Life goes on, here's a photo of our 3/4 Shetland ram lamb being followed by Onyx yesterday. He's a nice little package, look at his hindquarters. He's got fabulous fleece, he's polled and he could be carrying gulmoget under that white.Thanks to all for the condolences on Abby's lamb. I'm feeling better now that Abby is out with the flock again and looking so good. She's just the sweetest ewe. I'm taking her off my sales list. ;-)
I got to try out the Udderly EZ Milker. It is easier than I thought it would be. I froze a couple little bags of colostrum for future emergencies. Abby got used to the milker and seemed to enjoy it. When she was done, she walked away. She has a harem of ram lambs more than willing to relieve any pressure, but she doesn't let them.
I figured it all out, Abby's lamb was number 77 born here since we first started out with Shetlands in December, 2001. There have been 39 ram lambs and 38 ewe lambs -- amazingly 50/50! At times it seemed we were inundated with rams. Then last year was a fabulous ewe lamb year.
So we've had a run of good fortune actually with lambing, I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the 20 healthy lambs gamboling around the pasture and that Abby has bounced back so well. I am thankful, but nervous, about having one more ewe to lamb Lord only knows when. Hopefully we won't end our lambing on another sad note. Cora is the ewe on the left in the photo above. I love this time of year when the leaves are just budding on the trees. That's our oldest son, Alex, walking the fenceline with Ozzie outside the pasture.I put our two BFL rams, Granite and Dougal, together Tuesday afternoon. Pugsley, the 7/8 Ile de France yearling, is gone already (he was just TOO big!) and the two Babydoll wethers left Tuesday morning. I still have the Babydoll ram, Albert. He is for spoken for and will hopefully be placed today. He looks like a plump little pig sometimes.
So now my mission is to get my sales list completed and to update my website. We have lots of nice ram lambs to sell this year - purebred Shetlands and several BFL/Shetland crosses. I will have a couple Shetland mule ewe lambs to sell too.
so no 3rd tier ram to use this fall??
ReplyDeleteWow, a ram could get dizzy at your place with all the rapid changes!
ReplyDeleteLOL Michelle! As I'm sure you know, it's simply a matter of economics -- not much pasture and high hay prices mean we just can't keep any extra mouths to feed around here right now. Pugsley was a very BIG presence in the paddock. Sweet natured as he was, he was just too big. I'm excited to try a taste comparision between him and the Shetland lamb.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling better now that I have several of them lined up for new homes. I'd like to keep the flock at 16-20 sheep, so that means some tough decisions. I hope to keep only the two BFL rams (in one pen) and maybe lease a polled shetland ram - preferably black with spots and a moorit recessive.
As for a third tier sire Garrett, I MIGHT still get the Ile de France bottle lamb and use him for breeding while he's still small. But I'm a little gun shy about the possibility of big lambs after Abby's experience this weekend.
Another option I was thinking of is leasing a NCC ram to use on my Shetland Mules.