2012 breeding groups Part 1

My deciding my groups every year is a big thing for me. Last year I wanted more moorit and more spots. I also wanted to continue with fine fleeces. Amongst other things of course. Every year my goal is the same, but how I approach it is a bit different.

This year, I am breeding for fine fleeced fully HORNED rams. I was unable to fill requests for horned ram lambs this year. I"ve also found that most breeders of Fine fleeced Shetlands are going polled, for various reasons. I love the polled lines, but realize we cannot ALL breed for polled rams or the diversity of the breed will be at stake.

I also was able to obtain two black Light Badgerface ewes and a black Light Badgerface ram from different lines and different flocks. Its my goal to maintain a diverse flock of Shetlands with ALL patterns, colors and horn expressions (rams and ewes).

I've pared down my ram breeding pens to 7 rams. They all exhibit fine fleeces, excellent conformation, a diverse amount of bloodlines (nearly every import ram is in at least one of the rams I'm using) and are fully horned. Some have produced horned ewes as well. And I've matched them by pedigree, color, fleece AND conformation. We'll see how well I did come spring time, but I get less and less 'throwbacks' every year.

Two of these rams will be available Thanksgiving Weekend. They are Jazz and Flo Rida. I also have several rams I am NOT using that are available now: Calvinus (gray katmoget, fully horned), Radler (black, scurred). They are my top picks from 2011 lambing crop but I am wanting to use other animals this year based on the above reasons. 

So without further ado:

Wintertime Jazz AI - 87.5% UK. Grade 1 ram. Last micron still under 25 AFD, CV 20.1 CEM 9.5. This boy is a spotted gray katmoget that throws blacks or katmogets and with our without spots when bred to spotted or spot carrying ewes. He has been used 3 breeding seasons so far and again has ewes put to him because he always improves what he is bred to. This year the roster is pretty nice so I'm expecting magic here. He's a mellow, respectful ram who continues to keep the 20 boys I have living together in harmony and stops fights before they start. I couldn't have asked for a better ram lamb when I picked him up!

The ewes:
OwlHill Butter - musket 72% UK -F1 Orion F2 Greyling. She's a deep bodied ewe with a very crimpy, soft and fine fleece. I retained her musket ewe lamb from last year.
Last micron AFD 22.7, SD 4.8, CV 21, CEM 8.6 CF 94.4 and SF 22.1

UnderTheSon Souchong - white 55% UK - horned. Another big bodied ewe with the most amazing set of horns for a ewe. She falls off after last rib so I'm hoping to fix that Jazz. He's produced horned ewes so I'm hoping this match is good for that, and I love the density and length of fleece that this ewe has. She's out of a ram I highly admire, UTS Broderick, and I'm hoping that this orion x jericho pedigree clicks like the rest of them here.

ShelteringPines Classique -  moorit smirslet ewe. (Fudge x V Creek Guinevere). Reserve Champion Shetland Ewe WSWF 2012. She really is the 'it' ewe for me. Density, body, fine bone, classic breed type. Her dam was a ewe i highly admired and I hope this breeding throws me some great lambs.

UnderTheSon Romie - gray ewe. She's from lines further back that I have nothing related to. She carries horned ram genetics and her body, density and wool on cheek/poll were reasons why I chose to take her and try her even though she isn't as fine as the rest of my stock. I really would love a deep bodied gray ewe like her out of this, with a finer fleece.

UnderTheSon Cassandra - moorit ewe. She is also from lines not super related to me, and carried horned ram genetics. If I got black ewes out of this pairing with Jazz's fleece, I'd be tickled.

WhitePine New Glarus - white ewe. WhitePine Roman AI x ShelteringPines Nirvana. She has scurs that keep breaking off. I love a lot about her and she has been a favorite of mine since she was born. Nirvana doesn't disappoint and I'm hoping her daughter won't either.

ShelteringPines Nirvana. horned gray katmoget ewe. Carries moorit and spots. Nirvana was always a favorite of mine at Stephen's house. She has produced twins every year here, and while this year she was put to the BFL, and gave me twin English Blue marked ram lambs, she has produced for me 5 Shetland ewe lambs that I admire so much. She was bred to Jazz's brother in the past (Blues) and loved those ewe lambs so hoping with Jazz it'll be a nice repeat (but maybe get horned ewes this time)

WhitePine Beyonce. She is double F2 Orion - Fawn ewe (Ephraim AI x Bethany AI). She also has a small krunet and again, getting black spotted ewes would be OK from this breeding. Love her fleece, her breed character and how dense/soft her fleece is.

