Garland or Beth Stamper
Mon, 01 Aug 2005 09:48:10 -0700
Hello all, We are Beth and Garland Stamper of Powell Butte, OR., in central OR, near Prineville and Redmond. I've really enjoyed the recent posts concerning rams and their behavior. I am very new to sheep...my flock of BB sheep is my first experience with them. I've always been attracted to sheep for some reason, maybe it's my April Aries birth date?? <G> I didn't choose blackbellies...in fact, one chose us...the loose BB ewe that we captured a year or so ago got me really intrigued. I really didn't know what that critter was, coming up my fencline...a goat, deer, antelope ?? Barb and Bob Lee were visiting that weekend and we both just had to find out more about these "hair" sheep. Since I've acquired my little flock I'm really happy I didn't go with Shetlands like I had planned. Here's some of the +'s I can think of about blackbelly sheep: They are small...their size is compatible with my 5 acre place. And...I can actually wrangle my ram, if I need to get ahold of him. They are adaptable. Barb Lee is raising her flock on glorious grass pastures...very luck sheep! <G> I am raising mine in the high desert on grass and oat hay and weeds and juniper branches + a tiny bit of grain. We'll do a comparison taste test one of these nights at Barb's place around the campfire!! <G. They have HAIR! How novel!! I can't imagine dealing with wool sheep on my patch of juniper forest. I have a hard enough time getting pitch off the mares. They are truly beautiful. (Thank you for the compliments on my critters, Barb L. and Brad.) <VBG> They all look alike...and yet each is different! They are endless fun to watch...I am amazed at their antics, kindness and family-oriented behavior. They have a calming effect on me when they are just hanging out chewing their cuds. Their manure is tiny and very useful for compost in the garden. (I have 4 Morgan mares...that is enough big manure to handle.) They have multiple births. I don't have to shear or dock tails. They are more intelligent/curious than I would have believed. A few are even "friendly". Their meat is DELICIOUS! We butchered 3 junior rams last Feb. Not something everyone might want to do but we're OK with butchering our own and sticking them in the freezer. Well, that's what I can come up with this am. More about rams in a bit. Beth in OR Brad and Aimee Andrews wrote: > I got a beautiful ram from Garland and > Beth Stamper and he is just a gem. _______________________________________________ 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