Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

[Akrnaf2]

The Month of Tishri

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday1.htm



A whole MONTH of holidays? Well OK>>>13 days of special days of which SEVEN you cannot work on. So long as it is PAID holidays, I would enjoy that! Otherwise, UNpaid holidays do not make the bank account grow...I got creatures and feed to buy, so I work.

I work for BIRD SEED!


And dog feed, and sheep feed, and human feed...
and oh shut up and just FEED me!
​

There IS NO SUCH A THING A UN PAID HOLIDAY! un paid holiday is exactly the definition of unemployment!
This time for me and for my family is the only bonus in my work! It certainly not the pay check!

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Please welcome...

ELDAD RAT​

Well OK...he's not actually HERE quite yet...this is the photo they sent me of him--he was born in April.

My son is coming to visit and he asked..."Mom, do you want me to bring you some seafood...how about a sack of potatoes?" I told him, I'd get back to him.

Well timing is everything...he'll be here in less than a week. His breeders (the man is in his 80's and been to the country of origin for the Dorper breed, South Africa twice) have sold the farm and have to be out by Sept 8...yup, skin of our teeth. The ram is from an old time line I have in my flock. So exciting to get genetics like this!

Our No. 1 son will be here with the new Dorper ram lamb on the 7th. Whee hee...

Wonderful

This weekend, perhaps we go to get 15 bales of hay...perhaps. See if the farmer runs away for the weekend or stays to load the trailer for the three trips we shall make.

2013 - Note the V of geese going South
​

Got the water hose running...later, eh.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Akrnaf2]

Very good! You will enlarge your herd gene pool.
And I can see from your pic background that it is autumn!
The migratory birds ( gees? Crain? ) Are flying south!

 

[drumstick diva]

Those are Canadian Geese Benny. They are protected in USA as a migratory species, BUT, they decided they like USA and won't leave. They leave lots of poo poo behind them. Geese are such fiercely protective parents, they generally don't lose any goslings., and have large clutches. They are unwelcome in most of our country, I've read that they dump 4 lbs. of goose poo every day, per bird

 

[Akrnaf2]

Those are Canadian Geese Benny. They are protected in USA as a migratory species, BUT, they decided they like USA and won't leave. They leave lots of poo poo behind them. Geese are such fiercely protective parents, they generally don't lose any goslings., and have large clutches. They are unwelcome in most of our country, I've read that they dump 4 lbs. of goose poo every day, per bird

Whooo! That is a LOT OF POO!!

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Very good! You will enlarge your herd gene pool.

Not with אלדד

He is related to my flock thru several ancestors--he is a backcross on similar relations. Not hugely related but related none the less.

I have him as a weaning companion for Èder AND as a linebreeding for Èden and Èvagelina when I decide to breed these two ewe lambs (maybe when 18 months of age or older-see how they turn out as ewes). Boss Man is still the main breed ram...he is very unrelated to all my females past his progeny.

This is a controlled back cross on to desirable genetics that I would like to see more of in the Dorpers here. Boss Man is a huge outcross and as a breeder, I will do a huge outcross for hybrid vigour but to rely on that with such a limited gene pool here is stupid planning. I will not rely solely on hybrid vigour for flock improvements as we continue to select for to Standard traits, by that fact alone, we cause inbreeding depression (genetics don't care if the trait we want is from an unrelated OR related sheep...the same trait to same trait hinders hybrid vigour's boost!).

So the best strategy is to choose animals that conform to the Standard (like to like) but outcross for the hybrid vigour and then choose well and careful to line breed back in again (a form of inbreeding).

Unfortunately us humans have chosen to produce registered purebreds that must conform to a Breed Standard to join that closed gene pool ... so we are limiting ourselves to a captive genetic base (that applies to most sheep breeds but Dorpers ARE an exception of five breeds here in Canada ...why I can breed Duro and grade her up to a full blood status of like 15/16's purebred) AND limiting ourselves to a set group of traits (as outlined by a breed standard). Double whammy.

And I can see from your pic background that it is autumn!
The migratory birds ( gees? Crain? ) Are flying south!

Not a photo from 2017...that was taken in 2013...not autumn here right now.

DD is correct, Canada Geese making the V pattern back in 2013, it was Autumn when we were moving these bales of feed.

It is not that autumn here just yet, but soon, leaves will be falling, blowing around making a big mess and then the White season will be upon us. Winter.

The fella we were suppose to get the bales from has decided once again to go holidaying instead of selling hay. We are now on the look out for someone more diligent and wanting to sell their hay. LOL Oh well. Not very serious about their professions I guess.

BTW, lamb, rack of lamb in the stores is selling for $69.99 per kilogram...

For you Yanks...that is $154.30 per pound for a rack of lamb! Sure glad Eldad is not being sold to me by the pound at that price...cripers, eh! I could not afford to own a sheep at $154.30 per pound...

What did I say Eden weighed the last time I reported here...?? <I go an find it...>

Last Monday...