WhitePine Asahi - moorit ewe (WhitePine Levi AI x FirthofFifth Ashanti). She carries spots and is a very dark moorit (from her grand sire Jamie), so again hoping for nice blacks from this and possibly spots.

-=-=-==- Excited yet? :)

WhitePine FloRida AI - fully horned gray katmoget - F1 Holly (Greenholme Holly x ShelteringPines Fleur de Lis). Dense, crimpy, fine, soft, with a very deep body, wide horns, dark katmoget markings and great rear on him. He is one of the last F1 Holly rams available anywhere in the USA, and is my last F1 Holly here. After using him I will have secured this line in my pedigree for sure (both Fleur and Holly lines. He'll be available (so will Jazz) Thanksgiving weekend.

His ladies:
WhitePine Norah Jones - gray katmoget (polled ewe) with a dark blue fleece. She produced well this year with his half brother Ludacris, so I'm hoping this time for a horned ram lamb to keep back :) Norah is F2 Jamie so I'm hoping the depth of color will follow suit as well.

WhitePine Rihanna AI- white ewe F1 Jamie (Willowcroft Jamie x FirthofFifth Rahu). Everything Rahu is, plus a finer fleece is exactly what I got here. Rihanna was my last Jamie straw and is my only F1 Jamie offspring. She produced amazingly well with Barnabas this past year so I'm hoping that bringing her to Flo Rida, she'll do it again. Perfect conformation and I love the mirkface she has.

WhitePine Adele AI - fawn F1 Orion (Heights Orion x FirthofFifth Ashanti). This is my number one ewe on the farm when going by fleece characteristics/numbers and I love that she has wool on the poll and cheeks. Most of mine have that, but hers is quite apparent. This will be her first breeding and I'm hoping for some incredible lambs out of this.

WhitePine Snow Patrol - horned gray katmoget ewe (Jazz x ShelteringPines Snow Cloud) is another wonderful katmoget ewe I have with fine fleece, nice conformation and depth of body. Also her first breeding I'm secretly hoping for more horned ewes.....

WhitePine Pacena - musket (FirthofFifth Nekomis x OwlHill Pranilla AI) F2 Greyling F3 Jericho. Extremely fine, dense, typey, crimpy and obnoxiously tame. I'd love another gray from this, but won't be picky :)

WhitePine Aaliyah AI - gray katmoget F1 Jericho (Todhill Jericho x FirthofFifth Ashegon). Also her first breeding, she is shorter in leg like her mother but more stout, deeper bodied and longer fleece than her dam. I'm excited to see what she might be able to produce.

WhitePine Noche Bueno - moorit F2 Holly/F3 Jericho. A slight line breeding and I want to see if Flo carries moorit. She is a VERY dark moorit and I hope that the concentration of Holly in these lambs will continue with the intensity of color. Super fine.

ShelteringPines Tresor - black (Fudge x Debonaire (Lambo daughter!). Another larger ewe with jet black flece and good conformation. Seriously anything out of this should be nice.

ShelteringPines Amarige - fawn katmoget (Fudge x Lil' Country Possum). Her mother was a favorite of mine too and Amarige does indeed carry the polled gene (two ram lambs born from a horned ram this year, one fully horned, one fully polled). She's also modified as the horned ram is/will be emsket. Her fleece is phenomenal. super fine, and I love her dark color. Who cares if they are double katmoget?! These lambs should be lovely.

OwlHill Miss Lilly - F1 Holly F2 Orion - polled black ewe. Another ewe who is for sure polled but is jet black and looks/feels very fine. her CEM is 7.1! She has produced some nice ram lambs in the past but hoping for a ewe lamb with intense dark moorit or black to it.

More breeding groups later. Must do some chores for now.

Barn Updates

As is the 'norm' around here, things continually change and I need to be ready for it when it happens. A few weeks ago I applied for a job with Washington State University. I planned on moving and needed to make the barns as efficient as possible for the sheep to stay at the farm over winter until I could afford to bring them out in the spring. That may be on hold for now, but in the mean time my barn is FINALLY becoming much more efficient :)

Something that I wanted to do for a few years was build a better way to feed my sheep. Round bales are terrible on the fleeces, I lose ear tags on some of the sheep, and unrolling them take a lot of time and I have to feed them outside in a pasture.

This is the lean to our old dairy barn. This alleyway is used about 90% of the time when entering the barn now so I needed to keep the space wide open. The plywood used for the small square bale flakes of hay is perfect.  They fit in there snugly against the metal hog panel and still allows me a clean, open, bright place to walk.

