Baymule
Herd Master
Blueberry is a good looking horse!
High Desert Cowboy- How far is it up north?
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High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
My original plan for picking up a new horse was I was going to sell Jack in the fall so I could save on a hay bill and pick a new one up in the spring. My buddy found Blueberry and showed my wife who has a thing for blue roans and next thing I knew I was driving up to American Falls to pick her up. Two year old and she’d never been haltered. Took me over an hour to get a halter on her and get her loaded in the trailer. She is a beauty.
Not much got done outside the last couple days. My wife rented a dumpster to clean up the house and yard so every minute I’m not at work gets dedicated to that. Never realize how much junk gets collected until you’ve filled up a giant dumpster.
Not much got done outside the last couple days. My wife rented a dumpster to clean up the house and yard so every minute I’m not at work gets dedicated to that. Never realize how much junk gets collected until you’ve filled up a giant dumpster.
fuzzi
Loving the herd life
I used the Western NC need for household goods and clothing as an incentive to clean out closets and sheds. It's good to know that someone will get use of my unused/good stuff.
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High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
We have the DI and they get most of the clothes and other things that we don’t use. What I’m throwing away is 100% junk. Carpet and rugs that got ruined by a flooded basement, busted toys, junk that was left by previous owners and was just sitting in my silo, garage, or storage room waiting for somewhere to go. I reuse a lot of stuff when I can but all of this is useless.
Working on running electrical to my chicken coop. We have underground power that goes to a light pole in the middle of the back yard for some reason or another. I can tap into that and make sure the chickens have a light for the winter and heated water. When they were in my silo there is already power to that so it wasn’t an issue. But when I built a better coop I lost that benefit. But they have a better run with this coop and I haven’t lost any to mink this year so we’ll call it a win.
Working on running electrical to my chicken coop. We have underground power that goes to a light pole in the middle of the back yard for some reason or another. I can tap into that and make sure the chickens have a light for the winter and heated water. When they were in my silo there is already power to that so it wasn’t an issue. But when I built a better coop I lost that benefit. But they have a better run with this coop and I haven’t lost any to mink this year so we’ll call it a win.
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High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
So I’m going to try some changes around here. Something a little different. But that’s the fun of having a little farm, right? Let’s recap on my sheep journey over the last several years.
2018 I buy a pregnant ewe from a friend (Heart) and two ewes and a hair buck off of a truck bound for auction. The day before I pick Heart up she lambs twins and my little herd is off and running.
2020 people in my area are not interested in hair sheep and I need to make a change to market better for my area. Shaun the hair ram is sold and introducing Gus Gus the polypay ram lamb who gets to business for our 2021 herd.
2023 one of my employees is going through a divorce and asks if I’d be interested in some show ewes that have bred champion lambs for a great deal. I get Blue and Blossom. Blue was actually Blossoms mother and is pretty old but the price is right and it’s one of those deals where you have to take them both. Both had been bred to a Texel ram. Both have beautiful sets of twins, each being one boy and one girl. June I got laid off, need to sell some ewes and cut back on the feed bill. The goal was to sell everything except for Heart, Gus Gus, Blue, Blossom, and their ewe lambs. I manage to sell my best home grown ewes. Two other ewe lambs from the previous year don’t sell, figure I’ll try and sell them again in a couple months. Blossom gets a terrible cold, I throw everything at it but she doesn’t make it. I then lose my 4 beautiful lambs within a week of each other, suspected pulpy kidney. Blue dies in September, she was an older gal and of course 2023 just sucked. I’m left with Gus Gus, Heart, and the two home grown ewe lambs that didn’t sell.
So here we are getting ready for breeding and lambing 2025. Wool still isn’t worth anything, I honestly use it for compost and gardening. And where I live now, they’re not so worried about wool, and I live closer to several auctions where they’re doing alright selling lambs for meat and wool doesn’t matter. So my neighbor who has been swapping to Dorpers made me a deal. Two Dorper x Polypay ewe lambs for a great price. He’s planning on being completely to hair sheep next year. He’s taking his lambs to auction Saturday morning and he’ll haul my two ewes as well. So yesterday I walked down to his place and selected my two ewe lambs and got to try something new, catching sheep with a crook by the leg. Loaded them up, brought them home, and Bella loaded my two ewes onto his truck. Gus Gus was immediately interested in the new arrivals and they seemed to take to him rather well.
Theyre still kind of shy so I wasn’t able to get the best picture of them. The one got a little muddy, when I snagged her with the crook she decided to faceplant into a mud hole.
How will they do? Will I swap to a Dorper ram myself in the near future? Will I win the lottery and buy more sheep? Who’s knows, but at least things won’t be boring!
2018 I buy a pregnant ewe from a friend (Heart) and two ewes and a hair buck off of a truck bound for auction. The day before I pick Heart up she lambs twins and my little herd is off and running.
2020 people in my area are not interested in hair sheep and I need to make a change to market better for my area. Shaun the hair ram is sold and introducing Gus Gus the polypay ram lamb who gets to business for our 2021 herd.
