Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth predator alerts
I should have elaborated a little more on the predator experience. I think it was a neighbor's dog which is not fed and contained as it should be. This occurred inside a 5 ft high chain link fenced area of my front yard about 20ft from the house. The drought we experienced this summer and fall, has created a shortage of the usual fare for the predators. I lost my 3 cats this fall to (I think) Owls that have started to hang around. Every predator is now looking for food, but there seems to be no shortage of mice inside the buildings, and under the hay b ales. Skunks are also a real pain, I have trapped 2 from under my office and I would bet I could get another 2 from under there also... Cecil in OKla On 3/3/2012 12:39 AM, imgr8a...@comcast.net wrote: Well, I've had just a couple seasons of lambs now. My Blackbellies have had no problems lambing, they seem to do it with ease. But tonight, it is now 1:30 Saturday morning, my vet left about 12:45, after performing a cesarian section on one of my Finn Ewes. So, my ewe and her two new twins are in my basement. The reason we had a cesarian is she has toxemia, so I decided the ewe was more important, so we decided to take the lambs. They are doing ok, both are seven pounds. Now the hard part starts, I have to make sure they are nursing, but at the same time, mama can't stand up yet, so I have to shift her from side to side and if they don't nurse enough, I have to empty her milk so she doesn't stop her milk production. I'll be doing this every hour and a half through the night and tomorrow. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: Cecil R Beardencrbear...@copper.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Friday, March 2, 2012 7:11:40 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth I have had more troubled experiences this lambing than ever before. My ewes were too fat. I was supplementing them and had hay out 24/7. They just do not have the milk production they should have had. I had green pasture for them to graze on until the last2 months of pregnancy. When I had a stomach blockage in one of my ewes she was autopsied and found to have a lot of kidney fat which indicated she was in very good shape. She just liked milk replacer since she was a bottle baby and got into a sack and ate the top tear strip off the sack. The tear strip lodged in her gut. One of my best ewes had triplets 2 days ago, and it appears that while lambing with the first, a dog or some predator attacked and bit the nose off of the lamb. She had 2 more lambs which appear to be premature, their teeth are not showing. One has problems with its front legs, it was laying sprawled out on its stomach. It cannot hold its front legs together. I made a vest to hold its shoulders together. Also made a sling to hold it above the ground and let it excercise to build up its muscles. I don't know if this is from trauma or just premature. The other lamb is having trouble standing to nurse, so I am supplementing it. I have a theory that has not been denied by my vet. If the ram is allowed to run with the ewes, it is possible to conceive in both horns of the uterus. However the fetuses are 15 days or more apart in development. When the early conception lamb is born, the others are born due to the contractions. This sometimes explains the triplets with one very small, or one very large. It may also explain the anomaly of 6 being born to one of my ewes when I sold her to some of my contractor friends who just let them run to clean up their storage yard. It seems that the harder I try to make a good environment for my sheep, and keep them well fed, the more trouble they have with lambs. I had 3 abandoned babies this time, and am raising them in a playpen and an outdoor pen. I had one set of triplets and penned them up with the ewe, only to have her lay down on 2 of them and suffocate them. The little lamb that could not seem to keep up with Mama is now her only one. She is going to have a new home in 2 months. Also any one who cannot raise her lambs or abandons a lamb will go. I am just getting too old to have this much trouble. My ram lambs are also going to either be neutered at 60 days or sold This lambing was not supposed to happen. It was from a bottle baby ram that we felt sorry for, and did not want to band him when it was so hot this summer... Cecil in oKla On 3/1/2012 2:14 PM, Natasha wrote: Old pics and movies of Blackbelly twin newborns. Click the links on the top like Angie, Ruby, etc for other ewes with their lambs. Great pics! I liked seeing how you dealt with the ewe who didn't want to nurse by putting her in closed quarters. Last spring my one ewe accepted the first born but hated the second and was always sending him flying. I struggled with her and would tie her to something solid and hold her head while her little guy nursed. I did that for several day
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
