norseofcourse's journal - spring and show update

Crazy sheep. You would think they would recognize each other by smell.

Glad to hear the milking is doing better. I want milk sheep but I haven't time for anything else new right now.

The lambs are doing well. It's interesting how the patterns can be so similar. The dark ring around the eyes seems to show up often, even if the ram and ewe don't have it.

And I was looking at Lukka's lamb, and Gracie's ewe lamb, and noticed they both had remarkably similar mouth/nose markings:

Lukka's lamb:



Gracie's ewe lamb:



I'm still waiting to see if Rose's lambs will go grey, or stay black. Same with Lukka's lamb, the brown on her body will lighten if the undercoat comes in white, or it will stay brown if the undercoat comes in brown.

I know that the undercoat on Gracie's lamb will come in white, so the brown on her body will get very light.

The beekeeper brought two hives this week. They are out by the apple trees, which are just about to bloom - the bees will be very happy! He will bring another hive or two soon, and put the upper boxes on (supers? where they put honey), and said he ought to be able to harvest mid summer! He owns the hives and does the work, I'll get a small share of the honey, and the benefit of having lots of bees to pollinate everything.

Been awhile - things have been busy! Rose's lambs are growing really well. I think their black will stay black instead of going grey, which means Rose carries the gene for solid, along with the gene for grey. Lukka's lamb is growing more slowly, but she's doing well. Gracie's twins are also doing well, they're nearly as big as Lukka's single already, and they are two weeks younger.

Brosa is still pregnant. I think we're approaching the point in her pregnancy when she lost her lamb this winter, so fingers crossed that nothing bad happens this time .

I got some supplies for making cheese, but I haven't made any yet. I got about 90 bales of hay at a good price from someone selling last year's to make room in their barn for this year's. I got a test bale first to make sure the sheep liked it .

Last week I saw another sign of spring - a turtle crossing the road! I stopped and carried him the rest of the way across (looked like a red-ear turtle). On the other side of the road was a small creek/pond, so I gently tossed him into the water. Where he landed upside-down . The shoreline was too soft to get close, so I found a long branch so I could turn him over (yeah, I know he could have easily righted himself, but I felt guilty...). When I came back he already had his head out of the water, breathing and probably looking around and saying "what the h....?" LOL I turned him right side up, and he swam away.

Went to a tack swap and sold a mini harness, and I picked up a few bargains. Some people were giving away stuff, and I got some nice nylon strap tie-downs for the pickup free!.

My asparagus bed is finally producing enough to make it worth cooking! I picked ten stalks the other day, cooked and ate them within 5 minutes of picking. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Another harvest two days later but only 6 stalks. It's the third or fourth year for the bed, this should be the start of some nice harvests for quite a few years. The rhubarb, started about the same time, is doing great, too.

I splurged and got an emasculatome from Premier1 to wether the lambs. So that'll get done within the next couple of weeks. A friend's going to come help hold them, and I'm getting some pain meds from the vet to give them (the lambs, not the friend lol).

I need to update the sheep milking thread soon, too - some ups and downs, but overall it's going well.

Asaparagus is actually something that grows wild in the barrow pits here. Lots of people walk the roads picking it in the spring. I, personally, love aspargus in the fall. It turns a beautiful orange.

We have painted turtles here but bodies of water are so widespread you never really see them.

I keep meaning to update my journal, and then things get so busy...

The lambs are all growing and doing well. Rose's boys, especially, are getting big. I've been letting them out into the main pasture nearly every day after work, and they love eating all the weeds, trees and bushes they can reach. I love just being out there with them, watching them eat, occasionally pulling down a branch or some grapevines for them.

Gracie's twins, and Lukka's little single ewe lamb, have discovered that they can squeeze through their pasture gate, so they often get a head start, much to the dismay of their moms (Lukka seems more worried - I think Gracie enjoys the break ).

A friend came over a few weeks ago and held each of Rose's lambs while I used the emasculatome. I'd given them some pain meds from the vet about an hour prior. We were prepared for a major reaction when each cord was crushed, but they made very little fuss and it went well. 22 days later, when we wethered Gracie's ram lamb, we re-checked Rose's boys, and I was easily able to tell that the earlier wethering had been successful. I like this method, faster and much easier on the lambs than surgically wethering (I've never banded, so I can't compare to that, but I like the nearly zero chance of flystrike with this, even if done in the heat of summer).

Milking is going well, with an occasional day skipped due to poor weather or too much other stuff going on. I made my first batches of cheese, which I'll write more about in my milking thread.

I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in Wooster, and it was a great weekend! The weather couldn't have been better, and it was nice seeing people I don't see often (hi Roving Jacobs ), going through all the buildings of vendors, seeing the sheep and bunnies and alpacas, listening in on some of the classes, and checking out the fleeces entered in the wool contest. There were some Finn lambs at one booth, and their 'baaaaa' just sounded so soft and cute, I had to keep reminding myself I already had sheep.

