Just curious who else is living super frugal

[DennisK]

I read that too. I was a little confused by the way he described his Katahdins, he said his lambs were born weak and wobbly, took hours to get up,or something like that. Mine are standing right away, walking in minutes and running, if need be, in hours. He also wanted horns for handles. I've had both. Not a bad point.

Katahdins are great, Dorpers are excellent, crosses work wonderfully. Google images of Dorpers and you'll see why I like the way they are muscled!

They don't need much care, but 'palling around' with them is fun! He has a commercial herd, I just have a personal one. We're all buds. It's all what you want.

P.S. I had forgotten to mention that, with regards to your concern for cholesterol, a Texas A+M study found hair sheep meat (specifically Katahdin) had about half the cholesterol of chicken or turkey! My grass-fed carcasses have very little fat on them, yet always cook up moist and tender! I think it's some kind of magic.

I believe it was a Dorper that I bought at the 4H auction. The meat was excellent – and there was a lot of it! I wished I could continue to support that organization’s efforts, but new demands on my income have me pointed in other directions.
We are not sure that purchasing our first sheep should be from a livestock auction because we hear that most of them are those the farmer wants to be rid of – due to ailments or confirmation problems. I wouldn’t know a good sheep from a bad one at this stage of the game; so I need to find a source where the seller’s reputation is important. Anyway, that’s my theory. After I get an area fenced in and everything ready (a sizable expense in itself), I should be more informed about confirmation and health issues. Maybe I’ll be able to handle an auction by then.
I wouldn’t mind starting off with Dorpers. My environment is semi-arid, oak trees and grasslands. I am at about 2500 feet elevation, with not very much rain. We get about 6 inches of snow during the winter. I guess the only way to know if Dorpers will thrive here is to bring in a few.

 

[DennisK]

There's a lot of conflicting information out there, Dennis. The latest I've seen is that eggs are NOT the big bugaboo they've been touted to be vis a vis cholesterol...neither is butter for that matter. Plus the fact that these are natural, unrefined, unprocessed foods goes a long way...our bodies know what to do with the stuff in them, unlike say...hydrogenated vegetable oil...our systems get a taste of that and ask whisky tango foxtrot

I’m with you Mickey! Butter is good – goes great with everything including popcorn. Margarine is …….. petroleum – great for diesel engines.

 

[ScottnLydia]

I believe it was a Dorper that I bought at the 4H auction. The meat was excellent – and there was a lot of it! I wished I could continue to support that organization’s efforts, but new demands on my income have me pointed in other directions.
We are not sure that purchasing our first sheep should be from a livestock auction because we hear that most of them are those the farmer wants to be rid of – due to ailments or confirmation problems. I wouldn’t know a good sheep from a bad one at this stage of the game; so I need to find a source where the seller’s reputation is important. Anyway, that’s my theory. After I get an area fenced in and everything ready (a sizable expense in itself), I should be more informed about confirmation and health issues. Maybe I’ll be able to handle an auction by then.
I wouldn’t mind starting off with Dorpers. My environment is semi-arid, oak trees and grasslands. I am at about 2500 feet elevation, with not very much rain. We get about 6 inches of snow during the winter. I guess the only way to know if Dorpers will thrive here is to bring in a few.

You might check the "Sheep Chat Thread" under "Other Pets and Livestock". There is a lady that goes by SilkiesForEver that posts on there that raises Dorpers somewhere in California. She may be able to help you find a good breeder if she is too far away.

I understand how you feel about auctions, but sometimes stock is brought in just to get a quick sale rather than deal with selling individual animals to individual 'dikkerers', with a hundred phone calls, and being stood up a couple dozen times, plus insults, (can you tell I've done this?)

You can usually tell sick animals, and young lambs are usually being brought in for slaughter, not because they're sick. Craigslist will have some from time to time, but no guarantee on their health either. You can check the web for breeders in the state, but they will often have registered stock, which is more expensive, and you don't need that unless you are going to shows anyway. Keep all your options open.

 

[erinszoo]

There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol and in natural foods like eggs and butter they are found in healthy combinations. The thing most people don't understand is that you have to keep them balanced. Eating enough of the good kind will keep the bad kind at the right levels. Eggs are a great source for doing that.

 

[luluann]

Great frugal score today. Was playing on Cl and seen someone giving away 4 red hens.. well I hesitated to call because it is usually a joke. Well I did place the call drove down there and it was real. Not sure the breed of hens or age ( ill be post them soon to be identified) but they looked very good. So also included with the hens is a coop 5 feet tall by 5x6, with a nice plastic roof. We took the pen apart because there is no way it would fit in my van. Only spent maybe 10$ in gas to go get it and Bring it home. Talk about a good day!

