blessedfarmgirl
True BYH Addict
Since I'm still establishing my foundation herds, I bought and bred a LOT of animals this year. (well, a lot for me.) I'm very excited for what my new herd sires will do for both the sheep and goats! I will also be retaining my first doelings and doing almost all bottle babies for the goats. I plan on keeping most of the ewe lambs from this year, but may sell one or two. I also might consider selling a ram lamb out of Mocha or Butterfly and my big ram. So, without further ado, here is the list of who is bred so far:
Goats
Raven x Boaz - due Feb. 16
Willow x mini Nubian buck - due Feb 19th
Avon x Boaz - due Mar. 13 or 18 (I think she short cycled)
Annie x Boaz - due Mar. 17
Sheep (all bred to my new ram)
Eden, Heidi and possibly Valentine (Valentine was in heat but I didn't see him cover her) - due March 23
Marian and Butterfly - due March 27
Mocha, Elanor, Lucy and Phoebe I have yet to observe in heat, though I'm sure it won't be long! It's been so easy to tell who is in heat compared to usual, 1) because the sheep are penned in sight of the house right now and 2) the ewes who are in heat follow the ram around all day long.
That didn't happen very much last year.
As you can see, I'm going to be VERY busy the last 3 weeks of March, lol. I'm hoping for lots of multiples from the sheep and lots of doelings from the goats! I flushed the ewes for a few weeks with really nice alfalfa this year, so I'm hoping that helps me get twins, maybe even trips. I've only ever gotten singles the past two years. I will have to watch Valentine carefully when she goes into labor since she's kinda on the small side, and her momma did have trouble lambing her first year. But she will be 13 months at lambing, so she should be ok. Everyone else I think will do great.
Goats
Raven x Boaz - due Feb. 16
Willow x mini Nubian buck - due Feb 19th
Avon x Boaz - due Mar. 13 or 18 (I think she short cycled)
Annie x Boaz - due Mar. 17
Sheep (all bred to my new ram)
Eden, Heidi and possibly Valentine (Valentine was in heat but I didn't see him cover her) - due March 23
Marian and Butterfly - due March 27
Mocha, Elanor, Lucy and Phoebe I have yet to observe in heat, though I'm sure it won't be long! It's been so easy to tell who is in heat compared to usual, 1) because the sheep are penned in sight of the house right now and 2) the ewes who are in heat follow the ram around all day long.
That didn't happen very much last year.As you can see, I'm going to be VERY busy the last 3 weeks of March, lol. I'm hoping for lots of multiples from the sheep and lots of doelings from the goats! I flushed the ewes for a few weeks with really nice alfalfa this year, so I'm hoping that helps me get twins, maybe even trips. I've only ever gotten singles the past two years. I will have to watch Valentine carefully when she goes into labor since she's kinda on the small side, and her momma did have trouble lambing her first year. But she will be 13 months at lambing, so she should be ok. Everyone else I think will do great.
