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

[soarwitheagles]

Dang BossRoo!

Your numbers and percentages are so depressing! Ok, I will wait until he gets real big and then sell him as a Holstein cow...and if it works, I will raise large flocks of Moo Moo's, sell them quickly, then retire in the Bahama's and live happily ever after!

 

[Bossroo]

Good luck with growing him out big and selling him as a Holstein cow ! According to the USDA, up to 70% of small farmers are operating at a loss or stricktly as a hobby. So one needs to do what it takes to NOT loose money. You have the best chance to making a little profit IF you sell him NOW while he is still a cute little guy as a pet weather . Sorry to say , the reality is the odds of selling him as all grown up or raising large flocks of the same and then retiring to the Bahamas are slim to none. You would have a MUCH BETTER chance by raising 250 - 300 + lb. Suffolk rams. Think back to the drawing board.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Bossroo,

Thanks for your reply. I apologize. I was trying to be funny and was just joking about selling him as a Holstein cow. Just out of curiosity, my wife and I would like to keep Moo Moo to see what he turns out to be. So I suppose it is safe to say we are not looking seriously at the monetary value of Moo Moo any more.

Regarding selling lambs...I learned something super important this year. Back in September of this year, we had a local rancher offer to purchase all our very small 6 month old American Blackbelly lambs for $75 each. They all were quite small and no one was interested in buying them when I placed an ad and pics on Craigslist.

Fast forward to Christmas time...what an incredible surprise for us...each of those little lambs nearly doubled their weight in a 3-4 month period. We finally sold them for $160-$165 per head just before Christmas and I still get people calling me for more. No one told me there is an incredible growth spurt with the American Blackbelly sheep, but it is true, we have seen it with our own eyes. They went from 30-40 lbs right on up to 60-70 lbs in less than 4 months. I am not sure if allowing them to browse and graze in our back forest had anything to do with this...

One thing I look forward to discovering is how fast a lamb like Moo Moo will grow. I read that American Blackbellies require 18 months to reach selling weight whereas Dorpers only require 3-5 months...so it will be interesting to see how this pans out with a mixed breed.

I have a friend who is crossing significant numbers of Dorpers and Kathedins with AB's with the express intention of selling larger meat lambs. I look forward to seeing his results.

 

[Sheepshape]

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.

Oh dear.....however, it really does depend entirely on the genetics and personality of the ram, I carry on cuddling my ram lambs. I'm still able to hug, rub faces/chests etc of my very large rams and feel totally unthreatened whilst feeding and standing amongst them even when they have their ewes in with them. My largest ever ram (Goliath), Blue Faced Leicester, was the softest,gentlest guy ever, fathered hundreds of lambs, too heavy for the 300lb scale, all muscle.....recently went to a neighbour to continue his fertile career. If you have ram lambs from babies, it will become clear what his traits are and whether he is going to be gentle. Castrating Moo seems to be a sensible thing to do as you won't want to breed from him, and getting rid of his testosterone will certainly make him a much nicer guy to be around.

Will all those beans make them gassy? (Only joking....sheep seem to constantly produce gas from both ends).

Over here we use grass mileage as grass grows very well during the summer months.

Good Luck with lovely Moo.

 

[purplequeenvt]

You should have seen our flock of rams (10 intact rams, 2 wethers) yesterday. They got loose while someone was fixing their paddock fence and they were "helping" us feed the ewes. Our rams are much more sensitive to personal space than our ewes. I've had ewes take me out when they want to get from point A to point B and I'm in between whereas the rams are more likely stop or go around.

All of our rams (the ones born and raised here) are handled A LOT as lambs and not one has ever been aggressive as an adult. This is including several bottle babies that were kept as breeders. We have one ram that was purchased by an educational farm (we got him back when they were ready to swap rams) and they took him to the city to use in a kids program. That's how calm and gentle he is.