I got a couple of peach trees planted, one is doing well, the other was a bare-root that appears to have dried out more than it should have - it's growing, but only near the bottom, so I'll give it a chance (the growth is above the graft). The asparagus and rhubarb are doing well, and I will work tomorrow on getting the rest of the garden ready to plant tomatoes and zucchini (a bit late but not as bad as last year).

A nice spring so far, just brings a lot of work.

Hello norseofcourse! I just saw one of your old for sale threads and realized you are just over an hour north of me hoping to get into my own sheep soon. good to know theres some cool people not too far.

ohiogoatgirl said:

Hello norseofcourse! I just saw one of your old for sale threads and realized you are just over an hour north of me hoping to get into my own sheep soon. good to know theres some cool people not too far.

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Awww, thanks I ended up keeping that ewe lamb, she was just so nicely built I couldn't bring myself to take her in with the wether lambs. She's doing well as a first-time mom and behaving great on the milking stand.

What type of sheep are you thinking about getting?

norseofcourse said:

Awww, thanks I ended up keeping that ewe lamb, she was just so nicely built I couldn't bring myself to take her in with the wether lambs. She's doing well as a first-time mom and behaving great on the milking stand.

What type of sheep are you thinking about getting?

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I know someone close with shetlands and two people close-ish with icelandics and crosses. I really like the guys shetlands and will be for sure getting a few wool wethers from him when I am ready. I have been thinking over what ewes to get for meat lambs and will likely go with Shetland or Icelandic cross. when I get out to the auctions I like to keep my eye out for what breeds show up and sometimes there end up some good lookin bum lambs people just don't want to bother with. may end up getting a nice ram lamb that way when I get that far.

Things have been busy. The lambs are growing well, with tremendously fluffy coats. I have been dealing with some worm issues, though. I spot-check eyelids when I can, and one of Gracie's lambs was looking pale. Over the weekend I penned everybody and checked them. Three of the lambs were pale enough and got wormed. One of those three is Gracie's ram lamb, and his eyelids were quite pale pink. He didn't have bottlejaw, his weight was decent, and he was otherwise ok, but I've been watching him closely and giving him Nutridrench and some extra grain. He does have an appetite, but not nearly the gusto with which the others approach their food. He's been laying down a bit more often than normal, too. I hope he improves soon.

Elding, who has his own pasture right next to the other sheep, is in good shape. In fact, he's *very* well-conditioned. He has about a third of an acre of pasture/weeds/brush, and his own personal apple tree. I have started calling him Fat Boy...

Brosa is still pregnant. She is developing an udder, but it's not very big yet. Her last possible due date should be August 10, and I think her udder should be much bigger by now. I know, I know, every sheep is different - but still.... I've seen what I'm sure is lamb movement, and her vulva area is starting to swell. But it's nearly August - could she be as close as 2 weeks or less away? I don't know... I suppose it's possible she could have gotten bred through the gate sometime after I separated them, but I sure hope not. I guess only time will tell, and I'll keep watching as her signs progress.

I'll get some new pictures soon to post. It's been hot and humid most days (if it's not raining), and by the time it cools off in the evening, the mosquitoes come out. Oh, well, it gives us something to complain about when we're not complaining about the cold and snow LOL - which will be here soon enough!

I've been hit, as many have, with parasite issues this summer. Last week I treated Gracie's ram lamb, and both of Rose's lambs, with Valbazen. When Gracie's lamb didn't seem to be improving much, I dosed him a week later, this time with Ivermectin (which gets a few types of worms that Valbazen doesn't). His appetite is finally increasing, and he's been more active and not laying down quite as much.

However, yesterday (Tuesday) evening, Rose's black lamb didn't want to eat any grain at all - not normal! I caught him and checked out what I could - his eyelids were still pale, but the same or slightly improved from when I'd wormed him the week before. No signs of bloat, urinary calculi, or anything else. I watched him this morning, and again he didn't want any grain, but he did start eating hay out of the hay feeder. I decided to re-dose him with Ivermectin as well. This evening his appetite was much better, and he ate his share of grain as usual. I will continue keeping a close eye on him and all the lambs.

All the lambs got sheared - many thanks to Roving Jacobs, who did a fine job!! I was a little worried about Gracie's ram lamb, since he was still pretty anemic, but he did ok. I actually sheared him partway, to get a feel for it. You could sure tell which one I did but that's ok, and it won't look so uneven once his wool grows back in some. She also sheared Elding, who I'm sure was glad to lose all that wool. He didn't look quite as bad as I'd feared under all that, but he's certainly 'well-conditioned'.

Brosa is still playing the waiting game. At least it hasn't been super hot. With her wool, it's hard to tell if she's dropped, but I don't think so yet. She still looks like a week or two out...