Re: [Blackbelly] Underdeveloped twin, please help
I fed my babies for 3 months. I should have weaned them sooner maybe but when they started to eat on their own I had to substitute warm water for a couple of weeks just to ease them off. Aloha a hui hou kaua! (Goodbye until we meet again) Barbara Heavens POB 1869, Kea`au, Hawaii 96749 (808) 968-0814 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Underdeveloped twin, please help
PS: I hope folks are using Lamb replacer and not Goat Replacer. All the goat people around here use cow's milk for the goats and seems to work fine after a couple of weeks. We all want the goat milk for cheese/soap making and we like tame goats (especially if they arent' de-horned). We have a new association here for Sheep and Goats since they are quite popular to control our constant supply of weeds. PSS: You put the guava juice in the front end, not the back end. Just wanted to make sure that was clear. Aloha a hui hou kaua! (Goodbye until we meet again) Barbara Heavens POB 1869, Kea`au, Hawaii 96749 (808) 968-0814 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[Blackbelly] Are Blackbellies easy to sell?
My husband is wondering how easy are these sheep to sell? I believed going into this, that through the consortium, I wouldn't have a hard time selling my lamb crops? What can you folks share with us about this topic? We would love to hear from you. Jack is of a mind that we may have chosen the wrong breed of sheep to diversify our farm...mainly due to the cost of necessary fencing and a lack of markets for them. I am in love with them and want to stay with them...so please help me out folks. Our experience is in the cattle markets... Thanks, Shawna and Jack Gulick Gulick Farms Fair Grove, MO ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[Blackbelly] Lambing time
Congrats on your pictures Rick Krachthey were really great. This is something we do with our heifers that I wanted to share. We have seen on our farm that with our first time heifers, if we grain them in the evening5:30-7:30PM they almost always calf in the day time particulary in the morning or noon time. We are going to try this at lambing time with our Blackbellies to see if it works with them too. Our first time ewes are due starting the beginning of May, so we'll see. I will keep the list informed. Just FYI. Shawna Gulick Gulick Farms Fair Grove, MO ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Are Blackbellies easy to sell?
Hi Shawna, The Barbados Blackbelly Consortium of Breeders is always a good place to sell your ewes, but now that we have a more plentiful supply of good polled rams, there is less demand. This is good news in a way because in 2004 there were fewer than a half dozen breeding BB rams in the entire U.S. The Consortium is dedicated to the conservation of the BB breed, and getting new breeders interested and excited about the breed and selling them starter flocks of top-quality sheep is the best way to do that. Most blackbelly breeders, regardless of American or Barbados Blackbelly breed, develop a niche market for their rams. Because the flavor and texture of blackbelly lamb is so marvelous, they are an easy sell once you develop the initial customer base. Depending on where you live and how reliably you can provide a steady supply of lamb, you can market to ethnic groups, restaurants, neighbors, etc. Marketing your lamb is no different than marketing any other product. It takes time, patience, and work. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned Ellie Winslow's free marketing newsletter for farm products available at http://beyondthesidewalk.com/index.shtmla . It would be great if folks on this list would share their marketing strategies with everyone. And don't forget that I'd be happy to add your contact information to the Blackbelly Listserv Breeders Map at http://www.blackbellysheep.info/ Please understand that it takes me time to do this and I'm delighted to add people who contribute to the group. But I've spent countless hours adding new people only to have them unsubscribe from the list a week or two later. It takes time to remove the information as well. Carol At 10:24 AM 3/2/2009, you wrote: My husband is wondering how easy are these sheep to sell? I believed going into this, that through the consortium, I wouldn't have a hard time selling my lamb crops? What can you folks share with us about this topic? We would love to hear from you. Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Are Blackbellies easy to sell?
