Baymule
Herd Master
That is some pretty wool.
SA Farm's journal
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SA Farm
Herd Master
Today is rainy and miserable, which is okay since I’m not feeling overly keen to do much. Actually felt even worse yesterday (been sick all week), but managed to get the bantam Brahmas set up and moved out back, the bottle lamb moved in with Coy, and let all the girls and lambs out for a brief party session.
Glad I did, though it wasn’t easy on me in the moment. I hate being sick.
Foxy was certainly feeling frisky! I don’t think I mentioned that she had a mild infection after her hard lambing, so she’s not only shedding, but has some wool break as well, so she looks worse than usual wool-wise. A little naked. We hit the infection right away, so she recovered quickly and is fine now, thankfully. I like to think she’s starting to gain a tiny bit of weight back as well. I’m feeding her up, but she hates the alfalfa pellets even mixed in with her grain. She kind of resentfully nibbles on them while she’s waiting for me to finish milking her
I did feel like we reached an important milestone in her milking life. The other day she actually chewed her cud while I milked her
Glad I did, though it wasn’t easy on me in the moment. I hate being sick.
Foxy was certainly feeling frisky! I don’t think I mentioned that she had a mild infection after her hard lambing, so she’s not only shedding, but has some wool break as well, so she looks worse than usual wool-wise. A little naked. We hit the infection right away, so she recovered quickly and is fine now, thankfully. I like to think she’s starting to gain a tiny bit of weight back as well. I’m feeding her up, but she hates the alfalfa pellets even mixed in with her grain. She kind of resentfully nibbles on them while she’s waiting for me to finish milking her
I did feel like we reached an important milestone in her milking life. The other day she actually chewed her cud while I milked her
Baymule
Herd Master
Great pictures! Love the mid air pics!
SageHill
Herd Master
Love the flying lamb pic!!! Pic of the week shot!
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- #1,185
SA Farm
Herd Master
Shearing is done…Now to rest 
Dingo too. He and Doll are now cohabiting with his marking harness on.
-Auction for all my extra chicks tomorrow.
-Clean out chickens/chick pens.
-Skirting and taking fleeces to mill.
-Ram bottle lamb gets weaned on Monday. Foxy is still giving about 1600mls/day (2 milkings).
I think that’s it for updates and plans. Tired and might have mild heat exhaustion. Wrestling Dingo not for the faint of heart lol. Going to veg in front of tv now
Dingo too. He and Doll are now cohabiting with his marking harness on.
-Auction for all my extra chicks tomorrow.
-Clean out chickens/chick pens.
-Skirting and taking fleeces to mill.
-Ram bottle lamb gets weaned on Monday. Foxy is still giving about 1600mls/day (2 milkings).
I think that’s it for updates and plans. Tired and might have mild heat exhaustion. Wrestling Dingo not for the faint of heart lol. Going to veg in front of tv now
Baymule
Herd Master
You had a full day of it!
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- #1,187
SA Farm
Herd Master
I think my next bag of feed will be goat feed that I’ll mix into my usual sheep ration. Unless I’m completely wrong, I feel like this is a sign of copper deficiency:
Foxy in the sunlight has these reddish patches to her wool (actually her hair). Coy has a few spots like that too and it’s not sun bleaching since it’s the wrong time of year and it’s also not consistent.
Everything else is good. I just set my last batch of eggs the other day. 14 eggs in lockdown right now and DH’s Silkie/SS hen is sitting on ~18 bantam eggs in the barn.
I did get all my list of things done, except I haven’t taken the wool to the mill. Just skirted it. I’m thinking about picking through some of the alpaca I have to send along, so a bit more work ahead of me.
Foxy in the sunlight has these reddish patches to her wool (actually her hair). Coy has a few spots like that too and it’s not sun bleaching since it’s the wrong time of year and it’s also not consistent.
Everything else is good. I just set my last batch of eggs the other day. 14 eggs in lockdown right now and DH’s Silkie/SS hen is sitting on ~18 bantam eggs in the barn.
I did get all my list of things done, except I haven’t taken the wool to the mill. Just skirted it. I’m thinking about picking through some of the alpaca I have to send along, so a bit more work ahead of me.
Baymule
Herd Master
I have a 9 year old black ewe. The feed I use is an all purpose feed and it has a little copper in it. My sheep are hair sheep and tolerate copper better that wool sheep.
