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Has Major taken more of a liking to her, yet?
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Feb 21, 2018 19:52
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 09:54 |
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my cat is norris posted:Has Major taken more of a liking to her, yet? He actually tried to play with her! He didn't do it well and she was super confused but an attempt was made. He hasn't tried again but they're alright.
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Feb 21, 2018 20:15
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One of those sheep has a wet nose.
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Feb 22, 2018 17:54
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Instant Jellyfish posted:
Oh I'm so excited about lambing this year! I love seeing all the new sheepies. 
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Feb 24, 2018 17:06
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Sooo...which lucky ram knocked up which lucky sheep, this year? Any crossings you're especially excited about?
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Feb 25, 2018 03:53
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my cat is norris posted:Sooo...which lucky ram knocked up which lucky sheep, this year? Any crossings you're especially excited about? I had my annual vaccine day and grope-a-thon on Friday and the pregnant girls are: Daphne and Johnnie bred by Monty. I'm super excited to see these first lambs by Monty. Daphne's will also be Isadore's first grandbabies. Aster, Bramble, Clementine, Daisy, Jewel, and Juniper were all bred by Isadore. Juni is getting up there and her lambs are always gorgeous so I'm hoping she gives me some more girls. Several of them look large enough to be carrying triplets. Valkyrie and Charm are bred by Spud. I don't usually breed lambs but I've got someone that really wants a white ram and Charm and Minnie are my last white ewes to breed. Minnie didn't take (I doubted she would, this was her third try) so things are down to Charm. I'm probably going to stop breeding purebred cvm/romeldales after this year and just breed them to cormos. They just aren't as amazing as the breed club would lead you to believe and I'd rather spend the money on more cormos. Taffy and Truffle were either bred by my friend's black angora buck, Attila, or Rex. Iph (ugh) and Angela were bred by Rex when the other two came back stinking like another man and got everyone worked up. I'm hoping they all kid around the same time so I can offload Iph's kid on someone else instead of having to bottle feed it. I sent blood in on everyone Friday to make sure Iph is still the only CAE positive one otherwise I'm going to be bottle feeding a lot of kids. Oh! The other exciting thing is that I'm going to Mongolia this June! I'm going with school and learning all about how nomadic herders have learned to live with snow leopards and pallas cats and reintroduced Przewalski's horses. I can't wait to spend 2 weeks in a yurt! Edit: Oops, I forgot Reba who was bred to Hawthorn, a Johnnie/Isadore son from last year. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Feb 25, 2018 |
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Feb 25, 2018 04:40
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Its sunny, have some puppy pictures. I can't believe my baby is turning into a dog already     
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Feb 27, 2018 22:25
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The Thoughtfulest Puppy.
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Feb 27, 2018 22:55
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Aww, what a pair of cuties 
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Mar 1, 2018 17:16
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 ITS TIMEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLczUXXNBI Two ewe lambs from Miss Bramble. One didn't get the memo about the rules around here so she tried to get hypothermia and die but a few hours in front of the hair dryer and a belly full of colostrum and she's up and at 'em again. No dying allowed unless I give my express permission! Puppy met them briefly but I was too busy getting the weaker one going to introduce them properly so puppy/lamb cuddle pictures will have to wait.
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Mar 13, 2018 01:31
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Congratulations, Bramble! I hope Isadore will be proud.
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Mar 13, 2018 03:02
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babies 
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Mar 13, 2018 04:39
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I'm so tired, you guys. As of right now we are up to 4 sets of twins and a set of triplets from the jacobs (Jewel is a queen among sheep) and a single from the cormos (of course). Still waiting on 8 sheep and the 4 goats. Iph's kid(s) has a buyer so I won't have to bottle feed, which is nice but also kind of sad. She just has to hurry up and have the thing! The lamb that tried to die of hypothermia is doing well now.  Her sister is a real looker.  Aster had giant twin boys.  Jewel not only had triplets for the second year in a row, but they were all girls!  They were a little crumpled up from the tight quarters.  And one needed a bit of a pick me up in the bathroom but she seems to be doing alright now.  I'm having a class to teach women how to raise sheep/deal with lambing on Sunday and we'll have a lot of babies for hands on training!
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Mar 17, 2018 00:28
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So many babies
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Mar 17, 2018 04:19
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Instant Jellyfish posted:
It took me a moment to spot the stealth lamb I am jealous of those women who are taking a class with you; what a great opportunity.
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Mar 17, 2018 10:48
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Another day, another set of triplets. Johnnie had two rams and a ewe. These are Monty's first lambs!