Inside the pen shows enough feeder space for the 60+ Shetland adult ewes that will be here over the winter. There is room to add three more 8 foot sections, giving me head space for 24 more Shetland adult ewes if I ever needed it.

Below is the south side (left side in photo above) showing some of the feeders.

A better close up below showing only the smallest holes in the hog panel exposed, while using lightweight plywood for the top. The hay all fits in there (more actually on the north side) and still there is room in the small trough for the beet pulp and hay chaff that falls down. No eating on the floor (unless they eat the bedding/oat straw). Little to no hay on their backs or the neighbors' backs.

Reinforced mineral tubs. The ewes kept rubbing their butts on them and breaking/snapping them off of the board they were on. This makes them much sturdier.

Above is the ewe lamb pen feeders that I am using for now. they were 55 gallon plastic drums that I cut in half and screwed on boards for the ends so as to not flip them over. They are lower, and easier for the lambs to eat out of so I am using them in their part of the barn.

Above and below, the girls are approving of the finished feeders.

Above is my home made chute system. This used to be the manger of the dairy barn where we fed the cows and walked with he wheelbarrow. It works nicely for the smaller sheep and I can get an entire system within an area that wasn't utilized before. The middle aisle is for myself. Its not the largest area but this allows me access to both sides of the chute and the digital scale is to the right where the plywood 'gates' slide up and down to allow a new sheep to enter or exit. I've not had any jump over it yet and its low enough I can access the sheep ear tags and check eyelids and worm if necessary.


And below are two samples of the new Whistlestop rams I described in my last post. The 'white' fleece is actually a light badgerface ram (black based) yearling ram that I am SO pleased I got. He is everything I'm looking for in a rams: fine fleece, conformation, horns (my preference only), rare color pattern, depth of body and capacity yet still fine boned, and some unrelated lines to work with. He's a yearling that I hope to use a LOT in the future.

The moorit fleece is of a ram lamb. I was able to go through Jim and Brandy's entire flock and take my pick of the lamb crop. There was a ram lamb with wider horns but this one was finer in my opinion. They will both be going to quite a few ewes in the next week or two.

Year in Review 2011

It seems hard to believe we are nearly at the end of 2011. I sometimes still catch myself thinking its 2010.

Many things have happened this year, mostly good, some not so good. My grandpa always says "there are better days ahead".

The farm as a whole is increasingly getting back to its diverse livestock species that it once had before. We added about 25 more laying hens to add to the bug and frog and mouse patrol. The free ranging girls sometimes surprise me with nests in the most bizarre places (i.e. in a hole in the lawn that used to be a rabbit nest, under the porch steps, atop the round hay bale stacks, in dog houses out behind the house, etc etc). The flavor and color of the eggs is incredible! I've found a small market for my all natural, free range, free of antibiotics or hormone eggs. I truly do appreciate their egg production and their ability to eat most any insect or small creature they can find. They also keep me entertained with their antics and social rankings.

I added three gilts and a boar, all from farms that believe in pasture raised, natural feed, just like our farm used to do. Our first litters should be sometime in the spring. I'm eager for the homegrown pork again and I know my family and friends are too! If you'd be interested in some pork please do contact me. with all of the trips I go on it would be easy enough to bring along!

The sheep are ever amazing me with their ability to forage on grasses and forbs the cattle would overlook. Their condition going in to the breeding season was pretty amazing, and the quality of wool looks as promising as ever. The sheep this year paid for many things and I was able to sell more purebred registered sheep than ever before! The word is slowly getting out that the Shetland can do it all: raise twins with ease, grow a soft, fine fleece, be used for crossbreeding with no ill effects, continue to flourish on a grass fed/rotationally grazed system with little input from the shepherd. if I can continue to progress with the sales of these sheep and utilize local feedstuffs as well as neighbors pastures i will be able to NOT work off the farm at in 3 years. If I want to, will be another question. I love the solitude but I AM a social person. Those that have met me, will understand!

In cattle news, our Simmental cows were bred again to a neighbors Red Angus bull. The premium on our calves at the local auction barn were over 2.20/cwt on average(!!), more than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime at a local auction. Privately, grass fed beef is worth its weight in gold. I hope to get in to that niche market in the upcoming season. The Simmental x Angus or Simmental x Red Angus crosses are a hot commodity and I look forward to utilizing my UK genetics that I imported in 2009 again in 2012. It is difficult to breed seed stock that is of UK bloodlines when no one else here in the US seems to be on that trend (which is a shame). Its also hard knowing that the crosses bring so much money in our local market and we don't have to feed or overwinter any calves. Makes chores in the winter much easier.

