Bee's Guest House

[Beekissed]

Checking in! How's everyone and what's the buzz? Spring has sprung here and the mad whirl of activity is begun...not enough time in the day and not enough of me to go around. I'm sure you all feel the same way.

Might be seeing a potential ram tomorrow...not sure. Need to get these gals a man! They were standing for the dog today.....

Very comical to watch the sheep chasing the dog and he them....such a joyous playing of two species! Always a kick to watch.

Broody hen should hatch tomorrow or the next day. She's down to half the eggs we started in the clutch.

I've gotten a sudden yen for Speckled Sussex, Par. Rock and RIR hens for my flock, so may be spending some cash and ordering from a hatchery. Something I hadn't wanted to do anymore, but I really want those gals for my breeding experiment.

The grass is really greening up...like an emerald carpet now and the sheep are getting fat quickly on the tender new fare. Great for breeding!

Everyone else busy? How's yer families? Miss you all!

 

[Farmfresh]

Any Rent-a-Rams near you Bee?

That was an idea I could embrace that I never thought of until I went on my Katahdin farm tour. Why deal with and feed one all year when you can "rent" one for a season?

I can understand buying your own quality ram, but I think if the opportunity ever arises for me I will go the "rental" route even though it is less SS.

 

[Dace]

That is cute about the sheep & dogs! Your dogs must be well trained!

Have you started your garden?

How is the family?

We are just ticking along here, trying to keep out of trouble. No more critters and no garden, we will be moving soon. :/ Life is an adventure right??

Nice to see you popping in!

 

[Beekissed]

Dace, haven't started the garden yet...still a little too wet and cold here for that. We had snow again the other day.

The fam is good, The Bat is still battling the legalities and is getting an attorney. The boys are all getting along *most of the time* in our crowded house situation. They went fishing today.

I checked out the ram today and I was extremely disappointed in this guy's herd and his husbandry skills. He talked a real good game on the phone but I would never buy anything off his farm. The fellow clearly has more money than sense when it comes to sheep....he paid $7500.00 for 25 registered Dorpers last year and hasn't taken care of them since, from the looks of it.

There were several missing big patches of hair....one lamb looked like someone had given him a close shave all down his neck and shoulder. The man couldn't tell me why his sheep were missing hair and there were a few with sores and scabs in the bald patches. My guess would be mites or lice but it just as well could have been scrapie. Some of his sheep were poorly looking even though he had been feeding 50lb of grain a day! Some of them were much too fat and were having trouble breathing with just walking.

Some of them looked like they had bottle jaw and his older ram was eating on his knees...his hooves looked like elf shoes. All four of them!

He had a few horses there and at least one was anemic...you could see the white of the membranes around his eyes, he was lethargic and listless looking and was not in good condition.

The sad part? This guy has a beautiful farm with tons of pasture. I just don't think he knows what the heck he is doing. When he saw I wasn't too keen on his ram lamb~which had a horn growing into his head that would have to be cut off~he immediately knocked $100 off the price of $300. He couldn't tell me if he had been a twin....in fact, he didn't have a record of this animal at all.

Needless to say, I didn't want any animal off this farm. It is pretty disappointing.

Back to my original breeder for the loan of his Dorper and to put in a bid on any ram lambs born out of this ram this spring.

 

[Farmfresh]

Man what a sheep farm that was. Very different from the one I went to see for sure.

 

[Farmfresh]

Hey Bee have you ever heard of this place? J&K Livestock - WV

or this one?

Mountain View Farm

Dave Anderson

HC 68 Box 5

Kegley, WV 24731

Phone # 304-920-5313

Both are supposed to raise Dorpers.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah..... When I talked to this fellow a few times before, he always seemed to be really into his sheep and their care. He said he was going to do grass fed only and all-natural husbandry....then I find out that by all-natural he most likely meant that he is doing nothing for them at all. AND he is graining them to death!

I did see a few newborn lambs that were very beautiful but I bet they won't stay that way for long.

When I first talked to him on the phone last fall, I was so excited to have met someone who was raising sheep the way that I was!

Nothing could have been further from the truth.... I would never let any of my animals get that miserable and unhealthy looking!

What's wrong with folks? I mean, if you just don't have the time to tend to them or you don't want to...get rid of them! Don't let them suffer away out in a pasture!

He DID say he was suffering with a herniated disc right now but that ram's feet didn't get that bad in a short while....and he has a trimming sling there in his barn to use for these things. And he has the money to hire it done if he cannot.

I guess it just makes me a little sad and a little mad....all that beautiful land, money to burn, retired to a farming life at a not too old age and can't do better than that?

 

[justusnak]

Hey Bee! Good to see ya hanging around. Busy busy here as well. Sometimes I dont know if im coming or going. :/ My Nelly is due to lamb soon. The little pygmy doe...well...im not sure..but she is pretty big. So sorry to hear about that farm. It just tears me up to see, or read about people like that. He obvoiulsy has no clue. What a shame for those animals. Spring has sprung...the grass is green..and we have 70 degree weather coming next week. HIGH 70's! Woohoo!! Taters are going in soon!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I completely understand, Bee. That situation sounds similiar to something I see going on here.

Except in this case, they don't really have the money to burn, and instead of trying to figure out what is *truly* wrong with the animals they have or why they have some suddenly drop dead, they run out and buy more animals of different species, etc. and add them.

And their pasture isn't good pasture, either.

And they have a nice barn - with no animals in it. Their pasture doesn't connect to the barn and the shelters in the pasture - well I would be fixing up something better than what they are using, but to each their own I guess.

And when we try to give suggestions as to how to make things better or give suggestions to what illness their animal might have we get, "they're fine" or "know I don't think that's it I'm pretty sure it's ______ " and they rattle off what they've been treating but not seeing any improvements for. and they talk to us like we don't know anything, even though we either have or have had some of the same critters as them - and we buy books on everything we raise and read up - but we still don't know what we're talking about.

We gave up.

 

[Javamama]

Bee- I'd stay away from hatchery RIR's. JMO. I call mine the feathered pigs. They never stop eating, they screech at me for food whenever they see me - even if they have a full dish, and they do not forage well. Noisy, noisy, noisy all the time. And dumber than rocks. They do lay well though. We will be culling them at the end of summer or when they start to molt. Though most of them are so scrawny I don't know if it will be worth it.

That is so sad about that farm you saw. I think some people think natural = filling up the food bins and leaving them to fend for themselves.