!! lol Yep, I got either a 2 or 3 year subscription. (I also subscribed to sheep! magazine but I'm not sure if it was the 2 or 3 yrs lol.) The Shepherd comes out monthly and sheep! comes out bimonthly. I think sheep! has a lot of great articles in it that are easy to understand. They are more geared to hobby farmers. The Shepherd is more industry-focused and has a lot of technical-type articles in there, but there are some easy to understand articles. I read both magazines cover to cover


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## EllieMay (Feb 14, 2013)

I just saw the video.  Awesome aid for folks who need to see a visual tutorial!!!  

And kudos to you for the magazine photo!!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks!!

------

So yesterday while I was getting some stuff set up for lambing (brought the dog kennel panels--they are 4' long and about 3' tall--over to the sheep shack to use as the walls for a lambing jug), I saw a fresh pile of fully formed poop pellets strung together with brownish tinged mucous. Don't know who it came from, but it came from one of the ewes. So I looked around this morning at fresh piles of poo and they all looked normal. 

And Ciqala started limping yesterday. Tried to catch her to check it out but with no luck. So I went out later to feed and I finally was able to catch her--nothing is swollen and her hooves look okay. So it's probably an injury. But I don't know what she could've injured herself on because there is nothing to trip over or jump over in the pen. Then again we did have some snow and ice the night before yesterday so maybe she slipped. But she was better this morning, still limping, but definitely not as bad.

Sheep.....normally I wouldn't worry about random little things like these but these girls are about to have babies! So I want them to be in the absolute best shape possible :/


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## SheepGirl (Feb 15, 2013)

Well she wasn't limping when I went out to feed tonight. So that's good. Still don't know who the mucousy poop came from and I haven't seen any piles of it except that one yesterday. Good thing my ewes are all penned up otherwise I'd be scouring (no pun intended ) over the entire pasture looking for POOP! Of all things lol....

I had a pleasant surprise when I got home today. There was another layer of snow! At work it has just been raining all day (I only work 15-20 minutes from home...so weird how it RAINED there and we got snow here).

I was at work all day in the first window of drive thru, taking orders and taking money  We were SO busy--much busier than usual and we had FOUR buses pull in when we had only TWO people in the grill! That and the drive thru line was stretched out into the road   Normally about every 20-30 minutes things slow down enough that I can walk out of the hole and go talk to my friends who are on frontline, taking orders for the lobby. But I wasn't able to escape at all! For 8.5 hours straight (I didn't get a chance to get a break today, that's how busy we were) I was in the hole. It was awful! And I had to stay an extra hour and a half. I like Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They're the slowest days. So once everything is all stocked and all cleaned, once there are no customers you can get paid to stand around and do nothing  Oh yeah before I forget--GUESS WHO came through drive thru?  My Tom Cruise hay guy   Omg I was so nervous I dropped some of his change on the ground  I'm such a dork lol I felt so bad but he just laughed at me.

Also I got my ear tags in the mail today  I got the sheep mini tags, they are the same style as the scrapie tags I got in the mail. I had ordered them a month ago, but they sent yellow tags. So I emailed them and they sent the right color! (and let me keep the yellow too lol--if anyone wants them I will sell them for $15--PM me if you are interested...I also have medium allflex blue tags blank I will sell for $15) Now I feel completely ready for lambing--have all my tags (farm & scrapie), all my castration/docking equip (I bought a new pack of O rings since the other ones are a couple years old and I just felt better spending $2 on a new pack of 100 rather than using the old ones my neighbor gave me), all my medicines (bought new bottles of the expired stuff my neighbor gave me), and that's about it. I really don't need much to lamb out ewes. They do all the work themselves! I just have to process the babies--which takes less than 5 min/lamb. I'm so excited!!


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## autumnprairie (Feb 15, 2013)




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## Bridgemoof (Feb 16, 2013)

Tom Cruise Hay Guy


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 16, 2013)

Lol, at "Tom Cruise Hay Guy"!     Congratulations on the magazine cover--that is so cool!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 16, 2013)

I can't imagine you nervous... Tom Cruise hay guy or not!   So, did your face turn all red when you dropped his change?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 16, 2013)

And did you stutter and stammer and say omg I'm so sorry? lol


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## SheepGirl (Feb 17, 2013)

Lol the people at work always say my face turns red when I'm embarrassed. Like bright red. lol most of the guys at work think it's cute though 

Anyway, I'm sure my face DID turn red and straw, yes, I did say "Omigosh! I'm sooo sorry!" with my hand cupped over my mouth.  lol So next time I go get hay I will leave some change for him hahahaha


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## SheepGirl (Feb 17, 2013)

Not this week, but next week I will be having baby lamb photos posted all over BYH!!! (about 10 days to be exact if my ewe goes on day 143 like she did last year)  I'm so excited. Especially since I'm using a ram I bought with my own money and I'm lambing out my ewes all by myself without my neighbor's help/mentoring.  I will send him a picture txt msg of my first babies, though!


