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baymule
Garden Master
It was fun. It got dark and kids played hide n seek.Sounds like she had an amazing birthday!
It was fun. It got dark and kids played hide n seek.Sounds like she had an amazing birthday!
That one is Cleopatra, named for black eye circles. They have mostly faded away, but she still sports some heavy black eyeliner!What a great story Baymule, and such adorable ewes. I have already picked out my favourite; it's the one with its head cocked to the side, looking especially charming.
They are adorable! All I know is that they will have a great life on your farm!These ewes are registered White Dorpers. There are Black Head Dorpers and White Dorpers. The Black Head Dorpers are more than a little psycho and the rams are fairly muderous. I started out with 4 bred ewes, a mix of Katahdin and Black Head Dorpers. I got a Black Head Dorper ram. He was intent on breaking both my legs and I really had to keep an eye on him. NEVER turn your back on a ram! He was sneaky and hit me every chance he got. He was scared of plastic grocery bags, so I waved a bag at him and he’d run away. NO WAY I could let the granddaughters in the pen with him! I grew tired of his shenanigans, changed his name to Ramburger and he went to freezer camp.
A friend on BYC had a registered Katahdin ram that was calm, gentle and a real sweetheart. We struck a deal and BJ and I drove to Tennessee to get him. That was Ringo. Ringo sold me on Katahdins. I just had to put my old Ringo down a few weeks ago.
I’m moving into registered Katahdin sheep. I love the breed. So why add registered White Dorpers to the flock? Because Dorpers have a meatier carcass than Katahdins. I can integrate them into my flock on the Katahdin breed up program. The third generation is eligible for registration. They must be inspected for certain criteria, such as a good hair coat and shedding their winter coat out clean and slick.
Katahdin sheep are known for their parasite resistance. Not all are parasite resistant, I cull hard for that trait. Sheep can get such an overload of intestinal worms that they drop dead. East Texas is prime country for worms. So parasite resistance is pretty important.
Dorpers are not as parasite resistant. I will be closely monitoring The Texas Five for parasites. Bred to a parasite resistant Katahdin ram (Cooper) they will more than likely have parasite resistant lambs. I will cull lambs based on worm count. I take fecal samples and examine them under a microscope, so I know who is wormy and who is not. Those lambs, bred back to another parasite resistant ram, will produce a greater likelihood of parasite resistant lambs.
My ultimate goal is to have a parasite resistant, meatier carcass, flock. My immediate goal is 30 breeding ewes.
My most immediate goal is fencing! And cleaning fence rows, taking up old fence, driving in new T-posts, new sheep and goat wire and a whole lot of sweaty dirty work. It’s gonna take me awhile…..