2023 one of my employees is going through a divorce and asks if I’d be interested in some show ewes that have bred champion lambs for a great deal. I get Blue and Blossom. Blue was actually Blossoms mother and is pretty old but the price is right and it’s one of those deals where you have to take them both. Both had been bred to a Texel ram. Both have beautiful sets of twins, each being one boy and one girl. June I got laid off, need to sell some ewes and cut back on the feed bill. The goal was to sell everything except for Heart, Gus Gus, Blue, Blossom, and their ewe lambs. I manage to sell my best home grown ewes. Two other ewe lambs from the previous year don’t sell, figure I’ll try and sell them again in a couple months. Blossom gets a terrible cold, I throw everything at it but she doesn’t make it. I then lose my 4 beautiful lambs within a week of each other, suspected pulpy kidney. Blue dies in September, she was an older gal and of course 2023 just sucked. I’m left with Gus Gus, Heart, and the two home grown ewe lambs that didn’t sell.
So here we are getting ready for breeding and lambing 2025. Wool still isn’t worth anything, I honestly use it for compost and gardening. And where I live now, they’re not so worried about wool, and I live closer to several auctions where they’re doing alright selling lambs for meat and wool doesn’t matter. So my neighbor who has been swapping to Dorpers made me a deal. Two Dorper x Polypay ewe lambs for a great price. He’s planning on being completely to hair sheep next year. He’s taking his lambs to auction Saturday morning and he’ll haul my two ewes as well. So yesterday I walked down to his place and selected my two ewe lambs and got to try something new, catching sheep with a crook by the leg. Loaded them up, brought them home, and Bella loaded my two ewes onto his truck. Gus Gus was immediately interested in the new arrivals and they seemed to take to him rather well.
How will they do? Will I swap to a Dorper ram myself in the near future? Will I win the lottery and buy more sheep? Who’s knows, but at least things won’t be boring!
Baymule
Herd Master
That’s quite the sheep story. It sucks about the losses, sometimes no matter what we do, we lose. But you are off and going again with a couple of new beauties! You are right, a sheep journey is never boring!
If you switch to a Dorper ram, get a white Dorper. Black heads are phycho and want to run you down. Don’t buy from someone who breeds them together, buy from someone who keeps the two types apart or only has white Dorpers.
If you switch to a Dorper ram, get a white Dorper. Black heads are phycho and want to run you down. Don’t buy from someone who breeds them together, buy from someone who keeps the two types apart or only has white Dorpers.
SageHill
Herd Master
WOW, you've been through the mill and back with all that. Looks like a step into a new adventure! Always fun.
Too funny, around here white dorpers have a psycho reputation. At least those that use them for dog training and herding trials. Personally, I don't see a difference. I've worked with the black headed elsewhere and have some whites of my own (sold to me as dorpers, no papers, look like it, but who knows! LOL).
Those are nice looking ewe lambs! Should be fun to see how it all goes.
Too funny, around here white dorpers have a psycho reputation. At least those that use them for dog training and herding trials. Personally, I don't see a difference. I've worked with the black headed elsewhere and have some whites of my own (sold to me as dorpers, no papers, look like it, but who knows! LOL).
Those are nice looking ewe lambs! Should be fun to see how it all goes.
fuzzi
Loving the herd life
I'm just reading and learning here...
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- #1,109
High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
I have heard mixed reviews on using dorper sheep for dog training. And that’s the primary reason I own sheep. Talking to my neighbor he was pointing out several things he liked about the breed. To this point he had a nice polypay herd with rams bought from the station in Dubois where the breed originated. He noticed the following:
Size- Dorpers don’t get as big as his polypay but the lambs stayed pretty neck and neck for the first 5 months. Beyond that was when the growth difference was a lot more noticeable.
Parasites- we had a wet year, hence the flooded basement. We dealt with a lot more parasites this year and his dorpers did a lot better with the load.
Feed conversion- Dorpers were getting almost too fat on pasture grass alone. The polypay ewes needed supplementation of alfalfa or grain to keep ideal condition.
Wool-No wool is a win with a poor market and difficult to find someone to shear a handful of sheep. I do my own so not the biggest issue but with 100 I dunno I’d want to do that.
Negatives were smaller size and they seemed a little more high strung than the polypays. They had a much larger flight zone. For Bella this could be a wonderful learning opportunity because she has always tended to work a little close for sheep. One of my few gripes with her.
Size- Dorpers don’t get as big as his polypay but the lambs stayed pretty neck and neck for the first 5 months. Beyond that was when the growth difference was a lot more noticeable.
Parasites- we had a wet year, hence the flooded basement. We dealt with a lot more parasites this year and his dorpers did a lot better with the load.
Feed conversion- Dorpers were getting almost too fat on pasture grass alone. The polypay ewes needed supplementation of alfalfa or grain to keep ideal condition.
Wool-No wool is a win with a poor market and difficult to find someone to shear a handful of sheep. I do my own so not the biggest issue but with 100 I dunno I’d want to do that.
Negatives were smaller size and they seemed a little more high strung than the polypays. They had a much larger flight zone. For Bella this could be a wonderful learning opportunity because she has always tended to work a little close for sheep. One of my few gripes with her.
Finnie
Herd Master
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