Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

No offense to any Katahdin breeders but I love my White Dorpers. We have put a lot of effort into getting our flock to be consistently meaty, healthy, with a very high weaning weight. I never have to worm even when we get rain and the green stuff grows high and heavy and the sheep are completely on it. Not very often does this happen, but when it does it is wonderful. I don't have Barber Pole here, but we do have other types of worms. I feed exclusively alfalfa hay with no pasture so my exposure to any type of worms is minimal. I will just have to be careful to fecal test and cull. Having reached a very consistent level of conformation, growth, and shedding I will start culling for parasite resistance in Texas.

I did talk to Wes yesterday. He said that although by now his original St. Croix based flock had been diluted with Fullblood and Purebred White Dorper bloodlines, he felt that they were probably as parasite resistant as any other breeds that had not gone through extensive culling for parasite resistance. His opinion was that once we are in Texas if we test rigorously and cull heavily that we should have a pretty resistant flock in a couple years. His opinion is that parasite resistance is not confined to a specific breed, but to specific flocks whose owners test and cull.

Mike&Theresa and Baymule fecal test and cull heavily which is how they have reached the level of parasite resistance they have. Not all Katahdin breeders do that. Not all Katahdin sheep are parasite resistant either. Some are just as susceptible as any other breed to worms, particularly Barber Pole.

Sow some Bahia seed. it will come up.

You DO have California sheep. They probably wont know any better.

I will oversow the pastures with a Bahia seed and sheep mix. My sheep haven't had any grass pastures so any green stuff they eat they will think is delicious. LOL

 

[Mike CHS]

Every once in awhile I see posts on Facebook where someone is having losses that they can't explain and would just about guarantee that they don't do or get fecals done.

I don't know if it will grow in Texas but Lespedeza also helps with control of Barber Pole. The tannins in the legume are thought to control parasite levels by creating an unfavorable environment in the rumen that hurts parasite productivity and fertility. We first heard about that at a pasture walk up in Kentucky. We had quite a bit of it but the sheep kept it down enough that it didn't come back.

 

[Baymule]

Yes, it will grow here.

 

[Ridgetop]

I wonder if the Lespedeza would get blister beetle. I understand that is why you can't grow alfalfa in Texas (south of the Red River). If it is a kind of clover it might be ok. I will check into it.

I am checking with Dorper breeders in east Texas about their experience with Barber Pole. The more I know the better prepared we will be to avoid problems. At this point I think frequent rotations through the pastures will be the best bet. There was an article in the latest issue of Dorper Report about setting up and finding funding for small farms. I am going to look into that too since there are low cost loan programs you can get for equipment fencing wells etc. Some of these programs offer special things for women farmers. Worth a look - when I can't sleep at night! LOL

Our 45-year-old Casablanca ceiling fan finally stopped working. Actually, it will still work - just the high speed has stopped working. But as DH says, after 45 years it won't be long before the other 2 speeds quit as well so he bought another one. Normally we would just take it down and take it to our friend to repair but Art passed away about 10 years ago. The original Casablanca was expensive. That was when ceiling fans were just becoming available to the general public. We couldn't buy them at the hardware store. We had to go to a specialty lighting store. It cost several hundred dollars 45 years ago and was a major investment. We had several of them and brought them from our old house. This bedroom fan gets a lot of use, running most of the time during the spring, summer, and fall until the weather gets really cold. We have one last Casablanca fan in the formal living room but it seldom gets turned on so will probably last forever. When we moved here we installed ceiling fans in the other 3 bedrooms but not Casablanca fans. They lasted for quite a while, I even took them down and spray painted them to match the decor when I redid the kid's rooms! We did not have AC in this house when we first moved in and we have replaced them only once in 35 years so they have been a good investment. Hopefully this one will last for several years. Not 45 years of course, but we usually get 10 to 15 years out of our ceiling fans. And they help with the AC and heat costs.

We did bring our rooftop AC with us though and were able to install it. Since the old house was torn down for apartments, we made sure to have right of salvage and brought a lot of stuff with us which we were able to install in this house. Built in appliances, doors, dual pane windows, our custom kitchen cabinet that Daddy made, etc. What we didn't use Daddy used when he built his retirement house.

DH has started walking across the field for exercise. H has measured how many times he has to walk across to make a mile. I think I might start walking with him. I am steadier on my feet since the knee replacement, and it will help strengthen the knee muscles.

