Not Doggos, Kittehs or Parrots...

"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2) 01/16/2017 at 16:18 • Filed to: None

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It occurs to me that I ranted a bunch on here about quitting my job, and may have mentioned in passing that “the sheep” would be getting more of my time as a result, and I haven’t really introduced “the sheep”.... so here are most of them:

Fred is the most adorable, friendly, snuggly little ram, and a registered Blue Faced Leicester.

The Doctor isn’t quite as snuggly as Fred, and certainly takes himself more seriously, but he is an awfully good boy too, and a very handsome specimen of BFL-dom.

the ladies are quite laid back, but most are not as openly friendly as the rams.

relaxing is an important sheep activity for Little Moose.

Fred wonders if the camera is edible... The Doctor wonders if my beard is edible...

Fred would be very happy to come in side and live as a house/lap sheep.

Bros.

Bobolink is the exception to the “ewes are less openly friendly” rule. She loves a good head scratch and has been known to lay down on people.

from left to right: Meadowlark, Bobolink, Peggy (out oldest sheep) Maryanne, Valentine (back) Tardis (front) Little Moose, Dalek, and Eleanore.

Meadowlark is also pretty friendly, but she’s not as hands on as Bob. The Cormo-cross ewes in general are more social than the Blue Faced Leicesters, though Maryanne is very curious (but easily spooked) and Eleanore has been known to receive a few scratches from time to time.

Currently there are 9 Ewes, all pregnant with at least twins (so we’re expecting 18+ lambs this spring) and two rams (who are kept separate from the ewes and are DESPERATE for attention). At this size the flock pays it’s own bills plus a small profit in the +/-$1500 range. We hope to expand it to a point that it pays at least one of us a living wage. But in order to do that we need to buy a farm... we currently rent, and our landlords let us graze on about 10-12 acres of their property, but we’re looking for 35+ acres to support a meaningfully profitable flock. This is the main reason I’m not currently driving a Focus RS...

AMA re: sheep.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 16:22

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Do you agree that goats are the spawn of satan?

vondon302 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 16:24

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Nice little flock. Is that profit monthly?

Funktheduck > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 16:31

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What do you do with them?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 01/16/2017 at 16:37

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Goats are... goats. Dairy goat does can be very sweet and nice, but they are always pushy and dangerously curious. If a goat likes you it can be like a dog and follow you around and even learn voice commands, but if they DON’T like you, tough shit, and it ain’t never gonna change. Sheep will follow almost anyone with food, goats will follow people they like, weather they have food or not. Buck goats are disgusting smelling and horrible sexual predators, but even they can be friendly, IF they like you. Oddly, sheep are much louder, but goats never fucking shut up. A big, dominant ram in rut is probably more dangerous to your actual physical health than a buck goat, but the buck goat *WILL* try to rape you up the ass. Thankfully our rams are extremely well socialized and like people. The Doctor is near 300 lbs and although Blue Faced Leicesters don’t have horns, his skull is about an inch thick solid bone, and his hoofs are potentially quite dangerous. Goats that haven’t been de-horned are quite aware that they have dangerous weapons on their heads and are not afraid to use them, sometimes only out of spite...

My GF likes goats a lot (she used to be a heard manager for a goat dairy), I accept that goats are useful as dairy animals, but like sheep much better.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 16:41

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I always hated goats. My friend’s family had some and one time one got out and ate a chunk of tire off of his Mom’s car. Another time one climbed onto their house some how. They’re truly demon creatures lol.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > vondon302 01/16/2017 at 16:45

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no, that’s yearly. Sheep profit is very tightly lumped around slaughter time (late summer, early fall). We aim to sell lamb for $9/lb hanging weight (skinned and gutted, but bone-in). A big lamb will dress out to ~60+ lbs average is more like 40+/-. Our spreadsheets say we should be ably to make useful money around 50 ewes (100+/- lambs slaughtered each year) and if we can get to 100 ewes we reasonably live off only sheep income. profits scale more quickly than expenses, especially with sheep, since they can largely take care of themselves for most of the year. We also make some money from wool, but meat is the largest income generator.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Funktheduck 01/16/2017 at 17:01

