I appreciate the grumble quickly turning into laughter when something goes wrong. Nothing you can do but laugh at the chaos! Count it all joy! That is fascinating with the paint and how you separate and sort them. This video answered a lot of questions. I've got some ideas for a sorting system. You can't make a statement like "I'll have to figure out a system" in front of an engineer…
Wow, you can keep all rams together and they get along? Thank you so much for your time and gift in guiding all of us in our own shepherding journeys. I am learning so much from your experience and knowledge. What did Sawyer have in the spray bottle? And how do they all eat hay? Mine will only eat alfalfa! Thanks again!
Thanks for watching and encouraging, Jenn! Just water in the spray bottle to redirect. They’ll eat your hay when they get hungry enough. Alfalfa’s tasty tho!🤠
Great seeing you my brother, the girls and big #1 look great. Glad all went well and we hope that there is more interest in the community for someone to expand their flock. Definitely time to get the boys in with the girls. Cheers, Dan and Rochelle.
I absolutely love your sheep dogs. They are the best. A serious question about that: if you didn’t have them, would you need a canine version of that? And if you didn’t have the children, how effective really is the drone? Could you do it alone with a drone? I am having to consider a collie or two. But I would much rather get by without dogs if possible.
Great questions! What I’ve noticed with the drone: The ewes are much more responsive to it than rams. The rams won’t really move when prompted with the drone. As the kids get older, my wife and I are having more conversations about what this looks like without the kids someday. To be candid, I don’t think I could run this many sheep by myself with a drone. We’re just not dog people, though I have tremendous respect for the work they can do. The dog route is probably where we’ll end up eventually.
Hey, I’ve been enjoying your latest sheep content over there, buddy! Saw you were taking some in to processor - Curious, what’s an average meat yield on one of your processed rams? Everybody, go follow John for great regen farm content!⬆️⬆️
@@birchfieldfarming Thank you Jason, i appreciate it! Last week was crazy. It's going to take a few more days to catch up on sleep to recover lol I haven't picked up our lambs from the processor yet, but our weights are between 60 and 70 lbs. So I am thinking that we are at about 45 lbs (ish) per lamb hanging weight. I may be a little on the light side, but I will report back when I have the slips.
It can be, though it’s certainly not a necessity. Just gives a little more idea of lambing timeline. I’m not sure yet if I’m happy with how this brand is holding up…seems to be fading quick!
It can be, though it’s certainly not a necessity. Just gives a little more idea of lambing timeline. I’m not sure yet if I’m happy with how this brand is holding up…seems to be fading quick!
@birchfieldfarming we haven't tried any marking yet. We are trying to find a new ram, St. Croix or Katahdin right now. Hopefully, we have one in with our ewes soon.
Really depends on the number of head and the season. During grazing season I have one portable, auto-fill tub everyone drinks out of (just an old mineral tub plumbed with a float valve hooked to some elevated tanks in barn - works great!) During winter when temps are freezing we have a stationary auto-waterer with deep buried water lines surrounded by a concrete pad. Gosh, if you can afford it, that winter waterer set-up is worth its weight in gold (well, maybe not that much with current gold prices🤔). Anyhow, brand is Ritchie waterer, and I think it’s their Thrifty King line. ritchiefount.com/product-category/product-lines/thrifty-king/
We did ai breeding of our 800 head of dairy cattle. We used paint on the tail heads to know which cows were in heat to know which ones to breeed. We touched up their paint daily, any that were faded or rubbed, and noted them for breeding, if rubbed. How often do you repaint the ram's chest?
Thank you for the details in this video. Do you have any connections for sheep in Sierra California? Or suggestions about how to find good animals here?
@@dawa8746 Start with searches of the two main St Croix registries to begin: stcroixsheep.org And stcroixhairsheep.org I’m looking for 100% grass-fed lambs with minimal, preferably zero use of chemical dewormers. If anybody is reading this from Western US, help us out please.
