Coffee's Ready, Come and Sit on the Porch

[Country homesteader]

Hope your car starts

It did start seeing how he drove it home (just got home around 7:30AM)

 

[farmerjan]

Might be the thermostat is sticking... they will do that and cause overheating... or can not close and the heat will only be lukewarm inside the car. Makes me think I need to check all mine and get antifreeze added to any that need it.

 

[The Porch]

Sorry everyone I have been so busy,
I have had grandkids over 2 days in a row, ages 13,12,9,8,5,1.6 ,,,
and I have been getting ready for winter, and canning, and just busy.

got a lot of honey garlic and honey ginger made,
may mix up a jug of fire cider
cut up a VERY big pumpkin for the chickens yesterday, they love it

need a coffee refill

 

[CrealCritter]

She grew up just fine. They put her in their back yard so she could get plenty of exercise and rubbed and stretched her legs. Legs are straight now and she is a pretty girl. I gave him 2 of my older ewes, both bred and due in December. He also picked out a real nice chocolate brown ram lamb.

I was talking with my neighbor yesterday who raises hair sheep. He runs them in 4 foot field fence pasture and said he never had a problem with them getting stuck in it or jumping the fence.

I also asked him about worming. He said they feeds them cubed pumpkin once monthly and never has any worm problems, it's a natural dewormer.

He's a good guy and I have no suspicion he would want to mislead me. He has a wife and kids and is very self sufficient, way more than we are. if you thought my garden was big, his is huge! they preserve from it every year. But I'm also a little sceptical, that's why i'm asking you what your experience is, if you care to share your experience.

He also told me I should get a ham radio, most everyone around here has one to keep in touch. I've been thinking about a ham over the last few weeks, so it was confirmation to me.

The price of wire and t-posts is coming down slightly, still way to expensive for me. Still can't justify the cost for a tiny herd of hair sheep.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[baymule]

I was talking with my neighbor yesterday who raises hair sheep. He runs them in 4 foot field fence pasture and said he never had a problem with them getting stuck in it or jumping the fence.

I also asked him about worming. He said they feeds them cubed pumpkin once monthly and never has any worm problems, it's a natural dewormer.

He's a good guy and I have no suspicion he would want to mislead me. He has a wife and kids and is very self sufficient, way more than we are. if you thought my garden was big, his is huge! they preserve from it every year. But I'm also a little sceptical, that's why i'm asking you what your experience is, if you care to share your experience.

He also told me I should get a ham radio, most everyone around here has one to keep in touch. I've been thinking about a ham over the last few weeks, so it was confirmation to me.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

The pumpkin itself isn’t the natural wormer, it’s the seeds. The pumpkin is full of nutrients and good for them, so there’s that. He may have a good strain of parasite resistant sheep. Some are more resistant than others. I cull out the wormiest sheep.

Running sheep with cattle makes double use of your grass. You need a separate place to feed them that the cattle can’t get into.

I put mine up at night, it makes it easier on the dogs to protect them.

My sheep are pretty calm, tame, cam be downright pests. LOL They are not escape artists like goats and are fairly easy on fences and gates.

 

[CrealCritter]

The pumpkin itself isn’t the natural wormer, it’s the seeds. The pumpkin is full of nutrients and good for them, so there’s that. He may have a good strain of parasite resistant sheep. Some are more resistant than others. I cull out the wormiest sheep.

Running sheep with cattle makes double use of your grass. You need a separate place to feed them that the cattle can’t get into.

I put mine up at night, it makes it easier on the dogs to protect them.

My sheep are pretty calm, tame, cam be downright pests. LOL They are not escape artists like goats and are fairly easy on fences and gates.

Thanks

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[farmerjan]

@CrealCritter ; What your neighbor said, and @baymule said is true. If they are somewhat resistant to internal parasites, the pumpkin seed thing will usually suffice. There is no way to tell if certain ones are more or less resistant other than to do a fecal count; or just cull out the ones that seem to be thin or not thrifty.

Rotational grazing will help to not have them exposed to worm larvae that will climb up the stems of grass and they ingest them that way... no, you really can't see them...
We run out White Texas Dall sheep in normal woven wire field fence... 6 inch stay wires... just like the cows are in.... the only problem we have is our sheep are horned... so the young ram lambs will "have to put their heads through the wire for the better grass on the other side" and get stuck until their horns are too big to go through. If the sheep are polled then no problem. That "putting their heads through" is partly the "why" behind the 4 inch stays on the sheep and goat wire... and to help with just keeping the small lambs and goat kids from trying to sneak through when they are real little and can't stay put like any other little curious (nosy) youngster. I am going to use it here because it also will keep most chickens in except for chicks, and keeps out more predators like a fox..... from sneaking through the smaller holes.

The rule of thumb is to run sheep after the cattle... originally meant for wooled sheep since the cattle do not like the taste of the "lanolin" from the sheep's wool... and it will stick to plants... so graze the cattle then follow with sheep. The hair sheep are not the same problem...
Also by having one then following with the other, it helps to break the parasite cycle... yes, they can have some of the same types of worms... but often they will not mature in the gut of the species that they are not "normally in"... so then the cycle is broken if the worms do not mature and lay eggs in the gut tract and have them excreted through the manure to hatch and then complete the cycle and are eaten with the next mouthful of grass....
Most sheep and cows will get along.... and will graze in "separate" groups while in the same field... sheep eat the grass much closer to the ground....

 

[baymule]

After months of killer heat and being strapped down to the farm in order to keep dogs and sheep as cool as possible and putting out fresh water 4 times a day, in 100 to 112 degrees heat and drought, it is 49 degrees this morning!!!!!! It was 68 degrees in the house when I woke up. I went to bed with the AC set on 74.

While son was here, I had him get the propane heater out of the closet and hook it up. Don’t need it yet, but it’s ready when I need it.

The 100’s extended into September, then dropped to the 90’s.

October has finally showed up.

 

[The Porch]

After months of killer heat and being strapped down to the farm in order to keep dogs and sheep as cool as possible and putting out fresh water 4 times a day, in 100 to 112 degrees heat and drought, it is 49 degrees this morning!!!!!! It was 68 degrees in the house when I woke up. I went to bed with the AC set on 74.

While son was here, I had him get the propane heater out of the closet and hook it up. Don’t need it yet, but it’s ready when I need it.

The 100’s extended into September, then dropped to the 90’s.

October has finally showed up.

Welcome to our weather, its 45 out and will be 72ish by 4pm

 

[The Porch]