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dual use: wool and meat. The Cormo-cross are fine-wool sheep with a very soft, bouncy wool that’s similar to Merino, but not quite as soft. it’s an excellent choice for durable wool clothing as it’s soft, but tough and resilient, it makes an excellent hat, socks or a very durable sweater. the Cormo breed was originally developed as a “dual use” sheep, but they have slipped out of active development most places and the carcass characteristics are not as predictable or valuable as we’d like, the wool is excellent though... Blue Faced Leicesters are quite common in the UK, but are rare in North America. They are a meat sheep, that just happen to have very nice wool. They are long, wide, tall sheep that convert feed to meat very efficiently and they are well developed genetically to provide a consistent and large carcass. They are a “long wool” breed, which means they have fast growing wool that forms tight ringlets. The Blue Faced Leicester has been carefully bred to have a low lanolin content in their wool (little to no washing required before processing) and to NOT grow wool on their legs, heads, bellies and butts. This is noteable as those areas are usually ruined by dirt, urine, or food contamination in other breeds. Blue Faced Leicesters are both easier and quicker to shear than other sheep, and although they yield relatively “little” wool from a shearing, it will typically be almost 100% usable and require little post-shear processing. Adults need to be sheared twice a year due to their fast wool growth, and lambs can be sheared before slaughter, making them more valuable at a young age. BFL wool is soft and drapey, not at springy or rugged as the Cormo wool, but it works well for scarves, shawls, and fashion (as opposed to utility) sweaters.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 01/16/2017 at 17:03

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Goats are also quite tasty. I approve of that use for them.

Funktheduck > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:31

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Neat. Really glad you didn’t say “sheep brothel”

Xyl0c41n3 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:32

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Makes me sad that, for so many years, goat meat was considered poverty food. It was a “lesser” quality meat that was a lot more accessible to people who couldn’t afford beef (partly because you could keep a couple of goats in your yard). But now? It’s so much more expensive than beef or chicken. My mom LOVES goat and kid, or cabrito, as it’s known in Spanish. It’s something she grew up eating as a poor kid from a poor family who sometimes had to work as migrant farm workers. Now it’s so pricey that she’ll only eat it on special occasions, like her birthday.

She used to make it when we were kids, too. In a savory gravy with mollejas (sweetbreads). She doesn’t do that as often anymore, either.

vondon302 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:32

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Neato! Intresting and very good to know. Sounds yummy too. Thanks for the info and good luck!.

OPPOsaurus WRX > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:32

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I love lamb....

....chops

Xyl0c41n3 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:33

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HELLO LIL GUYS!!!!

*Gives all the friendly sheep some head scritches*

Sheep are cool animals. Though it freaks me out how they and goats have rectangular-shaped pupils.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/16/2017 at 17:36

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Lambburgers are also excellent ;) Lambs are adorable and cute when they are born, and for the first several months of life, and by the time they’re large enough for slaughter they are bratty, annoying, pushy teenager-analogs and you don’t feel bad at all about sending them to the freezer. Then you get more adorable lambs next spring!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Xyl0c41n3 01/16/2017 at 17:42

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it is weird, but it lets them see nearly 360-degrees even when their heads are down and they’re grazing. Recent studies indicate it also allows their corneas to be more highly optimized for visual acuity over that narrow strip, instead of trying to make a larger, optically-high-performing round area. It’s an efficient adaptation.

Xyl0c41n3 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:43

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Wow. Cool! TIL. :)

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/16/2017 at 17:57

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I need to try goat. I love lamb, although I’m sure goat isn’t as good, but it’ll assert my dominance over them once and for all!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 01/16/2017 at 18:01

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I would argue that both are excellent. Goat is a little “grainier”, it has prominent muscle fibers, but the flavor is actually rich and mellow. It responds to the slow cooker VERY well and makes killer soups and stews. I feel like it’s closer to beef than venison, where as lamb leans the other way.

Birddog > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 01/17/2017 at 01:52

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That is awesome! This is one of my plans for the farmland I’m searching for now. Though I’m planning on raising Angus cattle.

I wonder how many AG folks are on Oppo now. 

Pickup_man > Birddog 01/17/2017 at 09:23

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One (sorta) here, grew up on an acreage outside of a small farming community in SD, FFA alum, had a lot of friends who grew up on farms and I’ve spent a lot of time helping out. I went to school for mech engineering, and currently work for a pickup accessories company, but would love to find a job with an Ag related company at some point. I don’t have a ton of interest in raising animals, or crop farming, but I fully intend to get an acreage at some point. I’ve got more friends who work in Ag than not, either actual farmers, agronomists, seed/feed saleswomen, techs, etc.