Bee~ Journal of then...

[lorihadams]

Glad you're back! We need you around here to spice things up!

Sounds like you had a really good time at the show...I love stuff like that. We have a small festival in Ferrum every year and it got rained out this yr. I was so sad. They have pulling competitions and I love to watch all of those beautiful horses...so big too! The kids always get a kick out of it.

Sheep? Cool, something new to learn about!!!

How many are you going to get???

 

[Beekissed]

Glad to see you back Bee

Sounds like you had a fun adventure! When are you planning to get sheep? If you don't mind me asking...why did you choose sheep over goats? Just curious. I am thinking that next year maybe get a little goatie...mostly just thinking. I need to do some real research, but I am thinking that some milk for soap and maybe a little cheese would be nice plus I really like the weed eating aspect!

Dace, I chose sheep over goats because the bulk of their pasture is in my apple orchard and I've heard goats will kill my trees, although I've heard that sheep can do the same, I think they are less likely to do so. I will still be monitoring it closely and wrapping the trunks with chicken wire if I see any ringing of the bark.

Another reason is, though sheep are hard to enclose in fencing, goats are masters at escaping, climbing and destruction. My sisters had goats and they are super destructive! I will be training these sheep to some temporary electric paddock fencing and I've heard goats don't do very well, even with the shock incentive. These will be hair sheep, so wool won't be an insulator except for in the winter months when they won't be contained with electric but will be freeranging on the whole property. My perimeter fencing is good for sheep.....goats would climb it and be gone!

Sheep are grazers, goats are browsers....I only have apple trees for browse on my property! No goat zone!!!

Finally, I don't particularly care for goats, I find them unappealing in many ways! Sheep, on the other hand, seem so maternal and soft to me~ plus they bring more per pound at the market around here!

I plan to cull and sell the offspring at market, keep some replacement ewes and breed for better conformation, parasite resistance, twinning and ease of lambing. I would also like to breed for more milk production, if possible. More milk means healthier lambs!

I'd like to make my own ACV so I can gain the benefits of nonpastuerized vinegar. I found a site online that tells how to make it and it doesn't sound at all hard....and I have the apples, that's for sure!

 

[freemotion]

WHAT!!!! You don't like goats!!

Just thought I'd flame ya just for fun.....

 

[MorelCabin]

Hey Sam's girl...I want that terrible cow back that always came along with you too...you know the one that always slobbers on our screens....it's just become your trademark and you are so much easier to find that way

 

[freemotion]

Have you seen this article? http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/25/25-3/Nathan_Griffith.html

I planted mangels and rutabagas this year for my goats and chickens this year. If I had a gun we'd be eating fat groundhog stew. Just got rutabagas, apparently groundhogs don't care for them, especially when there are mangels, pumpkins, squash, kale, etc around.

I will be trying again next spring with an electric fence around the garden. The neighbor shot six groundhogs. More just moved in, I guess.

I had two milkcrates full of rutabagas and a shoebox of little mangels (pathetic, but it is food) that are going to my new skinny rescued goat. The barn has a lingering smell of turnip, but I have to get them into her before she delivers so her milk won't be tainted

Anyways, the article is impressive enough that I will make attempts at growing them until I succeed! Seeds are available at www.rhshumway.com and you get a LOT of seeds in the smaller packages. I got one each of the golden and the red and have plenty left to try again this spring.

 

[keljonma]

I'd like to make my own ACV so I can gain the benefits of nonpastuerized vinegar. I found a site online that tells how to make it and it doesn't sound at all hard....and I have the apples, that's for sure!

Bee, I emailed you.


ETA: my best friend growing up had one sheep. She was very docile and even permitted two silly girls to put Easter bonnets on her.

 

[Beekissed]

Glad you're back! We need you around here to spice things up!

Sounds like you had a really good time at the show...I love stuff like that. We have a small festival in Ferrum every year and it got rained out this yr. I was so sad. They have pulling competitions and I love to watch all of those beautiful horses...so big too! The kids always get a kick out of it.