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## bonbean01 (Feb 17, 2013)

for lambs arriving soon!!!

Guess if you ever come over here, I won't take you to one of local sheep farmers...he looks like he is Brad Pitt's younger, better looking brother


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## SheepGirl (Feb 17, 2013)

oh bon....you shouldn't have said that! That just gives me one more reason for wanting to meet you and seeing your hair sheep!! lol


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 17, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Lol the people at work always say my face turns red when I'm embarrassed. Like bright red. lol most of the guys at work think it's cute though
> 
> Anyway, I'm sure my face DID turn red and straw, yes, I did say "Omigosh! I'm sooo sorry!" with my hand cupped over my mouth.  lol So next time I go get hay I will leave some change for him hahahaha


You are so funny.  Your Tom Cruise Hay Guy is a very responsible young man.  His maturity for a senior in high school is amazing.  His dad has been ill and he has really taken over much of the responsibility.  Does he know your name?


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## SheepGirl (Feb 17, 2013)

lol I'm not sure. He might've read my name tag so maybe he does


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## CocoNUT (Feb 18, 2013)

Tom Cruise selling hay? 
Brad Pitt's younger, BETTER LOOKING brother running a sheep farm? 
Dang....Maybe I need to be getting rid of my goats and getting more SHEEP! That's apparently where all the HOT MEN are! 

Sheepgirl - it's a proven fact that people who blush are seen as more attractive and more honest (scientifically studied, actually). So I'm sure Tommy Hay Cruise boy probably thought you were too cute! 

ThreeBoys...seems to me Sheepgirl is pretty mature as well! 

Oh...and congratulations on making the COVER! Now you can legitimately tell people you're a REAL COVERGIRL!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 18, 2013)

Three boys...are you playing...matchmaker!


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## bonbean01 (Feb 18, 2013)

Sheepgirl...I'd love to meet you...come anytime

About the Brad Pitt sheep guy...he is married with three little boys...he's super nice and easy on the eyes...but too old for you...so, you're safe...come visit!  I get a kick out of any age women I've brought over with me when I've gone there...stammering...just losing it


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## CocoNUT (Feb 19, 2013)

So Brad's got three boys huh? I guess he needs a daughter....he can have mine! Mwa ha ha ha~!
Aaaah....where are all the "hot" men by me? Out here they've all seen better days...big beer bellies, waddling around in their muck boots and baseball caps...or SUPER young...in their muck boots and baseball caps. Wasn't Brad Pitt from Missouri?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 19, 2013)

Coco if he was wouldn't he still be from there?


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## CocoNUT (Feb 19, 2013)

Straw...I may have brain damage...but it IS possible for members of the same family to be "from" different areas/places! One cousin born in Italy...raised there for several years...little sister born/raised in France for a couple years...then moved stateside....you know, that kind of thing!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 19, 2013)

hhmmhhhmm S...U...R...E.....


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## SheepGirl (Feb 24, 2013)

hahahaha bon, age is just a number  lol jk i wouldn't want to date an old guy hahaha.

----

So last week McDonald's discontinued chicken selects  I was soooo sad...I ate them everyday for lunch. For 3.5 months, every day I worked. Because of my loyalty to the selects, guess what my managers gave me today? THE LAST BAG OF CHICKEN SELECTS IN THE STORE!  Omigosh I was jumping for joy and everybody laughed at me because of how excited I was. So guess what I'm having for dinner tonight?  hahaha

And my friend posted this on FB...I am SURE I will be like this if/when I become a vet!! hahahaha


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 24, 2013)

Sheepgirl - How can you have wool sheep and NOT know how to shear? No excuses. Learn. Now.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 24, 2013)

Oh yeah...yesterday I found a cigarette lighter in the sheep field. :/ No one smokes here (other than my neighbor) so I don't know where it came from and it concerns me that someone who doesn't live at my house was in my field with my sheep, especially since I haven't invited anyone over to see them


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 24, 2013)

Maybe it's been there?


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## Bridgemoof (Feb 24, 2013)




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## greenbean (Feb 24, 2013)

That's too funny.

And that's weird about the lighter :/


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## Bridgemoof (Feb 24, 2013)

Sorry I was laughing at the vet joke, not the cigarette butt. That's not only scary that there may be a stranger lurking about, but cigs + hay=NOT GOOD!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 24, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Sheepgirl - How can you have wool sheep and NOT know how to shear? No excuses. Learn. Now.


lol, I can hand shear a sheep standing up!  But of course that doesn't count. I would love to learn how to tip a sheep to electric shear it, but I'm too afraid that I couldn't tip the sheep so I don't want to even attempt to learn lol. I know, bad excuse. But there's a shearing school coming up, & I want to do that, but I have 2 classes on the day of the second day of the shearing school, so I can't


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 24, 2013)

My vet kind of is like that actually--took Charlie on a tour last time we were there.   I wasn't sure I was going to get him back


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## SheepGirl (Feb 24, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Maybe it's been there?


