# Keep or Sell? Names?



## Baymule (Dec 29, 2020)

Y’all take a look at this. My sister gave me a picture for Christmas. I looked at it and said, “you are not going to believe this, but I have a ewe lamb with those same markings!”

I’ve been considering this ewe lamb, she is growing good, looks good, but comes from a wormy momma. Wormy mamma is on the cull list. The wormy momma is out of a ewe I never worm and a Dorper ram, whose get leaves a lot to be desired. And of course, the cutie ewe lamb in question is sired by Ringo, who was bred by Virginia Tech University in their parasite resistance program.

So I’ve been pondering if I want to keep her or not, and here comes this picture of her spitting image!











Even down to the lopsided heart spot on her nose, reverse lopsided, but close enough. Picture is a wool sheep, ewe lamb is hair sheep. Squint eyes and you’ll see it. LOL






Open for NAMES!


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## secuono (Dec 29, 2020)

Is the lamb dewormer free so far?
Then I'd keep it. Hopefully, grandma genetics don't show up in her lambs. 

I've found that the first summer is most vulnerable, 2nd summer can still be rough if a bad year, but 3rd summer should be worm free, even if wormy in earlier years.


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## thistlebloom (Dec 29, 2020)

So, are you talking about selling the picture or the ewe lamb? 
Assuming you mean lamb...

She's pretty darn cute and I say at least give her an opportunity to show you whose genetics she passes on.


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## Simpleterrier (Dec 29, 2020)

Sell them both as a package deal. Bet u could get good money with a good story to go along with it made up of course. 

My kids just named two baby goats pit and pat


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## Simpleterrier (Dec 29, 2020)

Just kidding on selling them both burn the pic and eat the lamb. 

Ha.

Ha.

Ha.

I'd keep them.
I noticed the nose right away and was gonna tell u it was a mirrored image.


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## Baymule (Dec 29, 2020)

@Simpleterrier you always make me laugh.   

Got any name ideas? I need to send picture to daughter and let grand daughters come up with a name.


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## Grant (Dec 29, 2020)

Looks like Valentine to me.


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## Shellymay (Dec 30, 2020)

Hi Bay, just wanted to say a few things, first very nice lamb and she looks nice and thick, also straight/correct in form as far as legs and such. Now I want to say and remind you of wanting to go to pure Katahdins, if you sell her that money you make can go towards the purchase of a nice Katahdin ewe lamb, also some folks don't want to breed her back to her sire which is Ringo, some folks don't mind doing this and not sure where you stand on that thought? But a new blood ewe can be bred to Ringo and by the time that all happens and you get more ewe lamb offspring from new Katahdins maybe by then you will have another ram unrelated to Ringo and can breed his kept daughter to another ram? This would be reasons for selling her...

On the other hand she does look like the picture your sis sent and that is way to much coincidence, if you keep you could breed to Ringo and send her lambs to slaughter or eat them because at that point you will not want to breed any kept daughters and breed them back to Ringo. Also if you pick a name and keep her you might pick a name that starts with the letter "R" that way you will always know that Ringo was her Sire and helps sometimes when keeping track if you are a believer in not breeding daughter back to sire, but you will need another ram if you are against breeding back to sire...Parasite tolerant is a plus in any flock and if you decide to keep both cross ewes and pure Katahdins in the future this girl might have just what you want to build a flock around in her genetics? This would be a reasons for keeping her....


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## Baymule (Dec 30, 2020)

@Shellymay  Right now I have 12 ewes. They will start lambing in February. Over half are on the cull list. I'm thinking that what they and their lambs, bring at sale, is not going to buy me a lot of registered ewes. So my next year's lamb crop will be greatly reduced in numbers. This little ewe looks fairly good and more than likely would bear twins for me to take to sale, thus a little jingle in my pocket. My criteria for her is parasites, twins, lamb growth and health. If she passes that, she can stay. 

We started with 4 mixed Dorper/Katahdin ewes. I still have 3 of them, one is on the cull list. The other two stay until they die. They can become yard ornaments, although they can be a nuisance, getting on the porch and into the bird feeder, LOL. My mixed breeds have taught me well, now is time to move up into a registered flock. The culls are all pets, named and loved, but I have to let go to move forward. At the same time, I can't dump them all at auction. I want to keep some for a lamb crop until I can build up my registered flock. Culling the flock in an ongoing process. I agree on the father/daughter breeding. Lambs go to auction or slaughter. 

