New to these parts...

[LearningSheep]

My daughter and family live in Corpus Christi. I live in Trinity county between Lufkin and Crockett. I raise Katahdin hair sheep.

@Baymule being I know Texas heat is much more humid than California heat - I have a question. Our Ram never blew his first or second year coats and is walking around with excessive wool and we are headed into 3 straight days of heat advisories here. I'm concerned we should get that wool off him, am I wrong?

 

[Baymule]

@Baymule being I know Texas heat is much more humid than California heat - I have a question. Our Ram never blew his first or second year coats and is walking around with excessive wool and we are headed into 3 straight days of heat advisories here. I'm concerned we should get that wool off him, am I wrong?

Nope! I keep a pair of hand shears for some woolly back sheep I have that don’t shed well. I put a halter on her, tie her up close in the working chute and snip slowly and carefully. If you don’t have a working chute, drive a T-post in. Cut a hog panel in half and wire both ends to the T-post. I always curl the ends of the wire ties with a pair of pliers so I don’t leave a sharp end sticking out. Drive another post at other end of one of the hog panels. Put sheep between the panels, tie to front post. . Then you can swing the loose end of hog panel over and chip it to the single panel, trapping sheep inside like a squeeze chute.

Dont clip to the skin, he will sunburn.
Hope this helps!

 

[SageHill]

@SageHill No, they came from a farm in the next town over from us, another small (but growing) set up. I went out to open up there pen to a bigger area this morning and they were bouncing ready to GO! But as soon as they ran past me, turned around and came back waiting for me to bounce with them .

Lambs are SO funny. They just make you smile. Mine love to climb on the boulders and launch off. I swear it's a game they play with each other.

 

[LearningSheep]

Nope! I keep a pair of hand shears for some woolly back sheep I have that don’t shed well. I put a halter on her, tie her up close in the working chute and snip slowly and carefully. If you don’t have a working chute, drive a T-post in. Cut a hog panel in half and wire both ends to the T-post. I always curl the ends of the wire ties with a pair of pliers so I don’t leave a sharp end sticking out. Drive another post at other end of one of the hog panels. Put sheep between the panels, tie to front post. . Then you can swing the loose end of hog panel over and chip it to the single panel, trapping sheep inside like a squeeze chute.

Dont clip to the skin, he will sunburn.
Hope this helps!

So... Odds are he's sunburnt - oops. (I claimed to family he looks like a kid who got a HORRIBLE 80'S bowl cut ) unfortunately the mats were almost to the skin in some places, and I was diving deep in a less than desirable set up. Our Ram was definitely stressed after the fact - yet he bounded up to the rest of the girls happily after the fact. (fun fact, our gelded Jack who is part of our "Flerd" and the resident jerk/guardian was NOT happy with me either . I'm positive he lost 1/2 his body weight - but HAS to be soooo much cooler. Their current paddock has trees + a shade shelter I saw him in when we came home from town, so the boy isn't dumb just has a sheppardess who is a 100 newb at sheering. (dude in the middle of this photo - sides aren't bad, back is closer than I would have liked)

 

[Baymule]

The Dorper influence will give you shaggy matted, is there a sheep in there? My first ram was a black head Dorper. Mean, wanted to run me down, fortunately terrified of a plastic grocery bag. Changed his name to Ramburger. Switched to a Katahdin ram over my mixed ewes.

I find your name funny. We bought 4 bred Dorper/Katahdin ewes for our first sheep. I called them my Learning Sheep. LOL I still have one, she is 10 years old and had twins last December. Her name is Ewenique. Clean hair coat, her black genetics run through my flock. I’m recording sheep in the Katahdin breed up program.

One of my ewes, Ewenique’s granddaughter, name is Frimplepants, is currently a matted mess. Her grandfather was that darned Ramburger. I’ll be getting out the hand shears on her soon.