There is a big part that is genetics, some rams will become aggressive no matter what, but another part that is all about HOW you handle them. Pick them up, snuggle them, kiss them, but don't allow them to climb on you, rub their heads on you, or play butt you. And halter train them! That teaches them a lot of respect right there.

We have a zero aggression policy around here. Either you get your attitude fixed or it's Freezer Camp for you!

 

[Sheepshape]

Are there any Valais Blacknose sheep in Wales?

Oh, I love these sheep. I'm not aware of any....I think that there's the combined problem of them being VERY expensive and there's too much rain which they can''t tolerate. A neighbour was thinking of importing some (from Switzerland) and breeding them, but they were costing well over £1,000. Oh well, we can but dream.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I got to see some Valais when I was in Scotland last year. My friend and I went to the Royal Highland Show and saw SOOO many sheep.

Maybe I'll post a thread with some of the sheep pictures soon. It was interesting to see the differences between the UK version of a breed and the US type that I'm used to. Suffolks for example are short and stumpy in the UK and here they are tall and lean. Jacobs on the other hand were big, solid animals there and here they are much smaller.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on sheep safety everyone! It is good to hear from a variety of people on this issue.

I still think it amazing at the wide ranging responses when it comes to sheep handling and possibilities of injuries. I suppose if I must err, I will err on the side of caution...

Here's four interesting articles relating to sheep safety:

First article contends that with proper management, sheep will not be dangerous and gives several suggestions for proper management.

http://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/livestock/sheep/are-rams-dangerous-facts-about-rams/

Second article reports government gathered data on humans injured by sheep, and gives the number of humans injured by sheep in one year as 1612 injuries [please keep in mind these statistics are from New Zealand, where sheep outnumber humans on a 5:1 ratio]!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/9661819/Sheep-top-our-most-dangerous-farm-animal-list

The third article comes from the University of Auburn [they recently kicked Alabama's butt in football in the last few seconds of the game]. This article gives very strong warnings in regards to never trusting a ram that was a pet as a lamb.

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/~schmisp/safety/sheep.htm

The last article I am posting was written by Joseph M. Stookey Professor of Animal Behaviour at Western College. He addresses the scientifically proven phenomenon called "imprinting."

https://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/Bottle-raised males can be very dangerous.pdf

I am glad your sheep are kind, friendly, and not dangerous. For me, especially with the wilder American Blackbelly, I choose to maintain what I feel is a safe distance from them...

 

[Sheepshape]

I am glad your sheep are kind, friendly, and not dangerous. For me, especially with the wilder American Blackbelly, I choose to maintain what I feel is a safe distance from them...

Very sensible approach. Different breeds of sheep (and of any animal for that matter) have very different characters. Be advised by those who have a good knowledge of the breed(and then still do your own thing!). Intact rams can be difficult to handle and, unless you intend to breed from a particular ram, why put up with unpredictable ways?

Leicesters, Suffolks, LLeyns (all very large breeds), tend to be placid. Smaller breeds can be 'feisty' and unpredictable. The other sheep that I keep (Beulah Speckled Face)...see below, are named after a small town less than 20 miles away.

Beulahs ('Specklies') were developed locally, over a hundred years ago....medium sized, thick, waterproof fleece, excellent mothers, hardy... but rams can be less predictable. One I had, Ivor the A***hole, had great looks, but deserved his name. I gave him to my neighbour (who keeps 2,00 plus ewes) who was fully aware of his character. I would not have chose to let him grow old.

It was interesting to see the differences between the UK version of a breed and the US type that I'm used to

It IS strange that there are different breed standards on the two sides of the pond. Suffolks over here, as you say, purplequeenvt, are not so tall, but Very thick set, huge bones, massive muscles, long droopy ears, and the males have the biggest 'assets' of any of the sheep. They are extremely powerful, but, much like Blue Faced Leicesters over here, tend to have calm, quiet natures. These big guys can 'serve' 100 ewes or more.