I have had a stellar year with the dogs in the show ring and with the one litter I had in April. I was really pleased with the pups from Daisy's litter and kept back a boy and a girl from it to grow up and see how they do. The boy already has both majors in his two attempts for a major :) I also finished two Champion titles from the Bred by classes and looks as though I will have both of them with their Grand Champions in the next show or two. I'm so fortunate to have had the agreement of many judges with the virtues of my dogs.

I've looked back at my goals for 2011, which can be found HERE. I have done most of this with few exceptions. I'll be thinking more over the next week about what I wish to try and attain for 2012 and beyond. When I decide I'll be sure to let you all know :)

I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by a huge network of friends, mentors, fellow farmers, breeders and buyers. This is why I love farming and will always do it. So thank you all for making my 2011 such a great year and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us all! Thank you to those who believe in what I do and have purchased meats, wool, pelts and breeding stock from me. I truly appreciate your business and truly appreciate YOU.

Merry Christmas my friends and have a Happy New Year!

Less than 5 weeks until lambing

I need to get my lambing jugs organized, the lamb bucket of goodies prepared, the alleyways swept out and limed, and just stuff put back in place. When Shetlands get out they tend to climb stuff like cats, and everything falls on to the ground. Add in free range chickens (you know who you are....) and there tends to be a lot of my organizational skills put to shame. You would think with my OCD (self diagnosed) that this would drive me bonkers. It does. But it does give me something to do. And the animals look so innocent when I ask them about it.

I'm a bit overwhelmed with the thoughts of lambs coming already. I can't believe its nearly here. My friend Kathy D in PA already had her first lambs and I just can't believe anyone would want to lamb this early! Most of my neighbors with the big meat breeds are already all shorn and lambed out. I can't understand the shearing thing. Its the coldest month of the year and their sheep are slick shorn. It makes no sense.

Its been over 6 weeks since Adam has left. He decided he needed to stay in Milwaukee after the holidays and while we still talk nearly every day, its very dull and boring here in comparison to having his bubbly personality here. He is going back to school and has a job now. We still remain the best of friends and although he is missed greatly here, he is doing what he needs to do and I am happy for him. Unfortunately I am having some health issues related to this change but am working through it and am thankful for all of my friends amazing love and support during this time.

Lambing would have been MUCH easier had he been here, but I've done it alone for many years so what's another year? I believe the lambs will be better than ever and I'm just super excited to see what comes out of these breeding groups. I really have a good group of animals and now its just tweaking what I need in my own personal flock. Proven ewes will be available if they have ewe lambs this year so if you are looking for proven ewes with good lambing history, blood tested negative for 4 diseases, micron tested yearly and proper breed type, then I may have just what you are looking for ;)

Hope everyone is doing well in this cold and snowy time!

57 days

Its been 57 days since our last day above freezing (or even 32 for that matter!)

Today was 30 degrees and it was very enjoyable out. The pregnant BFLs and Shetlands even tried kicking up their heels in the 2-3 feet of snow that was compacting much faster underneath their heavier bodies. Now when it says it will be a HIGH of -3 for the next few days that snow will refreeze and the 'ladies in waiting' and myself can walk on top of the drifts. That makes for much easier chore time.

I'm really happy with the condition of my ewes. The Bfls seem either very fat or they are carrying LOTS of lambs. The Shetlands are all well conditioned and although, being a primitive breed, carry their fat around their organs, you can tell that they are still not missing many meals.

I am going to start feeding them twice a day versus once a day as their growing babies are not going to allow for so much food intake at one time. The BFL and Shetland adults are doing well on 1st and 2nd cutting Timothy/orchard/brome mix and the Shetland ewe lambs (yearlings I guess technically) are on nice 2nd cutting alfalfa/timothy blend. Everyone looks quite happy......well except for feeding time when I am MUCH too slow for their needs. The rams and the BFLs at least don't scream. The Shetland ewes and yearlings are MUCH too bossy. Another reason I love 'em lol.

Stay warm everyone! The last few days when its hovered around 30* its been 'so nice' outside that my dad and I have got a lot of things taken care of outside.....gates shoveled out and opened....more roads plowed out around the farm, wood cut and hauled in to the wood stove, snow pushed off of roofs, barns rebedded with new straw, etc. So much for weekends hey?

Real Farming....

Today I took 25 sheep to the local auction. Prices were 96.00/cwt - 170.00/cwt so it was a mixed bag. Its not a typical place for sheep buyers so didn't think the prices were going to be as high as say some of the auction barns that sell sheep by the thousands every week. I was happy with the prices and even happier that I don't have to feed 2.5 bales more a day now!