Question here, do you tag your sheep or castrate your ram lambs? If so at what age do you do it at? I've seen where its best to wait at least 48 hours to do anything with them so the momma ewe and lamb can bond but when it comes to cows it gets kinda tough to catch them after more then 2-3 days. Thank You for the response on the battery as well, very helpful.
I do tag ears. I haven’t castrated, yet. I have made steers from bulls here and like to band within 24 hrs. No issues with tetanus if done soon after birth. If you wait and cut, need tetanus shot in my area. I try not to tag ears for at least 24 hrs to let them bond.
@@jmc9507Yes to banding bull calves within 24 to 48 hrs with success here. Never had a need to do a ram yet, not sure what that would be called. I definitely do it the same way as a calf tho, banding early has been successful for us here.
We use PremierOne’s system, tags and tagger - works well for us. My only complaint is the number are too small to read from very far away, but I also don’t want a huge honkin tag that catches on things.
I appreciate the grumble quickly turning into laughter when something goes wrong. Nothing you can do but laugh at the chaos! Count it all joy!
That is fascinating with the paint and how you separate and sort them. This video answered a lot of questions.
I've got some ideas for a sorting system. You can't make a statement like "I'll have to figure out a system" in front of an engineer…
I’m sure you’ll have it figured out by the end of business today🤣👍
Wow, you can keep all rams together and they get along? Thank you so much for your time and gift in guiding all of us in our own shepherding journeys. I am learning so much from your experience and knowledge. What did Sawyer have in the spray bottle? And how do they all eat hay? Mine will only eat alfalfa! Thanks again!
Thanks for watching and encouraging, Jenn! Just water in the spray bottle to redirect. They’ll eat your hay when they get hungry enough. Alfalfa’s tasty tho!🤠
Great seeing you my brother, the girls and big #1 look great. Glad all went well and we hope that there is more interest in the community for someone to expand their flock. Definitely time to get the boys in with the girls. Cheers, Dan and Rochelle.
Thanks for great stock! We’re calling him “Danny boy, Danny boy!”🤣🐑🌱
@@birchfieldfarming A chip off the ole block. When he’s done with his girls watch for him jumping the fence into the other paddocks :)
@@appalachianheartsong5487 #1 stud!…Will do, and it was also great seeing you both and your place!
Super super cool stuff right there. Sure appreciate watching the experiences you all are having! Great job!
Thanks so much!🤠
I absolutely love your sheep dogs. They are the best. A serious question about that: if you didn’t have them, would you need a canine version of that? And if you didn’t have the children, how effective really is the drone? Could you do it alone with a drone? I am having to consider a collie or two. But I would much rather get by without dogs if possible.
Great questions! What I’ve noticed with the drone: The ewes are much more responsive to it than rams. The rams won’t really move when prompted with the drone. As the kids get older, my wife and I are having more conversations about what this looks like without the kids someday. To be candid, I don’t think I could run this many sheep by myself with a drone. We’re just not dog people, though I have tremendous respect for the work they can do. The dog route is probably where we’ll end up eventually.
Great video. Look forward to your videos every week. You will be very busy this spring. John
Lambdamonium is what we call it here!🤣 Wonderful time of the year in Spring!🐑
It is that time of year indeed!!
Hey, I’ve been enjoying your latest sheep content over there, buddy! Saw you were taking some in to processor - Curious, what’s an average meat yield on one of your processed rams? Everybody, go follow John for great regen farm content!⬆️⬆️
@@birchfieldfarming Thank you Jason, i appreciate it! Last week was crazy. It's going to take a few more days to catch up on sleep to recover lol
I haven't picked up our lambs from the processor yet, but our weights are between 60 and 70 lbs. So I am thinking that we are at about 45 lbs (ish) per lamb hanging weight. I may be a little on the light side, but I will report back when I have the slips.
Good video. Nice looking sheep
Hey thanks!😀
Looks like the marking paste is a good idea.