No, this is the part of the field that used to be our backyard & we've lived here for 11 years now. The neighbor that smokes lives to the left of us and we don't exactly have the best relationship with them (started back in 2002 when their rottweiler came onto our land and attacked our miniature poodle while my brother and I--7 & 8 years old at the time--were playing with him).



			
				Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> Sorry I was laughing at the vet joke, not the cigarette butt. That's not only scary that there may be a stranger lurking about, but cigs + hay=NOT GOOD!


I know what you mean, having strangers lurking around is pretty scary :/ And luckily my hay is away from where the cigarette lighter was so that's all good lol.



			
				Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> My vet kind of is like that actually--took Charlie on a tour last time we were there.   I wasn't sure I was going to get him back


If you took Charlie anywhere, you should be prepared to not get him back. That dog is sooo adorable and fluffy!!


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## CocoNUT (Feb 25, 2013)

Ok...HILARIOUS cartoon! 
CREEPY with the lighter discovery! Hopefully your naughty neighbors aren't sneaking around looking for stuff or getting into stuff! Game camera time! Or...SheepGirl...get an LGD! PERFECT reason! Not one of those pyrenese though (as adorable and fluffy as they are!)...something less "stranger friendly"....like a Shar or Anatolian! The sheep AND your family will be protected! (Personally...I'm plugging for the Shar because they're awesome AND fluffy - but I didn't want Straw to think I didn't recognize Toli's either!)


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## Meat Goats (Feb 25, 2013)

Glad you thru the Anatolian in there Coco


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## SheepGirl (Feb 26, 2013)

Today an old man came into McDonald's and asked me if this was KFC.

I was like "No, this is McDonald's."

He said "Where's KFC?"

"Across the street."

And he said "I thought it said KFC above the door."


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## autumnprairie (Feb 26, 2013)




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## Roving Jacobs (Feb 26, 2013)

I find weird stuff in my pasture occasionally (ask me how many rabies baits my dog has eaten ) and I got concerned that people were lurking around but I've discovered it's just crows dropping stuff as they pass through. Do you have lots of crows in your area? Sometimes they like shiny stuff like the top of lighters.

Costumers are so weird sometimes


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## CocoNUT (Feb 27, 2013)

SheepGirl...sounds like he might've been one of OUR residents!  
Maybe he was just having a rough day...I know I have those occasionally! But that is funny.....


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## Southern by choice (Feb 27, 2013)

catching up here...    at the vet joke... but seriously, I knew a female vet that really was like that with cats... can I say   and then...   she was a moron... would break down and cry during surgery

keeping an eye on your lambing thread... so excited! thinking healthy twins!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 28, 2013)

My ram Hank is so photogenic. He kept posing for me. I took these pictures on Tuesday morning I think.












He looks like a UK Texel when he poses like this!


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 28, 2013)

I really like the lighting in that first photo!


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## greenbean (Mar 1, 2013)

I love Hank  you should totally send him to me!


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## Bridgemoof (Mar 1, 2013)

Those pics of Hank are so great! The whole panorama of the sky and the contrast of the color of him, it is inspiring!


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## promiseacres (Mar 1, 2013)

Very nice!


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## Shelly May (Mar 1, 2013)

photos are great and I love great healthy looking sheep, you really need to come photograph all of mine, It would be a full time job, but maybe I could win the picture of the week contest.... with your camera skills


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## autumnprairie (Mar 1, 2013)

Great job, I always did love your photos


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## CocoNUT (Mar 1, 2013)

love Hank...he looks so soft and squishy! 
(I was thinking about him being shorn...and what to do with all that fluffy, lofty looking wool!)


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## SheepGirl (Mar 1, 2013)

Lol, thanks guys 

Hank became a daddy today! (Well, a daddy again...he has lambs at his breeder's farm.)

A BIG healthy single ewe lamb that weighs 11.2 lbs  I am so excited about this ewe lamb. At four hours old when I first saw her, she was nice and filled out and just the picture of health. I'm so excited!! Pictures will be on my lambing journal in a few minutes.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 9, 2013)

Ciqala is limping :/ She was limping yesterday, but this morning I went out there and she couldn't get up on her own. Poor thing. It's her back left leg. I didn't feel anything out of whack on her leg and her hoof looks fine. She was breathing fast, but I think she was doing that because maybe she was laying down for a while (in the sheep shack) and so her rumen was pushing against her lungs. When I got back from school, she was laying down but she could stand up on her own. And her breathing was normal.

So hopefully she gets better soon.  If she's not better by Monday/Tuesday then I will probably have the vet come out to check her out to see what's wrong.

And remember back in December when we bought that 8x10 shed? Well my uncle from North Carolina came up for the weekend and they built it today while I was at school  Tomorrow we're doing the floor and moving all my sheep stuff in lol


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## Pearce Pastures (Mar 9, 2013)

on Ciqala.


