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The did not lamb while I was off shearing but Pansy waited until I was in bed to have this big 8 lb ram lamb. He's a lilac! My very first lilac born here  It doesn't show up super well in pictures but his head a dark slate grey color.  Just waiting on Reba now who looks like today might be the day. Taffygoat will probably kid in the next couple of days as well.
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Mar 21, 2020 15:12
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So what exactly does lilac mean? Is it just that his white bits are a different color?
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Mar 21, 2020 18:25
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Chicken Doodle posted:So what exactly does lilac mean? Is it just that his white bits are a different color? Lilacs are a slate blue to chocolate brown color instead of black. It's just a recessive color in jacobs but I've never had one before! Reba did her thing and popped out another pair of ram/ewe twins. She has ram/ewe twins every single year like clockwork, I don't know how she does it.  That's 20 lambs in exactly a week. 10 ram lambs, 10 ewe lambs, all nursing well from their own mom and doing great. I can sleep through the night again! At least until next month. I popped into the barn to check up on the youngest lambs and start docking tails on the older ones and I heard a goat commotion.  I guess Taffy was feeling left out. The white-ish one is a buck and had a leg back so I pulled him real quick. The chocolate doe was the first born. 
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Mar 21, 2020 20:59
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Chocolate goat
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Mar 22, 2020 01:44
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Coco Cabro
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Mar 22, 2020 13:32
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Baby sheep roundup. They're all doing really well and I love them  Forgive the potato cell phone pictures, I figured blurry pictures were better than no pictures.Holly- teeny ewe lamb Hellebore x Monty  Apollo and Admiral- ram lambs Aster x Monty  Fortune (aka big beef)- ram lamb Daphne x Monty  Irish- he's basically a giraffe Indigo x Ashe  Carolina- ewe lamb Clementine x Monty  Monarch and Melba- Ram/ewe twins Mimosa x Monty   Chiffon and Suzette the cormos.  Jester and Jubilee- ram/ ewe twins Jewel x Ashe  Spartan- ram lamb Sicily x Ashe  Keepsake and Kent (aka woolly bear aka fuzzy wuzzy)- Ewe/ram twins Katelyn x Ashe  Duchess and Dulcet- ewe twins Daisy x Monty  Pacific (aka big blue)- ram lamb Pansy x Ashe  Rosette (back) and Rival (front)- ewe/ram twins Reba x Ashe  They're all named after apple varieties except the cormos which are desserts. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Mar 25, 2020 |
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Mar 25, 2020 16:09
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Irish is adorable
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Mar 25, 2020 16:16
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Mar 25, 2020 16:48
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I demand videos of lamb tails wiggling as they nurse! Pro-tip you almost certainly already know: if the tail ain't wagging, just tickle the base and it'll start right up.
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Mar 25, 2020 16:56
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Mar 25, 2020 21:11
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Mar 26, 2020 16:26
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Pham Nuwen posted:I demand videos of lamb tails wiggling as they nurse! Wiggle tail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iqRO1qCAD8 Bouncing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRFSCoNtkHM
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Mar 26, 2020 17:32
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Wiggle tail Love that cheeky little dude trying to sneak some milk from the next pen!
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Mar 26, 2020 18:03
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I forgot to post here but Pennyroyal had a nice little single ram Friday night. She went into labor during dinner and kept running to the feed dish to gobble a few mouthfuls of grain then back to her nest to push. She went from her water breaking to a lamb up and nursing in 30 minutes! Not bad for a first timer.  Betty is due tomorrow but looks like she's going to explode at any moment. I told her she needs to have 2 ewes and a ram to even things up again.  I'm (the sheep) had some really bad anemia last week and I wasn't sure he was going to make it but he's able to stand up on his own now and seems to be heading the right direction after some intensive care. Still not out of the woods but making a bit of progress each day. Wendigo, Betty's sister, seems to have developed pregnancy toxemia, which is like pre-eclampsia in people. I caught it before she went down though and seem to have put her right for the most part. I'll need to keep a close eye on her and provide nutritional support until she lambs but at least right now it doesn't look like I'll need to induce labor early. Lambs really can't survive more than 4-5 days early so it's good that she keeps baking them as long as possible. Of course she's the one ewe I don't have a breeding date for but based on udder size I'd guess she has at least another 10-14 days to go at this point.