I have had more troubled experiences this lambing than ever before. My ewes were too fat. I was supplementing them and had hay out 24/7. They just do not have the milk production they should have had. I had green pasture for them to graze on until the last2 months of pregnancy. When I had a stomach blockage in one of my ewes she was autopsied and found to have a lot of kidney fat which indicated she was in very good shape. She just liked milk replacer since she was a bottle baby and got into a sack and ate the top tear strip off the sack. The tear strip lodged in her gut. One of my best ewes had triplets 2 days ago, and it appears that while lambing with the first, a dog or some predator attacked and bit the nose off of the lamb. She had 2 more lambs which appear to be premature, their teeth are not showing. One has problems with its front legs, it was laying sprawled out on its stomach. It cannot hold its front legs together. I made a vest to hold its shoulders together. Also made a sling to hold it above the ground and let it excercise to build up its muscles. I don't know if this is from trauma or just premature. The other lamb is having trouble standing to nurse, so I am supplementing it. I have a theory that has not been denied by my vet. If the ram is allowed to run with the ewes, it is possible to conceive in both horns of the uterus. However the fetuses are 15 days or more apart in development. When the early conception lamb is born, the others are born due to the contractions. This sometimes explains the triplets with one very small, or one very large. It may also explain the anomaly of 6 being born to one of my ewes when I sold her to some of my contractor friends who just let them run to clean up their storage yard. It seems that the harder I try to make a good environment for my sheep, and keep them well fed, the more trouble they have with lambs. I had 3 abandoned babies this time, and am raising them in a playpen and an outdoor pen. I had one set of triplets and penned them up with the ewe, only to have her lay down on 2 of them and suffocate them. The little lamb that could not seem to keep up with Mama is now her only one. She is going to have a new home in 2 months. Also any one who cannot raise her lambs or abandons a lamb will go. I am just getting too old to have this much trouble. My ram lambs are also going to either be neutered at 60 days or sold This lambing was not supposed to happen. It was from a bottle baby ram that we felt sorry for, and did not want to band him when it was so hot this summer... Cecil in oKla On 3/1/2012 2:14 PM, Natasha wrote: Old pics and movies of Blackbelly twin newborns. Click the links on the top like Angie, Ruby, etc for other ewes with their lambs. Great pics! I liked seeing how you dealt with the ewe who didn't want to nurse by putting her in closed quarters. Last spring my one ewe accepted the first born but hated the second and was always sending him flying. I struggled with her and would tie her to something solid and hold her head while her little guy nursed. I did that for several day and got a sore back. After that I bottle fed him. I don't think she would have accepted him - I tried putting her urine on him ( I read that in a book), put her milk on him trying to get her to accept him. She would put down her ears and just beeline for him to butt him. She used to be so sweet and nice and now she's quite miserable. She was a good mom to the favoured lamb. If she delivers this spring I hope she does a good job of being a mom this time. Is a ewe capable of withholding milk/preventing it from coming down? Never ending questions, Natasha :) ___ 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
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
First rule of the animal kingdom: No good deed goes unpunished. That's the hardest lesson to learn...:0) Chris - Original Message - From: Cecil R Bearden crbear...@copper.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 6:11 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth It seems that the harder I try to make a good environment for my sheep, and keep them well fed, the more trouble they have with lambs. Cecil in oKla ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Cecil, So sorry to hear of all your troubles. Ruminants present a challenge, don't they. I am sure that you will get a lot of varying views on what to do. And I have only had 3 lambs, since we just got sheep. But I have been raising and milking Nubian goats since 1997. Two of my ewes are over-conditioned and the two of them had their babies, and have great growth in the lambs, one was a single(15#) and the other had twins(11# 12#). I was worried about their weight, but everything came out OK, and I will let them nurse longer to take off weight. Now, these are just thoughts, and please do not be offended by any of these questions. Are your sheep too inbred. Not having hybrid vigor? Have you ever had your hay tested? Is there a lot of farm chemical use around you? Do you have a good LOOSE mineral for the area out at all times? Not blocks, as I don't think that they can get the amount of mineral they need from a block, also it can break teeth. My vet also recommended to me, to put out iodized loose salt for my goats,( it is red in color) as she said they need iodine to make milk. But mine did not care for it much, as I had been feeding kelp. I do the same for my sheep. I feed twice daily. I feed 2ND cut orchard grass hay. If they don't clean it up, they get less in the evening. Twice daily, they get a pelleted feed, Ewe and Lamb developer 14% protein, but I don't give them allot of this, as my feelings for ruminants being feed concentrates, this is also milled for my area.. They need protein for milk and to grow kids. I give this 4 weeks before they are due to lamb, and while they are milking.. I also feed a small amount for 3rd cut alfalfa. 