Daylight savings time.

[Dotch]

Yup, just leave it one way or the other that's all I care. Poppy & I snuck in a nice nap yesterday while watching BB. I posted that map primarily to give people an idea of what the sunrise times would be, not necessarily for the editorial comments from the Arkansas NWS.

[roony]

NEVER!

[Dotch]

But the wrens will have more time to sing with DST..

[glenn57]

I didn't need to turn on the living room lights till 5 minutes ago!!

[Dotch]

I thought you were born in the basement and never brought up...

[glenn57]

I thought you were born in the basement and never brought up...

Yea so .. 

[Dotch]

Hey! It's still dark out! 

[glenn57]

Hey! It's still dark out! 

not anymore!!!!!!!

[Dotch]

I think someone should have a pancake feed for me so I can pay for all the extra electricity I'm using in the morning. One Minnesota...

[glenn57]

I think someone should have a pancake feed for me so I can pay for all the extra electricity I'm using in the morning. One Minnesota...

hey, you got his personal cell number.........dial him up!!!!!!!!!!

[Dotch]

Don't I wish...

[glenn57]

Don't I wish...

yea, maybe that wouldnt be a good thing. you could be posting from a jail cell!!!!!!

[Dotch]

Oh well, I still have his snitch line number if/when we're locked down again & they reactivate it. It could also be used to tattle on those not observing the time change properly. 651-793-3746

[mike89]

Oh well, I still have his snitch line number if/when we're locked down again & they reactivate it. It could also be used to tattle on those not observing the time change properly. 651-793-3746

 

[dutchboy]

I don't mean to offend anybody here but, you all are old enough that you should be use to this by now.         

[glenn57]

I don't mean to offend anybody here but, you all are old enough that you should be use to this by now.         

offend me? I was told you need to have a conscious to get offended!;

[Dotch]

I'm a sheep farmer. I outgrew being offended many moons ago... 🌛

[glenn57]

I'm a sheep farmer. I outgrew being offended many moons ago... 🌛

so Dotch, on any given year who many of them sheep to you have at a given time???? in cluding the ones that piss you off and get sent to the locker plant!!!!!!

[roony]

Whst do them sheep do to offend ya?

[Dotch]

I'm a sheep farmer. I outgrew being offended many moons ago... 🌛

so Dotch, on any given year who many of them sheep to you have at a given time???? in cluding the ones that piss you off and get sent to the locker plant!!!!!!

Right now we're getting close to our peak number at ~ 75 head presently between brood ewes, replacement ewes, rams, & lambs. One ewe is close up and there are two others that I'm pretty sure are bred but won't lamb for several weeks yet.

The ones that get expenses paid one-way trips include ewes that are barren, don't milk, beat their lambs, care poorly for their lambs, have crappy/ugly lambs, & if they blow their vagina/uterus out. Others are lambs that don't make the cut for the show string, especially buck lambs. They're just a PITA. Ewe lambs are easier to raise and sell, not as hard on equipment. Rams only last 4 or 5 seasons usually. Otherwise the flock gets too inbred. Usually buy an outcross ram from another flock at that point. We had to use one of our own ram lambs last fall as the stud ram we'd been using croaked on us early in the breeding season. Tough to find a decent replacement to buy at that point. That ram lamb, now a yearling, will be on the trailer with the cull ewes. That SOB bent and wrecked more equipment and jumped over more panels and gates than any sheep I've ever seen. Amazed the shearer & catcher back in February after the sucker cleared the 1st panel. After saying "He'll never make it over that higher 2nd one", he did. They couldn't believe it.       

[glenn57]

thats alot of critters...........

[LPS]

I thought you had maybe 40.  Quite a herd.  You need to hire a part time shepherd or sheperdess.   

[KEN W]

Do you have a sheep dog???

[glenn57]

Do you have a sheep dog???

Dotch is the sheepdog.....poppy is his sidekick!!!!!!!!

just curious........do you have people coming to plain old purchase some of your sheep for there own herd?????

[LPS]

Ken I can feel the love.  You need to get some sheep....   

[KEN W]

Nah......not allowed in town.....maybe some chickens.

[Dotch]

Pay no attention to that union thug behind the curtain, Ken! 

We had Border Collies, mainly red and white smooth coats, for 25 years up until late March of last year when Ruby passed away. Despite their varying degrees of training, they were all special dogs. The first one, Lucy, was an amazing dog. Trained her myself. She was all business. Saved me many steps. We had a litter of pups out of her, kept one black and white rough coat (Gus), gave one to my sheep shearer (Jet) & gave the red and white smooth coat (Fudgie) to my Mom for company. Lost Lucy in '09 after she had a stroke. We got Ruby from the same breeder in So. IL that Lucy was from in June '10. Gus was just a big teddy bear but had seizures & died in Oct. '10. We got Fudgie back from Mom in '13 when she got sick. Fudgie was an awesome gate watcher with no training whatsoever. Open the gate, drive thru it, dump the bale, drive back out, shut the gate. No worries, just drive. Lost her in '17. No training but Ruby was more of a drover than a herder. Counted on her when moving ewes with lambs to the main barn by myself. Of all the Borders we've had, she had the most personality and was built for speed. Should've been a Flyball or agility dog. We got the Corgi (Poppy) at my wife's behest back in October. Corgi's are originally cattle dogs although the breeder in MO where this one came from, uses them on his flock of Katahdins. They're reputedly good little gate watchers, something I've missed. Not to take anything away from the Corgi, but I told the wife I'd like to get another red and white smooth coat Border Collie in a few years so we don't go dog-less again. Friends and neighbors all knew our dogs and wondered how we survived when Ruby died. All I know is it was a lonely time. She was my constant companion for 12 years.

Yes glenn, our primary goal is to sell purebred registered breeding stock. We have people buying rams and ewes, usually yearlings, for their own flocks. We've also sold small starter flocks to people. We've had sheep out on the show circuit nationally since '91, on both coasts and about everywhere in between. Up until the early 2000's, we fit and showed them ourselves. If you're going to sell breeding stock for decent money, you have to compete and win consistently at that level. Cutting down the size of the flock has helped. At one point we had 55 - 60 brood ewes. There were often 120 animals running around. We had sheep pastured 3 places in the summer. I was on the Cheviot sheep national board for several years. My wife was the breed secretary so I could no longer be on the board. I got tired of all the chores and politics. That and my body was going to wear out fast if changes weren't made. We invested in better handling equipment & use round bales wherever possible. Manure handling capabilities were also improved. Reminds me, my neighbor still has the manure forks for my skidsteer. Would like to cut back another 5 - 10 ewes, making it a smaller elite flock. This year's crop of lambs looks phenomenal. They're uniform, big, and correct. Easy to get barn blind though. Would like to have some sheep friends take a look at them to see what they think.       

 

[glenn57]

Thanks Dotch for taking the time to explain all that!👍 Very interesting.


I'll even ignore that first sentence!!

[KEN W]

Wow.....with all that and you don't have one now. Sounds like time for a new Border Collie.

[Dotch]

 


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