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Mar 17, 2018 21:01
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SO. MANY. SHEEPIES. 
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Mar 18, 2018 07:32
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In ten days I had 32 babies born but I'm finally done! 19 jacob lambs, 2 cormo lambs, a cormo cross lamb, 3 romeldales, 7 goats. Iph's kids, who can't stay with her because they could catch CAE from her milk, went to a dairy goat person who is starting an angora herd and really wanted some bottle kids. I was kind of sad not to have adorable cuddly bottle baby goats but it was really the best thing for all of us. Once I return to the land of the living I'll take more pictures but here are some quick shots I took while doing tail docking today so I have a record of what each baby looks like in case I get confused later. My barn is just packed full of small spotty sheep on every surface right now. Sweetpea, the smallest of Jewel's triplets. I really like this tiny sheep All of the triplets have collars right now so I can keep a close eye on them. One of Aster's boys.  The younger of Daisy's two boys. She had been running around acting like a ram for weeks and I wondered if she was going to have ram lambs. Sure enough out popped two half grown boys with huge giant horn buds. This dude has a funny split nostril.  Johnnie's middle triplet.  And her one ewe lamb. Monty's lambs are all fuzzy and it will be interesting to see how their wool develops. 
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Mar 23, 2018 21:15
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TINY SHEEP. I like them all but this one is my favorite for some reason Instant Jellyfish posted:Johnnie's middle triplet.
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Mar 24, 2018 15:37
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What a lovely bunch of sheeps
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Mar 24, 2018 17:23
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Tendai posted:TINY SHEEP. I like them all but this one is my favorite for some reason Same - so floofy and those tiny back feet
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Mar 25, 2018 00:04
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Instant Jellyfish posted:I'm probably going to stop breeding purebred cvm/romeldales after this year and just breed them to cormos. They just aren't as amazing as the breed club would lead you to believe and I'd rather spend the money on more cormos. Hey, would you mind elaborating on the troubles you've had with cvm/romeldales? I'm hoping to have a flock someday and was really interested in that breed, but there's not a lot of information about them specifically.
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Apr 2, 2018 04:49
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LevelC posted:Hey, would you mind elaborating on the troubles you've had with cvm/romeldales? I'm hoping to have a flock someday and was really interested in that breed, but there's not a lot of information about them specifically. Sure thing! The breed club, or at least the conservancy, claims next to skin soft wool that gets softer with age. They mention a bradford count of 64-60, which is 20.6-24.9 microns. To me that's really on the edge of "finewool" and I have jacobs in that range. My cormos are 14-18 microns. It's just dreamy soft and in cvms just can't compare. I have talked to another breeder than has cormos and considered romeldales and he felt the same way. The wool just doesn't live up to the hype (if you want something like cormo). I really haven't experienced them getting softer with age either. Getting the wool processed at a mill is also a huge pain in the butt. If we processed it on our own it wouldn't be an issue (maybe?) but it needs to be combed instead of carded or else it get neps like crazy. I think it's because it's a fairly short, spongy fiber. It could just be my feeding program or stock (although my sheep come from the two main conservancy breeders) but I really don't get an especially long or heavy fleece. I stopped coating them like the cormos a few years back because the fleece quality just didn't make it worth the hassle. The last time we sent a batch in to be combed we ended up with something close to 80% loss because of the combing process but if we hadn't had it combed it would have been lumpy and awful. I've never had that level of loss with the cormo we have combed so it's just something about the cvm wool. We could shop around to different mills but that takes a lot of time and then its 4 months+ to see what we get back and evaluate if it was worth it. Personality wise the romeldales are great. They're super friendly and patient and good mothers. They milk like a cow and have big healthy babies. The genetic colors are fun but I'm starting to see people preserving "rare" colors to the detriment of the sheep's conformation and other traits. There's beginning to be a split in lines between larger, more plain or common looking sheep and much smaller, fancier colored sheep and I don't think it's good for an already rare breeder. The people super into color genetics can be weirdly elitist about it despite not knowing that much ("Don't ask what colors your sheep has unless you have read a $70 sheep color book and know the scientific nomenclature that isn't published anywhere else!!!"). There's also a lot of scuttlebutt between the two different breed clubs which irks me in any breed. They eat a ton and are very serious grazers. They stay fat on grass but it takes a lot of grass. They're less parasite resistant than my jacobs but are fairly hardy and generally have good hooves. Being so big and heavy mine tend to get a little lame when it's been real wet though. Being so large also makes them break down a little sooner with age. My oldest ones are both 8 and are a rough 8. One has serious molar issues and