Showing posts with label Teekah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teekah. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2015

My Sheep in June 2015

 I have a new ram ! My husband & I made a day of it and drove to Oregon awhile ago to buy a new ram from Ingrid Painter of Puddleduck Farm. I cannot adequately express what a delightful time we had with Ingrid and her family as we shared a lunch provided by them and talked sheep ! Can I just say it is rare for me to be able to unashamedly talk sheep with people for a bit and I get so excited and inspired when I do. ( I suspect my husband does too but he's more quiet about it ! ) This is Puddleduck Jonas and his sire is a Huntsberger ram, all the more thrilling for me. I am looking forward to next spring's lambs. Jonas has settled in here quite easily and is a fairly mellow ram .YAY !!!!
 This is my 2 year old ewe Teekah. Teekah is a trade for a ram we raised. ( Cedar Pond's Barbarian ) and is his daughter. I am going to sell Teekah because I have too many sheep and with the exception of our 10 year old Buttercup I don't keep 2 horned Jacob sheep in preference for the 4 horned. If I desired more 2 horned sheep she would be a keeper !
 This is Teekah's ewe ( girl) lamb, also 2 horned.



 Two of my older ewes are shown in this picture. The ewe looking straight on in the background is 10 year old Sassafras who had a nice ewe lamb this spring. The ewe in the middle looking at me is Naomi ...
.... who is 14 or 15 years old. She has no more teeth, has not lambed for 2 years , and a month ago I thought she was going to lay down and die. She rallied though and is now going strong. Her fleece is terrible and the only reason I keep her is for sentimental ones. My first sheep are now old, a few have passed away and I am still excited about keeping Jacob sheep. God is so good to me, silly sheep that I am, and He is a good Shepherd. If only I could emulate him a fraction in His good care, but I try !

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Cedar Pond Jacob Sheep in December

 Blitzen is a wether ( castrated ram lamb ) . His side horns are growing too near his face and need to be kept trimmed to prevent them from growing into his face. Castrating a ram prevents not only the obvious, but also dramatically slows down his horn growth, making it manageable to keep the horns trimmed. We decided to keep and halter train him because he has a really sweet and friendly personality. He likes being around people, and having a few soda crackers to offer him only encourages him all the more.
 This is Tasha, she is a lilac Jacob Sheep. She has funny horns, kind of like bug antennae !
 Naomi is my very old sheep. I stopped breeding her 2 years ago when she began needing assistance for her lambings, and raising her own lambs took so much out of her I could watch her condition deteriorate even with increased food rations. My ram , Tonkin, is pretty interested in her, you can see him behind her on the other side of the fence.

 Sassafras is a spunky sheep with a primitive wool coat. She grows a mane , a trait of the more primitive Jacob Sheep. She is a very good mama .
Teekah  is the lamb I chose in a trade for a ram I wish I could have kept , Barbarian. Barbarian is thriving at his new home and Teekah is a good trade I think. Love the spot near her right horn and her little spotted mouth making her appear to smile.

As the weather gets colder my sheep are more frisky. On cool sunny days they run around and leap over logs and each other. Soon I will have them sheared and in late February through April I look forward to new lambs!

I am participating in a  Blog Hop via*Homeacre Farm Hop , and hope you click on this link and check out all the wonderful and helpful blogs about all things homesteading & farming.