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Maybe a bit too much. I am terrified what this vet bill will be. Still learning the line between pets and livestock. I was a bit attached to the breeding ram. Their barn is well ventilated with exhaust fans, and their enclosure now is out on pasture. I called it a small enclosure but that is...

This is the second vet for the respiratory thing. :( Maybe I will try yet another if y lambs progress with this new issue any further. Thank you.

I have a lot of questions so I will just tell you everything that has happened and hope someone has suggestions. We bought three bred icelandic ewes this winter. Shortly after we got them home one started coughing. As the coughing progressed she had discharge from the nose and started running a...

Well, I have been using a grazing muzzle during the day with her, I think she is only getting hay now, the grass is near gone. I have been walking her in the morning and she actually seems to be less bulbous looking. Could be wishful thinking but I swear it! She still has those weird fatty...

I just read someothing interesting in an old angora book I have that was describing "retarded wool growth" It said it is most common in does and usually after they have kindled but may also occur in bucks. No one is absolutley sure (at least they weren't in the 50's) what causes it but it is...

Thank you. Yeah, we aren't going to have many pigs. I would rather do it the old fashioned way with wood and nails but I have to at least present my boss with the higher cost option. But google hasn't turned up much. Found feeders/watering equipment and farrow but no hog panels (Im just looking...

Hmm, post ate my text. I was wondering what your set up for the colony is Pennylove? Is it an outdoor enclosure or indoor? If outdoor is there any wire on the bottom to keep them from digging out? Any top cover for predators? What kind of shelter do they have? Colony seems to make more sense...

Thank you for posting!! I never thought of having a colony with the males in seperate cages WITHIN the colony. Yes, I get the feeling it would be a labor of love. I really enjoy spending time with my angoras and don't mind taking care of the wool. It is probably too much to ask to be able to use...

Yes. The way I have heard of it being done are in long cages with either wire or wood slatted floors that are moved through out the day. The rabbits forage what comes through the bottom of the cage without being able to dig out. I have wondered if netted electric would work too. They would still...

I don't know if anyone on this forum has bought from any hog equipment suppliers but I am looking for a good company to go through in the Northeast states. I am looking for hog panels, feeders, and a ramp. Possibly a holding pen/chute. Having trouble locating hog farmers that can recommend anyone.

Thank you for your experience. This is my feeling too. Tunis are suppose to be really hardy and good for pasture only flocks, but they just seem so much less able to take care of themselves or something. I don't know. Icelandic are so un-sheep like. ;)

Do you get a lot of wool off her when you brush her? If so and if you are brushing frequently, you might just be removing the wool she is naturally blowing (shedding). Is it bald, like bare skin, or is the hair just shorter and thinner looking? If its the later I would suspect she is re-growing...

I am so sorry! What a horrible thing to find. I don't have any ideas, but a lot of sympathy. :(

Anyone here breed angoras for meat? I work with fiber and have always wanted to raise meat rabbits. Can these two fields cross? French angoras were originally duel purpose. I have a french and an english buck. I am hoping to locate a German doe or a German/English hybrid. I would like to breed...

I too butchered my first rabbit for thanksgiving. My boyfriend did one, I did the other. We tried the bar over the neck method on the first one, it looked quick and simple, but we just crushed the throat as well. Grabbed the rabbit by the back legs and knocked him out on the concrete as soon as...

We currently have one icelandic and one tunis which we will be slaughtering this december. Come spring we plan on buying our breeding stock and getting started breeding our own lambs for slaughter. We want to do grass fed, and our pasture isn't spectacular. We hope to improve it with rotational...

That would be an odd cross. :) I don't know enough about sheep genetics but I am curious what others will say. Icelandic are wonderful sheep, but its hard to imagine them crossed with anything, they are so unique. I have often wondered if its possible to pass on their good traits.

Okay, thanks to you and Ksalvagno for pointing out the need for copper. I had always thought their need was filled by grass, but I read through the articles you posted and will be checking my soil analysis and hay content. Seems a tricky thing then to keep goats and sheep together? That picture...

Thank you for the replies. Some times you just need to say your ideas and make sure you aren't forgetting anything. I'm a little nervous about potentially having 12 piglets for the first time!! ;) I hadn't considered the health reasons for straw when birthing, makes total sense, thank you for...