I made lamb stew today with purchased lamb shanks. You can tell the difference in our home-grown lamb and those commercial shanks. The smell cooking them was different and you could smell the sheep smell. They were still tasty. I will do a pork roast in the Instapot tomorrow. I am trying to use the older meat from the freezers before we take the 3 lambs to the butcher the end of the month. I am getting several meals out of each piece of meat I cook. Just like when the kids were small and I could get several meals out of one chicken for 2 adults and 4 children. LOL I am serving smaller portions too which helps tye meals go farther. I have to make sure to feed us either before or after other children show up and sniff longingly with their puppy dog eyes.

Today I decided that I will start going through my cabinets and box up some stuff to take to Texas I have some hand thrown pottery mugs with hand painted horses on them that I bought over several years at the annual Horse Expo. I would like to take them to Texas with us. I also have some bedding and linens that can go. DS1 had a set of china that we packed up and brought home from his apartment in Reno. We can take it to Texas and leave my other china here or leave this hear and take the Pfaltzgraff to Texas. Haven't decided yet. I also haven't decided whether to take my Tupperware canisters or get new airtight cannisters in Texas. A lot of stuff I will just buy new instead of bothering to pack it up and transport it. Some furniture, paintings, and rugs will come with us along with some pieces of furniture. I hate buying new furniture since a lot of my stuff is older ad better made than what you can get now. I will have to buy DH a new office desk but will bring my oak desk and all our file cabinets since we need them for our office and business records. DH wants to buy a new sofa and recliners in Texas instead of bringing the ones we have out. I think there is a Laz-E-Boy outlet back there. But some of the wood pieces we have will be coming with us. We will just buy new beds in Texas. No, not inflatable ones! Although we might use those at first while we are painting ad redoing some of the rooms.

I realized when we got back from Texas that I forgot to take the 3 oak cabinets that we had left over from the apartment renos back with us! They are still sitting on the patio! DUH! They will fit in the 10 x 20 shop building behind the farmhouse to hold tools and equipment. We will need to do repairs on the barn tack room before we can put anything in there because of the dirt coming through the walls. The walls are pulling off the floor and leaving a large gap where the dirt blows in. We will have some repairs to do to the walls as well as running electric to the barn. However, we want to put a fridge in the barn to hold bottled water when we are working out there as well as the meds I will be keeping on hand for the livestock. In fact, I can use the freezer to store goat milk, colostrum, and the powdered lamb formula to keep it good. There is some sort of washing machine/dish washing machine out there too that is very old and has a lift up lid instead of a drop-down door. Not sure exactly what it was used for. I think we tossed the racks that were supposed to be inside it though. We meant to take it to the dump, but it was too heavy, so we left it there till next time. I will check it out when we go back since it might make an airtight container for grain or dog food to keep the rats out of it. Although my niece said she can get us barn cats and kittens whenever we want which will help the rat problem.

I couldn't sleep again last night so got up at 1:00 and did some computer research until 4:00. Alarm was set for 7:00 since I had a PT visit scheduled for 8:00. At 6:00 the phone rang, and some guy was talking about being at the door with a rental something. Turned out that DH had rented a lift to work on the overhead lights on the barn over the driveway BUT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DELIVERED AT 9:00AM! Naturally I fel back asleep while DH and DS1 went out to get the dogs in and bring the lift onto the drive. I missed the alarm and was late to PT. DS1 and DS2 are working on the electrical wires and lights and have to keep going to Lowes for stuff. DS2 has gone to the neighbor's custom metal shop to fabricate some brackets since they couldn't find any to fit at Lowes.

I am working on the fencing layout now to send it to the fencing guy so we can get a price. I checked with FSA about a loan for the fencing which must be paid off in one year. A Micro loan will end up to $50,000. The interest rate is low. They won't loan for buildings or wells without the property being free and clear so they can put a lien on the property. The woman is not sure if the land has to be free and clear for a lien though before loaning for fencing. The woman is checking with the supervisor. They will loan for equipment and livestock without a lien on the property since the collateral is the equipment and livestock. These loans are supposed to be for startup farmers. I don't know any newly starting farmers that can afford to have free and clear land though. I only need to have the 5' fencing to get the dogs and sheep moved on the property, then we can do the NCRS applications and start the rotational pasture fencing. There are additional loans for buying farms etc. up to $600,000 though.

The good news is that as a woman I am considered to be a "socially disadvantaged person" and thus eligible for special stuff. The bad news is that at the moment there is no special stuff available. On the other hand, when I mentioned that DH was a disabled military vet, she said that there were extra programs for them. She said both of us should apply. Maybe we will be able to get a loan for the fencing and can get it installed now. DH said that he could sell some stock but we will take a real loss on that.

