Please welcome our new pet skunk...wait, our new holstein cow, wait, our new lamb?

[Sheepshape]

MooMoo Patches sounds as though she has is pretty savvy, but WHAT a horrible time whilst you were looking for her. (Just had a much-loved hen 'lost', then found the feathers that the fox had left behind....). If Moo can sleep whilst all around are panicking, she will lead a charmed life...

It really sounds as though those floods have damaged the land, but, at least floods usually improve the soil fertility.

I live in Wales, soarwitheagles....land of 12 million sheep and 3 million people....mist, rain,magic,mountains, and its own language. I was born and spent most of my life in England, so I can't really claim the place as my own, but I've fallen in love with my adopted land. The reality of where I live is lots of rain, damp that seems to permeate through to the bone, very stony soil, and a population around here that is less than in the 1800's. I've been to (bits of) the States and Canada, but can claim little real knowledge as your scales are so much more massive than ours.

We have had flash floods here a couple of times since I moved here 10 years ago. The rate of rise of the water level is scary. As we live on a mountainside, the floods largely flow past us, but our barn was flooded and the hay all ruined, huge boulders were deposited across fields where our tiny streams became raging torrents that broke their banks and bridges, cars, etc were all 'floated away'.

Sheep generally do seem to be unconcerned by even the most harsh weather (except some lowland sheep.....our Blue Faced Leicesters shiver and try to shelter in even the slightest bit of rain). They just move themselves to higher ground.

I think the problem of prolapse with sheep who get/stay too fat at the end of their pregnancy is the main problem, but they can be so greedy!

 

[SFogg]

Very cute, and unique!!

 

[Baymule]

Glad your sheep are all ok and the floods have gone down. The good part is that the water will help the grass. I bet your heart was in your throat while looking for Moo Moo! Glad you found her and all is well.

 

[soarwitheagles]

MooMoo Patches sounds as though she has is pretty savvy, but WHAT a horrible time whilst you were looking for her. (Just had a much-loved hen 'lost', then found the feathers that the fox had left behind....). If Moo can sleep whilst all around are panicking, she will lead a charmed life...

It really sounds as though those floods have damaged the land, but, at least floods usually improve the soil fertility.

I live in Wales, soarwitheagles....land of 12 million sheep and 3 million people....mist, rain,magic,mountains, and its own language. I was born and spent most of my life in England, so I can't really claim the place as my own, but I've fallen in love with my adopted land. The reality of where I live is lots of rain, damp that seems to permeate through to the bone, very stony soil, and a population around here that is less than in the 1800's. I've been to (bits of) the States and Canada, but can claim little real knowledge as your scales are so much more massive than ours.

We have had flash floods here a couple of times since I moved here 10 years ago. The rate of rise of the water level is scary. As we live on a mountainside, the floods largely flow past us, but our barn was flooded and the hay all ruined, huge boulders were deposited across fields where our tiny streams became raging torrents that broke their banks and bridges, cars, etc were all 'floated away'.

Sheep generally do seem to be unconcerned by even the most harsh weather (except some lowland sheep.....our Blue Faced Leicesters shiver and try to shelter in even the slightest bit of rain). They just move themselves to higher ground.

I think the problem of prolapse with sheep who get/stay too fat at the end of their pregnancy is the main problem, but they can be so greedy!

Sheepshape,

Wales? It must be very beautiful there!

Blue Faced Leicesters? Wow, I had to look that breed up on Wiki! Very interesting sheep! May I ask what inspired you to choose the Blue Faced Leicesters? Rams up to 240 lbs. I would probably run away as fast as I could if I ever saw a sheep that big!

Flash floods are new to me here in our present location. But in 1982 I lived in a Redwood tree rain forest high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We had 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. It was a freak storm and I saw large Redwood tree groves slide down mountains and move nearly 1/8 of a mile. I always thought stuff like that only occurs in action movies. Unfortunately several people lost their lives when a part of a mountain moved over their homes. It was called Love Creek and at the time I lived about 5 miles away.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/ZZ/20120106/NEWS/120108207

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Creek

So living in the flatlands, I was convinced that flash flooding was not possible. Now I realize how wrong I was. Nearby Highway 104 is still under water and completely impassable unless you have a nice boat. A local sheriff officer had to be rescued from his submerged car there a couple of days ago.

These unusual storms are called "atmospheric rivers" and some people call them the "pineapple express." They are unusually warm and they come from the direction of Hawaii.

Another "atmospheric river" is due to hit us Tuesday. I think it may finally be safe to say California's greatest and most severe drought in written history is now over. So, looking on the brighter side of things, I am thankful for the rain..