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## bonbean01 (Mar 9, 2013)

Oh no...really hope she gets better quickly...so awful worrying about a sheepie


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## SheepGirl (Mar 10, 2013)

Ciqala is putting more pressure on her foot, but she's still limping pretty badly. She's been on her feet more, too, though, so I guess that's a good sign.

This past weekend, it was soo pretty. About 60-65 degrees. And a productive weekend, too. Got the shed built, the floor put in, and we (well I) moved all my sheep stuff from the garage into the new shed, which I lovingly named the "Feed Shack." So I have the Feed Shack, the Sheep Shack, and I told my mom all we need is the Love Shack  She just looked at me and said "I think we already had that" 

We rolled the 1/4 used round bale into the new feed shack, too! I had to tie the netting back together with baling twine so it wouldn't come a part when we rolled it. Then I stacked the bales of straw and alfalfa next to it and I got my trash cans of feed put in there and I have my dresser with my sheep supplies in there, too. And we also put a lock on the doors, mainly so they won't fly open in the wind. So now the garage is completely cleaned out of hay (first time in 8-9 months!) and we are able to park our cars in there now hahaha.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 10, 2013)

Wait.....you're supposed to park cars in the garage???


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## SheepGirl (Mar 10, 2013)

purplequeenvt said:
			
		

> Wait.....you're supposed to park cars in the garage???


Yeah! Can you believe it? Who would've ever thought that you can use a garage for that?!


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## Queen Mum (Mar 10, 2013)

What a handsome boy, Hank is...!


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## Bridgemoof (Mar 11, 2013)

Good for you Sheepgirl! You got a lot done, it was the perfect weekend to get things like that done. Now we need pics! 

LOL at the Love shack comment....


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## SheepGirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks QM! I love him and his lambs.

Bridget, lol, I will be posting pics on my lambing journal 

-----

And Ciqala is walking much better on her leg today. Definitely not an exaggerated limping like it was before. I'm just happy she didn't injure herself when she was pregnant and had the baby weight to lug around on three legs!


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## SheepGirl (Mar 25, 2013)

Well our fish died either on Wednesday or Thursday. Honestly I can't remember lol. Back in June 2006, I ran into a friend at our local carnival. She had just won a fish and couldn't keep it (they had saltwater fish but didn't want to deal with a freshwater fish), so she offered it to me. Of course I said 'yes' -- and I didn't ask my mom  Fortunately we had some fish before so we already had a tank and filters and all that snazzy stuff. So I brought him home and we had him almost seven years. A carnival goldfish!  Crazy fish. He lived by himself mostly. We would buy 'friends' for him at Walmart and Petsmart, but they all died on us.

Kind of crazy, as I was getting ready for work, I was thinking how lonely he must be and how long his days must be being so bored in a fish tank all by himself, I come home and I ask my mom where the fish is and she said 'Oh he died.'  Poor lil guy.


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## alsea1 (Mar 26, 2013)

Thats amazing for a carnival fish. seven years 
wow


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## marlowmanor (Mar 26, 2013)

We had some carnival fish once. They started out the tiny goldfish and in a year they were still alive and had more than tripled in size.  They all died the same week. One day a couple were dead, then a day or so later the rest were dead.
I had a beta fish that survived for 3 years and that was with traveling too. He was my college pet and traveled home with me on holidays.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 26, 2013)

I have one Black Skirt Tetra that was my first fish and he is at least 6. He has survive a couple Ich outbreaks, killer fish, and a move.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 30, 2013)

Yesterday we went to go pick my dad up from the airport. He had been on a tour in Iraq for the Army since February 2012. He came home for Memorial Day weekend, though. But he's home now for good


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## SheepGirl (Mar 30, 2013)

He's also so excited about having sheep in the backyard  Today he went out with my mom and then he just walked through the door and he's like, "Look in the back of the car, I got something for your sheep." Apparently he went out and bought a 40 gallon stock tank and a new 100' hose  He even went and watered them yesterday while I was at work. Not that they needed any water though lol. And he even offered to feed them for me when I have to work late!  hahahahaha


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## Southern by choice (Mar 30, 2013)

Oh my gosh... I am so happy your dad is home!    
Thank him please!


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## Bridgemoof (Mar 30, 2013)

That's so great Sheepgirl! I'm glad your dad likes the sheep, too.  What a great Easter present to have him home. :bun


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## SheepGirl (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks!  He's happy to be home. He's talking about all sorts of things...building a barn, seeding the pasture, putting up more fence, putting up pens, getting a pair of Clydesdales...  But tonight him I showed him how to 'evening feed' the sheep. In the mornings, the ewes get hay and Ciqala gets 1/2 lb of grain. In the evenings, the ewes get hay, Hank gets a couple handfuls of hay (I have been reducing it since the grass is starting to grow), Ciqala gets 1 lb of grain, Ali gets 3/4 lb of grain, and the 2012 ewes get 1/4 lb of grain each. Once they go out on pasture, no more grain for them. They'll be pretty unhappy!  Oh and I had my dad hold Rosie while I gave her her first CD/T vaccination. So that got done tonight. Today was an icky day...it rained all day. I was hoping to set up the creep feeder today, but it was too icky & cold to do anything. The only thing my lambs have eaten is a little mouthful here and there out of their mom's feed pans. So sometimes when I remember I will give the lambs some alfalfa leaves. But I've only done that 2 or 3 times and they each got a handful 

eta: We also set up the new stock tank tonight. It's actually lower to the ground than the blue bucket, so no need to worry about having the pink bucket out for the lambs! I don't know what I could use the blue bucket and the pink bucket for... I guess it's good to have them on hand 'just in case'  Hank already has a 5 gallon water bucket and he barely drinks anything so no use giving him the blue bucket (9 gallons).