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Apr 5, 2020 18:55
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Big Betty did not have two ewes and a ram but she did have a ram and a ewe and that's pretty good too. She waited until I was busy last night and the lambs must have walked right out of her and all over the barn. Luckily I found them both and once I set them up in a jug they couldn't escape they did just fine. The ram is 8 lbs 2 oz and the ewe is 7 lb 3 oz. Big babies for big Betty!    Also here are some videos of babies going nuts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcXEbs_MEeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtF7CENL1yE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkTi0L-UQEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_KAeZuTtOs
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Apr 9, 2020 16:22
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Big Betty did not have two ewes and a ram but she did have a ram and a ewe and that's pretty good too. She waited until I was busy last night and the lambs must have walked right out of her and all over the barn. Luckily I found them both and once I set them up in a jug they couldn't escape they did just fine. The ram is 8 lbs 2 oz and the ewe is 7 lb 3 oz. Big babies for big Betty! Whoa, Big Betty, had a ram
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Apr 9, 2020 16:42
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"Lambed a ram."
ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Apr 9, 2020 |
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Apr 9, 2020 16:52
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Glory to Italia!
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I'm falling behind on lamb updates! Jacobs are now done and I just have 2 or 3 (one should be pregnant but isn't looking the part) cormos left. Easter lamb from first timer cormo cross April. A big, flashy ewe lamb.  Then yesterday Wendigo, the last jacob, had a massive 8 lb 8 oz ram lamb. He definitely wins the hefty holstein award for biggest jacob lamb of the year.  The rest of the lambs are about a month old now and growing like crazy. It's been snowing and dark all week so I haven't been able to get the good updated pictures I've wanted though.   All of our fiber shows for the spring have been cancelled and we called off our shearing day event so we're trying to figure out a way we can do more stuff online. I'm pretty socially isolated in the best of times but selling yarn is a lot easier in person when people can touch the fluffy goodness.
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Apr 17, 2020 17:29
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Updated lamb pictures! Now taken with a real camera! Fortune  Holly, she is so much Trouble   Keepsake inherited her mom's Crazyface (tm). The bright blue eyes don't help.   Her brother Kent didn't miss out on it either.  Jubilee just looks pleased with herself  Jester is the stoic type  Carolina constantly has something in her mouth   Irish is also Trouble and I spend a lot of time yelling at him to get out of hay feeders. Also Carolina is in the background with another piece of straw sticking out of her mouth  Rival is so handsome! He might have a breeding home lined up.  His sister Rosette is lovely too.  This is Big Betty's daughter Big Bess  And her boy Beacon  Wendigo's boy is the babiest of the jacob babies and doesn't have a name yet. He's been alive for 6 days now and they've all been exhausting.   
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Apr 22, 2020 22:18
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They are all amazing. I love Keepsake and Kent's faces.
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Apr 22, 2020 23:01
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Clearly Wendigo's ram needs to be named after another cryptid. How about Chupacabra?  Baba Yaga?
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Apr 23, 2020 07:07
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All the babies are adorable :3 Salty Lemonade fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 24, 2020 04:51
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Jacob baby roundup since they were all out enjoying the sun today. Holly   Admiral   Apollo  Fortune   Irish  Carolina  Monarch  Melba  Jester  Jubilee   Spartan   Keepsake   Kent  Duchess and Dulcet  Duchess  Dulcet  Pacific   Rival  Rosette   Rubens (I think I was calling him Regent before but he's more of a Rubens)  Beacon  Bess  Winston   Sorry there are so many! There are a lot of lambs.
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Apr 28, 2020 04:02
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Never apologize for so many pictures of your beautiful lambs. I love all their spotty coats!
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Apr 28, 2020 04:15
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What did you end up naming Wendigo's ram? Also Winston is just The Handsomest little ram  .
