Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Latestarter]

Nice that things are going so smoothly for you Mike. All the lambing and kidding threads on here and folks walking on egg shells with worry... Pins and needles of expectation and anticipation... Yours just do what nature intended and you look out the window to find the job already completed. I've heard that sheep milk is much "richer" than goat milk and seeing a 10 pound gain in a week, I'd have to agree that it must be! wow. Is that the big lamb in the pictures there? The one with the small brown spot? That one looks twice the size of the newest lambs...

 

[Mike CHS]

That's the one Joe. He came out looking like he was a week old. The lambs from Ringo this year are all long bodied and bigger than almost all of the lambs from last year. We had 2 that was 11 1/2 pounds that were our biggest but the ewes were in a whole lot better condition than they were when we bought them.

 

[Baymule]

You are having a real good lambing! Big healthy lambs and lots of twins. yeah, you really should keep Ringo, get another ram to breed his daughters.

 

[Latestarter]

Really sounds like you've made some great decisions and it's paying off for you. I don't know if your present stock has any line breeding history, but many do line breed and for one generation, it shouldn't be a huge issue and will "double down" on those good traits that Ringo is adding o the lambs. I'd consider keeping him one more year and let him multiply the entire herd one more time before considering him "expendable"... I understand that father daughter is one of the most prevalent lines done. Any rams produced would be freezer bound and the ewe lambs would complete the building of your future herd.

 

[Mike CHS]

We made some good decisions but it was based on some super mentors and even more input from this forum. I know we could have a bad next season but we chose our stock based on how we can provide for them.

Ringo isn't going anywhere for awhile unless I can find him a retirement home.

He is like a big puppy dog that loves to have his neck scratched and animal crackers.

 

[Mike CHS]

We got tags on 122's lambs and their weights were 8.2 (ewe lamb) and 9.7 (ram lamb).

 

[Baymule]

Keep the lamb pics coming!

 

[Mike CHS]

We were out with dogs and the sheep this morning. The lambs aren't frightened of Maisy but the ewes are teaching Thor that he needs to slow down. We have had 7 of the first group of 10 ewes lamb with hopefully 3 to go. I'm not really sure that one of those is pregnant or it may have aborted so we shall see. So far the count is heavy on the ram side with 7 ram lambs and 3 ewe lambs.

 

[Bruce]

So far the count is heavy on the ram side with 7 ram lambs and 3 ewe lambs.

More dinner I guess.

 

[Baymule]

Beautiful scene-sheep grazing on the grassy hillside. Only 3 ewes? I hope they at least came from twins so you can keep them.