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I had a total of 3 rams to use this year all three were born in January/February of 2024. After going to the state fair I found a Suffolk yearling ram that I liked and decided to purchase so I wasn’t expecting the ram lambs to cover a larger group of ewes their first year. And with the health issues the wether type ram I purchased in June is having we decided to purchase a 3 year old wether type ram so we could still have lambs on the schedule we want. So now we are up to 5 rams for this year.

The Suffolk ram I purchased from Frostaire Farms. He was set up across the walkway from us at state fair and I noticed that this ram never seemed to mind if there were people walking/running talking or standing looking at him he was just calm and seemed like it’s just another day to him. You know how it is with moving sheep around and putting them in a new spot for 4 days they can act up but he just chilled out the whole time.

@@BankBarnMeats Ah! I never met Rob Frost, but he's been around a long time... Back to my 4-H days, I think, and I'm 55 years old.

Yes he has been involved with Suffolks for a long time and has a lot of knowledge. We are hoping this ram can add some length to some of our smaller framed Suffolks.

With as warm as it was I know the lambs were loving it..

@@BankBarnMeats You are very welcome

Yes it was a great time. We went into it with the expectation of this is a learning year, we are just here for the experience. But now we are already planning on what we can do different for next year ha ha

Thanks!

Did you see any reduction in fertility out of him or anything that held him back when he went in with ewes? I sprayed/misted him down with water to in general cool him down and keep him cool.

It was a good experience. We are already looking forward to next year

This ram has a unique head compared to the other wether type rams I have had. About 2 months ago you commented about the look of the ewe lamb we had out of the bred ewes we purchased, well this ram is from the same farm. We liked the look of that ewe lamb so much we called the guy up and asked if he had any Rams available. Well this ram was the only one he held back out of his 2024 lamb crop. But he definitely had a unique look to him over the other wether type rams we have owned in the past.

Great questions! I understand that over a comment it can sound not the way you want it to. To start off why sheds? Well in 2018 we started with two wethers, then 2019 purchased 3 ewe lambs and a wether when we were approached by a chef at a farmers market and asked if we could produce lambs to sell her cuts of meats for menu items. So we ramped up feeding lambs and finishing them for direct to restaurant and consumer sales. We have continually grown our lamb production year after year having groups of lambs processed 10 months out of the year. So finishing the lambs in the barn allows us to feed lambs the exact same diet in the middle of the summer as we do in the winter. The chefs we work with like this because it allows us to have special cuts at different times of the year that all taste the same. All of our Suffolks will weigh in at 179-200 between 6-8 months of age at the time they are processed, we will routinely have hanging weights 80-100 lbs. The ewes are raised in the barns because as we grew it was what worked for us. They all have come from flocks that were in pasture but our pastures are not set up to handle sheep yet ( they have been for cattle over the last 50+ years). We also aim for January/February lambing (middle of winter) so we can produce lambs to finish out because these would be more expensive to purchase due to higher holiday market. So shed lambing is pretty normal in our area at that time of year. We shear and trim feet but these Suffolk that we have would have no problem out side in most environments.

@@BankBarnMeats thank you

@@BankBarnMeats amazing weights!

Thanks, But just to clarify this for full transparency. Those weight were/are achieved finishing Suffolks and Dorsets. For our crossbreed sheep in the same time period are constantly getting 160-170 top end. The crosses get same feed and same feed program but just don’t have the frame like the Suffolk and Dorsets. 2 years ago I went on a lamb feedlot/ accelerated breeding lamb tour and that got me interested in seeing what was possible on finishing these lambs. Because we are not marketing them to just take and hope to get a good price at market it allowed us to try new ways of feeding to try and achieve Steak House Cuts of lambs. The lambs that we finish are feed through a process that we found works for us and we are able to adjust it depending on time of year and how the group of lambs are growing. The lamb groups we are finishing out are in groups of 4 to 12 and all aiming for a finish day within 14-30 day of each other.

You are correct. It gives a great baseline of how they act watching them come to the feeder and eat. And helps make them stand out when they don’t.

Thanks! We are very proud that we are able to live this life.