Sheep? Cool, something new to learn about!!!

How many are you going to get???

Lori, I'm going to get two Dorper/Katahdin cross ewe lambs and hope to breed to a local fellow's St. Croix ram when they mature. I hope to keep a steady flock of 4 at all times, eventually. Four sheep, I can manage, but no more...plus I only have pasture for four, really. I plan to do some micro intensive rotational grazing on my acre+ to improve my perennial selection of grasses, fertilize my orchard and lawn and also save myself some money on gas and mower repairs...not to mention the time spent mowing down a perfectly good crop of grass!

With rotational grazing, its like increasing your acreage without actually increasing your acreage! You "mob" your sheep into smaller paddocks with temporary fencing, creating an environment in which the sheep are less selective in their grazing, as there is less available grass to sheep ratio and more competition for the grass~ and will graze all grass species available~then resting that pasture and allowing it to regrow to a length that is perfect for recutting, while moving the sheep to the next and then the next paddock. The seasons and the weather determine the size of your paddocks and the length of stay for each graze.

By carefully managing my grass in this way, I can prevent overeating of nutritional/tastier grasses and decrease the likelihood of an overgrowth of the weeds that are left behind when sheep are allowed to pick and choose their greens. This allows the grasses that are more nitrogen-fixing a better chance to thrive and brings more nutrients to my apple trees by doing so.

If you ever want to read some fascinating info on how to make small pastures pay off like big pastures, read up on the science and practice of maintaining pastures through managed grazing of livestock. Fascinating! Eventually, I may even get a feeder calf to add to my livestock, to increase my manure byproduct. For now, I want to use sheep, as they do less pugging and are gentler to my grass roots and soil impact.

 

[Beekissed]

Have you seen this article? http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/25/25-3/Nathan_Griffith.html

I planted mangels and rutabagas this year for my goats and chickens this year. If I had a gun we'd be eating fat groundhog stew. Just got rutabagas, apparently groundhogs don't care for them, especially when there are mangels, pumpkins, squash, kale, etc around.

I will be trying again next spring with an electric fence around the garden. The neighbor shot six groundhogs. More just moved in, I guess.

I had two milkcrates full of rutabagas and a shoebox of little mangels (pathetic, but it is food) that are going to my new skinny rescued goat. The barn has a lingering smell of turnip, but I have to get them into her before she delivers so her milk won't be tainted

Anyways, the article is impressive enough that I will make attempts at growing them until I succeed! Seeds are available at www.rhshumway.com and you get a LOT of seeds in the smaller packages. I got one each of the golden and the red and have plenty left to try again this spring.

Man, free, great minds think alike!!! I was just reading up on mangels and was looking at my Shumways for seeds last night! I'd like to try them as a winter alternative to supplemental grains, along with some good alfalfa. I'll only have two sheep the first year, so I may have enough room in the garden to grow enough. I also plan to plant some winter squash and my pumpkins, of course, to feed the sheep and chickens this next winter. The pumpkin seeds are great for deworming, also.

 

[Beekissed]

I'd like to make my own ACV so I can gain the benefits of nonpastuerized vinegar. I found a site online that tells how to make it and it doesn't sound at all hard....and I have the apples, that's for sure!

Bee, I emailed you.


ETA: my best friend growing up had one sheep. She was very docile and even permitted two silly girls to put Easter bonnets on her.

Kel, got your mail! Thanks!

I know folks who train their sheep to pull a cart! As I will be bottle feeding the first two girls, I hope to do some imprinting and lots of handling them, halter training, etc. to implement easy caring for them. Its easy to do on such a small place.

I've got so many ideas for how to improve on the commercial mode of raising sheep that I can't wait to use them! I'm holding off on the pigs until next year, I believe....one additional species of livestock per year, I think. I don't want to become overwhelmed, as it will just be me here this summer~no boys at home!

 

[PamsPride]

Bee, it sounds like you have some great plans!! I can't wait to hear how it all works out for you so I can follow in your foot steps!