I was on the fence on keeping this ewe or not, then that picture showed up. I posted this thread for the fun of it, we should have fun with what we do!


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## Baymule (Dec 30, 2020)

@Shellymay you should post more often!


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## thistlebloom (Dec 30, 2020)

Names... 🤔
Luvewe, or if you want it to start with an R-  Ruvewe, 😄
 (for a little Christmas Story twist )


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## Baymule (Jan 8, 2021)

This lamb has wound herself around my heart. She MAA MAA's at me, follows me like a dog, eats from my hand, loves to be rubbed and scratched and is growing into a well built little gal. Still has growing to do, but it looking like she is staying. I sit on a milk crate and she roots in my pocket for treats.  So far, I've been calling her Lammy. I know, dumb, but y'all got any better ideas?


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## Simpleterrier (Jan 8, 2021)

Lambchop?

When they are friendly like that u don't have to run them down on kill day


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## Baymule (Jan 8, 2021)

Simpleterrier said:


> Lambchop?
> 
> When they are friendly like that u don't have to run them down on kill day


haha, leave it to you to come up with something like that! haha Your twisted humor matches my own.


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## Simpleterrier (Jan 9, 2021)

Yes I'm glad you understand.

I just understand the reality of life.

U could eat lambchop and tan her hide and hang it on the wall next to the painting.

Or get her stuffed and have a family squirrels ridding her smoking cigars.


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## messybun (Jan 9, 2021)

She looks pretty to me, so I’d vote to keep her and see what she produces.


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## Beekissed (Jan 9, 2021)

Keep and call her Corazon....Spanish for "heart".  I like her looks!


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## Ridgetop (Jan 9, 2021)

Shellymay said:


> Now I want to say and remind you of wanting to go to pure Katahdins,


Not sure about Katahdins but with Dorpers you can register percentage ewes when out of a registered ram.  You might want to check on this since if you really want to keep her, Ringo is a registered Katahdin.  If you can register her as a percentage, each time you breed her successive progeny to a registered Katahdin you will be able to register them as a higher percentage.  At a certain percentage they count as and can be registered as purebred.

I would not be too quick to sell her female offspring out of Ringo either.  Remember that when doing an outcross breeding which is what produced this ewe lamb, you always come back to the line you like (Ringo) to imprint and strengthen those genetics while retaining the hybrid vigor that you liked in the outcross.  A closely related ram could be used, or just breed to Ringo again to produce a very tightly bred daughter that will have doubled up in his good qualities.  If there are any flaws in Ringo or his close relatives, watch the resulting daughter cross carefully for them.  If she shows any of them you can cull her then.  Double breeding of father/daughter, mother/son, brother/sister is a time honored way of doubling up the best genetic qualities of an animal or their bloodline.  As long a you realize inbreeding also doubles up any weaknesses and are quick to cull those individuals, you can improve your flock faster.

When selecting registered stock, compare their pedigrees and decide what you are aiming for in your new flock. Choose those animals that have the same bloodlines instead of just buying  unrelated animals because they are registered.  The safest way to start a flock s by line breeding.  This is breeding related animals and bringing in new blood through a registered ram as you need it  The ideal you aim for should be a flock of animals that are very similar in type, growth patterns, etc.  At that point you have reached a good place from which to branch out and try new bloodlines you think will improve what you have produced.  Just remember that not every cross will be successful and not every bloodline will blend or "nick" with yours.  

Building a good herd or flok of larger livestock is a long time commitment.  If you want fast results go with rabbits. Rabbits are a  great way to learn abut genetics since they breed and mature so fast.  A crummy litter only takes up 4 months of your time as opposed to losing a full breeding year with larger animals.  I love rabbits.

I could keep her for another year and breed her to Ringo.  See what she produces and how her parasite load is.  
If you decide to sell her you could sell her with small lambs at side for a possibly larger return.  Be sure to enlarge and frame those photos of her and hang it as a group with the painting.