You are correct. It is a term/description of a type of ewe that is for producing 4-H type of lambs. So it’s build and genetics means that the lambs produce should have the club lamb look. So it’s a classification to describe what types of lambs it’s geared towards producing. On our farm we have 3 types of ewes. We have the registered Suffolks that we keep to a breed standard. Commercial ewes that their lambs will be finished for our meat sales. And wether type who’s lambs we market as 4-H lambs and what doesn’t get sold for that we will finish out for meat sales. So all ewes can produce wethers not all ewes produce wethers that would compete in the show ring.

@@BankBarnMeats Right on. Thanks for the explanation. It's just not a term I'd heard before but it makes sense.

@@craigpacker7171 we have been able to add a lot of great ewes this year so far. After researching and talking with the vet we decided not to hold back any ram lambs out of that ram and to cull the ram due to the eyelid issues.

Thanks! I am going to try and get caught up on the videos. We have been very busy on the farm.

@@markpiersall9815 I will look into them. We go off of moon phases out the farmers almanac. This year we had to pull the about 24 hours early and the lambs were loud for just the first day. Then they were calm.

Currently we are planning on breeding them this year so they lamb right at 1 year of age. So that should have them lambing February. But that also depends on how they grow. And a couple of the ewe lambs are heavy on the “blue” wool color. So it I’m excited to see how the grow bc I have always found black sheep really cool looking.

@@BankBarnMeats Hmmm... I don't know. Lambing at 12 months is pushing it. I've never tried it. When I breed ewe lambs, I shoot for having them lamb at 13 or 14 months--but I guess I did it that way because that was the advice I was giving. The extra 1 or 2 months can make a big difference, but then that has you lambing in March or April, which is a good bit later than most of your ewes. Meanwhile, I have some Natural Colored Lincolns, and I can tell you the white Lincoln lambs can't compete with the Black lambs on the cute factor. :)

@@craigpacker7171 we used to not breed them until they were 15-19 months of age. The ewes that didn’t take we shipped after we had been feeding for 2 years. I read some things and talked to a local farmer about it and now I have merged all this into my new process that we are trying this year for the first time. If a ewe lamb is marked and has lambs at one year of age great. If they don’t also no big deal if they don’t and are in good health. I read a article that a university put out that says ewes having lambs 12-15 months of age will have a higher percentage of twins/ lambing percentage over their life span. So we thought we would try it out this year fully aware that these ewes may need more attention in the lambing jug. So this year is a test. I will post the article once I get to a computer bc it makes a case for really what ever way works for a operation

This is the article I was referencing. extension.sdstate.edu/breeding-ewe-lambs . This is why we are going to give it a shot this year and in article they talk about the extra work that it will take. So I don’t know if I’d want to try it with 100 ewe lambs or not but this year will be an experiment

It’s exciting picking out new ewes to bring home and thinking about what their lambs will look/grow like. The part that takes the most work and time is building more feeders and putting more hay in the barn. But we are extremely lucky and look forward to it.

@@normellow yes this is something I have been doing. It is a cost effective way to feel secure knowing that the fence charger is working with good components.

With the way that I put in my water gaps they are a independent unit from the rest of the fence. So when the creek is up and fast moving the amount of debris that the gap catches will usually bend the t posts. We have had them bent into almost a 90 degree angle so I just scrap them then. So when ever I put one in I expect to have to replace the t post due to getting bent up.

In years past we have tried all different ways. Currently we just follow the farmers almanac for the best day to pull them and so far that has worked well for us. But they are always loudest the first day.

We really like her also. She have turned into a good looking ewe lamb. I’m a little behind with the vlogs but this ewe lamb really affected a flock management decision that we completed today.

@@BankBarnMeats I'm intrigued!

With my charger I checked it after I put in a new batter and on clean fence and only was getting 2. Any new cattle get put in a smaller area with a weed chopper charger that plugs in so when they test the wire it gives a good connection.

It’s amazing and surprising to watch and see the changes with some of the ewes once the lambs arrive. We have a couple that run from us and want nothing to do with us. But for the 2-3 months they are in with the lambs they become the friendliest. So for for that little lamb he seems to be adapting well.

I called it all kinds of things the proper name for the condition is Entropion. After editing the vlog I realized at the time I didn’t do a good enough job describing it. Basically the bottom of the eye lid is rolled under so the eye lash is rubbing against the eye. This is our first year experiencing this so its a learning curve for myself.