has trouble handling hay so needs extra feed, the other is doing ok but can't keep up with the stress of feeding babies. Both are retired. For the jacobs 8 year olds probably still have 2-3 more productive years (Jazz had triplets at 10) before I start getting concerned and I had an 11 year old goat kid this year just fine. Anyway, there's nothing specifically wrong with them they just don't meet my goals. I wanted a finewool that I could blend my other fibers with and the wool just isn't fine enough or versatile enough. My jacobs are a better medium wool for my needs and the cormos are a better finewool for my needs. If I was more focused on meat with better wool than most meat breeds and colorful pelts and bigger, meatier lambs than the jacobs they could work really well. The only problem there is the little ram lambs are too sweet and friendly and it really guts me to send them off to freezer camp. So cormos and jacobs it is for me. I have had a huge number of school projects going on so I've been bad about pictures but have some cvm/romeldale lambs from various years. They really are cute, sweet babies Lucky Charm  Poopers (not her registered name)  Wonder  Spud  Valkyrie! She's staying here because she's the sweetest and best sheep.  Panzer, he was a nice little ram that I'm glad I could sell as breeding stock  Skeptical Minnie  Goliath 
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Apr 2, 2018 16:29
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Goliath
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Apr 3, 2018 11:27
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I have been terrible about taking pictures this spring but it is a lovely day and the lambs are out soaking in the sun so I took some pictures instead of doing all the other stuff I had planned today. Pile o lambs with teeny little Sweetpea in the middle.  Just like zebras only spottier.  Manspreaders are just obnoxious.  Love this sweet moorit boy  She is exactly like her momma Valkyrie, right down to the attitude.  Look at these smug cormo ladies.  One of these is a cormo, the other is a cormo/romeldale cross. I really can't tell them apart so they're wearing collars with their moms' names on them.  I think this is the cross???  Big beefy cormo girl  Jewel does have triplets but one of those isn't hers. Also SCREAM  Johnnie and her two boys, her girl is the one behind Jewel in the last picture. Probably going to keep back one of these boys.  "Please can I play with the babies? Pleeaaaaassseeeee"  Another one of Johnnie's less fluffy boy  Daphne's ewe. She's a mile long and has cute little shoes and I need to tell myself not to keep all of them.  Reba's ram lamb. I'll probably end up growing him out over the winter too.  Daisy's fuzzbucket boy  Doodlebug who is finally committed to not running away and dying. He's still smaller than the others after getting hypothermia twice but he's growing well. 
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Apr 21, 2018 18:32
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Puppy has grown so big! A proper dog now! Do the lambs stick to their own moms for feeding and the like or is it a free for all?
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Apr 21, 2018 19:25
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Asiina posted:Puppy has grown so big! A proper dog now! Oh no, moms are very strict about only letting their own lambs nurse. Lambs will try to take a sip from anyone but the ewes are on it. No sense wasting calories on someone else's dumb kid. There are some ewes that are just super maternal though and will let anyone who wants some take it. I once saw one of my original romeldale ewes letting a full grown jacob ewe nurse, which was one of the more disturbing things I've stumbled upon.
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Apr 21, 2018 19:36
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A N G E R Y B R O W S
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May 7, 2018 03:41
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Any updates on the lambs?
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Jul 17, 2018 00:00
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Chicken Doodle posted:Any updates on the lambs? They're all huge! I came back from Mongolia to a bunch of giant babies. And a bunch of them are getting ready to be sold. I already sent the little moorit cvm ram off to a breeding home and I have people coming to look at jacobs and goats soon. I'm also planning to take my keeper lambs to show at SAFF in NC this October. That means deciding who is the best and fanciest lamb and getting to work halter training. Have some pictures! Dot, a keeper goat  My favorite of Johnnie's boys. I'll sell him eventually but he's growing out here for the winter first. Haven't decided on a letter for these trips yet but he'll probably be either Caraway or Daikon.   Sassafras, one of Jewel's triplets that is staying here for a while.  Cutie CVM/romeldale ewe. She's still for sale.  One of Reba's twins, she's staying and I need to decide on a name for her.  Red buck kid. He's probably got a buyer already but she needs to get through county fair next week before she can come look at him and the doeling I'm selling.  This is the black doe I'm selling. I decided to keep Truffle's black doe and Taffy's white doe.  Smitten, another one of Jewel's trips. Someone is coming to look at her soon.  Doodlebug has a fiber wether home in the works.  I think someone is really going to like this cormo/cvm ewe for a fiber flock, I've just got to find them.  Fern is probably going with Smitten. I really like this ewe and will be sad to see her go.  Ash is a nice looking boy and I want him to find a breeding home or else I'll probably grow him out and sell him as a yearling. Older jacob rams always sell better.  Bluebell is super friendly and might be going with Doodles.  Also this baby is about 75 lbs and 8 months old now. 
