LDKM1422
Tue, 26 Jul 2005 08:30:30 -0700
In a message dated 7/24/05 6:54:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Why did you choose blackbellies instead of one of the other hair breeds? Pasture/weed control, Home-grown meat(personal health concerns), Ease of care(no docking, shearing, lighter weight/manageable for middle aged folks and older), hardiness, local availability, price and their looks. At the time, I also thought we were helping preserve BBS. ;-) What "sold" you on blackbellies? After starting with 3. 2 ewe lambs and a ram lamb. Their intelligence, curiosity, alert personalities and all the above mentioned reasons. They "grow" on you. smile We enjoy watching them, they watch us, too. They want to be near us. Inside the fencing or out. Lately, we've been letting them graze the backyard again. If we go into the duck yards they all stand at the gate waiting, go to the deck they graze nearby and periodically come to the steps and baaa. If we are walking outside the fence they'll follow along as far as they can go. They're smart! They know that if another pasture gate is open and they can continue their walk with us, they'll run to that pasture and catch up to rejoin us in our walk. lol Are you making any money from them? None. What good are they? Grazers, less gasoline needed for mowing and weedeating. Home-raised, pasture fed Healthier, lean meat (that's a hard one when you get attached to all their wonderful live qualities, though that makes a person appreciate the food much more),and emotionally therapeutic. Being able to observe them is relaxing. I guess like some people watch fish in an aquarium, though the ABS are more entertaining and endearing. smile If you raise or have raised other breeds of hair sheep, how would you compare the blackbelly to them? Good features? Bad features? We have one cross ewe. Blackbelly-Katahdin. Dh doesn't want to keep her because she isn't an ABS, he likes the markings on the ABS and she hasn't produced any lambs. I told him I like her just because she is different. A beauty with her own personality and she does eat weeds and grass, so still holds good purpose whether she lambs or not. Beautiful coat. If you sell to a meat market, how is that working for you? No meat market, but we do know that a local butcher place is available should we decide to sell a freezer lamb to family/friends. Our primary goal is our freezer locker. If we have "extra" that would be a plus to help assist with hay and grain cost. What other questions would you want to ask me if you were sitting in the audience listening to all of us tout our breeds of sheep? The final choice would all depend on my purpose for buying sheep. Local availability vs. transport cost. Price compared to other breeds. I would want to know about shelter and fencing requirements, hay and grain requirements and pasture needs. Immunizations and worming compared to other breeds. All cost factors to consider. Thus far we haven't wormed or immunized. Very dependent, imo on flock size, region and a watchful eye. Home stool analysis. No vet care available. Livestock vets in some regions are no longer available because of the increasing liability for vets. I'm the doc, another factor that should be mentioned. I wouldn't hesitate using conventional means ie. wormers, antibiotics, if the need arises, but would prefer alternative methods first. ie.Home stool analysis and natural wormers like pine needles. They all appreciate having baking soda available free-choice. Block or loose minerals and salt. Regionally they may need selenium supplement. >> Ultimately, the audiences underlying purpose for getting sheep will determine which breed they choose. Some folks consider the ABS too nervous, and not docile enough. They wouldn't like having this breed, if that's the case. They are very jumpy as lambs, but settle down with age and I guess watching the older ones behavior around the humans. I consider them highly alert, not nervous. :-) Diana _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info mailing list Visit the list's homepage at Blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info@lists.blackbellysheep.info http://lists.blackbellysheep.info/listinfo.cgi/blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info