@@BankBarnMeats glad you found this before the lamb developed major issues. Thanks for the explanation. I love sheep 🐑♥️

For us we have round bales off of the first cutting of hay and that is what we store to feed to the cattle through out the winter. And then the second cutting and any more cuttings is made in to square bales for us to use for the sheep. With the ewes we feed the third cutting during gestation and while they have lambs on their sides. This vlog was one that I used TH-cam suggested tittle.

The last and only other ewe we had that had a uterine prolapse healed great and acted like nothing happened. This ewe just was so strong she ended up doing severe damage. And with the vet already here we were able to save a trip charge on the eye staples. I will have to look in the the rubber band treatment and check it out.

@@BankBarnMeats The rubber band thing is really very easy. You just wrap the rubber band around the head. You make sure the affected eyelid gets pulled down enough to make it stick out a bit while making sure the unaffected eye isn't being pulled down at all. So the band goes on at an angle that pulls the turned in eyelid down but leaves the other eyelid alone. It doesn't look nice for the first day or so, but it does the trick. One or two times I had lambs with both eyelids turned in. That's MUCH more of a pain. It's very difficult to fix both eyelids with a band at the same time. And this does NOT work well if it is an upper eyelid that is turned in. There, just fast forward to staples or minor surgery.

We got these from a producer outside of Columbus Ohio

Thanks. This set of lambs have impressed us with their growth so far.

Bonny lambs, what breed are they? Look similar to Suffolks but lop ears .

Yes I was an awesome surprise. And after using the equipment through this lambing we are already making a list of new equipment to pick up next November.

I got them at Rural King. I believe they were $30 or $35 and I have never had one break. The brand is Little Giant. If needing that type of feeder I highly recommend.

@@BankBarnMeats thanks

Thanks. We have been really impressed with our lambs this year. This has been our best crop of lambs so far.

Agreed. I feel it’s easier to produce 90% of my replacement ewes out of the ewes that we like and purchase rams to bring in fresh genetics. I was very happy Diamond gave us two ram lambs so we hopefully will be able to keep one and use him to help expand our genetics.

Yes they are. It’s amazing to see how they adapt to all types of weather and grass conditions across the world.

Thanks! Us also

@joeboo2936 I highly recommend it. It gives you a good expected date window. The harness is right around $20.

Thanks. Yes the heat lamp was a must after the one went down hill.

Yes so far we really like the lamb stand. Haven’t had to use the head gate yet, and I’m not complaining about that.

We have gone at different times and it seems like Sunday’s are the easiest day to be able to look around with out huge crowds. Went on a Friday night in 2022 and it was packed.

That is a ewe lamb. We have kept her in our flock and she just had her second set of lambs.

So true. Over the course of a couple of years we have had good luck, only a couple of the belties have decided to bust through it

Well he didn’t make it. We think he may of had something else wrong with him. The ewe has taken great care of the other lamb but did not want the broken leg one. It was right before a weather change so we are not sure if that had something to do with it also. As in the ewe decided that he wouldn’t make it.

@@BankBarnMeats That's a bummer. Some ewes just know. And generally there's not much you can do about that. Yeah, bummer.

@@craigpacker7171 yes this ewe has had 3 sets of lambs for us and this is the only issue we have had out of her. So she must of known something we didn’t.

No they are milk from mom only right now. They will explore the pen and possibly eat a little of the ewes food

One boy, one girl

Thanks. We had one break their leg above the knee 2 years ago and that required the vet to put a hard cast on it every 3 weeks. That was a time consuming procedure but it still healed up.

Thanks. Yes we are lucky most of the ones we have had have a great disposition/personality.

I am hoping. This week the weather is getting alot colder. So I just know that’s when most of the ewes will lamb

@@BankBarnMeats Yup. That's how it usually works. LOL! Good luck with it.

I have changed how I load them recently. Make a square out of gates making the trailer 1 side. Lure in with feed any number as long as I get the one I want. Sort out the ones I don’t and then load the one I want. Look up cattle bud box, it will give you a good idea on the set up I use. Bud box is to get cows ready to work in a single file I just use it to load.

I enjoy making these vlogs and holding the camera and talking is the easy part. But setting up the camera and making sure the sun isn’t bleaching out the shot or the camera went into dark mode because it is sitting in the shadows all take time. So we were like we got 6 hours let’s just get it done. Also we haven’t started yet and every day that goes by I know will mean that they are all going to be born in a small window of time. And that means we will be busy.

Thank you. So far I am impressed by them.