Sheep Chat Thread

[AlienChick]

Here's a pure black lamb we just tagged yesterday.
I think there's a total of four born in the last week.





We tagged this one, too.
Not sure what to call this color.

 

[ScottnLydia]

How about Silver Fox! Gorgeous babes! Mine always seem to fade as they grow up, do yours? Perhaps it's the 'mile high' ultra violet fading.

Silkies, how is the lambs tail doing? Still waiting to hear.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

We tagged this one, too.
Not sure what to call this color.

That one kind of reminds me of a grulla horse. It sure is neat colored!

 

[RoyalT]

Here's a new, clearer pic of my little flock:

I much prefer the Icelandic fleece to the Shetland...

Who shears their own sheep? What clipper head do you use??

 

[ladyrsanti]

Aw, they look great! So pretty (and as messy as mine are right now for all the hay). I will be shearing my own but I only have hand shears and zero experience so no help from me, lol.

 

[Acresofchickens]

I have a question for some sheep-peeps. Because of the hay shortage, there's a local shepherd selling off some of her soon to be born (or already born) lambs. Some are purebred, and others are cross. The cheapest ones listed are $150 for a Jacob/Romanov cross. We have lots of hay pre-bought, and have experience with other bottle babies (horses and rabbits). Would this be a wise investment? How long is a bottle baby typically nursed, and at what cost?

I have had experiance with a bottle baby before and I will not do it again.

Reason 1: They turn out to be bad moms because they were never shown by their real mom how they are supposed to feed the babies, wean them or pretty much care for them at all.

Reason 2: It costs more money to bottle feed them then it does to buy one that is allready weaned (for me anyway). Because you have to spend your money buying separate feed for them and you have to spend extra time with them and not with your other sheep.

Good reasons: Sometimes it can be fun to bottle feed a lamb. They follow you around everywhere and make great pets.

Hope this helps!

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

I have had experiance with a bottle baby before and I will not do it again.

Reason 1: They turn out to be bad moms because they were never shown by their real mom how they are supposed to feed the babies, wean them or pretty much care for them at all.

I agree that bottle babies are usually not a great choice for replacements and that they are often poor mothers, but I think it goes much deeper than not being shown how to care for a lamb. In the animal world it seems to me that there are good mothers and poor mothers. I don't think baby lambs are capable of learning anything about being a parent from their mother the way that humans can. Mothering is something that nature tells an animal to do and either the animal is capable or it isn't. Lambs born to ewes who are poor mothers would die without human intervention, and animals that don't raise babies don't pass on their genetics, so that ewe's poor maternal instincts would eventually die with her. It's survival of the fittest.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Here's a new, clearer pic of my little flock:

I much prefer the Icelandic fleece to the Shetland...

Who shears their own sheep? What clipper head do you use??

I really like the deep red color on the one in the back.

 

[RoyalT]

I really like the deep red color on the one in the back.

Thanks That's Gus, my ram. He's super sweet.

 

[chickengirl4]

Hey I breed sheep and i also show them in 4-H. I only own 3 ewes but they drop nice lambs for me and They turn out really nice.

Here is my one lamb from last years fair show!