Found her this afternoon, healthy and happy. A little earlier than we thought, but the first of many.
Joy
Early Merry Christmas
What a sweet Christmas present!
Those goats are adorable.
Frostweed,
that is a lamb, not a kid. lol. Dorper hair sheep to be exact. I do also have dairy goats, that we milk and make cheese from. They do look a bit different.
Joy
Oh wow! it sure looked like a goat to me!! They are adorable anyway.
I wouldn't have known the difference either, not having been around them. Born healthy is always a gift.
I thought it was a goat too! Guess I need to brush up on my farm animals. Ok that just looks like an odd sentence. Its a pretty little thing regardless of its idenity. Funny how we preceive all baby animals as cute. Merry Christmas everyone
C
I understand, I get the goat thing a lot because they are hair sheep. That means they don't grow a lot of wool. Just had another one born a little while ago, fields will be full of lambs by Christmas at this rate.
Joy
Well, it looks like you will have your hands full with all those gifts.
What a lovely early Christmas present! Proud to say I knew it was a lamb! I've been studying hard as I'm looking to start a Kiko herd this spring.....
I have to ask what do you do with those sheep? Pets or food?
C
We have a small farm where we raise natural lamb and beef for folk's dinner table, provide sheep for sheepdog trials, and train dogs and owners how to herd those cute critters. We also dabbled in a fair sized garden last year for marketing, with heirlooms. Don't know if I will have time this year for the big garden, might just scale it down for us.
When you have 40 to 60 lambs, it is difficult to develop much attachment even though they are very cute. And I am much more aware of the cute factor than I probably should be.
Here is my son holding a minature lamb that we saved last year. It weighed less than 2 pounds when it was born and although it was healthy, it couldn't even reach momma's milk. Most producers would have let it die, I brought it in and kept it in the house. Took it with me everywhere, Ft. Worth Stock Show, HLSR, etc. Ultimately sold her to a family who wanted a pet since I couldn't do anything with her. She only weighed about 10 # when she left, her twin sister weighed about 55# at the same time.
Joy
I wish I had an source for natural beef and lamb. No growth hormones or antibiotics?
Nope, we don't do either and raise on grass, finish on non GE grains for thirty days (steers) if the customer wishes a higher quality beef. Lambs are run on grass their whole life. Although I do supplement and treat sickly ones, they are not sold "natural". I have a couple customers who don't mind. When my son was in high school and showed steers, we would implant those to be competitive, but it was a different purpose.
Joy
How do you market them? Meaning, do you sell through a local store or ?
Actually we sell direct to the consumer. We are on a couple lists for raw and natural foods as well as other contacts we have made. Also we have a marvelous word of mouth referral system. You might check on Yahoo groups to see if there are any Raw/Natural food lists in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Most farmers will sell 1/8 to the whole calf. You could also check at local farmer's markets, there are people who sell at some of those as well.
Joy
Thanks, I might try and find a close source.
C
That is some of the cutest food I've seen!
What a great shot of your son and that little baby!
Oh my I do not want to think of my food as cute but the mini lamb does fit the bill.
Stephanie posted this on fb and I couldn't stop smiling. It is too cute. Hope you can see it. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Db4_EdJ-XkUA&h=a4b57
Wonderful Sheila.........I posted it on my facebook page too! Watching the utter joy of life is so awesome! Made me smile!
I guess I am getting old and forgettful....Frostweed had posted it on Dave's first in her Christmas greeting. Sorry Josephine yours was the first time I saw it. Regardless it is sooo cute.
No problem Sheila, it is adorable no matter where you see it.
I hope you got some rain too. Merry Christmas.
Josephine.
Yes we got the rain...lots of it. Made for wet muddy tracks by the dogs going in and out. I was glad we weren't hosting the family Christmas this year! We had a nice time at my sisters house and a safe and uneventful trip there and back.