Desert Weyr Blog
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Hay Is Arriving
Our first batch of hay for the season has arrived. We were expecting to get about seven tons, but the cutting was smaller than expected, so we only got 3.5 tons. At least it’s in the barn now, and the sheep will be fed over winter. Continue reading
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More Wide Loads
Warning: wide loads ahead! One of the Wide Load sheep still hasn’t lambed yet. We’re both anxiously waiting! I’m sure she’ll be more comfortable once those lambs are on the outside. Continue reading
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Wide Loads
Our expected start of lambing is April 22nd. Normally, we’re out on pasture by now, but the grass hasn’t grown enough yet, so I’m holding the sheep on hay for longer. These two sisters are some of our top-producing sheep, with great EBVs. They and their other relatives always carry their lambs like this. I… Continue reading
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Ram Semen Collection
I’m behind in posting here, as per usual. We spent a week in October working with the USDA NAGP to collect and freeze semen from our rams. Some will be used later this year in our flock as part of their AI experiment. We’ll be using it to fine-tune the insemination timing of synchronized ewes… Continue reading
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Sorting Sheep
We just finished the ewe evaluations for fall. I’ve updated our sales list to show the dozen yearlings we’re offering as breeding stock. We’re keeping 52 breeding ewes, and these yearlings will be some great breeding sheep. They’re all double-registered in the US and UK. All are NSIP recorded with Self Replacing Carcass EBVs ranging… Continue reading
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RIP, John Ellenby
We’ve heard that our good friend, John Ellenby, has passed on. One of the companies he founded was Agilis. This picture has been on our wall for many years. In the archives of our old hardware, we had a Compass and a GRiDPad. Here’s a good article about John and his contributions to the world… Continue reading
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Getting Ready for Winter
We’ve been scraping manure out of winter feeding corrals and rebuilding them. We hadn’t done a full teardown and rebuild in several years, so it was high time. Everything is now up and ready for winter. Continue reading
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The Last 2016 Lamb
Gretchen just lambed the last lamb of 2016. He’s a very large lamb by Sterling. He was a bit stuck, but both are okay now. Continue reading
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Lambing Lull
We’re now officially in the lambing lull. It’s the break between when the AI lambs and the secondary lambs are due. It’s been a busy and somewhat difficult lambing so far. Our AI experiment was a rousing success this year! Of the 44 ewes we bred using the AI cervical procedure using frozen semen, 22… Continue reading