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Mar 31, 2013)

Very happy for you to have your dad home with you. 

Does your Dad have experience with Clydesdales?

If not, you and he should stop by and visit.  The big ones are more destructive and not in a bad way, it is just that they are soo big and strong.  A kick from a draft horse can really cause some damage.  My barn has a few dents from the girls just kicking.  My girls decide to scratch on a fence post and when they back those 2,000 lb butts up against a fence post for a scratch, they can move the fence.  But I love my girls.  I would not have anything else.

And the big thing is finding someone to trim their feet.  I trim my own and it is a workout.


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## autumnprairie (Apr 2, 2013)

So glad your Dad is home. Thank him for me for his service.


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## SheepGirl (Apr 11, 2013)

ThreeBoysChicks said:
			
		

> Very happy for you to have your dad home with you.
> 
> Does your Dad have experience with Clydesdales?
> 
> ...


haha nooo, he doesn't have much experience with horses at all. I keep telling him that we don't have the space for a big draft horse, especially with my sheep  But he has his heart set on getting a Percheron, a Belgian, or a Clydesdale. There's three Percherons across the street from us and then my best friend has a Belgian warmblood (I think she's a Belgian x Paint QH cross). My dad only has experience with hotblood horses (TBs) and ponies, when he cared for them at a summer camp wayyyy back when lol. But he wants horses because it was the only good memory of his childhood :/ (He was bounced around from foster home to orphanage to foster home but would see his mom on the weekend if she didn't have a 'hot date' and would remember to pick him up from the orphanage or the foster home.) Soooo maybe we will get one in the next couple of years. I keep telling him how expensive they are and how they are hay burners though  And how much more expensive a draft horse would be because they are so much bigger than a regular horse and they have to eat more. Neither of us know how to ride and have basic horse knowledge (I took Horse Care & Management at my high school back in freshman year, so about 4 yrs ago) so it would just be a pasture pet, eating the grass my productive sheep would be eating lol.


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## bonbean01 (Apr 11, 2013)

So happy that your Dad is home...safe and sound!!!!


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## SheepGirl (Apr 14, 2013)

My dad and I put up a pen for hank today. It is 8x28. Much bigger than what I initially wanted but I guess the size is good to put weaned lambs in there also. So tomorrow hanks shelter will be moved in there and so will hank and then my ewes are going out to pasture.


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## autumnprairie (Apr 15, 2013)

looks good


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## SheepGirl (Apr 16, 2013)

Thanks!

-----

Well yesterday I moved hank into his pen and the ewes were moved into the pasture. I got home from work and they all had HUGEEEE bellies. Poor things looked so uncomfortable and katy perry had her head tilted to the side ans kind of waddled along lol. Well this morning I wake up and look outside and see lady gaga laying flat on her side with a big belly  freaking out that she died, I ran downstairs, outside, and she still didnt move. I went into the feed shack to get some grain and she finally woke up from her deep sleep at the sound of grain rattling.  needless to say, everyone is still alive and they areghappy they can eat all day rather than 2x a day lol


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## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 16, 2013)

Lol, I have the same scare at least once every year!!!   
Go to bed with uncomfortable, big bellied sheep,    and wake up to laying flat on their side, big bellied sheep!  Luckily nothing usually to serious happens!


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## SheepGirl (Apr 25, 2013)

My dad helped me take photos of my sheep today. I was mainly trying to get udder photos but I figured a profile shot for each one wouldn't hurt either 

So here they are..

Let's start with Ciqala, my seven year old ewe. Two days ago I noticed one half of her udder is really super engorged. Lambs are nursing both sides so I'm not sure what's going on. It's not hard or hot, it feels the exact same as the other half. No bumps or lumps anywhere on her udder.

Profile






Rear





Next is Ali, my four year old ewe. I love how her udder capacity has increased since last year. 55 days into lactation nursing a single ewe lamb. She really has great udder conformation. She will have her lamb weaned on I believe Tuesday.

Profile





Rear





And now Lady Gaga, who I was sure was open. But I went out to feed tonight and her udder was noticeably larger than it was before. She was being mounted by Hank everyday, so who knows when she's due. 

Profile





Rear





Then Katy Perry, her twin sister. She's going to have a baby in a month! (Though secretly I hope she has two so I can have a bottle baby ) She too has a great looking little udder.

