My Sheep Journal~ I'm a grandma! Black Betty had twins!!!

[abooth]

Bee how do you feed the pumpkins to them? My sheep will not learn to like anything I offer them by hand. Even when I cut up carrots really small and put it in their dinner buckets they leave most of it and it's still there when I collect their bowls in the morning.

 

[Beekissed]

Mine don't really like carrots either. These sheep are pretty much eating machines but I found they love pumpkins....I found this out by throwing one out of the garden that was rotten on one side and it shattered. They jostled and fought to get to the pieces and ate it like it was candy.

They also love yellow squash but aren't too enamoured with spaghetti squash or some types of winter gourds until they too have been frozen, thawed and started to ferment.

I also found out they really prefer the pumpkins that way~ frozen and thawed out, starting to ferment. They attack one like piranhas in a feeding frenzy then....rip! Rip! You can hear them ripping it apart as if it were cardboard.

The seeds contain a chemical that paralyzes worm parasites, causing them to release their hold on the bowel lining and get moved out with the feces.

 

[big brown horse]

Here is what I found that my sheep like, um LOVE:

In this order:
Pumpkins and their vines (sugar and jack o lantern)
Cabbages, heirloom and purple
Bean sprouts
Fig leaves and figs
sunflowers and leaves (they loving left me just the bent 6 ft stalks)
kohlrabis, also heirloom
cilantro
parsley
oregano
not the mint
calendula flowers and leaves (again, I get the stalks) these were a gift from Blackbird by the way...that I started indoors as seeds.
not the tomatoes thankfully
all lettuces
Egyptian walking onions
regular onions
kale
and
Swiss chards (rainbow variety)

Wasn't that nice of them to clean my garden out for me? Yup, all in one night....gate is now stronger. Live and learn I guess...I'm still mad.

 

[big brown horse]

p.s. at least they de wormed themselves!

 

[Beekissed]

Well, took Ugly Betty and the ram lamb to the auction today and it was quite an experience. I had had someone tell me that the hair sheep wouldn't bring a good price at our most local auction house but I found things to be quite the opposite. Of course, that info came from the guy that was trying to get my sheep at a low price....now I know why.

He said I wouldn't get what I was asking for them at the auction...and he was right! I got less than I was asking for the ewe and way more than I was asking for the ram.

The biggest price for sheep today was on a pen of Katahdin ram lambs of 7 mo. old. There were 6 lambs and they went for $984. I thought that was pretty darn good compared to the woolly breeds that were sold. Actually, they went higher than any sheep sold today.

I got $99 for Betty and $130 for the ram. Betty weighed 95 lbs. and the ram weighed 75 lbs. I was surprised they weighed that much!

You goat people would have swooned over the buck goat they had there....I've never seen a more regal, beautiful goat in my life. I have no idea of the breed but he had huge horns that flowed in a semi curl back and over his shoulders, a full beard and mane, he was white/cream and he was absolutely the biggest goat I'd ever seen in my life!!! They said he weighed 400 lbs!!!!

He actually paced like a good gaited horse into that ring like he was on parade...and then walked right over to the guys standing on the side and put his nose up to be petted!

And you could smell him a mile away!!!

Someone bought him for $160....that seems a little low for an animal that beautiful and so darn studly!

Anyhoo....good day at the auction but it was pretty sad to part with Ugly Betty. A nuisance all the time she was here but ran to me like a scared pup at the shutes and wouldn't leave my side. I finally had to gently hold her head to my thigh and lead her into the pen....she had never let me do that before. It really made me sad....

Black Betty hasn't raised her head all evening...she just stands with her head down, not eating...just looking at me like I broke her heart. I'm hoping she will make up to Little Mo and they can become companions like she and Ugly Betty.

Weird....no one ever told me that sheep are more sensitive than dogs even. They remember, they mourn and they know things....I'm convinced Ugly Betty knew she was going away forever. She has never let me touch her like that and has never in her life ran to me for comfort.