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Apr 28, 2020 04:39
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Neddy Seagoon posted:What did you end up naming Wendigo's ram? That’s him! They all have apple varieties as names this year or I would have used one of those who excellent suggestions. There are only so many apples that start with W. I’m pretty sure the last lamb was born this morning. A massive 11 lb 11 oz white cormo ewe. Two other cormos are supposed to be bred but don’t look it at all. If this is the last one I’m up to 24 lambs, half girls and half boys exactly. 
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Apr 28, 2020 14:21
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Instant Jellyfish posted:That’s him! They all have apple varieties as names this year or I would have used one of those who excellent suggestions. There are only so many apples that start with W. Seriously disappointed by the lack of a lamb named Cosmic Crisp.
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Apr 28, 2020 14:41
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Instant Jellyfish posted:I’m up to 24 lambs, half girls and half boys exactly. drat, good job sheep!
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Apr 28, 2020 15:16
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Pham Nuwen posted:Seriously disappointed by the lack of a lamb named Cosmic Crisp. Complain to Clementine who only had a single. Also I miscounted somehow and actually have 26 lambs. 13 rams, 13 ewes. Then a buck kid and a doe kid. It’s a lot of babies.
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Apr 28, 2020 19:07
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Kent is the best with those little knee pads edit: or ankles or whatever it is on sheep at that height
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Apr 28, 2020 20:30
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So I've got the keeping animals alive part of livestock farming down pretty well but I've really struggled with pasture management. I've read books, I've taken classes, I've done soil testing, I know what I need to do to keep it healthy but I just haven't been sure about how to do things in a way that's manageable for a one woman show and will work within our existing infrastructure. I needed more fencing but that amount of permanent fencing is $$$$ and the electronet has not worked for me and my weirdo sheep. Then recently all the various things I have read and seen clicked in my brain and I think I have a plan. I got a couple rolls of this "smart fence" that eliminates all the issues I had with the electronet and is easy enough for me to set up alone in less than 15 minutes. I bought a cheap solar panel and scavenged a lawn tractor battery to power a 15 mile, 1 joule fence charger (overkill for 300-600 feet of fence? maybe.) and figured out how best to divide my permanent pastures so that each strip can rest for over a month between grazing periods. Then I sort of just had to hope that the sheep wouldn't be total assholes and bust through the fence. Looks like its hot enough! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaxCYjhtAfM Solar panel on top of a rolling tool box.  All the important bits inside. It will also hold my portable shade when I figure out what I'm doing there.  Stuck in their aisle. Hopefully by the next rotation next month this pasture will be looking better! This is only day 2 so we'll see how it works long term but I'm finally hopeful that I can fix things. 
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May 7, 2020 23:47
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I assume that fence isn't powerful enough to do any real harm to the sheep
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May 8, 2020 00:16
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drrockso20 posted:I assume that fence isn't powerful enough to do any real harm to the sheep Anything sold as an electric fence should be fine for the sheep. I've touched my fair share and they're unpleasant... for as long as you're getting shocked. It doesn't burn you etc.
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May 8, 2020 00:23
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I love that Pacific has a pair of white pants. Good luck with the pasture management! I'm sure it'd be harder with goats but I'm sure sheep get up to enough trouble. Hopefully they stay out of it!
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May 8, 2020 00:31
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drrockso20 posted:I assume that fence isn't powerful enough to do any real harm to the sheep Nope. I ran into it a few times and it makes you think twice but unlike the net they can't really get tangled in it or seriously shocked. Even the little lambs just got a zap and ran off. It seems mean but you really want it to hit hard enough the first time that they never even look closely at it again or else it will never work. It's a psychological barrier, not a physical one. Chaosfeather posted:I love that Pacific has a pair of white pants. He's just the handsomest As long as his horns don't do something stupid he'll be sticking around for a while. One of my original issues with electronet was that Jazz learned up to pick up the stakes with her horns and scoot under where her wool would insulate her. Other sheep would try her trick and get hopelessly tangled and/or kill themselves. Being 15 now she mostly just yells at me to open gates for her and wanders wherever she wants anyway so hopefully she isn't as motivated to mess with the fence. She hasn't yet encountered it because lately she has chosen to hang around in the barnyard or in the barn instead of grazing in the pasture with the commoners.