Profile





Rear





And lastly, my flock sire, Hanky Panky  I love him so much. I'm so glad I bought him. His lambs are great, too. I plan on using him another year and then selling him and buying another ram. Though I don't know if I want to stick with Texels or go to another breed.

Profile





Rear


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## Pearce Pastures (Apr 26, 2013)

Yikes, that udder does look to have something going on.  Does it hurt her?

Beautiful animals you have there.  Now I want to go shave my goats down though


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## SheepGirl (Apr 26, 2013)

Thanks  And no, it doesn't hurt her. She lets both lambs nurse out of each side equally. She doesn't kick them away when they try to nurse the engorged side. Noticed this morning though that the one half of her udder has gotten slightly smaller. Still larger than the other half but smaller than it was yesterday.


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## SheepGirl (May 1, 2013)

Forgot to update -- her udder only looked like that for about two to three days. It's back to normal now  Didn't give her anything, barely even bothered with it. Just returned to normal on it's own. So


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## Bridgemoof (May 1, 2013)

I'm glad it went back to normal because that did NOT look good! It had to feel pretty awkward for her.

Everybody looks great! Exciting that you think Lady Gaga got bred too. Yay for more lambs! 

Are you going to be at the Sheep & Wool Festival at all?


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## SheepGirl (May 1, 2013)

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> I'm glad it went back to normal because that did NOT look good! It had to feel pretty awkward for her.
> 
> Everybody looks great! Exciting that you think Lady Gaga got bred too. Yay for more lambs!
> 
> Are you going to be at the Sheep & Wool Festival at all?


Of course!  Except I forgot to request off this weekend...every time I thought about doing it I was at home and then when I would get to work I would forget.  So I have school Saturday morning (English and Psychology -- so much fun lol) and then I close Saturday night at McDonald's. I might skip my Psychology class so I can go to the festival for a couple of hours. So I might be there around 12:30 or so on Saturday and then I have to leave around 3:30ish to be able to get home/changed/to work on time. The schedule wasn't posted for next week yet, so I'm not sure if I have Sunday off or not...so I'm not sure if I will be going then.


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## SheepGirl (May 7, 2013)

So I dyed my hair last Thursday. And I got it cut, too. Not sure if I like it.

My hair was long (mid-back) and a medium brown. Naturally wavy and it looked soo cute. It looked good when I would flat iron it, too lol. But it was pretty and shiny and soft.

I got my hair dyed dark brown and I got blonde highlights. Blonde does not look good on me!! I like the dark brown though. But my hair feels funky, the color is flat, and it still has a faint smell of hair dye  And when I pull my hair back into a ponytail for work, I have a blonde stripe going down the top of my head. My mother told me I look like a skunk! And this guy at work is so funny. He's like "What's that I smell? Is it...a skunk?"  But my hair is also really short now. The lady who did my hair (who also happens to be one of my managers lol) does not speak much English (she speaks just enough to get by as a manager...funny since her kids talk English to her lol) and so she was talking about dead ends and cutting it off...not realizing she switched the conversation to how much hair she asked to cut off I said "a lot" (thinking of my dead ends) so she ended up cutting off 6 to 7 inches   I miss my long hair. I was really in love with it. I'm not mad, just a little sad. It will grow back. But right now it is down to my shoulder blades instead of my mid back.

I think I miss my long hair mainly because I was able to do so much with it...pull it into a ponytail, have a side braid, keep it down (especially when it was wavy), pull it back into a messy bun, etc. I can't do that with my short hair now  And my waves with short hair are just ugly so now I have to straighten it everyday if I wear it down lol.

My first hair dye experience--not sure if I like it! I probably would've liked it more if I didn't get my hair cut. I think that's my biggest complaint.


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## PendergrassRanch (May 7, 2013)

I have medium brown hair and if I ever dye it, I get dark brown low lights instead of high lights.  That way my natural brown becomes the high light and it looks much more natural.  My hair is long too (mid back) and I only trim it.  I have always wanted long hair but it never grew past my shoulders when I was growing up.  Now I see all these cute summer cuts and I'm tempted but I love my long hair.


Lets see a photo of your hair!  I am sure it looks great!


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## bonbean01 (May 7, 2013)

I'm sure it looks great!  I'm much older than you and I have learned from past hair times...leave it alone...wavy?  Let it be...and I agree, with long hair you can do so much more with it...in hot weather I put it up and my neck is so much cooler.

Your sheepies look great!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 26, 2013)

Wow, I haven't updated this in forever! 

Well...my birthday's almost over (I'm 19 now ). I have an early day tomorrow--we are going to my great aunt's house to pick up tents and picnic tables because next weekend we are having a huge party at our house to celebrate my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. A couple weeks ago we had 65 people RSVP, and that includes the 25 people in our 'main' family (grandparents, their kids + spouses, and us grandkids). So I'm not sure what the number is at now. But I was appointed the official photographer haha. We have people coming in from WI, FL, NC, VA, WV, and of course MD.