ETA: I looked up breeds of goats and the only one that I found that resembled this magnificent buck was Kashmere? He did have a glorious medium long coat...didn't appear to be wiry like a normal goat. And his tail was curled right up over his back.

 

[jodief100]

You goat people would have swooned over the buck goat they had there....I've never seen a more regal, beautiful goat in my life. I have no idea of the breed but he had huge horns that flowed in a semi curl back and over his shoulders, a full beard and mane, he was white/cream and he was absolutely the biggest goat I'd ever seen in my life!!! They said he weighed 400 lbs!!!!

He actually paced like a good gaited horse into that ring like he was on parade...and then walked right over to the guys standing on the side and put his nose up to be petted!

And you could smell him a mile away!!!

Someone bought him for $160....that seems a little low for an animal that beautiful and so darn studly!

$0.50/lb is normal for adult males at auction. If people want good prices for thier studs they need to sell them at some other venue. Either someone got a real good deal or he was too old to really be usefull anymore. Would have liked to see him though.

Glad you got some good prices for your sheep. I hope it was an overall positive experience. Black Betty will be over her mouring soon. They just need a few days to adjust.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I always get sad when I sell an animal, even if I'm selling to a good home where I know they'll be loved. Hopefully you'll feel better about it in a day or two. Sheep definitely miss their buddies. Purl is at the breeders and Darla is still upset about it. She's in with the ram and my doe, but she still misses Purl. She's gotten less vocal about it though.

Funny thing though, I read a study that said sheep can remember individual sheep faces for TWO YEARS! Which I definitely think is true. When I took Purl to the breeders, she went right to the flock and was chewing her cud in no time. No head butts, no big reaction from the flock, nothing. It was also neat to see how alike she, her mom, and her sisters looked compared to the other ewes. You can definitely tell who was related.

 

[big brown horse]

My 5 year old Katahdin ewe sheep was given to me b/c her mother died of old age and she mourned for months. She loved the pony she was with but he couldn't make her feel better. They didn't want any more sheep so they gave her to me to keep my other ewe company.

She is better now with my other ewe, however she WONT let that ewe get more than 5 feet away from her side. She is also very protective of her.

I have no idea why sheep get such a bad rap about "being dumb". My sheep are so intelligent, I swear they can read my facial expressions and understand body language.

Anyway, sorry for the sad day Bee. I totally understand, but you did the right thing.

Too bad you didn't get a photo of that handsome buck.

 

[Beekissed]

Black Betty will be lambing soon...she is starting to bag out a little and has dropped some. I can't wait to see the offspring out of this union!

This has been a horrible year for my grass, so no fall fescue on which to flush this ewe....last year at this time she was fat and sassy just on grass. We have had severe drought conditions in my county since June, so the grass is nearly dead here.

Folks are starting to feed hay now....last year I didn't have to start feeding hay until the end of November! I will be going for my winter feed hay by next week or so and will start feeding these sheep some now.

I guess that is just how things go with farming, wether it is very small farming or large...the weather can throw you a fastball now and again. :/

I've had to feed some BOSS and a little sweet feed each evening for my lactating ewe and this first time lamber....it was not in my plan to have to supplement with grains but my garden didn't grow, so supplemental grains it is for now.

I put out more loose mineral in the form of sea kelp and salt and they've been hitting it pretty hard.

Anyone else have a drought year? Are you feeding hay yet?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

We've been hit pretty hard this year with the drought, mainly in June. We got a little rain later in the summer, which helped a little, but now we're back in dry conditions again.

Luckily I kept my animals off the pasture during the drought and fed them hay. Now they're back out on pasture and I have a good amount there. I'm letting the fescue stockpile now, so I hope to be able to graze a good bit into November/December. I have been feeding a flake of hay every few days so they can eat it as well (the hay is mainly for my dairy doe, but the others eat it as well).

Good luck with the lambing!