Re: [blackbelly] (no subject)
I am glad others leave their ram out. I only seperate my ewes for the first few days to let them and the babies have time together or if one just needs some alone time. One of my ewes just had twins, way off of my others. She wanted out of the pen and I let her. She had them behind the barn and is very happy being away. Most of my girls lamb the first of the year and in the fall. I let mother nature take its course. We feed alf/corn and grass hay and alfalfa and vit/min. They all seem to do well. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Nancy Richardson Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 2:48 PM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: [blackbelly] (no subject) We leave our ram year round. The ewes only bread when they are able to. We have some that breed after the lamb is 4 weeks and some that don't breed until the lamb is 3 or 4 months old. It just depends on the ewe. All are fed hay/alfalfa mix some grain and mineral protein blocks year round so all are seemingly healthly. We have ram lambs for sale for breeders and a some ewes also. Nancy - Mossysprings Ranch ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[blackbelly] Breeding Programs
Waxing philosophical here, and not being contentious or argumentative. The ability to produce more than one litter of lambs per year is one of the priceless genetic gifts our blackbellies come equipped with. It is necessary in some production models such as accelerated lambing and is part of the genetic gold that may theoretically be used at some point in the future to correct selection errors that are sending some species of domestic animals down the poop chute. Allowing breeding only once per year may actually be selecting against this trait. Or in cases like myself, breeding only in February/March for late summer lambs... with enough time, would I create an isolated race of Blackbellies capable of breeding ONLY in Feb/March? Right now I am taking advantage of their polyestrous nature. I could be mindlessly headed down the road to eliminating it through preventing its natural expression. The opposite is true, too. If I deliberately select too heavily for a certain trait and discover later that it screws up some associated characteristic, I may never be able to un-select that previously desirable trait. How can I know? It's one of those cases of we don't know what we don't know. But it is a case in point that we can't let sentimentality interfere too much with our breeding choices. I would highly recommend reading the ALBC's conservation handbook to anybody who cherishes the Blackbelly sheep. Not for a blueprint of how to run a breeding operation, but as an eye opener how one's breeding choices affect the future of the breeds, indeed the future of domestic livestock. Being a hobby breeder doesn't mean being exempt from the laws of nature. Regards, Barb L. ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[blackbelly] Questionaire
Hello group, After reading the latest on copper supplements I got to wondering. This group seems to be spread out over most of the U.S. and I am very curious as to what each of us feeds our sheep on a regular basis. I have added many items to my sheep diet because of this group. I think it would be interesting to see if we all do basically the same feed or are there any real big differences? My daily routine: Dry cob/ Alfalfa hay AM.I sprinkle a little Biotin in with the dry cob.( Corn, oats, barley). Selenium w/ Deccox added free choice. White salt free choice. Pasture grazing. PM carrots, apples,old bread, veggies, etc. A few times a week they get some beet pulp pellets, and the ewes and lambs get some pelleted creep feed. Sometimes I put out baking soda free choice. I worm with ground flax seed which is added to any food. Just curious if you have a minute...what do you feed??? Dayna ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] thistle
At 07:19 PM 5/27/2006, you wrote: Hay Julian, let me clue you in to another perfectly astonishing thing about BUCKWHEAT. It has a profound ability to take soil phosphorus which is unavailable to other plants, and when plowed in, release it in available form to other plants!!! When we had our soil tested recently it came out to about one pound of available phosphorus per acre! :o( In the garden last year, I planted three successive crops of buckwheat, which I allowed to flower for the bees, then plowed under. When I tested the garden soil it was positively SATURATED with phosphorus!! Go for it! If you could rotate it with legumes, then throw on the wood stove ashes, you'd have a nutritional goldmine! Regards, Barb L. Yeah, the phosphorus and calcium scavenging is definitely another plus. I just did a little reading, and incorporating cow peas or soybeans with the buckwheat works well to boost N levels, so I'll call my seed guy on Tuesday and see what he can get me. Or maybe I'll mix in some field peas into my pasture mix this fall, and use those for adding some N. I could also seed more into the pasture in the spring, to help the grass hold up better through the summer. Apparently, field(winter) peas continue fixing N even when they are grazed. I don't know if other peas/beans do or not, but field peas were specifically mentioned to do that. I'm not sure where I would get that much wood ash, or how I would spread it out. Supposedly feeding imported grain can cause an over-accumulation of potassium in the soil, so my free ranging chickens may take care of the potassium requirements anyway. Hopefully feeding kelp meal and DE will contribute more trace minerals to the soil. Julian ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] Mineral Mix
At 07:32 PM 5/28/2006, you wrote: Barb, What is the mineral mix recipe that was from Pat Coleby? Maybe we aren't giving our sheep enough of what they need. We noticed that we had pretty small lambs this spring and a lot of singles - I was thinking that it was just the ewes taking a break from multiples Sure would appreciate the info or where to find it - it is on the net? Sue Miller According to http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/irrabina/info.htm#ml the mix is: 25kgs dolomite 4kgs copper sulphate 4kgs sulphur powder 4kgs seaweed meal Since all that really matters is proportions, you can substitute lbs of kgs. Julian ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
