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Beekissed
Herd Master
I wonder if those larger sheep dairies in Europe have specially designed electric milkers for sheep? Seems to me they would have to unless they have a milking crew of Oompah-Loompahs.... 
My Sheep Journal~ I'm a grandma! Black Betty had twins!!!
- Thread starter Beekissed
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- #182
Beekissed
Herd Master
Well, the day has come....I now have a ram of my own and I'm not sure I want it.... :/
When I picked him out as a new lamb, he was beautiful and had great conformation. He has just arrived, at 4 mo. of age, and he doesn't look quite as good as I had planned.
He is a little sway backed....
And he's smaller than I expected. And the conformation I thought I saw is just not there anymore....only good thing is he is packing a good scrotum and he is black. More than that I cannot say right now....maybe he will grow into a better looking guy? 
I'll post pics as soon as I can. He's not much bigger than my 1 mo. old Slo-Mo...and not half as pretty to look upon. I'll give him a shot of my Wonder Drench and see if it helps him look a little more sleek and less potbellied.
We have named him Dooley.
When I picked him out as a new lamb, he was beautiful and had great conformation. He has just arrived, at 4 mo. of age, and he doesn't look quite as good as I had planned.
He is a little sway backed....
And he's smaller than I expected. And the conformation I thought I saw is just not there anymore....only good thing is he is packing a good scrotum and he is black. More than that I cannot say right now....maybe he will grow into a better looking guy? I'll post pics as soon as I can. He's not much bigger than my 1 mo. old Slo-Mo...and not half as pretty to look upon. I'll give him a shot of my Wonder Drench and see if it helps him look a little more sleek and less potbellied.
We have named him Dooley.
abooth
Ridin' The Range
Bee conngrats on your new addition. I just got my first ram lamb and I'm sorry to say I can't really tell if he has good conformation or not. But I think he's beautiful.
As far as milking sheep goes I have a book with pictures of a sheep dairy. They use a parlor so the sheep are at shoulder height and the human just walks through this center aisle and hooks the gals up to an electric milker that milks the sheep and puts all the milk into a big storage tank.
As far as milking sheep goes I have a book with pictures of a sheep dairy. They use a parlor so the sheep are at shoulder height and the human just walks through this center aisle and hooks the gals up to an electric milker that milks the sheep and puts all the milk into a big storage tank.
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- #184
Beekissed
Herd Master
I figured as much....I can't imagine milking all those small teats! 
Well, the poor guy ran his head into the fence...he's a little flighty...and knocked off one of his scurs. Did quite a neat job of it, if I do say so.
And he is still bawling for his mama....
Endlessly. He is so hoarse from bawling that its kind of sad...and its driving us all NUTS!!!!
Well, the poor guy ran his head into the fence...he's a little flighty...and knocked off one of his scurs. Did quite a neat job of it, if I do say so.
And he is still bawling for his mama....
Endlessly. He is so hoarse from bawling that its kind of sad...and its driving us all NUTS!!!! BriteChicken
Exploring the pasture
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Aren't scurs the partial horn of a de-budding gone bad? Sorry still a newbie so Idk...
But congrats on the ram lamb
I hope in time he'll get used to you and stop crying for his momma
Good luck with him!
OH and I seem to remember you promising pictures
But congrats on the ram lamb
I hope in time he'll get used to you and stop crying for his momma
Good luck with him!
OH and I seem to remember you promising pictures
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- #186
Beekissed
Herd Master
Welcome to the forum, Brite!
I'll take pics of him tomorrow...I've been so busy and haven't been getting home from work until late each night.
Scurs can occur in breeds that are polled but still have a throwback unpolled gene. These sheep are normally unpolled but will often have one or two small, deformed nubs or longer horns.
He has stopped bawling but is still flighty as a deer. I am changing my fencing system this next week so that he will have two companion sheep in his enclosure to keep him company. Sheep just hate to be separated from the herd and it drives them batty from fear....herd equals safety to animals that have a strong instinct to flock.
I need to isolate him and check him over, drench him, put a collar on him, handle him all over so that he gets used to being "manhandled"...I usually do this before they even leave the truck but he jumped right over my head, over the tail gate and off the truck!
After that, there was no catching him....
Once I contain him with the Bettys, he will follow them wherever they go...and they go where I go, so it won't be hard to get him into a pen later on and examine him more closely.
I'll take pics of him tomorrow...I've been so busy and haven't been getting home from work until late each night.
Scurs can occur in breeds that are polled but still have a throwback unpolled gene. These sheep are normally unpolled but will often have one or two small, deformed nubs or longer horns.
He has stopped bawling but is still flighty as a deer. I am changing my fencing system this next week so that he will have two companion sheep in his enclosure to keep him company. Sheep just hate to be separated from the herd and it drives them batty from fear....herd equals safety to animals that have a strong instinct to flock.
I need to isolate him and check him over, drench him, put a collar on him, handle him all over so that he gets used to being "manhandled"...I usually do this before they even leave the truck but he jumped right over my head, over the tail gate and off the truck!
