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We are done having lambs for this year.


Digital_photog

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10 hours ago, Airehead said:

So sweet

If I remember right you have a very large back yard with a pond.  You should fence it all in and get some of these live lawn mowers. You could save the expense of buying and maintaining a tractor.  Only thing else I may suggest is you get a llama and Great Pyrenees as guard animals against Wile E. Coyote.

Oh, $h*t,  I may have forgot something.  You do need a tractor, haybine, hay rake, and baler to make winter feed for them.  Also you will need to keep part of that large yard as a hay field instead of pasture.  You will need to take over the agility barn to store the hay.

How soon do you want a flock of sheep?

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12 hours ago, Digital_photog said:

If I remember right you have a very large back yard with a pond.  You should fence it all in and get some of these live lawn mowers. You could save the expense of buying and maintaining a tractor.  Only thing else I may suggest is you get a llama and Great Pyrenees as guard animals against Wile E. Coyote.

Oh, $h*t,  I may have forgot something.  You do need a tractor, haybine, hay rake, and baler to make winter feed for them.  Also you will need to keep part of that large yard as a hay field instead of pasture.  You will need to take over the agility barn to store the hay.

How soon do you want a flock of sheep?

Mr  Aire says no sheep 

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Our last 3 with their moms in the pasture. They've not seen the inside of a barn, as they were born in the last week or two. We like it when young ewes just have singles.  Helps them get use to the process without the stress of keeping up with multiple lambs. Ewe lambs and heifers are 'special'!

0V2A6907.jpg

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7 hours ago, sheep_herder said:

Our last 3 with their moms in the pasture. They've not seen the inside of a barn, as they were born in the last week or two. We like it when young ewes just have singles.  Helps them get use to the process without the stress of keeping up with multiple lambs. Ewe lambs and heifers are 'special'!

0V2A6907.jpg

So you think it was good that both of our first lamb ewes had singles?  The 2 older ones had ram/ewe twins.  3 ram and 3 ewe lambs.  One ram lamb is already sold.  The others will be our show lambs for this year.

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3 hours ago, Digital_photog said:

So you think it was good that both of our first lamb ewes had singles?  The 2 older ones had ram/ewe twins.  3 ram and 3 ewe lambs.  One ram lamb is already sold.  The others will be our show lambs for this year.

As you well know, having worked in dairy, all animals are different.  However, over the years, we've found it best if ewe lambs have singles, unless they are going to be penned and not put in larger groups of sheep, for extended periods. Over the years, that same ewe may produce twins, triplets, and some even may have quads. One can enhance the chance for multiple births, by flushing and selecting replacement ewes and rams that were from multiple births. That is one of the main reasons to id the sheep and keep records. We cull for multiple reasons, but a ewe lamb having a single is not one of the criteria. I googled your breed before I responded, and in most cases, they talk about multiple births in 'mature' ewes, but not so much in ewe lambs. Some folks that show sheep in certain breeds, do not let their sheep lamb until they are yearlings, thus allowing the animals to convert all of their feed into growth. Also should add, that we have ewes that 'can count' and are not happy when you take one of her twins, triplets, or quads, even for a short period of time. Maybe, to be continued.

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55 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

As you well know, having worked in dairy, all animals are different.  However, over the years, we've found it best if ewe lambs have singles, unless they are going to be penned and not put in larger groups of sheep, for extended periods. Over the years, that same ewe may produce twins, triplets, and some even may have quads. One can enhance the chance for multiple births, by flushing and selecting replacement ewes and rams that were from multiple births. That is one of the main reasons to id the sheep and keep records. We cull for multiple reasons, but a ewe lamb having a single is not one of the criteria. I googled your breed before I responded, and in most cases, they talk about multiple births in 'mature' ewes, but not so much in ewe lambs. Some folks that show sheep in certain breeds, do not let their sheep lamb until they are yearlings, thus allowing the animals to convert all of their feed into growth. Also should add, that we have ewes that 'can count' and are not happy when you take one of her twins, triplets, or quads, even for a short period of time. Maybe, to be continued.

Shetlands are a slow growing breed.  Most do not breed them till they are a year old.  Our lambs born last year will be bred this fall.

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