Èden weighed 62 pounds - $9,504.60
Èvangelina weighs 51 pounds - $7,818.30
Èder weighs 51 pounds - $$7,818.30

The three lambs at that rack of lamb price per pound...mean I have as of last Monday, this much lamb value (ignoring the fact they are not just racks of lamb and there is like a 65 to 50% waste to saleable carcass meat) = $25,141.20.

That is ludicrous!

My summer of lambs should be worth twenty five grand...

Those are Canadian Geese Benny. They are protected in USA as a migratory species, BUT, they decided they like USA and won't leave. They leave lots of poo poo behind them. Geese are such fiercely protective parents, they generally don't lose any goslings., and have large clutches. They are unwelcome in most of our country, I've read that they dump 4 lbs. of goose poo every day, per bird

DD, the Canadian Geese near the cities and golf courses don't fly South...so you have resident US geese where you are at, as do the Canadian cities have Canadian geese that never leave Canada. Thankfully for those of us out in the country side...the geese can't find as many of those manicured green lawns to stay for. Bwa ha ha....

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Akrnaf2]

I have noticed the Israeli name...... I love it, because my first born name, is very close. .... only one letter differs!
That are some ridiculous price, and Tara I think you need to re- check your mathematics there.........
It is because it is Dorpers meat, or lamb in general?

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

I have noticed the Israeli name...... I love it, because my first born name, is very close. .... only one letter differs!
That are some ridiculous price, and Tara I think you need to re- check your mathematics there.........

Of the three lambs born this year...two have Hebrew names & that was not by accident Benny. I usually name my sheep Latin names (language of the dead), but ancient names are lots of fun too...not like everyone is going to have these names! Celebrate being

Èden עדןe means delight.

Èder עדר means flock.

And both Èder and Èden have a second name Esau which is also Hebrew and means hairy though you say it is more like "stuffed animal!"

It is because it is Dorpers meat, or lamb in general?

Not likely Dorper lamb for sale at the grocery store...and I took GREAT liberty pretending the entire lamb was all rack of lamb...why not...choice prime cut, eh.
I did the math...$69.99 per kilogram is $153.30 a pound for RACK OF LAMB (which is merely a lamb chop with a long bone on it--heavy bone)...and each of the lambs weighted last Monday are 62, 51 & 51 pounds for a total weight of 164 pounds @ $153.30 = $25.141.20.

Let me have my fun Benny...with my three lambs, imagining them as racks of lamb...guard of honour!

It is an example that if a lamb was ALL RACK OF LAMB, which they are not (like Beef is not all porterhouse steaks!), would cost. Ha ha ha. $8,830.40 a lamb.

When first imported to North America...Dorpers were running in the thousands of dollars (and not only just rack of lambs--all the sheep!)...Fifteen years back (I bought our Jacobs in 2003...could not justify being a new shepherdess and learning to keep sheep on Dorpers), they were this in this pricing range...

http://www.backwoodshome.com/dorper-sheep/

Dorper Sheep - Revolutionizing the Meat Sheep Industry
By Darlene Polachic
Issue #75 • May/June, 2002

Full-blood Dorper rams currently range from $4000 to $5000. A full-blood ewe will bring from $5000 to $6000. Half and three-quarter crosses fetch up to $1000 and $1500 respectively.

Boss Man has some direct genetics that Ruby & Henry Soderberg produced.

New genetics are the bottleneck that lead to many getting out of Dorpers after a few years in them. Always having to import new material became too costly and the breeder of Boss Man, that is a vet, I spoke with him on the telephone and he got out of it because he was having to bring in new genetics all the time at great cost and inconvenience (lots of embryo transplants and semen in the pedigrees of Dorpers in Canada)...breed a few times and then run out of genetic material to keep breeding with.

An easy example is the ram Eldad that I am getting is one third the cost of genetics I would like to get next time...when I want to do a full outcross. Boss Man is top and bottom Australian genetics & the outcross for the ewes we have (ignoring his progeny here now). I am working on plans in future to purchase our next Dorper ram from Australian genetics again and expecting to pay three times as much as Eldad is costing (ignoring the costs to bring him here--the container my son is using to transport him costs $300).

We are not allowed to directly import from the country of origin (South Africa), so must import via Australia who is allowed to import South African genetics in the Dorper breed. There is a way but a more round about path and expensive too.

I suspect that CLRC (Canadian registry for sheep and other beasts) has allowed the Dorper breed to be upgraded simply because without this option, the sheep breed would soon be highly inbred and eventually sterile and become extinct?

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Akrnaf2]

Tara
1 kg is 2.2 pounds
So if 1 kg is 69.99$
Then 1 pound is:
69.99$ : 2.2= 31,8$ and not 153.3$
AM I missing something?

 

[Akrnaf2]

You are combating uphill!
Do Dorpers has shown a year symptoms of jenetic problems due inbreeding in Canada?