7 sheep get 2 flakes of alfalfa twice daily. Now, with dairy goats, if your feed program is lacking, that eventually you will have problems. Not that yours is lacking, just what I have heard. I almost hated to write this email as I have 3 ewes yet to lamb in May. All of my sheep are young, with none ever lambing before. My husband and I were just commenting about how easy sheep are to raise vs dairy goats. Good luck, and I know that I have written to you before, and believe that you live in Oklahoma or somewhere around there. Well must go for now, the girls are hollering to be milked. Liz Radi Nubian goats and Katahdin Hair Sheep Nunn, Colorado 970-716-7218 idaralpaca.blogspot.com ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Michael, Actually, I don't have Blackbely. I have registered Katahdins. My two ewes that just delivered were 1/2 wooly and 1/2 hair, dorper I believe. I reread Cecils post. Mine responce to him was probably not very helpful. Liz Radi Nubian goats and Katahdin Hair Sheep Nunn, Colorado 970-716-7218 idaralpaca.blogspot.com --- mwsmotorspo...@gmail.com wrote: From: Michael Smith mwsmotorspo...@gmail.com To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2012 07:29:25 -0800 Liz, those blackbelly birthweights are huge, compared to anything I have experienced in my two lambings. for me, a single at 11# is very large, and twins over 4.8# but under 6# are expected to thrive. -MWS Sent from my iPad On Mar 2, 2012, at 7:19 AM, Elizabeth Radi lizr...@skybeam.com wrote: Cecil, So sorry to hear of all your troubles. Ruminants present a challenge, don't they. I am sure that you will get a lot of varying views on what to do. And I have only had 3 lambs, since we just got sheep. But I have been raising and milking Nubian goats since 1997. Two of my ewes are over-conditioned and the two of them had their babies, and have great growth in the lambs, one was a single(15#) and the other had twins(11# 12#). I was worried about their weight, but everything came out OK, and I will let them nurse longer to take off weight. ___ 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 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Well, I've had just a couple seasons of lambs now. My Blackbellies have had no problems lambing, they seem to do it with ease. But tonight, it is now 1:30 Saturday morning, my vet left about 12:45, after performing a cesarian section on one of my Finn Ewes. So, my ewe and her two new twins are in my basement. The reason we had a cesarian is she has toxemia, so I decided the ewe was more important, so we decided to take the lambs. They are doing ok, both are seven pounds. Now the hard part starts, I have to make sure they are nursing, but at the same time, mama can't stand up yet, so I have to shift her from side to side and if they don't nurse enough, I have to empty her milk so she doesn't stop her milk production. I'll be doing this every hour and a half through the night and tomorrow. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: Cecil R Bearden crbear...@copper.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Friday, March 2, 2012 7:11:40 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth I have had more troubled experiences this lambing than ever before. My ewes were too fat. I was supplementing them and had hay out 24/7. They just do not have the milk production they should have had. I had green pasture for them to graze on until the last2 months of pregnancy. When I had a stomach blockage in one of my ewes she was autopsied and found to have a lot of kidney fat which indicated she was in very good shape. She just liked milk replacer since she was a bottle baby and got into a sack and ate the top tear strip off the sack. The tear strip lodged in her gut. One of my best ewes had triplets 2 days ago, and it appears that while lambing with the first, a dog or some predator attacked and bit the nose off of the lamb. She had 2 more lambs which appear to be premature, their teeth are not showing. One has problems with its front legs, it was laying sprawled out on its stomach. It cannot hold its front legs together. I made a vest to hold its shoulders together. Also made a sling to hold it above the ground and let it excercise to build up its muscles. I don't know if this is from trauma or just premature. The other lamb is having trouble standing to nurse, so I am supplementing it. I have a theory that has not been denied by my vet. If the ram is allowed to run with the ewes, it is possible to conceive in both horns of the uterus. However the fetuses are 15 days or more apart in development. When the early conception lamb is born, the others are born due to the contractions. This sometimes explains the triplets with one very small, or one very large. It may also explain the anomaly of 6 being born to one of my ewes when I sold her to some of my contractor friends who just let them run to clean up their storage yard. It seems that the harder I try to make a good environment for my sheep, and keep them well fed, the more trouble they have with lambs. I had 3 abandoned babies this time, and am raising them in a playpen and an outdoor pen. I had one set of triplets and penned them up with the ewe, only to have her lay down on 2 of them and suffocate them. The little lamb that could not seem to keep up with Mama is now her only one. She is going to have a new home in 2 months. Also any one who cannot raise her lambs or abandons a lamb will go. I am just getting too old to have this much trouble. My ram lambs are also going to either be neutered at 60 days or sold This lambing was not supposed to happen. It