In any real farm situation where money is ultimately whether we keep the farm or not..... I culled several ewes with mastitis that i shipped, ewes that were old, ewes that didn't have the fleece type I preferred, ewes that sheared terribly every year (due to thin skin, not the rise). I sold rams with bad horns, one had a bad bite, one had one nut, several were extremely cow hocked, etc.

For anyone who thinks I am only breeding for fine fleece can think again! Conformation and temperament, breed type and all the primitive traits that we all love are also top notch. But for every single virtue, there cannot be a major fault and so culling exists. Its part of life.

So do you think that by having all these things 'pop up' in my breeding program make me a bad shepherd? In the least! With 175+ lambs born this spring, I am bound to find things like these things. It happens. And by culling them out, I hope to not see them expressed any time soon :)

I've now made three rounds of culls. First the obvious culls went. Then the ones that I knew would never 'turn out' in to what I had hoped for went. Then the ones with one major fault that I just couldn't over look.

My flock is by far better off now after these three culls than I can ever remember. I will be wintering over 18 rams (three BFL and one Texel and the rest Shetlands). Most are F1s or certainly F2s. I will have around 100 ewes and ewe lambs wintered over. The highest yet, but also the highest quality. I'm quite excited to see what my commercial ewes and my purebred ewes produce.

I'm taking in 6 lambs to butcher for myself and Adam to feed us over the winter. 2 Texel cross (over Shetland Mules and Shetland-Cheviot ewes), 2 BFL purebred, and 2 Shetland purebred. I"m going to put a T, B or S on the packages so I know if the flavor really is so different between the breeds and will be able to better promote my meat to my friends and neighbors. I already have a waiting list for brats, leg of lamb, steaks and chops and lamb burger! COOL!

A few more days of work and I"ll be able to breathe and catch up. No snow yet!

Shell Shocked

My dad informed me this weekend he was 90% certain he wanted to sell all the cows (mine included) and rent all the cropland to the neighbor. I get that he has already spent over half his life farming and just wants to come home and mow the lawn.

This doesn't sit well with me. Even if I just have the pasture for my sheep, I would need approximately 2,000 small square bales to feed them through the winter. I can get that on two hay fields, but if they are rented out, I dont' have the money to buy that hay.

Moving to a mostly commercial flock of Mules bred to a Texel would in the end pay just for the hay and mineral and such. Is it even worth it?

I'm not sure what to think at this point. My dad has threatened that before, but never really thought about it. This time he seemed very certain and had spent a large part of his past few months thinking on it.

I can respect that decision, but I cannot live with it. Especially if I want to continue with my sheep and cattle. I'm not in a position to purchase a smaller farm either.

Prayers and thoughts are accepted :)

Farming as a way of life

For the past 117 years this farm has been a way of life for FIVE generations in my family. Farms as most of you know do NOT have a secondary income, do not have off the farm jobs and everything that we have, has come from farming the land or making milk with our dairy cows or meats with our beef cattle, pigs and now sheep. For a farm to make it through five generations, something must be working.

I cannot fathom living any other life. This life is not easy, nor would I want it to be. The new and daily challenges that it brings, can only make a family stronger, body, soul and mind.

Farming MUST make money to continue in existence. As a young child I cried every time I had to sell one of my cows because they were poor performers in some field (calving, milking, putting pounds on a calf etc) or were old, losing molar teeth, bad feet etc. I promised I would try and breed better animals that were more sound, healthier, lived longer (longevity), milkier, easy keepers with low input. I"m proud to say our family has attained some success but our work is NEVER done. I feel there is always room for improvement.

Its nice to have pets to scratch on their backs or under their chins but in the reality that is farming, we have to sometimes let those go, even if they are our cherished friends. In truth, new friendly animals find their way to us and we have new friends to scratch and tell our secrets too :)

Today I just had the vets come out to draw blood samples on 54 mature sheep. It took 6.5 hours (what could have happened DID happen). Do I have the 1,000 dollars to pay for all the testing, the lab fee, the vet visit and their hourly rates? Its a priority to me and I make arrangements to have it done. Its something I feel strongly about and don't think you need to do it. But I must admit its a good selling point. People feel 'safer' buying from someone who has tested for these blood diseases and micron tests. Those are two of the very first questions asked when I get emails regarding sales. Do I do it for the sales? they sure help pay for stuff, but ultimately for the health of my flock and the strain on my body/mind are the main points. I get paranoid about having any sheep or cow or pigeon that is sick or unthrifty. The more I can do to keep them healthy, the better.!

