Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

Bruce

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Google says Oshi in Japanese:
"Oshi" means a person who you support and someone you are a fan of. It literally means “push.” Think of it like you are promoting someone and “pushing” them forward.

Somehow the literal and intended meaning both fit!! Good job choosing a name Mike!!!!
 

Ridgetop

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I have been calling the ram Jack, just to have something consistent to call him. He hasn't been agressive but I have been making sure he doesn't get crowded. That being said, he got me this morning.

I forgot to mention that his name now is Oshi. When I saw him raising his head back the first thing out of my mouth was meant to be "Oh ****!" but I only had time to get out "O shi" by the time he got me. :)

:yuckyuck:gig:gig:gigLove the new name! Hope you didn't get hurt.

We have had a couple of those rams too. One DS1 named Friendly because he used to come up all the time to be petted. Bought as a 4 month old ramling and had my grandson go in the barn and tame him down. He was gentle and able to be handled until he decided to go after DS1 and DH a couple times. Our 2 oldest rams have gone after DS1 and DH only a couple times. That was when they had just been placed in the breeding pen with cycling ewes so that could have been the reason. Occasionally one has looked like it was going to butt when DS1 goes in to move a ram ad is chasing them around but we are on the look out for that behavior.

Mostly our rams are pretty laid back, but we don't make them tame like you do. They are not tame enough to eat cookies and ask for petting, but they are able to be handled. I believe that a tame ram (particularly bottle rams) can be dangerous. I never turn my back on a ram and keep a "ram stick" hanging on each pen that a ram might be in. The "ram sticks" are 18" pieces of old wooden closet rod with a hole drilled through one end threaded with hay rope. I would refer them to be 1" PVC which would not be as painful to the ram, but I had the closet pole and actually since the sticks hang outside n the weather all year the PVC would eventually get brittle and could shatter. Shattered PVC can be as dangerous as glass.

Only ever had one that was a real "killer ram" and dangerous. He was a huge Hampshire show ram belonging to DS1. He could only be handled in a halter.
 

Mike CHS

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Today was beautiful. Temp got up to the high 60's but will still be going down to the 30's tonight then we have several days getting back to 80 and 50's at night. Teresa cooked up a bunch of chicken breast Schnitzel that will make a whole bunch of my favorite chicken. I have a birthday coming up on Saturday and she asked if I had any requests and Schnitzel it was to be.

There is a local festival for the next couple of days in Lewisburg but it seems to have changed a lot. They used to always have contests for goats but they will just have a livestock display this year. They have a lot of good talent out of Nashville but those don't start until evening so we will not be seeing that.
 

Ridgetop

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Several Fairs around the country are no longer having livestock shows. Traditionally exhibitors win "premiums" - a $ amount for placings on their entries. I think that the livestock shows cost more to put on than other types of exhibits and some fairs have done away with them to save money. Livestock shows require much more space - for housing/penning of the animals, showrings, equipment, camping space for exhibitors (even though they charge for camping), separate office space and personnel. Then there is the cost of ribbons, trophies, arm bands, manpower to guard the exhibits at night, clean and set up the arenas, clean the barns, trash receptacles for manure and waste bedding, (exhibitors clean their own pens, but all that stuff has to be dumped somewhere), etc. Liability insurance is necessary too in case an animal gets out and injures someone. Usually, in youth shows there is a lot of volunteer participation from parents but open competition in open Fairs does not always have the level of volunteers.

In the last couple years before our local Fair folded, I raised the premium money for the dairy goat show. I used the Booster Club 501c3 non-profit status to obtain donations and prizes for the youth entrants. I had to start the day after the Fair closed to send begging letters for donations for the following year. It was a lot of work, but we got a large entry once the premiums were offered. For those people that don't show livestock, (or dogs, horses etc.) the exhibitors put a lot of work into their entries. Youth that show livestock, whether for breeding classes or market really work hard at fitting, training, and grooming their entries.
 

farmerjan

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Happy Birthday a couple day's early.... I have no idea what my schedule will be on Saturday.... Since I just had a birthday about a month ago... will you stop counting now???? I said I will not get any older than the 69 I turned...!!!! just start counting backwards....
When I was younger, I would peruse the fair premium books and enter as many chickens as I could to qualify for the premiums... plus all the baked goods and garden produce and eggs etc. Then I would show my horse in the horse show... I could make enough to pay for a good part of my chicken feed and if the competition was good, I often did very good with my mare in things like barrel racing and pole bending, and other gymkhana games. She was fast and very quick on her feet, but I trail rode alot besides the "ring training" and she was very responsive... plus she would obey many voice commands even when "fired up" so I had more control of her, over people that didn't put in the "ground work".. I rode an hour nearly every morning before school, because I often had jobs after school... and I spent time with her on the weekends too. My babysitting would buy all her hay for the year and much of her grain... any class winnings were "extra money"...
The poultry classes I entered when I got a little older, at all the town and county fairs we had... we would go to fairs 2 out of every 3 weekends for 2-3 months. I know my mom must've gotten tired of it sometimes, but she never complained and always had food and the back of the truck camper packed with whatever we needed to save on costs at the fair... and that was back when it costs nothing compared to today to eat at the fairs.

If it wasn't for the premium money, there would have been alot fewer animals.... I understand the only having an exhibition tent of animals to look at now without all the competition and the things like liabilities and all. Besides, people seemed to have common sense in livestock barns and people were not so sue crazy over every little thing...

Thank you, @Mike CHS , for supporting the youth and the hard work that it took to make the fair a successful and fun time for the kids.
 
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