was from a bottle baby ram that we felt sorry for, and did not want to band him when it was so hot this summer... Cecil in oKla On 3/1/2012 2:14 PM, Natasha wrote: Old pics and movies of Blackbelly twin newborns. Click the links on the top like Angie, Ruby, etc for other ewes with their lambs. Great pics! I liked seeing how you dealt with the ewe who didn't want to nurse by putting her in closed quarters. Last spring my one ewe accepted the first born but hated the second and was always sending him flying. I struggled with her and would tie her to something solid and hold her head while her little guy nursed. I did that for several day and got a sore back. After that I bottle fed him. I don't think she would have accepted him - I tried putting her urine on him ( I read that in a book), put her milk on him trying to get her to accept him. She would put down her ears and just beeline for him to butt him. She used to be so sweet and nice and now she's quite miserable. She was a good mom to the favoured lamb. If she delivers this spring I hope she does a good job of being a mom this time. Is a ewe capable of withholding milk/preventing it from coming down? Never ending questions, Natasha :) ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Blackbelly sheep routinely have twins. Sometimes a first-time ewe will birth a single lamb, but from then on twins are the norm. Some ewes have triplets, but it is not common. It is interesting learning about the different sheep breeds. I can't imagine a Finn sheep giving birth to so many multiples! Do you run into problems if the ewe only has a single - for example, the lamb being too big? The failure of your little ram lamb to impregnate the older ewe lambs could be caused by a number of things. It is not too late for them, I am waiting to see if those ewes have lambs - they wouldn't deliver until April - June. Fingers crossed :) ~He might have been too young and had not developed full fertility. My friend had a very young ram lamb (less than 4 months of age) impregnate one of the yearling lambs. I did put a 6 month young ram with the girls this November. I guess I just start pacing again! I hope this fella is fertile, I imagine each is an individual. ~He might have been too young and the ewes would not stand for him or he could not reach them Good point. I put the young ram with the young ewes specifically so that he wouldn't hurt them with too large a size. The ewes were already 8 months of age. He was with them for a full two months. After reading your thoughts, I actually put him back in with them. Why risk not having any lambs at all due to age, missed heats, or immaturity. Someone recently said they kept their rams and ewes together all year round. The person who helps mentor me doesn't do that - I guess so they know when to expect lambs. I know someone else who staggers their breedings so that they aren't overwhelmed with too many babies at once. ~The ewe lambs might not have been fertile yet; generally they become fertile between 4-6 months but I like to wait until they are 8-9 months old to breed them) I guess we will see! It is so hard being patient. As for the other ram who was with the ewes from mid-May until September I have no idea what the problem could be. Depending on where you are, it could have been too hot, causing temporary sterility in the ram. That definitely wasn't the problem this summer! It rained a heck of a lot and was very cool. I do not have a sophisticated operation - I have a large yard with a lot of clover and mixed grasses. I thought maybe I didn't have enough protein. I didn't do a lot of mineral supplementation this summer maybe that was a mistake? They did have access to the blue blocks just not the winter mineral. My mentor had many problems with ill sheep and goats for a variety of reasons. She suggested that I deworm. I was going to deworm but the vet recommended that I do a fecal count first. I was so pleased to see that my numbers were so low as to be almost non existent! Are any of you good at determining if your ewes are in heat? I've been spending way too much time watching my sheep (and avoiding housework). I have noticed that sometimes everyone of them has a really itchy bum - not just your regular butt scratching. This was one of the reasons I wanted to deworm. As I was watching this prolonged scratching I noticed one of the girls had a slight clear yellowish discharge. So I wiped it with my finger and put it to the rams nose but he didn't do anything. I only have one sheep with a docked tail so I can see her vulva easily. However, with the ram not making faces that extreme butt scratching has gotten rid of my hypothesis of how to tell when a ewe is in heat. That's all I can think of at the moment. I appreciate your comments. Thank you, Natasha ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Old pics and movies of Blackbelly twin newborns. Click the links on the top like Angie, Ruby, etc for other ewes with their lambs. Great pics! I liked seeing how you dealt with the ewe who didn't want to nurse by putting her in closed quarters. Last spring my one ewe accepted the first born but hated the second and was always sending him flying. I struggled with her and would tie her to something solid and hold her head while her little guy nursed. I did that for several day and got a sore back. After that I bottle fed him. I don't think she would have accepted him - I tried putting her urine on him ( I read that in a book), put her milk on him trying to