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4/6/2004 2:15:25 PM
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jeanflores
Posts 2658
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Benne... that`s easy... just tell him if you get a couple of llamas, they`ll guard the sheep!! lol.
I`m just here to help! :-)
Peace,
Jean
Ansbach, Germany
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4/6/2004 2:24:34 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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Thanks Jean, I need all the ammo I can get for this argument. I ooh and aah when the alpaca commercials come on, talk about how much yarn I could get from sheep, alpacas and llamas, etc,etc. I`ll spring the elite bodyguard llama argument on him next.lol
Benne
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4/6/2004 4:28:03 PM
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Guest
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Benne,
At first I was leary about sheep and being coyote food as well. We can hear the coyotes sing at night during the summer and fall. But we are fortunate not have any trouble. A couple of things that help. We have Zak, our regal guard Llama. Then there is the dog across the road that roams all night.He barks and chases the coyotes. Second we have 7 dogs, that if we heard any ruckus outside all we would have to do is release them en masse and they would be worse than any coyote pack. And lastly we have a barn the sheep have access to. Are the coyotes in your area really bold? Around here they aren`t. We live in cattle country, so most of the farmers look at us like we are crazy for having sheep. But I love them!
We have two white ewes Marilyn (becuase she has a beauty mark on her muzzle) and Sister(she`s Marilyns sister). Then there is our wether Thaddeus he is golden brown. Funny Face is charcoal to brown.These four are all Finn/Romney. And Latte, who has a dark shawl of charcoal brown, with a saddle of grey on her back. Latte is 3/4 Finn and 1/4 Romney.
I would say they have a medium grade wool. When we had the sheep shorn we discovered that Marilyn and Sister`s fleece had a staple length of about 9-11 inches.
We bred Sister, Marilyn and Funny Face to a Border Liecester, named Norman. So the babies are Finn/Romney/Border Liecester. All our babies came out white. Except Spot, he has one black spot on his shoulder, hence the name. This was our first time lambing, and I`m glad to say all the mommies had their babies during daylight hours.
We decided to stay with the long wool breeds, because we want to use them for meat as well as wool. And the Romney is known to be hardy in wet conditions, which Washington can be, and few feet problems. Finn is known for being good mothers and for triple births. The Border Liecester are known for being blocky and strong.
I read Jean`s help about the Llama as a guard animal. She is so right. Llama`s can be fierce little devils. They have better hearing and eyesight than you can imagine. And the price of Llama`s have considerable gone down from what they were. Alpaca`s are still very expensive. Anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000. No kidding! Before we got the sheep and Zak we had considered getting Alpaca. But then saw the price.
Other ammo for your argument to get sheep is that if they are grass fed they are relatively low cost. Maybe you could locate a couple of sheep breeders in your area and go and talk with them and see their set up. Maybe take your hubby along. My DH wasn`t to in to them at first. But now he loves them too. My best advice is research. Check out different breeds. Here is a website that lists most sheep breeds. It`s really helpful. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/
The other thing I can offer is if you want you can have one of my lambs. Of course we would have to meet somewhere. Hmmm? I think you suggested Shui Kuen`s house?lol
Heather
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4/6/2004 4:29:58 PM
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Guest
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Benne,
At first I was leary about sheep and being coyote food as well. We can hear the coyotes sing at night during the summer and fall. But we are fortunate not have any trouble. A couple of things that help. We have Zak, our regal guard Llama. Then there is the dog across the road that roams all night.He barks and chases the coyotes. Second we have 7 dogs, that if we heard any ruckus outside all we would have to do is release them en masse and they would be worse than any coyote pack. And lastly we have a barn the sheep have access to. Are the coyotes in your area really bold? Around here they aren`t. We live in cattle country, so most of the farmers look at us like we are crazy for having sheep. But I love them!
We have two white ewes Marilyn (becuase she has a beauty mark on her muzzle) and Sister(she`s Marilyns sister). Then there is our wether Thaddeus he is golden brown. Funny Face is charcoal to brown.These four are all Finn/Romney. And Latte, who has a dark shawl of charcoal brown, with a saddle of grey on her back. Latte is 3/4 Finn and 1/4 Romney.