Dogs are also a huge part of our farm operation. If we didn't have herding dogs, breeds that have been around for hundreds or thousands of years (just check out the 24ish breeds in the herding group with AKC) we would be lost. The dogs not only bring us the livestock, but they do it in a calm and easy manner, something a 4wheeler or person could never do. These dog breeds were MEANT to work on the farm, period. I wouldn't have any other type of dog than a herding dog. Especially since I live on a working farm.

Integrity. I stand behind my animals. Their health, their quality, their purpose. I would think any farmer would. The proof is when you have repeat customers. They are the best advertisement you can have :) And I thank my customers....those that have purchased beef (breeding stock, stock for feedlots and those that purchased meat) pork, (meat purchases), lamb (breeding stock, fleeces and meat..yes all three), pigeons for pets or breeding stock and soon to be dogs. Being a multi-faceted farm is like any 'old school' farm, where diversity ran rampant and the concentration of one species in climate controlled barn was never thought of.

Our family farm works. Plain and simple. It has to, or we wouldn't have jobs, a place to live or a paycheck. I have no one else to pay for my bills, no spouse to work off the farm to make the real money. Its just me. And I need livestock that sells and produces goods whether it be meat, milk, breeding stock or fleece. And I think I'm doing just fine thank you!

Freedom of Speech

Family issues continue to be troublesome. I've had several relatives email me with disappointment and frustration in regards to me blogging about it.

I truly believe that blogging about my good days and bad is only normal and also therapeutic. No one needs to read my blog if they don't want to! And I'm also very thankful for my blogger friends who have given me advice and support through all of this.

It may not be as bad as I originally believed but it still is emotionally damaging to me and my trust with my family has all but been broken due to the nature of how they have handled this.

I guess for any further correspondence about it for the time being you will have to email me privately to know what new and recent events have happened.

gramsay@arvig.net

Possibly good news

I talked to my Mother briefly tonight before supper and after I mowed my lawn (and I think before chores?? My days and hours are all running together) and she assured me that my sister would NOT be purchasing a major portion of the farm and that she thought it was a 'non issue'. My Mother stated to my sister that she has had no prior interest in farming and so why would she want any of the land?

Even if my sister would purchase 10 or 20 acres there would still be rights by my dad to farm that land until he quit farming or i bought the farm at which time I could possibly rent or use the land they weren't using for their homestead. This makes my life a lot easier to handle right now.

Long term and short term goals can still be kept in place and everyone can be happy :)

Thank you again to all the private and public prayers and thoughts for me during this very emotional and uncertain time. I appreciate all you guys!

Mini Herding Trial

Today was Day 3 of "let's work outside all day because its nice" day.

Over the night time water was somehow finding a way into the barn UNDER the huge piles of snow that are on all sides of the barn (like 6-8 ft of snow that fell off the roof). My gorgeous, clean, swept then limed, bedded with straw and moved sheep around floors were full of dirty icky nasty spring cattle yard water (if you don't know what this is, please inquire I'll be glad to discuss it with you! )

So I enlisted my dad with the loader tractor to help move the snow as my snow blower was just not getting through it fast enough. But before I could do this on the west side of the barn I had to lock the girls IN the barn. This was easier said than done. My Sommarang girls think that they are wild mountainous big horn sheep (minus the big horns) and jump straight up in the air and refuse to go in the barn. I only have to turn around to chase them back in and the other 24 ewes in that pen come crashing back out through the door wide enough for one ewe at a time :)

"this is ridiculous" I think to myself as I'm too winded to speak at this point. I run with what is left of my energy back to the house and enlist veteran herders Oliver and Sadie and 'freshmen' Zoe. I always wish I had my camera during these times!!

Shetlands as you know are a non flocking breed, so they tend to scatter and quite easily. I thought I'd have enough help with one or two but three was really too much for me to watch....and so instead of concentrating on the sheep, I was too busy watching the dogs in action. Oliver at times can be a little rough with the sheep (I think he's just over excited) but all three new the word "wait" and didn't go 'in' to the flock unless I told them they could. The smiles on their faces were quite evident and the mud and manure on their bellies was going to have to come off later!