 

[Baymule]

I hate that 2 AM wake up call!! Toss and turn, no sleep and feel groggy. Blech. You have a lot on your mind and you need to turn it off so you can get some sleep.

 

[Ridgetop]

No way to turn it off without drugging myself with tranquilizers. LOL I have resorted to them occasionally when having anxiety attacks or after 3-4 consecutive sleepless nights. Last night I slept well since I was exhausted. LOL

I just looked back over this post and am wondering if this information would make a better article for one of my sheep magazines with a little better intro and a bit of tweaking. Or even as an interview article. What do you all think?

Called a Dorper breeder in Sulphur springs who was able to give me more information about Barber Pole in northeast Texas and Dorpers. He has the black headed Dorpers not the White Dorpers. He allayed my fears somewhat about Barber Pole and other parasites. This gentleman runs several thousand purebred Dorpers and commercials. He also uses Katahdin ewes in a crossbreeding program for several thousand more sheep that he uses on contract to clear windfarms. Mr. Howard spent at least an hour on the phone with me discussing pasturing Dorpers, rotational grazing, management variations, worming, possible problems, and ways to deal with them.

According to Mr. Howard no sheep coming to northeast Texas or other areas of high rainfall will escape Barber Pole and other parasites. Good management is what will make the difference in a successful sheep ranch. When discussing the claims of Barber Pole resistant/free flocks, his belief is that many people that are advertising that they have a BP free or resistant flock are rotating their sheep flocks daily through very small pastures. He believes that the breeders rotating their sheep so frequently are working with flocks of 50-100 head or less. If you are rotating the sheep that quickly they will usually not pick up the infection if the grass remains 3-4" tall or taller. These BP "resistant" claims may be due to the frequent rotation on grass averaging more than 4". The frequent rotations on high grass mean that the sheep will avoid a heavy worm presence since Barber Pole usually can't climb higher than 3-4" on the grass stems. This may be why the owners think their sheep are more resistant.

Daily, weekly, or even monthly rotations are not suitable for large commercial flocks of 1000 head or more running on thousands of acres. He rotates his sheep, but the pastures are much larger since he runs so many sheep commercially, and he rotates more infrequently. Daily or even monthly rotations are not financially feasible for commercial producers. He believes that some small flock producers are fencing in very small pastures in order to make daily rotation easier. He feels that the pastures can be larger, and you can rotate less frequently as long as you keep an eye on the growth of the grass. The magic number is 4". Keeping inedible weed growth controlled is also necessary for successful larger pasture rotational grazing.

Mr. Howard also agreed that testing and culling are the only way to make sure you maintain a BP resistant flock. Since frequent fecal testing (or even Famacha) is not usable for large commercial flocks (hundreds to thousands) he believes that a judicious use of fecal sampling along with biannually worming with BP wormer is the best way to ensure you maintain a flock that is pretty BP free or resistant. He recommends combining this with fall lambing to make sure that the lambs are older and more resistant when they go onto fresh pasture. By checking those sheep that look peaky and culling any that need frequent worming he manages to keep several thousand sheep on large pastures free of heavy BP infestation. I discussed with him worming ewes as soon as they lamb when their worm shed and load are heaviest. He agreed that this should be sufficient with another fecal check 6 months later. Any sheep that require more worming should be culled. He said that he also worms his lambs once at weaning when they go onto fresh pastures to fatten for the slaughterhouses.

I asked him about Katahdins and their reputation for being more resistant to BP. He agreed that they had some extra resistance and said he was experimenting with using Katahdin ewes in his commercial flock. He is doing some crossbreeding with several hundred Katahdin ewes in a commercial flock to see if he can add more muscle meat to the lambs and possibly combine the best traits of the two breeds. His opinion is that they are good mothers, reliable twinners, and raise good, healthy lambs BUT they don't carry the meat that the Dorpers are known for. Katahdin lambs weigh 30% less than the Dorpers at market age. This means that you have to pasture or feed Katahdin lambs several months longer, thus raising your overhead which reduces profit. For commercial producers that 30% lighter weight at the slaughterhouse means a lot less $$$ on the check when selling by the lb. This is the reason that larger commercial growers are not turning to pure Katahdins for commercial use. He said that Katahdin rams do seem to be more docile and laid back than Dorper rams. His main problem with Katahdins is their lack of meat compared to Dorpers.

