SA Farm's journal

SA Farm

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I love the work. Having been raised by parents who taught us all to have a strong work ethic, I always struggled to feel like I did enough... I have back problems and anxieties that make working a typical job difficult for me. Caring for animals has always been my thing, but it’s not exactly a money maker :lol: to put it mildly lol
My only goal is to make them pay for themselves as much as possible and to fill our freezer with healthy, happily raised meat. I do some gardening even though I don’t enjoy it for the same reason.
I know my DH would hire a shearer and my sheep would all get done in one day, I would probably give the fleeces to him/her and call it done, but I feel like it would be too much of a loss when I can do it (though slowly) and now have found that I even enjoy it. I actually even like spinning more than I like crocheting 😋 Though I do hope to eventually have enough yarn to make some fun stuff with - more than just a hat.
Here’s some Foxy yarn being spun:
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And a bunch of Foxy and Kit from yesterday... I should’ve gone a bit closer on Foxy’s neck and I missed a couple spots on Kit’s neck (Where the halter was, mostly), but they’re done enough for this year lol. I’m expecting to get better each year 🤷‍♀️😁
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SA Farm

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Is it weird that my sheep are always friendlier after being sheared? Kit has always been standoffish... not terribly so, but not in my face like the bottle girls. Now that she’s been sheared, she’s been coming up to me more and even begging for attention. Guess she figured getting her wool coat off was a good thing I did for her after all :rolleyes: I also am happy that she doesn’t really look bred to me anymore. I was thinking Dingo had gotten her in the fall, but now that her wool is off, she doesn’t look as rounded as I thought. Phew. I don’t mind if she lambs this year, but since she was born end of April, I wanted her to be at least a year old, maybe more before having her first.
Yesterday I sat out on a pallet while they did a bit of grazing and got my first tick of the season climbing up my leg :sick I was hoping the few nights of freezing that we had would slow them down, but no such luck.
Lady lay her first egg yesterday. Proud of her 🥰 I set it today to check viability. Queen’s eggs that I put in last week were all fertile. I’m hoping to sell more hatching eggs than poults this year. We’ll see. I’ll post them once I’m close to having a dozen available and see what the interest level is.
I was going to shear Dingo yesterday, but I started cleaning out the deep litter of the various sheep enclosures and it wiped me out. Did some housework instead. So I got him done this morning. I got a little closer than usual and it’s a bit of a mess 😝 but, I need to keep practicing and trying new techniques until I find what works best for me and the sheep.
Naked Dingo:
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He’s so patchy...definitely not my best work :hide
That’s 4 down, 1 to go. It’s supposed to rain all week, so I might try to get Coy done in between showers.
Also, Dingo was excellent on the stand. Stood the best of the lot! Good boy, Dingo!
 

SA Farm

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I intended to get Coy done a few days ago, but my gallbladder was acting up again. I’ve done some diet changes and it’s helped, but hasn’t removed the problem at this point, but at least it’s not as bad as it was. It’s liveable.
Anyway, Coy got done today.
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Fuzzy little Holstein 😂 Look how much she shrunk! I left her fro on because I just thought it was too cute to cut off for now. It does seem to be rooing off, so it will be gone at some point.
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So tired now. It’s hot out there - especially when you’re working! I’m giving myself a little while to cool off and relax, then I have to go back out and clean up now that I’m all done shearing for the year :yesss::highfive:
 

SA Farm

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We were all outside enjoying the beautiful day today. I think baby is starting to get a tan. He enjoyed watching the sheep since I had them out free ranging while we sat around enjoying the sunshine ☀️
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This tiny baby ( :lol: ) is wearing 12-18 month clothing at 8 months, has his four front teeth, and is cruising at a crawl. He also pulled himself up to a stand for the first time last week ❤️
His view of the whole flock all freshly shorn and fabulous 😄
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farmerjan

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Cutie pie.... reminds me of my DS. He grew like a weed too.... chubby and then some.... once he started walking he slimmed down.... then got chubby, then grew taller..... then kept growing. 7 lb 7 oz at birth... 30+ lbs at a year.... 6 ft tall with size 11-12 shoes at 12... 6ft 6 in with size 16 shoes as an adult....
Hope yours doesn't overdo it!!!! :th :ep:lol::lol::gig:gig:gig:clap:clap:clap
 

SA Farm

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Been keeping busy with the usual assortment of chores. I think Queen (turkey) is thinking about going broody already. I got a pen set up for her so if she’s decided to stick I can give her some eggs and let her do her thing.
Two days ago all sunny and green...
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This morning o_O
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Guess they won’t be grazing much today 😝
 

Baymule

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We had a couple of weeks of ice storms, 10 inches of snow, below zero F temperatures, and I got real tired of it real quick. I welcome Texas's ferocious heat, it can't get here fast enough! Well....... maybe. :lol:

Snow and cold like you get sure makes me glad that I only have a couple of weeks to gripe about. LOL
 
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