After that, there was no catching him.... Once I contain him with the Bettys, he will follow them wherever they go...and they go where I go, so it won't be hard to get him into a pen later on and examine him more closely.
abooth
Ridin' The Range
Bee it sounds like your ram lamb adventure is very similar to mine. Mine had scurs. Mine jumped out of the truck the day I got him home and I didn't lay a hand on him til two weeks later. That was yesterday. Holy cow. I had to deworm him and do his feet. What an adventure. He insisted he did not need any additional care!
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- #188
Beekissed
Herd Master
abooth said:
I'm thinking about the whole banding the horns thingy from the thread on here.....now that he only has one little scur, he looks even funnier than he did before.
I haven't even tried to catch this black imp.... I've seen these sheep jump to amazing heights when stressed and running wild and my fence is only 5 ft. next to the road. I can just see him sailing over that fence and into an oncoming car...
I'm so glad someone else is having the same issues...I was thinking I had made a bad choice in this one. I sure hope he calms down a little more but not so much so that he feels too "familiar", if ya know what I mean!
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- #189
Beekissed
Herd Master
I don't know how you folks feel about your various animals but I love certain aspects of my different sheep... and am starting to develop an aversion to one in particular...and part of it is her appearance.
I feel slightly bad about it but it is true nonetheless that I don't like how my one ewe looks and her behaviour. She wasn't one that I hand picked from the herd, she was a bargain thrown in with the one I picked. She was a triplet and had a potbellied and rough coated appearance when I first got her.
Her coloring is interesting and that's about all I can say about her. Her conformation is off and her hair/wool is wiry and goat-like. She is a bully and has learned to open gates and invade gardens. She has bony hips and spindly legs and she isn't showing any signs of having been bred....no udder development, no belly.
I have her up for sale right now and I must confess that I won't be too sorry to see her go.
On the other hand, the two other ewes I have bring me much pleasure...they are a pleasure to see and to feel. They are much more gentle than the other ewe and they are easier to handle and manage.
I find Black Betty to be beautiful and I could gaze on her all day...I love the sturdy way she is built, the feminine head, graceful lines and beautiful coloring. She is fat and sleek and already shows a milky udder and she is not due to lamb until mid-Sept.
Mo is less beautiful in coloring but still sleek and sturdy. Her wool is so soft and creamy to feel....I could imagine cuddling up to it for warmth. I love running my hands over it and she appreciates a good back rub and will stand still for it. Definitely not wiry or rough like the typical wool breeds around here.
Mo's wether lamb, who we now call Fats, is also soft coated, fat and sleek, gentle and sweet. I almost wish my new ram lamb was like him...beautiful, sleek and big.
The new ram is rough coated, very flighty and sort of ugly in appearance. I don't expect I will keep him long unless he changes. He was quite beautiful as a new born lamb but not so much now.
So...do you all make choices and develop likes or dislikes on appearances as well as temperament?
I can't help it...I tend to like things that are pleasing to the senses.
I feel slightly bad about it but it is true nonetheless that I don't like how my one ewe looks and her behaviour. She wasn't one that I hand picked from the herd, she was a bargain thrown in with the one I picked. She was a triplet and had a potbellied and rough coated appearance when I first got her.
Her coloring is interesting and that's about all I can say about her. Her conformation is off and her hair/wool is wiry and goat-like. She is a bully and has learned to open gates and invade gardens. She has bony hips and spindly legs and she isn't showing any signs of having been bred....no udder development, no belly.
I have her up for sale right now and I must confess that I won't be too sorry to see her go.
On the other hand, the two other ewes I have bring me much pleasure...they are a pleasure to see and to feel. They are much more gentle than the other ewe and they are easier to handle and manage.
I find Black Betty to be beautiful and I could gaze on her all day...I love the sturdy way she is built, the feminine head, graceful lines and beautiful coloring. She is fat and sleek and already shows a milky udder and she is not due to lamb until mid-Sept.
Mo is less beautiful in coloring but still sleek and sturdy. Her wool is so soft and creamy to feel....I could imagine cuddling up to it for warmth. I love running my hands over it and she appreciates a good back rub and will stand still for it. Definitely not wiry or rough like the typical wool breeds around here.
Mo's wether lamb, who we now call Fats, is also soft coated, fat and sleek, gentle and sweet. I almost wish my new ram lamb was like him...beautiful, sleek and big.
The new ram is rough coated, very flighty and sort of ugly in appearance. I don't expect I will keep him long unless he changes. He was quite beautiful as a new born lamb but not so much now.
So...do you all make choices and develop likes or dislikes on appearances as well as temperament?
I can't help it...I tend to like things that are pleasing to the senses.
ksalvagno
Alpaca Master
Yes, I do. I won't buy an animal that I don't like the physical appearance of, no matter how cheap they are. Animal care takes up most of my day and I have to like them to go out there (especially in this heat) to take care of them everyday.