It will be an evening party and we were talking about stringing lights along the fence line. It will be so pretty. I'm not sure if the acre we don't have fenced/in use as our main yard will be parking or if it will be the party area and people will park in the field where the sheep are. Because I can always move all my sheep over into Hank's pen and then we have the whole field to use for parking. My mom and aunt (her twin sister) are the party planners and will be talking tomorrow when we get the tables and tents. So hopefully we will have a better idea of what we will be doing.

I have a lot more to add, but I think I will wait until tomorrow. It's a lot of drama. :/


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## autumnprairie (Jul 27, 2013)

It is good to hear from you,  you will be great as the photographer, I love all your photos. Happy Birthday I hope you had a great day. 
 and  for your next entry


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## BrownSheep (Jul 27, 2013)

Happy belated birthday to youuuuuuuu!  My mom is also a twin! Congrats to your grandparents.


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## SheepGirl (Aug 19, 2013)

Nothing much to report about the sheep. They're all doing good. Everyone's still alive and kicking, lol. Hank and the ram lambs kept going under the fence to get in the field with the ewes. Even when I put up step-in posts. They (well, Hank) would just rip them right out of the ground. The fence really needs to be tightened because they've stretched it out. But I don't have the strength to do it and even though I would ask my dad or my grandfather (and also my uncles when they were up two weekends ago) nobody did it for me  So I caved in and bought a cattle panel and put it up. Nobody's escaped yet (knock on wood)!

But that was twenty bucks I shouldn't have spent because I need to pay for college and books and my gas to go to Frederick 2x a week lol. I'll be needing to fill up my tank every week rather than every 1.5-2 weeks. Ughhh lol. I need a better paying job haha. And I need new tires for my car because they're dry rotted  Found that out when I took my car in to my friend's shop to get a front end alignment & oil change. Did I mention he did it for free because he loves me  Well he actually works as an auto detailer during the day and McD's at night but right next door to that shop is a mechanic and his buddy works there so he detailed his buddy's truck and his buddy did my car for me. When my mom asked me how much it cost and I told her he did it for me for free, my mom said "you know he probably expects something for that" and I was like "he's not getting anything" hahaha. He's also turning 28 in a week lol. But my cousin met me there so we could go shopping afterwards and she hooked up with one of the mechanics  I worry about her sometimes. She gets herself in a lot of trouble. I like to think my goody-two-shoes-ness rubs off on her but it doesn't. but that's another story for another day.....

But I'm a full time student this semester so I can keep my military benefits & health insurance. It's going to be so stressful...working full time, going to school full time, taking care of my sheep, having a social life...lol I need to get my priorities straight so I am able to handle all of this successfully. I'm taking Spanish 101, English 101 (did I say I failed it last semester because I messed up my priorities? waste of $400 but it was an expensive lesson learned the hard way), Intro to Anthropology, and Digital Photography. I think it will be a fun semester. I'm confident I will do well in Spanish because I'm around Spanish people all the time at work and they do teach me some Spanish, so I know the basics pretty well. And I already told them they're going to help me with it.  They love me and I love them hahaha. They're all really great people. Digital Photography will also be a really fun class. I'm really looking forward to that. English...not so much...but if we read the same things/write the same papers I can always just use what I already wrote  Haha. Is that cheating? Maybe not since I wrote it. And Anthropology... satisfies my humanities credit. I don't even really know what Anthropology is haha but it's an online course. Hopefully I don't get distracted by BYH and FB when I'm tyring to do class!


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## BrownSheep (Aug 20, 2013)

It must be that time of year, because our boys won't stay put either.  Good luck on your classes. You will learn to hate conjugating in Spanish!


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## SheepGirl (Aug 30, 2013)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> It must be that time of year, because our boys won't stay put either.  Good luck on your classes. You will learn to hate conjugating in Spanish!


Lol well ever since I put up the cattle panel, they have been staying in the pen!  And I remember conjugating in Spanish when I took it back in high school, but that was 4 yrs ago (freshman yr) when I took my last spanish class, Spanish II. So I think it's like the different endings, right? lol Like "I need" is "necessito" instead of "yo necessitar" ?

hahaha I hope you are enjoying your classes!!

------

I finished my first week of classes. Still don't have my books so I can't do any of my homework  But after putting a down payment for taking 12 credits (I signed up for a payment plan so college takes the money out of my checking account every month), I don't have much money left over and I would rather spend that money on gas and food so I can get to work and then be able to eat so I don't starve. So I asked my parents if they could get my books for me, luckily they said yes  I will probably pay them back.

But digital photography should be a fun class. Unfortunately we are learning about the features and everything of the fancy Nikon and Canon cameras, while I'm just sitting there like, yeahhhhh I have a point and shoot camera so this doesn't really apply to me haha. But our first assignment is taking a portrait. So I'm not sure if it has to be of just a person or if it could be of an animal. So I need to send my instructor an email asking him since I didn't have time after class yesterday (I have another class 15 minutes later on the other side of the campus).

