Hannah, known to BYH members as BrownSheep, have been a member of the community since May 2011. Known for her good advice, friendliness and willingness to help and advice, she is also known as one our very few members who keep some more "exotic" animals 
Hannah, tell us a bit more about yourself, family etc.
I am a 4th or 5th generation Idahoan and at least a fourth generation sheep rancher. Although my predecessors were professionals and I just a hobby herder. I actually found the ranch inventory from 1941 in our basement. My 60 head seems pretty puny compared to 12,000!
My mom’s family were the sheep herders and she did not inherit the gene. She tells me she has had more to do with sheep in the past 10 years than in all the time growing up. She is not an animal person ( or at least not a fanatic like the rest of us) and probably wishes that we didn’t have a designated “livestock” bathroom.
My dad, on the other hand, was raised in town ( with a little bit of ranch life here and there). They kept turkeys, chickens, pigs, and at one point a couple of ponies on their corner lot. One of my favorite stories is the fact they raise a lamb in their up stairs bathroom so his dad wouldn’t find out ( he couldn’t stand sheep apparently). My dad swears that Grandpa went to the grave not knowing about it.
My younger sister and I are college students so a lot falls on my parents’, or should I say Dad’s, shoulders. I am studying Biology with emphasis in zoology. I am planning on either continuing on to Vet school or pursuing wild life biology. I currently volunteer at our local zoo which has been a fantastic experience. I pop home a least every other weekend to keep an eye on everything. Although, I have threatened to take of Spring semesters to be home for lambing.
Why and when did you start keeping sheep?
When I was young we decided to sign up for 4-H. Our first serious reach into livestock raising besides the occasional butcher lamb. Our eyes were on the prize…Money. Naturally, we wanted to raise a couple of steers, but alas we missed the sign up dates by a day. So we decided to raise some lambs. Now, we are the fanatical $1000 show lamb type people. We’re more like the “ the sheep has so many wrinkles people ask if it’s a special breed” type people. Only white and mottled faces in the barn!
After a couple years I kept back a couple of market ewe lambs, Big Bertha and Mable. The problem was I didn’t keep or aquire a ram. My immaculate conception breeding year was a tremendous flop. The next summer I drove 2 hrs to purchas, sight unseen, the first Suffolk ram lamb that popped up on C.L. ( yes, I am that person). In a pen with a bunch of pigmy goats trotted out a little, HORNED, WHITE-FACED ram. That’s how got Henry, a mildly aggressive ( bottle baby) Horned Dorset ( that’s our guess any way). The rest is history.
Which aspect(s) of sheep raising do you enjoy the most?
My favorite time of year is also one I am ALWAYS gone for. Like clockwork the first lambs of the year will be born the Thursday after I return to school from Christmas Break. Lambing is also challenging since you will lose some.
I also love anything were we get a “product”. I enjoy picking lamb up from the butcher. I like shearing. I like going to the wool pool to sell wool. I like sending hides in to be tanned.
Which members of your herd, past and present, stand out for you and why?
I remember the weirdos, sweethearts and devils. If you look funny I’ll remember you. If you let me love on you I’ll remember you. If you make me want to butcher you with my bare hands, I’ll remember you.
I remember Big Bertha because she was big, fat, and lazy. I never halter broke her (not that I ever halter broke anyone, much to my sister’s annoyance) we just mutually agreed that it took a lot less energy if she just followed me. I remember Mable because I asked to butcher her after it took me 40 minutes to get her to the shearing table 300 feet away. I remember any and all of the sheep that will let me scratch their ears.
What was the funniest thing(s) that happened to you in your years as a sheep owner?
Sheep are funny creatures by nature. They are challenging (any one who says sheep are stupid are in fact stupid themselves) and quirky. Bottle lambs, and lambs in general are good for a laugh. One of our bottle babies use to like to pluck my poultry. She would run up, pull out their tail feathers, and eat them. I’ve had other sheep who would sneak up behind a horse, yank their tails, and take off running.
I really enjoy taking our “weird” looking sheep to the fair. I had one so wrinkly we convinced people he was a sharpei sheep. We’ve had little kids demand to know what we did to get a sheep with a white face.
Beside sheep, what other animals and birds do you keep?
Besides sheep I raise a disproportionate amount of roosters and 6 hens, sweetgrass, royal palm, chocolate, and black turkeys and, of course, the herd of Tibetan yaks and one yow.
What animal do you think you would enjoy raising that you haven't tried yet?
I want a pig! I have begged and pleaded for them to let me raise a butcher pig. I’ve noticed our pork is low so maybe I’ll get lucky this spring! I’ve also want to raise a goat. Just one or two. Alas, they look and act to much like dogs for my dad to be comfortable eating them and if we are getting animals I won’t eat I would much rather get a draft horse.
I’m also a variety person. I want this breed of that and that breed of this. I’ll never be happy. I always want MORE.
Anything you'd like to add?
I am a huge proponent of agriculture. Too many people in the world are ignorant to how much hard work, love and care go into growing their Big Macs. Sites like Backyard Herds enable people to, if not find the resources and support to raise their own foods, reach out and learn from those who do.
“I believe that to live and work on a good farm, or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement, I cannot deny…” –E.M. Tiffany “ National FFA Creed”
http://www.backyardherds.com/members/brownsheep.3945/
See here for about this feature and a full list of interviews: http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/vip-member-interviews.29571/
Hannah, tell us a bit more about yourself, family etc.