It can be, though it’s certainly not a necessity. Just gives a little more idea of lambing timeline. I’m not sure yet if I’m happy with how this brand is holding up…seems to be fading quick!
It can be, though it’s certainly not a necessity. Just gives a little more idea of lambing timeline. I’m not sure yet if I’m happy with how this brand is holding up…seems to be fading quick!
@birchfieldfarming we haven't tried any marking yet. We are trying to find a new ram, St. Croix or Katahdin right now. Hopefully, we have one in with our ewes soon.
When you are running a fleet (cows and sheep together) how do you manage the water situation? If there is a past video that would be great.
Really depends on the number of head and the season. During grazing season I have one portable, auto-fill tub everyone drinks out of (just an old mineral tub plumbed with a float valve hooked to some elevated tanks in barn - works great!) During winter when temps are freezing we have a stationary auto-waterer with deep buried water lines surrounded by a concrete pad. Gosh, if you can afford it, that winter waterer set-up is worth its weight in gold (well, maybe not that much with current gold prices🤔). Anyhow, brand is Ritchie waterer, and I think it’s their Thrifty King line.
ritchiefount.com/product-category/product-lines/thrifty-king/
We did ai breeding of our 800 head of dairy cattle. We used paint on the tail heads to know which cows were in heat to know which ones to breeed. We touched up their paint daily, any that were faded or rubbed, and noted them for breeding, if rubbed. How often do you repaint the ram's chest?
First year using this particular paint. That’s a great question, as I was hoping not to have to repaint.
@birchfieldfarming hope it lasts long!
I need a quality ram and I’m in northwest arkansas. Any suggestions?
Don’t know anybody out that way, but let this comment sit awhile and see if anyone comes up with something. Wish we were closer.
Can I ask, will you eventually use more of your land for the sheep and cut back on renting land? Love the sheepy content. ❤
Yes, that’s the direction we’re heading.
Thank you for the details in this video. Do you have any connections for sheep in Sierra California? Or suggestions about how to find good animals here?
@@dawa8746 Start with searches of the two main St Croix registries to begin:
stcroixsheep.org
And
stcroixhairsheep.org
I’m looking for 100% grass-fed lambs with minimal, preferably zero use of chemical dewormers. If anybody is reading this from Western US, help us out please.
Question here, do you tag your sheep or castrate your ram lambs? If so at what age do you do it at? I've seen where its best to wait at least 48 hours to do anything with them so the momma ewe and lamb can bond but when it comes to cows it gets kinda tough to catch them after more then 2-3 days. Thank You for the response on the battery as well, very helpful.
I do tag ears. I haven’t castrated, yet. I have made steers from bulls here and like to band within 24 hrs. No issues with tetanus if done soon after birth. If you wait and cut, need tetanus shot in my area. I try not to tag ears for at least 24 hrs to let them bond.
@@birchfieldfarming you banding them within 24hrs of being born ? how about rams ? is that called short scrotum castration ?
@@jmc9507Yes to banding bull calves within 24 to 48 hrs with success here. Never had a need to do a ram yet, not sure what that would be called. I definitely do it the same way as a calf tho, banding early has been successful for us here.
@@birchfieldfarming ua-cam.com/video/y1n4vlaxaW8/v-deo.html
What do you use to tag their ears?
We use PremierOne’s system, tags and tagger - works well for us. My only complaint is the number are too small to read from very far away, but I also don’t want a huge honkin tag that catches on things.
How big is your farm
Just under 60 acres here total, though we’ve done everything on 5 acres so far with rotational grazing and rented out the rest.
Wouldn’t that cows bag disqualify any of her calves as breeding stock?
By conventional thinking, absolutely.
Doing 50 sheep on 5 acres? Did you cut back on your cows?
Nope, still 8 head of Devons and using every green blade of grass!🌱
How much does a St Croix sheep cost?
My ewes sell for $500, rams are $450.
Okay, thank you very much!
8000kv that is 8000 000 volts I would not want to get zapped :)
🔥🔥🔥