And Spanish, my best friend from work is taking it with me  She is hilarious, I love her. And our teacher is from Spain and she's very nice. I'm excited, she seems like she's a lot more fun than the other spanish teachers I've had haha.

My other class is English and omigosh there are two other sheep people in that class with me!! They sit across the room from me, though lol. We were doing introductions and the one girl said she has sheep and then it was my turn and I said I raise sheep and then the guy said he has sheep too. I'm so excited lol. And omigosh, I didn't realize how many hot guys are at school during the weekdays before 5 pm  Normally I would go to school after 5 pm on the weekdays or on Saturday mornings. And they're my age! lol And one of them I saw walking to my English class and WHAT! he's in my class!  lol I'm such a dork. And he sat two seats down from me, but then another girl came and sat in between us. ughh. lol oh well.

And I haven't done anything for my anthropology class yet because I don't have the book yet. 

sooooo I think that's all I have to update on


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## SheepGirl (Dec 18, 2013)

I feel terrible. I have been calling my hay guy trying to see if I can purchase hay and he hasnt been returning my calls. So I went on his daughters facebook only to find out he just recently passed away from brain cancer. What a shame. He was such a nice guy and I just saw him the other week, he came through the McDonalds drive thru and ordered a hot mocha.


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## ragdollcatlady (Jan 1, 2014)

Wow! So sorry to hear about your hay guy!


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## jodief100 (Jan 5, 2014)

So sorry about your hay guy.  Our hay guy passed away last winter.  Lucky for us he kept good records and the neighbor working his land had his customer list.  He was a nice guy.  Still working his own fields at 87 years old.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 9, 2014)

I haven't updated this thread in forever!!

But recent new happenings...
* I bought a new ram this past Saturday. He is 1/2 Finnsheep x 1/2 Dorset. He was born Feb 13 of this year and he is already as big as Ciqala. I'm excited to use his daughters in the future. He was the first pregnancy for his dam and she had twins (his dam is a Finnsheep). I'm going to keep in touch with his breeder to see how his dam does in terms of lambing rate. However she is pregnant again, but I didn't ask when she's due, though she looked 3-4 months bred already. His name is Valentine but I'm calling him Valentino... but I want to think of a different name for him since Ali's 'real' name is Valentine.




 

* We are also getting a barn! We went to Horizon Structures in PA and we customized a barn and it should be here in a month or two... so that's exciting. Unfortunately my parents wanted a barn that could easily convert to horses should we ever move to help the value of our home. But my parents let me do most of the designing so I could determine the functionality of it for a sheep barn. However I'm still in the let-me-see-how-exactly-I-want-to-raise-my-sheep-every-year stage so what I want this year may not work next year, lol. Like I have a stall I'm going to use for the rams, but I'm going to put up a partition so I can put another pen in there and then there's an open area for the ewes and then there's a storage room that comes with a floor but I can put lambing jugs in there if need be. Either way I'm pretty excited to finally have a solid roof over my sheep's heads with a floor that won't flood and get all muddy for them.

Annnnddd I think that's about it.


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## BrownSheep (Sep 10, 2014)

Thats exciting! That's one of the things I want but will never get. 

You cold call hime Valence. Close-ish to Valentine but masculine.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 23, 2014)

Okayyyy, well change of plans. We aren't getting a barn from Horizon Structures. The quote they gave us while we were there was about $4,000 to $5,000 LESS than what the final quote was when they emailed us. My parents don't want to spend $11,000 on my sheep!

So, I suggested another option for a barn... a carport! I've looked at carport barns here and browsing through images on Google.

We found a place that will custom build a carport as well as deliver and install it for free for about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the original quote from Horizon Structures. So that's what we're going with. We have to put wood siding on it as well as put in doors and get gravel to level the land, but even with all of that, it will still be soo much cheaper. And the inside will be much more customizable. Did I mention it will be bigger, too? Win-win situation here. The carport will be 20x32. And then the Feed Shack will be converted into a chicken house and the chicken house we have now will be converted for the cats.


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## BrownSheep (Sep 23, 2014)

I am familiar with the animal conversion game. 
Our sheep house became a chicken coup.
Our feral cats have been moved from the sheep house to the shop.
The sheep moved back in with the chickens.
The dogs are suppose to move in the the chicken coup and the chickens move into their side. 
The only animal with a set place is the yaks and I want to build turkey breeding pens in their lean-to.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 30, 2014)

I took three ram lambs and a wether lamb to auction today. I got $2.10/lb for them. Altogether they weighed 230 lbs. I loaded them up myself and put them in the Expedition with the seats down. Gosh it's a lot of work dragging four lambs 40 ft and then lifting them up 2+ feet in the air. Luckily as I loaded each lamb no one jumped out to escape. I closed the back in between lambs to keep them in.

Lil fellas will likely be someone's dinner for Eid al Adha... or just in a random grocery store.


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