I would say they have a medium grade wool. When we had the sheep shorn we discovered that Marilyn and Sister`s fleece had a staple length of about 9-11 inches.
We bred Sister, Marilyn and Funny Face to a Border Liecester, named Norman. So the babies are Finn/Romney/Border Liecester. All our babies came out white. Except Spot, he has one black spot on his shoulder, hence the name. This was our first time lambing, and I`m glad to say all the mommies had their babies during daylight hours.
We decided to stay with the long wool breeds, because we want to use them for meat as well as wool. And the Romney is known to be hardy in wet conditions, which Washington can be, and few feet problems. Finn is known for being good mothers and for triple births. The Border Liecester are known for being blocky and strong.
I read Jean`s help about the Llama as a guard animal. She is so right. Llama`s can be fierce little devils. They have better hearing and eyesight than you can imagine. And the price of Llama`s have considerable gone down from what they were. Alpaca`s are still very expensive. Anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000. No kidding! Before we got the sheep and Zak we had considered getting Alpaca. But then saw the price.
Other ammo for your argument to get sheep is that if they are grass fed they are relatively low cost. Maybe you could locate a couple of sheep breeders in your area and go and talk with them and see their set up. Maybe take your hubby along. My DH wasn`t to in to them at first. But now he loves them too. My best advice is research. Check out different breeds. Here is a website that lists most sheep breeds. It`s really helpful. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/
The other thing I can offer is if you want you can have one of my lambs. Of course we would have to meet somewhere. Hmmm? I think you suggested Shui Kuen`s house?lol
Heather
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4/6/2004 5:38:19 PM
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Les
Posts 4243
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remember the alamo....I mean computer!
You do have the upper edge. This could help you forget and never mention it again........
Les
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4/6/2004 6:39:30 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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You`re right, Les! I wasn`t even thinking about dropping the "Big" one on him. When I hear the first baaaa at my house, we`ll be even. Thanks for reminding me, I think it was so traumatic, I developed temporary amnesia.lol
Benne
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4/6/2004 8:36:57 PM
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Guest
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Hmmmm, am I the lucky spinner who gets to finish converting you to a spinner knitter from a knitter who has in the past sometimes spun, or am I the lucky spinner who gets to spin the wool, and then you kknitus both sweaters out of it? shall we have Bets dye it first?
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4/6/2004 9:39:06 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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You and Heather and Jean can spin. Does Jamie spin too? We need Heather to do double duty and she and Bets can dye it and Marion and MacChick can design patterns and then all the rest of our most excellent elann knitbuddies can knit US sweaters. lol I`ll just be my usual self and boss all the rest of you around. (snarfle,snarfle)
Benne
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4/6/2004 10:56:28 PM
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Guest
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Ooo, does Theresa spin too? And did someone mention me dyeing yarn?? I`m in! Jump for joy.
Heather
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4/7/2004 4:36:07 AM
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Les
Posts 4243
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You do realize you`ll have to get yourself a border collie so that Jean and I can watch it work your herd and keep you all in line! Preferably a puppy for DH to train- perhaps the grandchildren could help him this summer. A few people out here have donkeys for coyote control and say that they work - but don`t try to ride them. A woman out here broke her pelvis last year doing that but the silver lining was that she then had the time to publish a book of short stories about her adventures in "burro alley"!! You might have to come up here to do research on the donkeys and pick her brain!!!
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4/7/2004 6:08:23 AM
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Les
Posts 4243
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Oh, and while you`re here you could meet Sado the B-Collie up the hill. He lives with 4 soccer playing boys and is an incredible ball handler (can`t kick worth a darn tho)!! My kids and I were "garden, dog,cat and greenhouse sitting" last summer and we had such fun with him. he can leap about 5 foot into the air and bring down the ball with complete control. If the ball goes into the flowerbed he will NOT retrieve it but stares at it until you come and get it!! He has been well trained! He plays with his own ball which has a few ragged edges of leather for him to get a grip on!