With some of the sheep only used to Livestock Guardian Dogs and not herding dogs, I didn't want to freak the sheep out either as they SHOULD be about 2-3 months pregnant by now. After a few 'practice' go arounds, The dogs eventually figured out where I was wanting the sheep and that it wasn't a 'free for all' for the dogs. The sheep also realized that they could not escape me and three short barking, dodging dogs and eventually got all but one of the 'feral' Sommarang sheep in the barn. When those dogs saw that one sheep had 'gotten past' them they all without asking went after the remaining ewe and brought her up along the barn to where I was standingin front of the door and i moved the gate slightly and the dogs brought her in. And for good measure Oliver went into the pen inside and barked. I'm thinking probably he said "AND STAY THERE!"

I was so proud of my babes that we ran and jumped all the way back to the backyard where they could 'wash' off a bit until I could get the rest of the snow moved. After the snow was moved I let the sheep back out and they were most forgiving, running right up to me probably to ask what the heck those things were (remember not many of this group had been worked with herding dogs before). The dogs the had to get a bath which they hated but they LOVED the after bath roll on the ground, couch, bed, chair, carpet, rug or whatever would hold still long enough to rub.

I'm sure I"ve completely ruined any chance of them being trained PROPERLY for herding but they still managed to get the job done and that is what I needed. Thanks kids!

I'm famous!

well sort of...

The Fergus Falls Daily Journal just left. They are doing a "profile" on 'interesting' people in the county and my website came up in a google search of my town Perham. Interesting is the least! LOL An amazingly tall, slender, beautiful, intelligent and of course NICE girl came as the reporter. It was hard to keep my eyes off of her :) She was around my age, probably younger. I digress..........

She came to do a report on me and the different animals I had on the farm. What I did with them. The places I've traveled because of them, the states and countries I've sold them to. It was quite fun. She was amazed. Not by me, unfortunately, but by the animals and how much WORK it was! :)

The article should come out in March and she said she'd be happy to send me the link and some hard copies as souvenirs. I"ll be glad to post the link so you can see what they say about me! fingers crossed its good!

What I'm doing

After the past few days of letting all the new information about what people are doing for breeding groups settled in, I thought long and hard about it. On the one hand, I realized that people have a hobby (perhaps the sheep) and hobbies bring them joy, excitment and a range of emotions. Its also typically a money pit. I should know. I have two hobbies that are money pits. I knew this going into them, but I enjoy them and so feel that the emotions and friendships that I've acheived are well worth their weight in gold. I have the dogs. I knew from the beginning that the dogs would be a money pit. Kind of like kids (so I've heard).

I also have pigeons. I've had pigeons since 1993 and a small chunk of my income (ok pretty substantial) would always go to the pigeons. In 2006 I had my first year where I felt comfortable even selling pigeons for breeding, and sold them at lower than average prices. In 2007 I had quite a demand and sold quite a few at current market trends. Those sales paid for my trips to the shows and hotel/food etc. It also paid for the minerals/vitamins/pro-biotics as well. They've never paid for their food or housing but even if they can pay something back I'm happy about it.

The sheep were really supposed to start as something for Sadie and Oliver to herd. I had just acquired ducks and the two of them loved to move them across the yard, but I wanted something larger for them to herd. I also knew from learning, that Shetlands were not the greatest at flocking (ok I'm being nice, they actually suck LOL, trying to spread out into the area to cover the most ground...they are such pigs). After I really fell for them I thought perhaps it was time to try and 'make a go' of this financially as a second income. Granted the first few years are 'building up' years and a lot is invested, but I was ready to do it. The cattle were a second income, why couldn't the sheep be? My mindset was then made up. They were livestock, here to eventually create a profit between fleece, meat and breeding stock.

Now that the cattle are increasingly becoming more expensive to maintain, my dad and I are cutting drastically back to a handful of breeding cows. I'm putting most of my eggs in one basket with the sheep and hoping that in lean years when there was no market for my animals, I would put most of the Shetlands under the BFL ram and get market mule lambs. This year however I was able to move out all of my for sale sheep that I had offered for sale. There are a few ram lambs left that didn't sell yet, but if they do NOT sell, I will gladly take them to the butcher in the spring for more lamb brats and breakfast sausage (hey that stuff is GOOD!)

I've been really nervous now about breeding 30 ewes, when everyone else has just a small handful they are breeding. I worry that there will be no market and I"ll have an enormous amount of lambs left over to sell. However, after talking with Rayna about it and my parents, I realized that if everyone else is only breeding a few lambs, that most will not have many for sale, and hopefully people would direct them to me, who will have many to choose from! If no one else is breeding in large numbers, there won't be as many lambs available next year, hopefully bringing prices back up again. If I'm completely wrong (which I"ve been known to be many times), I will take most of my mature ewes next year and breed them to the BFL for market lambs the following spring. I would only breed my best ewes and lambs to the Shetlands next fall.

