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The Worst has happened.


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Okay. I was warned, I admit it. But even though I took EVERY precaution, The Worst has finally happened.

 

I'm getting sheep.

 

Now I know you all just gasped in horror - hey! WAIT a minute! That's not horror! You guys are LAUGHING at me! Stop it! Stop it right now! Hmph. That's better. Wait! YOU there! You stop it too! I heard that! :rolleyes:

 

How can this terrible tragedy have occurred, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It was just awful. There I was, minding my own buisness, when all of a sudden out of a clear blue sky and without any provocation WHATSOEVER, people started offering me sheep. FREE sheep. Several different breeds of sheep. REGISTERED free sheep. Did I mention they were free? THEN - as if that wasn't bad enough - one of my friends mentioned that she missed having her sheep, which she had gotten out of when she broke her back and couldn't do the "heavy lifting" part of it any more. Apparently her family wasn't so into the sheep and they were just doing the chores to please her and out of a sense of responsibility to the animals, so she sold her flock. But then all of a sudden she pulls something like this! And as if all THAT wasn't enough, all of a sudden the REST of the family started missing the sheep TOO! And so they said I could board any sheep I might acquire right there with them in their already-fenced-and-shedded sheep enclosure! Oh, and get this - they already have a lamb creep and a separate ram pen, those jerks. Can you BELIEVE that? I thought they were my friends! Hmph. You think you know someone, and then all of a sudden BAM! Just like that, they join the conspiracy. Not so much as a by-your-leave. Sneaky ba$*&%ds.

 

Well. I must say I was expecting more sympathy here. It's not like several of YOU haven't suffered the same sorts of indignities. I can see I'm not getting any moral support from YOU lot. Hmph. ::flounces off to sulk::

 

mutter mutter mutter.

 

:D

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Ewe deserve some congratulations!! Can I come live with you??

 

Yes. Be absolutely certain you bring Woo and your camera. Oh, and also a roll of chain link, because with Woo and all your other dogs along we'll have to make a bigger fence. [Note to self: start making a lot of wine. NOW. Also lay in appx. 25 crates of Yummy Chummies for dogs and some Matanuska Thunderstruck for possible Angry Donut and Toilet Kitty catnip attacks.]

 

And I HOPE the dogs enjoy them - but not TOO much. (Must get much more serious about training Raven like right this second...)

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Oh, SURE. SURE that's a sheep laughing and not you. Try to get me to believe THAT. :rolleyes:

 

But before anyone gets too jealous... the sheep are free, but not the board. I really really REALLY needed something else to spend my money on (not!) And it may be I try this for a few months and find I can't afford it for longer than that (one of the things about being a vet is that I never know how much money I'll make from one month to the next). We shall see.

 

Meanwhile I'm thinking cute baby lambs, cute baby lambs....

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What breed(s) are you getting? Are they already pregnant or will you be waiting till next spring (as in the one after this upcoming one) to have the joy (snicker) of awaiting lambs at all hours, in all weather, worrying about them getting up, getting dry and warm, getting nursing, the fun of banding. I could go on, but why spoil all your fun? :rolleyes:

 

J.

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Right now just a few Shetlands (which do very well in this climate). A ram and a few ewes (like two or three, whatever I think I can afford). The ram was a requirement of the deal; not because he's a jerk, but because the owner feels bad that she can't run him with the rest of her sheep (she runs a rescue sanctuary and feels it's morally wrong to breed the sheep when she's in the biz of rescue. Have to agree with her there.) She wants him to go with "his girls" so he doesn't ahve to be so lonely. There has been some talk of Icelandics, but that situation isn't looking optimal at the moment. There was also a lot of loose talk of Suffolks (old-style thick ones), which is still pending but looks promising in the spring. (Anyone ever had meat from either breed? I think the Shetlands are yummy, but am not sure if that's breed related, or just the diff between the freshly-butchered-locally and the previously-frozen-and-shipped-a-long way.)

 

Probably will have babies in the spring - or at least, that's the expectation. And I hate to break it to you, but it'll be my friends boarding the sheep who get to have all the waiting-for-lambs joys.... they want some to put in the freezer, so they're trading work for meat. I will be sleeping blissfully during this time. :rolleyes:

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Probably will have babies in the spring - or at least, that's the expectation. And I hate to break it to you, but it'll be my friends boarding the sheep who get to have all the waiting-for-lambs joys.... they want some to put in the freezer, so they're trading work for meat. I will be sleeping blissfully during this time. :D

 

 

No you won't be sleeping....you'll be there waiting for them to be born, which won't happen while you wait :D So, then you will go home - just to change and when you get back you will wonder why you left as the new lambs will have arrived :rolleyes: Which just means that the next time you won't leave :D Forget "blissfully sleeping" at least the first season.

 

Congrats!

 

Karen

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We're not laughing at you....we're laughing with you :rolleyes::D

Welcome to the club!

The set up you describe sounds like the best way I've ever heard of keeping sheep the easy way!

 

Anxiously waiting for your new sheep adventure stories!

 

:D

Kristen

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Pssst... Pass it on - AKdd has sheep! Apparently, they're contagious!

 

 

Sheep for Christmas... Baaaa-aaah, humbug! :D That means leg of lamb next year! Be sure to talk to middlest younger sister about her lamb recipes. The lamb at turkey-day was *outstanding!*

 

Agreed with the others, that you'll be up for lambing. At least this next spring. Maybe not after, but certainly this upcoming one. I remember you and middlest-older sister bottle-raising lamb runts when we were kids, and doing a right fine job of it.

 

Only one question remains:

Will there be sheep races in the future?

:rolleyes:

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Don't do that, Doc :rolleyes: - I mean the topic heading, not the sheep thing. Of course I was panicking, wondering what disaster had befallen a cyber-friend.

 

Sheep are good. :D And especially with the sort of arrangement you've got. And you did need some pressure to get you really working on the dogs' sheep skills, didn't you? Enjoy - but be careful, especially of the ram.

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Don't do that, Doc :rolleyes: - I mean the topic heading, not the sheep thing. Of course I was panicking, wondering what disaster had befallen a cyber-friend.

 

Sheep are good. :D And especially with the sort of arrangement you've got. And you did need some pressure to get you really working on the dogs' sheep skills, didn't you? Enjoy - but be careful, especially of the ram.

 

 

Condolences on the sheep! Now you will have wool to spin, meat, mowing and fertizling all in one nice package. Ahha can I borrow a few to clear my hillside? I can't keep them :D .66 of a acre is barely enough for the kids, dogs, and garden. I'm still considering chickens but with racoons, foxes, hawks, eagles and coyotes, I'm not sure they would survive long.

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You lucky so and so :D I'd kill for sheep, rather Black Jack would kill for sheep. He's been wanting to herd so bad the last few weeks. I feel bad he cant right now. I know what you mean. There is no such thing as a free animal :rolleyes:

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Free sheep. Now there's an oxymoron.

 

I've never eaten Shetland meat. I would imagine it's sort of like bird hunting to get one. Horrid, foul little beasts. Suffolks make a wonderful terminal sire. Until five or 10 years ago, they formed the backbone of the UK fat lamb business, and are still probably the biggest single sire breed here in the US. But I wouldn't think that the Shetland would have the body capacity to produce enough milk to get a Suffolk-cross lamb to grow to its genetic size. There might also be some lambing difficulties. And Suffolks are not known for the vigor of their newborn offspring. When people say, "Sheep were born looking for a place to die," I often ask, "How long had you had the Suffolks?"

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