While keeping Katahdin lambs on pasture for an extra several months doesn't cost the same as dry lotting them, it takes away from the growth of pasture grass. Pasture is not just grass. It needs to be considered the same as other feed when figuring your costs of raising livestock. Keeping your pasture healthy and growing requires healthy soil, occasional fertilizing, liming, and water. In drought years like the past summer in Texas, pastures suffered, and fewer head could be grazed. If you are having to carry slower growing lambs on pasture an extra several months this can be a problem during drought. f you have a very wet year, you have other problems. When the pastures are flooded the flock and lambs can't feed and sometimes the pastures are washed out. The farmer has a lot of problems to surmount!

 

[Ridgetop]

My almost new double oven malfunctioned last night just after putting in the potatoes to bake. It worked fine when I programmed it but about 10 minutes later DS1 walked in and asked what was wrong with it. First the LED display showed random bits of light instead of the temp and control commands. Then it went blank except for 2 tiny LED lines flashing at the top of the display panel. The oven was still hot, but not for long. We thought it might have been something that the guys did while working on rerunning the electric wires for the barnyard lights, but no. Repeated turning on and off of the circuits did not reset it either. Luckily DS2 saved dinner by firing up his Trager and baking them on it. However, what happened to the oven? The repairman is coming today - $90 to look at it, shake his head and say "I dunno"? Hopefully he will be able to figure out what is wrong. The company said he would be out today between 3 and 5 pm. At least we don't have to wait for weeks to find out what is wrong with it. That wait time is probably reserved for any repair parts to arrive. LOL DS1 tried to get an idea of the problem but got nothing from the GE people. He might be able to repair it - he has done repairs on our first oven and on the dishwasher. He knows how to replace those pesky computer boards but without knowing what is wrong with this one he is stuck. Hopefully we won't have to get another oven. This one cost a lot and is only 6 years old. I don't want to spend any $$ on another oven - I want my Texas fencing installed. I wonder if I can do Christmas baking on a Trager.

At least the guys got the barnyard/driveway lights up and working yesterday.

 

[Baymule]

That oven will still be useful. Dig a hole in the yard, build fire. Then go get the racks out of the oven and place them over the fire. Baking dinner rolls can be accomplished with 2 greased pie pans. Put rolls in one pie pan, cover with the other. Halfway through, flip pans over. Done! Take your bows and amaze your family. ANYBODY can use a Trager, but you are the QUEEN of survival cooking!

 

[Ridgetop]

One of the girls in my ETI group used to make sticky buns and cinnamon rolls that way at horse camp. First person to set up camp saved her a campsite. She camped in a pup tent with her one-horse trailer pulled by her small SUV. The person who was lucky enough to camp next to her was assured of cinnamon rolls and sticky buns! She was very popular! She was also a lot of fun. My best memory of horse camping was when the two of us were on a ride and got lost. Most of the trail signs had blown down and were laying on the ground next to the sign reading
"DANGER! COUGARS IN AREA!".
Luckily, she had a map of the trails. Unluckily, it was a very windy day and when she took it out of her saddlebag to read it tore in pieces and blew away! Eventually we found our way back to camp. GOOD TIMES!

The repairman came and collected his $90.00. He believes it is the control board. He is checking on how much it will cost to order the part and replace it. DS1 said that he priced the part online and it is $200.00. He thinks he might be able to replace it himself, but we will see what the repairman wants to charge. If not too much will pay the repairman his pound of flesh.

Making soup in the Instapot using last night's leftover pork roast and gravy, the lamb stew from the night before, with the addition of some beef bouillon, several carrots and potatoes. Good thing it is something that can be stretched because I was just notified that I will be feeding 3 older grandchildren as well. Better go make a salad to feed the horde. Biscuits would be a good way to stretch too but no time to build a fire. Maybe cook the biscuits on the BBQ as per Baymule?

 

[Ridgetop]

Made a large pot of soup and just as we were serving it DSIL1 showed up to take his kids home. Much loud lamentation from grandchildren. DSIL couldn't stay for soup since he had a Zoom PTA meeting scheduled in 5 minutes. I told him to go home and return later for kids after dinner. He decided to do that. I found some rolls in the freezer and defrosted them in the microwave for the family. Soup and rolls a big hit along with salad. Went to get ice cream for desert and found that DS2 had eaten it all. I might be dropping the "D" in front of certain persons' designations. DGS2 and DGD1 went to hunt for ice cream bars or popsicles and found none. Instead, they found a frozen tiramisu. They were thrilled. I am getting stuff out of the freezers in preparation for putting 3 lambs in next month. Still have soup left so I will freeze it in a Ziploc bag. It is enough to feed 3 or 4 of us for a meal.