Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Mike CHS]

Our #154 yearling ewe had a 7 lb single ewe lamb this afternoon and is doing great as a first timer. Our sheep usually stay by themselves for a couple of days but she merged with the rest of the flock this afternoon. The ewe is one that we almost culled as it took her about 14 months to get to breeding weight (we don't go by age) but her lamb is a beauty.

We still have 25 ewes that haven't lambed but I'm wondering how many Oshi lambs we are going to wind up with this cycle. I have been doing some serious admiration of Wendy's lambs and they are about as perfect as you could ask for. Wendy is the yearling (Dr. Boyd) that we bought when we bought Oshi and she was already bred by him.

 

[Baymule]

Are there any more OOPS babies?

 

[Mike CHS]

Are there any more OOPS babies?

Just the one born yesterday but I wasn't meaning to post in the wrong journal, I thought I was posting on my journal. That is 14 oops lambs so far.

 

[Baymule]

Just the one born yesterday but I wasn't meaning to post in the wrong journal, I thought I was posting on my journal. That is 14 oops lambs so far.

Hahaha! Highjacking Ridgetop’s journal! That’s a lot of Oops lambs. Busy little stinker, wasn’t he?

 

[Ridgetop]

Hijacking is ok in my journal at any time by anyone! Since you purchased Wendy already bred, was she bred to a ram other than Oshi?

 

[Ridgetop]

OK. After looking at the drawings, I realize I should have posted the outline of the bare 15 acres with just the new perimeter fence lines. Here it is - I turned it sideways to fit the page better. The land is flat. The hayfields are on the south side of the property (bottom of drawing) and will need 16' gate access for haymaking equipment.

Now everyone please give me ideas about how to draw in the pasture fences. We have to run pipes from the well to the barn for water and once water lines are at the barn, we can extend them into the pastures or use hoses if the distance is not too great to fill water troughs. NCRS rules require water source in each pasture before they will ok pastures. They actually want a backup water source too so the pond with submersible pump (solar operated) will do for that.

We planned to build open sided covers for supplement and hay feeding in the pastures, but if we run the pastures back to the barn all that feeding can be done near the barn. We will only need shelters in the pastures for shade and rain protection. Certain areas have a lot of trees and those will give shade and some weather protection. We will put gates at the barn entrances we won't have the sheep constantly coming into the barn during the day. We can open the gates at night and let the sheep into pens close to the barn at night.

We need several large pastures to rotate the ewes and their lambs, one area for the rams since only one at a time will be in with the ewes, and a separate pasture for the growing ram lambs before they go to auction. A separate pasture for the replacement ewe lambs (age 3-10 months) since they can't stay with their mothers when we turn in a ram for breeding. Have fun! All suggestions will be considered since everyone has different experience and I want to draw from that.

We may eventually leave the sheep out in the pastures at night once we have enough LGDs. Right now we only have Angel working at full capacity. Rika is 11 and Ozel is just a pup. If we still had Bubba it would be different and I keep forgetting that we will not be getting him back. However, I have myself back on Erik's puppy list so . . . and when Ozel turns 3 we will breed her.

 

[Mike CHS]

Hijacking is ok in my journal at any time by anyone! Since you purchased Wendy already bred, was she bred to a ram other than Oshi?

Wendy was bred by Oshi and her lambs are about as perfect as they get.

 

[Ridgetop]

I have been working on a pasture fence outline that will radiate out from barn as per Baymule's advice. We have a lot of 10' portable gate and fence panels. I was thinking if we surround the barn with a fenced in 20' wide "yard", we could have one of those gates at the pointy end of each pasture that would open into the "yard" next to the barn. The barn would not have free access, but could be used in winter with separate covered areas accessible from the "yard".I will keep working on this idea since we could have water near the barn, as well as the hay feeders for winter feeding. We could also build some feeder shelters adjacent to the barn. Working on it slowly since I am getting over some sort of intestinal bug that has raced through the entire family. Good thing it only lasts about 24 hours.

Still working on it and will post when I figure it out.

 

[Baymule]

With different flocks, you may have to divide up the yard, so the different flocks don’t mingle. My point is, make it easy on yourself and radiate out from the barn. Shelter, water, feed and electricity in a place of easy access for YOU. You can use the portable panels to configure the lot, change it to suit whatever you are doing.

Hope you and family are doing better.

 

[Ridgetop]

I am making new layouts. Very difficult working in hundreds of feet and acres instead of my normal house dimensions. I also noticed that I showed the septic sprayers much farther apart and further from the driveway fence than they probably are. That will change things too as far as gate access from driveway (truck access is actually much easier than current placement of sprayers shows).

Eventually a lot of the trees/bushes shown in the fields will have to come out since a lot of them are upstarts and trash bushes and trees.

Today Ozel officially did a bad thing. She chased the sheep! She got into the sheep pen this morning through the upper gate that someone left open - the sheep don't ever go there and the kids use that gate to get to the trampoline. I heard Rika bark her warning "I don't like that" bark and went to look. Ozel was having a great time running after one of the 7-month-old ewes. I called her and she came right out of the pen to me. Naughty Ozel - GOOD RIKA! Rika is still perfect Angel was standing with Rika on the patio watching with a disgusted expression on her face. Ozel is in disgrace. We will have to keep an eye on her when letting out the sheep since she wants to run after them as they run to freedom from the night pen. Teenage dogs are a pain in the !!! I think she also chewed the seat off DGD1's bicycle. The honeymoon is over. I will have to separate the sheep and put her in with the ewe that takes no prisoners.