 

[bluejeans]

the zuni and Navajo and white mtn Apache people near here do a bit of sheprherding to,, like you say even older mutton steaks are not cheap any more..yet even mutton can be realy good if one knows how to use it..

 

[DennisK]

You might check the "Sheep Chat Thread" under "Other Pets and Livestock". There is a lady that goes by SilkiesForEver that posts on there that raises Dorpers somewhere in California. She may be able to help you find a good breeder if she is too far away.

I understand how you feel about auctions, but sometimes stock is brought in just to get a quick sale rather than deal with selling individual animals to individual 'dikkerers', with a hundred phone calls, and being stood up a couple dozen times, plus insults, (can you tell I've done this?)

You can usually tell sick animals, and young lambs are usually being brought in for slaughter, not because they're sick. Craigslist will have some from time to time, but no guarantee on their health either. You can check the web for breeders in the state, but they will often have registered stock, which is more expensive, and you don't need that unless you are going to shows anyway. Keep all your options open.

Thanks for the reference, Scott – and the insights concerning livestock auctions. I checked out Crag’s List and found a lot of ads for Dorpers. I don’t think I will have a problem finding sheep when I finally get a pasture area fenced off. We want to use 6 foot wrapped wire fencing as we have problems with coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. Hopefully, that will discourage them. The cost will run us about $1500 and some sweat. Then we will need to build some kind of shelter for birthing ….. lots of work to do.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Thanks for the reference, Scott – and the insights concerning livestock auctions. I checked out Crag’s List and found a lot of ads for Dorpers. I don’t think I will have a problem finding sheep when I finally get a pasture area fenced off. We want to use 6 foot wrapped wire fencing as we have problems with coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. Hopefully, that will discourage them. The cost will run us about $1500 and some sweat. Then we will need to build some kind of shelter for birthing ….. lots of work to do.

That sounds good Dennis. You might be able to save some money by just going with 4 foot wrapped wire, and then barbed wire strands every 8 inches or so above that to make 6 foot. No predator in their right mind is going to try to get between those strands, and few can jump over. One more strand of barby stretched a few inches above ground level will discourage diggers like coyotes and dogs.

A good practice is to have a paddock, a small fenced in area, up close to your house. Get your flock used to coming in (like for hay or treats) in the evening and shut them in. have motion sensor lights and/or your gaurd animal(s) in with them. Let them out to graze in the morning. This works well for me and several of my shepherd friends. It also gives you a chance to get a close look at your ewes that are close to lambing.

On lambing, they do it where they want to. Sometimes, though not often with hair sheep, they need some help. After lambing you will need a "jug" (from the old term for jail) which is just a small enclosure in a barn or shed, protected from the elements. Place the lamb(s) in there and the mama will follow. I just use pallets with slats close enough so that the lambs can't get through, and close off one end of my shed. This is to allow mama and baby time to get acquainted, learn how to nurse, etc., without interference from other sheep, and the risk of seperation. A jug only needs to be about 4 x 4 or so. They stay in there for about 3 days, or until they are strong enough to run with the flock.

 

[mickey328]

We're starting to make our own bone meal...little bits at a time. I haven't tried it with other kinds of bones, but when I make chicken stock, I throw everything in the pressure cooker and once it's done, the chicken bones are quite crumbly. I let them dry and toss 'em in a bag. When I have enough to make it worthwhile to haul out the food processor, I throw 'em in and grind 'em up. I suspect heavier bones from beef or pork might not work so well, unless you processed them for quite a long time...and maybe not even then. I'll maybe give it a shot next time I do beef stock.

 

[ScottnLydia]

We're starting to make our own bone meal...little bits at a time. I haven't tried it with other kinds of bones, but when I make chicken stock, I throw everything in the pressure cooker and once it's done, the chicken bones are quite crumbly. I let them dry and toss 'em in a bag. When I have enough to make it worthwhile to haul out the food processor, I throw 'em in and grind 'em up. I suspect heavier bones from beef or pork might not work so well, unless you processed them for quite a long time...and maybe not even then. I'll maybe give it a shot next time I do beef stock.

EEEEK!!! DON'T EVEN TALK ABOUT DOING THAT! That poor food processor won't ever stand the strain! Chicken bones, O.K., Turkey bones even, and perhaps even pressure cooked pork rib bones, but you'll need some sort of industrial rock crusher to bust up beef bones.

A new food processor is pricey compared to what you would save on a bag of bone meal. Take this from a guy that had to shell out for a new transmission because he thought pulling a tree out would be cheaper than renting a chainsaw for a day!