Very cute, and unique!!

Thank you!

Glad your sheep are all ok and the floods have gone down. The good part is that the water will help the grass. I bet your heart was in your throat while looking for Moo Moo! Glad you found her and all is well.

I was so bummed out after looking for Moo Moo for nearly 30 minutes. As I mentioned before, I was convinced she was either washed away in the storm or had been a delicious breakfast for a hungry coyote. The search area was rather small, so I was convinced she was history. Not even sure how she got under that tarp covering the hay, but she did!

Normally, I watch like a hawk to make certain all new born lambs are drinking from their mamas. But with all the flooding, I could not find the time to sit long enough to see Moo Moo drinking from mama Dorper. Today was the very first time I saw her filling up, so this was very comforting.

BTW, I suppose most people here already know this, but for me it was a bit of a shock...the female Dorper that is the mama consistently leaves Moo Moo alone, and expects Moo Moo to run and find her. The American Blackbelly ewes are incredibly different. They will not permit their new born lambs out of their sight, and if their lamb does get out of sight, the American Blackbelly ewes start to cry loudly for their babies. I find an amazing difference between these two types of sheep when it comes to mothering skills and methods.

 

[babsbag]

I had missed the part where you thought you lost Moo Moo, glad she was found. I have done that search a few times myself so I know that horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Some of my goats will leave their young, others won't. I will interesting to see if the next Dorper ewe is the same as the first.

 

[Sheepshape]

Blue Faced Leicesters? Wow, I had to look that breed up on Wiki! Very interesting sheep! May I ask what inspired you to choose the Blue Faced Leicesters? Rams up to 240 lbs. I would probably run away as fast as I could if I ever saw a sheep that big!

Ha ha....Blue Faced Leicesters rams, 240lbs would be conservative, I think.....300lbs plus in many cases. 10lbs of nose and a few ounces of fleece. Size of ponies....and generally great big teddy bears. They have lovely placid natures and are usually an absolute breeze to handle...very, very rarely aggressive to folk. The mule cross with my other sheep, Beulah Speckled Face is very popular round here and if crossed again with a Texel produces a large, very heavily muscled lamb, highly prized for the meat.

Leicesters, however are vERY tender, can't stand the cold, hate the wet, and are extremely greedy.

Leicester lambs are wonderful.....huge, all ears, legs,nose and a tuneful low bleat.

I'm SO glad that your drought has gone, even if it it was a bit 'too much, too soon'. The pics we saw over her of the intense dryness and huge cracks where once there had been rivers were a sad sight. I guess that prolonged drought had baked the ground so hard that the water couldn't penetrate. Here's hoping it resolves soon.

Sending little Moo my love.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Sheepshape,

Thank you for sharing the pic of your beautiful Blue Faced Leicesters lambs. Beautiful animals you have there!

 

[babsbag]

Leicesters, however are vERY tender, can't stand the cold, hate the wet, and are extremely greedy.

Sounds like they would do well in a "normal" winter in California. @soarwitheagles Maybe you should add a few.

@Sheepshape Are there any Valais Blacknose sheep in Wales? Those little things would have me adding sheep to my menagerie, probably a good thing that there are none in the US.

 

[soarwitheagles]

UPDATE: I think I need to go back to school and take a class on the birds and the bees...

Today my wife showed me that our little Moo Moo is indeed a male, not a female! This is a game changer. We promised each other that today is the last day we hug, cuddle, and pick up Moo Moo.

My local friend and rancher as well as many articles I have read state: "Do not hug, cuddle, befriend, etc. a male ram." Apparently several people have been injured by rams that have lost their fear of humans.

Posting a pic of Moo Moo's last hug!

Now it is back to admiring Moo Moo from a distance, and no longer picking him up and hugging him.

PS Those are our winter crop of fava beans in the background! This year we have over 1000 plants and hope to experiment making silage. Seed cost: $10. Water cost = $0 due to it being a winter crop. If this works out, next year, we hope to plant few acres of fava beans.

 

[Bossroo]

Soar , Suffolk rams regularly grow to over 200 to 300 lbs, one of my neighbors had a show Suffolk ram at 362 lbs. . Gentle as can be. Now that you had a lesson in the birds and the bees, I would recommend that you castrate that cute ram lamb. He will not be a good breeding ram as one half of your flock. You see, he will never produce a uniform lamb crop from him due to his genetics. Using laws of genetic inheritance and depending on the ewe , 25% will be a meaty type , 50% will be in between, and 25% will be poor meat type. Now if you breed him to the Black Belly ewes, cut those statistic numbers by half to two- thirds+. Which equates to low auction prices for the lambs and small change in your pocket.