Les
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4/7/2004 8:04:06 AM
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Guest
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Yes, Heather, I do spin! We`ve got - oh, I don`t know , maybe 3 million people on Long Island? So I`m one of probably less than 200 that spin. Well, maybe less than 300 - I am being generous here, including people who can spin, but do not care to...Although you CAN knit that stuff without spinning it first, as I intend to show Eileen and Benne...
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4/7/2004 9:49:28 AM
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MacChick
Posts 3589
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And Benne... hot news flash to pass on to your DH as regards keeping sheep safe from coyotes...
Things that scare coyotes away:
Camel
Vicuna
Alpaca
Llama
Kashmir Goat
Angora Goat
Angora Rabbit
the smell of cotton plants
the smell of flax plants
the smell of hemp plants
the smell of mulberry leaves (you know, the kind that silkworms feed upon)
and, believe it or not... Merino Sheep themselves!
It`s all true!!!! I read it in the Knitting Enquirer just the other day while waiting in the checkout line... it was right next to the article about how aliens have kidnapped the Pope again (you`d think they`d get that man a little better security!)
So I`d guess that you should be looking into hiring Corinna`s husband to build you some new buildings, because you`re going to need a place for Theresa and Heather to stay while they are spinning all those fibers into yarn to help you keep your property safe from coyotes, not to mentin the new barns you`ll be needing for the animals.
Your DH better hurry up about it, too, the same article said the coyote population in your area was up by 800% this year, primarily due to low incidences of Camel, Vicuna, Alpaca, Llama, Kashmir Goat, Angora Goat, Angora Rabbit, cotton plants, flax plants, hemp plants, mulberry leaves, and Merino Sheep. Furthermore, it warned that the Center for Communicable Diseases is predicting unusually high percentages of a new strain of flu-like virus being spread by coyote urine, and recommending that residents in your immediate area try to adopt pets of the following varieties: Camel, Vicuna, Alpaca, Llama, Kashmir Goat, Angora Goat, Angora Rabbit, and Merino Sheep AND that residents additonally plant gardens which include: cotton plants, flax plants, and mulberry trees. Although they did omit any reccomendation to grow the hemp plants, they acknowledged its usefulness and one spokesman was quoted as saying, "I wouldn`t rip them out f you have them; we just can`t reccomend planting them until further legislation has been passed regarding other hemp-related issues."
Good Luck with your coyote problems!!!
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4/7/2004 11:52:16 AM
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Guest
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My goodness, Benne! If this isn`t enough info to convince your DH that sheep are a possiblity, I don`t know what would.
And one other thing that can help protect the sheep, from getting away as well as things getting in.Electric fencing. We use it. And I won`t mind staying in the barn after it`s built.lol. Theresa, Jean and I can set up cots and spin right off the sheep. Actually I don`t car to spin in the grease. Do you Theresa? Jean?
Heather
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4/7/2004 12:31:59 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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Okay, MacChick, after getting back in my chair from falling out of it laughing, I printed your post for DH to read. If that doesn`t do it nothing will.lol
Benne
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4/7/2004 1:32:04 PM
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jeanflores
Posts 2658
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That`s riiight! Totally forgot about the Border Collie! lol. I just picked up a couple of travel books on Scotland at the library yesterday to get ready for my trip. On the cover is the most adorable photo of a farmer with his two Border Collies and a pup in his arms. OH! I want one so bad. We had a Blue Heeler for seven years though (she was hit by a car four years ago) and we will not get another working dog till we have land for them to work on! lol. High strung.
But I can always dream...
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4/7/2004 1:35:40 PM
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jeanflores
Posts 2658
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I`m not crazy about it, but we can have a wash day first. No proooblem! lol.
Jean
Ansbach, Germany
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4/7/2004 2:40:35 PM
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Guest
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A wash day sounds good to me. But don`t you think the sheep will mind?Lol. Maybe we could give them snorkels. Yeah, can`t you just picture that. Benne with her high strung border collie, which is one of the seven dogs we have, her guard Llama and donkey and her sheep with snorkels. Heck the snorkels on the sheep might be enough to scare away the coyotes!lol
Heather
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