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## farmerjan (Jan 9, 2021)

@Ridgetop  is completely right.  We have several cows that are related back to their sires, on both sides, and have bred several directly back to their sires.  Sometimes it is planned, sometimes it is just because they are a certain pasture when I pick out what bulls are going where.  Have kept several daughters/granddaughters for future breeding because they have the characteristics that I want.  We have a bull now that just does not click with our cows very well and I want to sell him.   He was bought to use as an outcross and NOT impressed with the calves.  
We have bulls that we bought back in 2011 and 2012.... they do what we wanted  so they keep getting used. Both are easy calvers and they get rotated back on heifers because they put small calves on the ground that the heifers spit out like popcorn and go on and grow decently.  Good dispositions, easy on the cows when they breed.... Have 2 older, bigger bulls that are not for use on heifers, and there have been a few calves that have been outstanding and many good ones.  Those boys will stay until they either get an attitude, or they aren't fertile, or they get too arthritic to mount cows.  Consistency is the key.  
I would definitely look into the possibility of the percentage thing.... might not want or need to cull as many as you think if there is a possibility of "breeding up" and your ewes are consistently   producing nice lambs.  Sure cull the ones that aren't as parasite resistant.... but maybe you can improve on what you have without selling all the favourite and good ones just because they don't have papers.  
One of my registered dairy farmers told me once.... the papers might help sell breeding stock, but they don't make them milk better and they don't make em taste any better....sure, breeding for better milking is part of it, but he has a point.  There are alot of decent productive animals that don't have a pedigree written on a fancy sheet of paper.... and there are alot of papered animals that are mediocre too.


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## Baymule (Jan 9, 2021)

I do have a few good ewes that I want to keep and keep ewes from them. That coupled with good quality registered ewes will build me a good flock. I want the very best ram, son of Ringo, to 

The name for this little ewe has been decided. I sent pictures to my DD last night to show to the little girls (age 4 and 5) and she sent me a name this morning. 

Frimplepants!    That doesn't roll off the tongue too easily, already calling her Rimple. LOL


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## Beekissed (Jan 9, 2021)

Oh, how I know about those names...you really can't deny the names that come from innocence...they are just too, too wonderfully comical.  I have a tomcat named Ruffles.


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## Alasgun (Jan 10, 2021)

Was there anything wrong with Lammy?

while naming the boat, i realized “you can be in a hurry, just pick one out of a book” and go with it or. You can just sit on it a while and a good name will smack you in the face directly. 
in my case i had built a replacement turbine part for one of our machines and someone sarcastically said “and it even worked!”; i replied yea,  ”Huda thunkit”? Immediately i knew!

There must have been something about Lammy that it came to you initially. Mayby the sweetness or the simplicity or the, and you could go on and on.

Now if your needing something more fitting and proper and since someone already broached the subject, you could name her
Braised Lammy shank with Mint Sauce and Garlic?😋


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## thistlebloom (Jan 10, 2021)

I like her new name. Leave it to your granddaughters to be over achievers in the name department.  

And I confess I put zero thought into my suggestion.


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## Finnie (Jan 11, 2021)

Baymule said:


> My criteria for her is parasites, twins, lamb growth and health. If she passes that, she can stay.


That sounds perfect!

And I love the name Frimplepants/Rimple!


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## Simpleterrier (Jan 12, 2021)

So bay when is the lamb roast?

I've always wanted to go to Texas. NOT

I been there once and that was once enough.

But for a lamb roast at bays 🤔 that might get me to cross the border. 

Oh wait is Texas on the can't have groups bigger than 10 guess we all can spread out. 

Nah she don't look big enough might be only enough for bays family and mine.

Sorry everyone else is outa luck


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## Simpleterrier (Jan 12, 2021)

Am I the only one voting on eating this lamb?

I must be the only normal person on here.

I always tell myself that I'm normal and everyone else is weird.


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## thistlebloom (Jan 12, 2021)

Simpleterrier said:


> Am I the only one voting on eating this lamb?
> 
> I must be the only normal person on here.
> 
> I always tell myself that I'm normal and everyone else is weird.


The voting options were Sell or Keep. Looks like Bay will have to edit the poll to accommodate you. 😄


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## Baymule (Jan 12, 2021)

Simpleterrier said:


> So bay when is the lamb roast?
> 
> I've always wanted to go to Texas. NOT
> 
> ...


I have home grown tomato, home made BBQ sauce! I've got her twin brother. Now that the grand daughters have named her, she is a keeper, but we can BBQ her brother! LOL LOL


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