I am a 4th or 5th generation Idahoan and at least a fourth generation sheep rancher. Although my predecessors were professionals and I just a hobby herder. I actually found the ranch inventory from 1941 in our basement. My 60 head seems pretty puny compared to 12,000!
My mom’s family were the sheep herders and she did not inherit the gene. She tells me she has had more to do with sheep in the past 10 years than in all the time growing up. She is not an animal person ( or at least not a fanatic like the rest of us) and probably wishes that we didn’t have a designated “livestock” bathroom.
My dad, on the other hand, was raised in town ( with a little bit of ranch life here and there). They kept turkeys, chickens, pigs, and at one point a couple of ponies on their corner lot. One of my favorite stories is the fact they raise a lamb in their up stairs bathroom so his dad wouldn’t find out ( he couldn’t stand sheep apparently). My dad swears that Grandpa went to the grave not knowing about it.
My younger sister and I are college students so a lot falls on my parents’, or should I say Dad’s, shoulders. I am studying Biology with emphasis in zoology. I am planning on either continuing on to Vet school or pursuing wild life biology. I currently volunteer at our local zoo which has been a fantastic experience. I pop home a least every other weekend to keep an eye on everything. Although, I have threatened to take of Spring semesters to be home for lambing.
Why and when did you start keeping sheep?
When I was young we decided to sign up for 4-H. Our first serious reach into livestock raising besides the occasional butcher lamb. Our eyes were on the prize…Money. Naturally, we wanted to raise a couple of steers, but alas we missed the sign up dates by a day. So we decided to raise some lambs. Now, we are the fanatical $1000 show lamb type people. We’re more like the “ the sheep has so many wrinkles people ask if it’s a special breed” type people. Only white and mottled faces in the barn!
After a couple years I kept back a couple of market ewe lambs, Big Bertha and Mable. The problem was I didn’t keep or aquire a ram. My immaculate conception breeding year was a tremendous flop. The next summer I drove 2 hrs to purchas, sight unseen, the first Suffolk ram lamb that popped up on C.L. ( yes, I am that person). In a pen with a bunch of pigmy goats trotted out a little, HORNED, WHITE-FACED ram. That’s how got Henry, a mildly aggressive ( bottle baby) Horned Dorset ( that’s our guess any way). The rest is history.
Which aspect(s) of sheep raising do you enjoy the most?
My favorite time of year is also one I am ALWAYS gone for. Like clockwork the first lambs of the year will be born the Thursday after I return to school from Christmas Break. Lambing is also challenging since you will lose some.
I also love anything were we get a “product”. I enjoy picking lamb up from the butcher. I like shearing. I like going to the wool pool to sell wool. I like sending hides in to be tanned.
Which members of your herd, past and present, stand out for you and why?
I remember the weirdos, sweethearts and devils. If you look funny I’ll remember you. If you let me love on you I’ll remember you. If you make me want to butcher you with my bare hands, I’ll remember you.
I remember Big Bertha because she was big, fat, and lazy. I never halter broke her (not that I ever halter broke anyone, much to my sister’s annoyance) we just mutually agreed that it took a lot less energy if she just followed me. I remember Mable because I asked to butcher her after it took me 40 minutes to get her to the shearing table 300 feet away. I remember any and all of the sheep that will let me scratch their ears.
What was the funniest thing(s) that happened to you in your years as a sheep owner?
Sheep are funny creatures by nature. They are challenging (any one who says sheep are stupid are in fact stupid themselves) and quirky. Bottle lambs, and lambs in general are good for a laugh. One of our bottle babies use to like to pluck my poultry. She would run up, pull out their tail feathers, and eat them. I’ve had other sheep who would sneak up behind a horse, yank their tails, and take off running.
I really enjoy taking our “weird” looking sheep to the fair. I had one so wrinkly we convinced people he was a sharpei sheep. We’ve had little kids demand to know what we did to get a sheep with a white face.
Beside sheep, what other animals and birds do you keep?
Besides sheep I raise a disproportionate amount of roosters and 6 hens, sweetgrass, royal palm, chocolate, and black turkeys and, of course, the herd of Tibetan yaks and one yow.
What animal do you think you would enjoy raising that you haven't tried yet?
I want a pig! I have begged and pleaded for them to let me raise a butcher pig. I’ve noticed our pork is low so maybe I’ll get lucky this spring! I’ve also want to raise a goat. Just one or two. Alas, they look and act to much like dogs for my dad to be comfortable eating them and if we are getting animals I won’t eat I would much rather get a draft horse.
I’m also a variety person. I want this breed of that and that breed of this. I’ll never be happy. I always want MORE.
Anything you'd like to add?
I am a huge proponent of agriculture. Too many people in the world are ignorant to how much hard work, love and care go into growing their Big Macs. Sites like Backyard Herds enable people to, if not find the resources and support to raise their own foods, reach out and learn from those who do.
“I believe that to live and work on a good farm, or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement, I cannot deny…” –E.M. Tiffany “ National FFA Creed”
http://www.backyardherds.com/members/brownsheep.3945/
See here for about this feature and a full list of interviews: http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/vip-member-interviews.29571/