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May 8, 2020 00:44
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Instant Jellyfish posted:One of my original issues with electronet was that Jazz learned up to pick up the stakes with her horns and scoot under where her wool would insulate her. Other sheep would try her trick and get hopelessly tangled and/or kill themselves. Being 15 now she mostly just yells at me to open gates for her and wanders wherever she wants anyway so hopefully she isn't as motivated to mess with the fence. She hasn't yet encountered it because lately she has chosen to hang around in the barnyard or in the barn instead of grazing in the pasture with the commoners. Amazing. Jazz is 100% that bitch.
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May 8, 2020 06:42
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ILL Machina posted:Amazing. Jazz is 100% that bitch. She absolutely is and I adore her for it. This is where she decided to settle in while I was trying to get dinner ready for everyone. I had to walk around her to get through that door no fewer than 6 times and she didn’t even look at me. This was after I set out an assortment of different foods for her to decide what she felt like eating today. 
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May 9, 2020 04:49
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The oldest batch of lambs got vaccinated on Friday and I decided to get pictures of all the jacobs for reference and to start deciding who to sell. They were not especially cooperative. Holly- I'm probably keeping her because someone wants to buy her mom and her aunt Pistachio, who I sold last year, has come back to me  Admiral- might have a buyer (or two buyers fighting over him)  Apollo- someone has dibs on him too  Fortune- I can't believe no one has snapped at him yet, but he has broken both laterals like a goober. If he doesn't sell right away he'll be my show ram for the year.  Irish- despite his ridiculous emoji face he's a pretty nicely built ram  Carolina- she's a big girl! easily the biggest of the ewe lambs  Monarch- he's a peewee but I think he's got a lot of potential. nice markings, lovely fleece  Melba- she's got a home lined up already  9 and 10 are the cormos who were in a different part of the barn and didn't get pictures taken. They're your classic big, white, fluffy lambs. Jester- I like his body but I'm not sure about his horns so I'll need to watch him longer before making any decisions  Jubilee- probably the least cooperative lamb and really didn't show off how nice looking she actually is. if I didn't already have 2 Jewel daughters I'd probably keep her.  Spartan- it took me almost 2 months of bemoaning his poor horn spacing to realize he actually has 5 horns. he probably won't cut it as a registered ram but might have a home as an unregistered breeder  Keepsake- still has weird fleece but I love her pedigree and am selling her mom so she's staying  Kent- still so fuzzy wuzzy! I have no idea what that fleece is going to do and he has terminal crazyface but someone was interested in him anyway. his horns are nice at least  Dulcet- i always get her and her sister confused. she has the better fleece though and is probably staying because her mom is retiring  Duchess- she's built a little better and is larger than her sister but her fleece is less even.  Pacific- my big blue boi! he's staying barring his horns going completely stupid over the next few months. i could nitpick his spotting and need to watch for freckles but his fleece is so even and gorgeous  Rival- he and his sister aren't the biggest, showiest lambs because their mom is 11 but I think he has a lot of potential. he might have a junior shepherd home lined up  Rosette- long body, lovely fleece, I'm trying to remind myself that I don't need to keep all of the Reba daughters, especially since someone is giving me a mature ewe related to her this year  Rubens- this boy is trouble! big for his britches and knows he's a handsome guy. if something is going on you know he's going to be in the middle of it  Winston was actually too young to get vaccinated. He, Bess and Beacon will be done in a month when the others are getting their booster. He's so huge I needed to get a picture of him though. I wish he was either a girl or less related to everyone so I could keep him.  He's in front of this line, all the lambs behind him are a full month older.  Lots of interest in sheep this year! It was frustrating not having them sell last year but I ended up selling them for more this year as yearlings so it all worked out in the end.
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May 17, 2020 18:20
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Can you talk more about what makes a fleece good or bad? Like what is it about the ones that you say are good in the pictures. Purely for my own curiosity!
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May 17, 2020 18:58
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Did you have a Winston before? I think I remember one that got made into sausage for being an rear end in a top hat, but I may be confused with another W name.
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May 17, 2020 19:08
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