get her to accept him. She would put down her ears and just beeline for him to butt him. She used to be so sweet and nice and now she's quite miserable. She was a good mom to the favoured lamb. If she delivers this spring I hope she does a good job of being a mom this time. Is a ewe capable of withholding milk/preventing it from coming down? Never ending questions, Natasha :) ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Hi Natasha, Blackbelly sheep routinely have twins. Sometimes a first-time ewe will birth a single lamb, but from then on twins are the norm. Some ewes have triplets, but it is not common. The failure of your little ram lamb to impregnate the older ewe lambs could be caused by a number of things. ~He might have been too young and had not developed full fertility. ~He might have been too young and the ewes would not stand for him or he could not reach them ~He might not have been given access to the ewes while they were in heat (generally you need to allow the ram to cover the ewes for at least 35 days, allowing the ewes to cycle twice) ~The ewe lambs might not have been fertile yet; generally they become fertile between 4-6 months but I like to wait until they are 8-9 months old to breed them) As for the other ram who was with the ewes from mid-May until September I have no idea what the problem could be. Depending on where you are, it could have been too hot, causing temporary sterility in the ram. That's all I can think of at the moment. Carol At 05:51 PM 2/23/2012, you wrote: It turned out my ewes never delivered anything when I was expecting them to. Hopefully my little ram lamb was able to get to business when I put him with my older ewe lambs. It would be a disappointing year with no little ones around. My other ram was with the ewes from mid May until September - how is it possible there were no babies? They did have young ones at the time, but I had weaned them already. What could prevent them from becoming pregnant? He produced lovely lambs last spring with these ewes. ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
Michael, Thank you for sharing your videos and pics with us. In a few weeks, I am expecting my first pure bred American Blackbelly birth and in the fall, my first Barbados Blackbelly birth. I have bred my wool sheep and an oops cross with a blackbelly, but my first purebreds are coming and I'm very excited. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: Michael Smith mwsmotorspo...@gmail.com To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 1:31:17 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth Natasha... Old pics and movies of Blackbelly twin newborns. Click the links on the top like Angie, Ruby, etc for other ewes with their lambs. http://web.me.com/mwsmith100/spring_2010/Pebbles.html -Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 4:51 PM, Natasha meadowskuv...@gmail.com wrote: OH MY GOSH!!! WHAT A TREAT!!! Yes it was! Thanks so much for sharing :) Do Blackbellies twin? Or are they usually singletons? I couldn't see the video as it didn't load properly for me but I sure enjoyed seeing the show! It turned out my ewes never delivered anything when I was expecting them to. Bummer for me. Hopefully my little ram lamb was able to get to business when I put him with my older ewe lambs. It would be a disappointing year with no little ones around. My other ram was with the ewes from mid May until September - how is it possible there were no babies? They did have young ones at the time, but I had weaned them already. What could prevent them from becoming pregnant? He produced lovely lambs last spring with these ewes. Natasha ___ 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 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
OH MY GOSH!!! WHAT A TREAT!!! Yes it was! Thanks so much for sharing :) Do Blackbellies twin? Or are they usually singletons? I couldn't see the video as it didn't load properly for me but I sure enjoyed seeing the show! It turned out my ewes never delivered anything when I was expecting them to. Bummer for me. Hopefully my little ram lamb was able to get to business when I put him with my older ewe lambs. It would be a disappointing year with no little ones around. My other ram was with the ewes from mid May until September - how is it possible there were no babies? They did have young ones at the time, but I had weaned them already. What could prevent them from becoming pregnant? He produced lovely lambs last spring with these ewes. Natasha ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth
OH MY GOSH!!! WHAT A TREAT!!! I am a mommy with a huge nurturing instinct. I am practically in tears watching this slide show! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS! Made my day! I can't wait until my ewes start giving birth! Only a couple of weeks now. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: Rick Krach rickkr...@hotmail.com To: blackbelly Blackbelly List blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 11:00:01 PM Subject: [Blackbelly] Giving Birth A few years ago I shared pictures of a ewe giving birth. I got it on film again this week, enjoy: http://gallery.me.com/rickkrach#102097 Rick Krach Auburn, CA 95602 ___ 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] Giving Birth
A few years ago I shared pictures of a ewe giving birth. I got it on film again this week, enjoy: http://gallery.me.com/rickkrach#102097 Rick Krach Auburn, CA 95602 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