Yes, those red patches are an indication that your sheep need some copper.
Yes, those red patches are an indication that your sheep need some copper.
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- #1,189
SA Farm
Herd Master
Apparently none of the feed for sheep OR goats around here has copper in it…odd! Oh well, I’ve been letting them free range for a few hours a day and they must be finding what they need since Foxy is already looking better.
Apparently plants like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard have some copper in them, so I might grow some extra for them to nibble when/if they want/need it.
DH is supposed to be putting wheels on one of the kennels for rotational grazing, but he’s having a hard time figuring it out and they need to go out this week. Dingo and Doll are going to be spending the summer together in the other kennel since she was marked bred April 14 with no new marks added. This way I can take off his marking harness and let them chill together until around August.
That will leave Foxy, Coy, Dobby, and ram ram (bottle lamb) in the other kennel that’s supposed to be on wheels. I might swap Doll and ram ram at some point, but possibly not until August. We’ll see how he grows. If I think he’s at risk of breeding anyone, he’ll move in with Dingo.
Yep, after easily a week straight of rain, it’s finally drying off enough for the sheep to go graze the grass that’s ready! I have lots of hay left to store away for later and a ton to clean up that was wasted by getting all wet and gross. My plan to build a pallet hay barn is definitely on the must happen list.
Dobby is still as sweet as ever and I have high hopes for her as a milk sheep.
Foxy is still giving me about 1400mls a day. She’s looking great and has definitively put some weight back on. If she keeps it up, I may let her get bred in the fall after all, but will, as always, play it by ear.
Katana is doing good. She chased and fought off a stray dog the other day and is very protective of the property and us! She’s not very friendly with strangers, but it’s a trade off that I’m willing to make. Gotta call the vet and make her an appointment pretty soon for her to be spayed.
Been getting out gardening in this week as well. We now have 3 fruit trees (apple, peach, and pear) as well as a cherry bush, three blueberry bushes, a few raspberry and blackberries, and DH added a 4th grape vine.
Can’t wait to see what we all get produce-wise this year!
Front garden is just pretty lol
Forsythia, lilac, and flowering almond. I need to dig out a few things, but not today
Apparently plants like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard have some copper in them, so I might grow some extra for them to nibble when/if they want/need it.
DH is supposed to be putting wheels on one of the kennels for rotational grazing, but he’s having a hard time figuring it out and they need to go out this week. Dingo and Doll are going to be spending the summer together in the other kennel since she was marked bred April 14 with no new marks added. This way I can take off his marking harness and let them chill together until around August.
That will leave Foxy, Coy, Dobby, and ram ram (bottle lamb) in the other kennel that’s supposed to be on wheels. I might swap Doll and ram ram at some point, but possibly not until August. We’ll see how he grows. If I think he’s at risk of breeding anyone, he’ll move in with Dingo.
Yep, after easily a week straight of rain, it’s finally drying off enough for the sheep to go graze the grass that’s ready! I have lots of hay left to store away for later and a ton to clean up that was wasted by getting all wet and gross. My plan to build a pallet hay barn is definitely on the must happen list.
Dobby is still as sweet as ever and I have high hopes for her as a milk sheep.
Foxy is still giving me about 1400mls a day. She’s looking great and has definitively put some weight back on. If she keeps it up, I may let her get bred in the fall after all, but will, as always, play it by ear.
Katana is doing good. She chased and fought off a stray dog the other day and is very protective of the property and us! She’s not very friendly with strangers, but it’s a trade off that I’m willing to make. Gotta call the vet and make her an appointment pretty soon for her to be spayed.
Been getting out gardening in this week as well. We now have 3 fruit trees (apple, peach, and pear) as well as a cherry bush, three blueberry bushes, a few raspberry and blackberries, and DH added a 4th grape vine.
Can’t wait to see what we all get produce-wise this year!
Front garden is just pretty lol
Forsythia, lilac, and flowering almond. I need to dig out a few things, but not today
Baymule
Herd Master
A garden and fruit trees! Fresh food, nothing can beat that.
The feed I buy is called an all purpose pellet. I’ve fed it to my horses for years. At one time, I was few horses, sheep, laying hens and feeder pigs. Sure made feeding a lot more simple.
The feed I buy is called an all purpose pellet. I’ve fed it to my horses for years. At one time, I was few horses, sheep, laying hens and feeder pigs. Sure made feeding a lot more simple.