I had thought about doing that this year, but with the massive AI I am doing, I will hopefully have 12-24+ lambs that are are all over 60% UK, and from an array of Shetland UK lines. With those lambs, I had hoped to keep most of them and they would 'replace' their mothers here. Their moms could either be bred back to a different F1 ram lamb line, if sales were good and numbers back down, or they could be bred to the BFL if no one was interested in buying them.

Livestock, for me growing up was very utilitarian. Its true I had 'friends' among the animals and I cried, well like a little kid (I was one once you know) when I had to sell old "April" or "Blackie", or when 'MY' pigs had to go to market. I balled and balled and balled but it didn't bring them back to me. It was a hard part of life I had to deal with. And even though I was very sad, I was very happy to have the money to buy NEW animals with, or pay of bills with or buy things with.

When I was in college I had a few of my favorite cows left. April, Daisy and Blackie 2 (yes how original). They were 9, 10 and 11....all getting up there in age. Some hadn't been bred the year before and were extremely fat...they didn't settle by AI or by natural breedings with the bull. The ones that did calve, had weak calves, or the calves were always getting sick, the mom's didn't have enough milk etc. I just couldn't keep them here as pets when they eat at least a round bale each per month (I'm just guessing). That's a lot of cash for a young kid with school debt and a new car. They had to go.

I typically don't go to the sale to watch them sell them, but I had to say goodbye again. I always take photos of the animals before they go to market. I have several photo albums plum full of photos of animals that I've had to sell and didn't want to. I sometimes even yet get teary eyed looking at the photos, but glad that I have those photos to remind me of them so I never forget them.

Anyway I went to go see them at the auction barn. They were out back in the 'butcher cow' pens....where all these holstein dairy cows were packed in there like sardine's and my tiny little jersey/red angus cow April and my hereford/angus cows Daisy and Blackie 2 were all in the mix. I nearly wept then and there. I said in a soft voice " Hey girls" and all three lifted their heads above the huge beasts next to them and faught their way over to the fence to see me. I lost it. Those trusting, amazingly smart girls had found me. I almost opened the gate to take them back home. I can never do that again..............

So you see. I do have a heart. Its not that I like to take them to market, but its a part of reality for me, a part of the farming life I've learned to deal with. Its makes more room for the productive, healthy, robust and new, better animals. That's what I have to keep reminding myself. There is no room here for sentimental livestock. Someday when I'm rich, maybe....just maybe there can be.

Flock tested negative!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that my entire flock of sheep tested NEGATIVE for OPP and Johne's. My last four Pygmy Goats (which are for sale) have tested NEGATIVE for Johne's, CAE and TB. I didn't suspect them to have any of these things but its great for peace of mind!

Catching up

Well let's see:

I get up early in the morning to judge my first County Fair exhibits for 4H and Open classes for all types of pigeons. Its my first county level judging assignment, although I've judged Breed Club shows and panel judged several larger shows both here and in The Netherlands. Those kids can be TOUGH, so I hope I do ok.

I'm trying to coordinate some flights for sheep to go to Alaska AND to Georgia. It doesn't help that we are all so busy!

My sister is due with her first child next Thursday. That's the day I'm supposed to leave for Michigan and MFF. I keep getting this guilt trip from my sister, and my entire extended family. Hey it isn't MY kid, and if it weren't a dog/sheep/pigeon show weekend I'd be there! I can't help it that they moved her due date up THREE weeks!

We have another 600 square bales up in the hay mow. It is now around 1000 bales. That should last me an entire year if we don't have any more pasture to graze or drought happens.

I've been halter training my three Shetland lambs I'm taking to Jefferson. They are my older lambs, my favorite ewe lamb Centennial, the gray katmoget, crimpy, single coated girl out of Jazz and Chloe, and a ewe lamb named Sheridan, an intermediate fleeced, very correct structurally, black krunet out of Jazz and Shasta. The ram lamb is Lyons, a shaela krunet with a nice set of horns to him. He's all but lost his krunet now, but his fleece is SO crimpy all the way to his britch. He and Centennial are so tame without the halters on, but try to lead them and they lay down! They do stand nicely when tied to the fence; chewing their cud or trying to graze the grass. Its only my 2nd day, so I'm not expecting the world. Its my first time ever halter training LIVESTOCK so its an experience for all of us!

What have you been up to? I've been checking all the blogs lately and everyone must be really busy. I've been checking, but not leaving any comments...who has time for that?! :) lol

Enjoy your night!