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Jul 17, 2018 03:13
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And still rolling in the grass, I see! So nice to see everyone growing up healthy and strong. How was Mongolia?
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Jul 17, 2018 15:56
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my cat is norris posted:And still rolling in the grass, I see! AMAZING! Everyone go to Mongolia, it's an awesome place full of cool people. Also baby farm animals.        Bonus! Baby takhi (Przewalski's horse)  Full Mongolia album here
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Jul 17, 2018 16:24
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Hey Instant Jellyfish have a quick question about Jacobs if I may? In a couple of years I'll be getting a very small flock of what will be very likely Jacobs - how much of an inpediment are the horns? I'm used to sheep but really only polled commercial crossbreeds. Many of the ways I've been taught to handle sheep, for example catching and them and sitting them on their rear for shearing etc, would seem to be a lot harder with horns if not downright dangerous. Have you had any issues on this front?
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Jul 18, 2018 10:01
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I started out with jacobs so when I got polled sheep I had no idea how to catch and move them without handles. The horns generally aren't a problem at all day to day, you just have to keep them in mind when doing your setup. Don't put buckets or minerals or water in corners or directly next to fences where a sheep with big horns won't be able to reach. Don't have hay feeders that sheep can get their whole heads in. If you use something like electric net fencing keep it HOT at all times. Like really hot. They know the moment that the electric is down and will try to kill themselves in it. They can really get stuck in any fencing and kill themselves but in my experience electric net is the worst. The first year especially you need to keep an eye on the horns and make sure that they aren't growing into the face. Lamb horns can usually be trimmed with just some hoof shears, bigger horns need a wire saw. That first year is generally when they break horns too and it bleeds like crazy but isn't life threatening or anything. Keeping them out on pasture as much as possible reduces the chance of horn breaks because they tend to do it when they're penned in a the barn or being handled. I don't shear them the traditional way but plenty of people do. You just have to watch the horns a little or you'll get poked. The horns aren't sharp so you just get bruised if you take a horn to the leg. The vast majority of people cull heavily for aggressive rams so none of my jacobs have ever tried to hook me with a horn or use them to be nasty. All of mine are very aware of their horns and try their best to keep them out of the way. Not my sheep/not my pictures but even the big boys can be sheared without anyone getting stabbed   
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Jul 18, 2018 15:08
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Hazards of putting a tire swing on a farm. https://i.imgur.com/tpt6Jbh.mp4
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Aug 8, 2018 13:38
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Cythereal posted:Hazards of putting a tire swing on a farm. Something something Robert Rauschenberg something something.
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Aug 9, 2018 02:36
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The jacob rams look like they're about to drop the hottest album of the summer. Hawthorn (front, 4 horns) is going to be traded for an unrelated 4 horned ram as soon as the other's registration comes through. He's a good boy but he's related to everyone here and will get more work elsewhere.  Me and the spotty sheep are going to SAFF in NC this year so if anyone is at the show come by and pat some sheep! I'll just have lambs with me because everyone else is going to be home getting ready for breeding season but there's going to be a huge jacob turnout this year. I'll have a Roving Acres banner on my pens and I'm hoping to have a shirt with a logo on it just for the jacobs by then.
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Aug 24, 2018 21:32
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Cythereal posted:Hazards of putting a tire swing on a farm. Sheep are not the brightest animal in the world are they?
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Sep 5, 2018 07:26
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I guess I should update this now that I'm home from SAFF. The open judge wasn't sure what to do with jacobs and certainly not jacob lambs so I didn't bring home a ton of ribbons, but I got to spend the weekend with awesome jacob folks and they all liked my sheep which is better than any ribbon in my mind.  Roving Pennyroyal came in 3rd in the ewe lamb class in the jacob specialty.    Roving Smitten and Roving Sassafras got best pair of jacob ewes I sold two ewe lambs there (and could have easily sold twice that, people were crazed about buying out of state ewes) and ended up bringing home this guy. Oops. His name is Levi, he's Katelyn's half brother.  Now I've got a game plan for AGM next year and I'm hoping to do SAFF again. Even without showing sheep I like helping out the other breeders and getting up to date with all the latest sheep gossip. Also it is this baby's first birthday! She is a very good girl and still has so much growing to do. 
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Nov 2, 2018 00:01
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 09:54 |
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Grats! Always so happy to see your updates IJ.
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Nov 2, 2018 13:22
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