The link below will give you an idea of the meat lamb market in Missouri. Prices are about as good as they are going to get in February. The rest of the year the prices are more depressed for market lambs. I just sold 76 lambs at 56# avg. weight for $1.2272/pound ($68.72 each). I get 89% of the sale price ($61.16/56# lamb) the other 11% goes towards commission, lamb checkoff and sheep promotion. These were 8 month old lambs. The question at hand is can you feed them cheap enough to make money off of them. Selling breeding stock for profit depends if Disney will come out with a Blackbelly sheep movie (my opinion). http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateN; navID=MarketNewsAndTransportationDataleftNav=MarketNewsAndTransportationDat apage=MOSheep Mark Wintermute My husband is wondering how easy are these sheep to sell? I believed going into this, that through the consortium, I wouldn't have a hard time selling my lamb crops? What can you folks share with us about this topic? We would love to hear from you. Jack is of a mind that we may have chosen the wrong breed of sheep to diversify our farm...mainly due to the cost of necessary fencing and a lack of markets for them. I am in love with them and want to stay with them...so please help me out folks. Our experience is in the cattle markets... Thanks, Shawna and Jack Gulick Gulick Farms Fair Grove, MO ___ ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Underdeveloped twin, please help
I have had a couple of goat kids over the years that were small and not as lively as their siblings but seemed okay until about three weeks, when they went downhill rapidly. Since this is about the time the rumen should be developing, I theorized that there was a rumen problem which is why they were okay as long as they were only drinking milk. I nursed them along, but they never did well and died within a couple weeks. The autopsy revealed a malformed rumen and a lot of backed-up, undigested milk. I don't know if this is what your lamb has, or if lambs can have this problem, too, but my vet didn't think it was hereditary, only congenital. Bonnie - Original Message - From: Michael Smith mwsmotorspo...@gmail.com To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:17 PM Subject: [Blackbelly] Underdeveloped twin, please help Had a ewe with one of her twins half the weight of the other. At 2 weeks, he's 4.5lbs and she is 8lbs. His name is Bam Bam. here he is on his birthday, you can see the size difference: http://picasaweb.google.com/mwsmotorsports/February_LambS213091011AM#5302876349358364882 Noticed after a few days, he was always listless, hunched, not frolicking, and I started to bottle-feed him some pasteurized goat's milk from the store, to supplement what he was getting from his mom. His mom would feed both sibs, but Bam Bam seemed never to be getting more energy. After supplementing her feeding, he seemed to rally a bit, At this point, it was time for us to separate the lambs, since we were planning to bottle-feed them from here on out, anyway. He again became more listless and no prancing around. He has never been a bottle-puncher and always acts like he is full. trying to be patient with him, you're lucky to get 1oz in in 10 minutes. The other 8-10 lb lambs, of course, can kill 10oz in a feeding. His temp was about 100.3 in the middle of the day. Being new to sheep, I took him in to the local livestock vet who is also a sheep breeder. He suggested tubing him, and taught me how, and we got 4oz in him the first time. I was very encouraged. But, each time thereafter, I'd get a bit in, and then when adjusting the tube a bit, the syringe/funnel (no plunger in syringe) would fill back up with 20cc of milk or so, with a rancid smell. In the mornings, even in an enclosure with a heat lamp, his temp could be as low as 95.5. Usually 97.5 or so. Two days of trying to tube always resulted in the rancid milk and in one case, vomiting. Took him in this morning and the doc tried to tube him himself. Same result, he said the reticulum was holding the milk till it was going bad, which is why he gets no nutrients. He credited the smell with the milk being spoiled and mixed with mucous. I thought it was bile but he said sheep don't have bile in their reticulum. His diagnosis: the little ram is not fully passing the milk on thru his digestive tract. He has some feces and urine, but not enough. His prescription: Today has been sub-Q dextrose only 4x a day, and one vit-B shot (1/2 cc) per day. Try to get any remaining milk thru his system. Tomorrow will be: electrolytes via tube, and vit-B. Towards the end of the day, if I can mix in a bit of milk, to add to the tube, I will try. The point is to try to get his temp up and get him digesting. My question: is he just mal-formed and doomed, or has anyone seen a case where he could be less developed than his sister and be nursed along until his digestive tract catches on? Michael. Perino Ranch Blackbellies. ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.4/1976 - Release Date: 02/27/09 13:27:00 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
