Big week

This week saw the next stage of the controlled breeding program. The ewes will start lambing in about 3 weeks to ensure their safety from foxes we have electrified an 8 acre paddock with 4 strands of  electrified wires.

The electrified paddock is right next to the house so we will be able to keep a close eye on the ewes and lambs

 

On Friday my dear Dorper breeders Eileen and Sarah went to Dubbo for the meeting of the Eastern Region Dorper Society. The meeting was very interesting and we were all glad that we attended. A motion was presented at the  meeting to make changes to the registration requirements of  Ewes. The changes if passed, who allow breeders to register progeny with only the sires information. That would be like having a birth certiticate with only the father listed - no thanks. There was some very colourful discussion but the motion was rejected by all who attended the meeting. A really good result for the breed and stud breeders.



Eileen, Me and Sarah



Sunday I thought a little creative work was necessary. So after the sheep training was completed I dressed up these jumpers for Harry and Oliver. Can't wait to see the boys with them on.



I purchased the tops at Big W for less than $5 then appliquéd  these designs on them.



Harry and Oliver. Cameron and Skye's sweet sweet boys

Show Preparations

The Royal Easter Show in Sydney is now only one month away and preparations are in full swing. Jessica is feeding the sheep so they will look their best on the show day. Halter training started on Saturday. To say that was an experience is putting it mildly. The sheep were a bit wild almost turning themselves inside out to get away from the halter. Kim and Jess got frustrated and yelled at each other. I really thought quiet sheep that we could be lead around the yards would not happen. Sunday morning was much better. The sheep still a little frightened but so much quieter than Saturday.

Very weary but not jumping around like the day before



Food always helps



Getting patted so the sheep get used to being handled

Tied up to the fence eating. They need to be acustomed to being tied up and eating out of small buckets

Monday training was a little better again.

This week training will continue and the sheep will need to be shorn. We normally do not shear Dorpers but it is a requirement for the show that all sheep are shorn.

Water Water Water

Most of you have heard that there has been lots of rain in southern Australia. We certainly had plenty of the wet stuff at Claremont with around 200mm or 8 inched falling in 5 days. The poor sheep looked very sad, cold and wet.

This picture was taken about a kilometre from our house on Saturday night. It looks like you could drive over the road but the water was running very fast. Last year a car was swept off the road in this very spot only the fence on the left hand side saved the car. The water rose higher through the night but by 11:30 Sunday the water had receded.  

February 2011



Almost the same view taken in February 2011. You can see the car on the mid left of the picture it was swept off the road luckliy the occupants escaped unharmed.



Sheep Inspection

Each year we arrange for the sheep to be inspected by a South African Dorper Sheep inspector. The sheep are inspected to ensure they meet the correct standard for White Dorper sheep. The sheep are graded with points 1 being the lowest grade that is culled from the flock and 5 the highest grade are the best sheep in the flock. Sheep that are inspected and graded as type 5 or 4 are stud quality animals. These sheep are given an identity ear tag and the inspection notes documented in the society stud book.

5 = Very Good. These are highest quality stud animals
4 = Good. These animals are also stud quality
3 = Average. These sheep are considered good quality commercial sheep.
2 = Below average. These sheep are considered average commercial sheep
1 = Cull. These sheep have a significant fault or faults and would not be used for breeding.

The inspectors also give valuable advice on the purchase of rams and joining strategies. We have used this advice to cull sheep unsuitable to our flock and purchase the best rams that we can afford.
This inspection was the third time that Keonie Kotze has inspected our flock. We spent 2 days listening to his guidance about joining, ram selection and inspecting sheep.  We were thrilled with the results. Over 50 type 4 and 5 ewes. 7 type 4 and 5 rams. Those results from our small flock of 250 sheep are a really good achievement, with over 70% of our flock being studded already. The results demonstrate the value of using Dorper Sheep inspectors to improve the flock. Inspections are also valuable for buyers as they know the sheep meet the correct standard when they are purchased.
Keonie inspections were finalised on Saturday so on Sunday Kim, Jess and I travelled to Byblos White Dorper stud http://www.bybloswhitedorper.com/ and met up with good friends Eileen and Martin http://www.crawlersgullydorpers.com/ Tony and Peter. Tony Byblos owner put on a great BBQ to farewell Keonie until we see him again.



Koenie and Kim at Byblos White Dorpers receiving a plaque that Kim Carved for him.

Eileen, Tony and Keonie at the BBQ



 

 

Martin in stylish glasses checking messages on his phone.




Kim and Tony discussing strategy

 



Preparing for the show part 2

Saturday was a big day for Kim. All the rams had to mustered and placed in the yards. Kim then had to weigh each one and drench them with Zolvix. Jessica had her turn to get all the measurements height, girth, rump, testicles etc. The rams were then placed in a clean paddock that has lots of feed. We also placed a feeding crate that holds a bale of hay and stud mix along with a mineral station. This will ensure they all get plenty of feed to beef them up for the show. The sheep will be monitorred regularly for weight and other measurments. We are going to use this information to closely monitor the progress of the feeding regime.



10 month old Munro a "Mr Bond" ram lamb and part of the show team. You can see plenty of feed in the paddock and the feeder in the background with hay.

Creations

I love sheep but I do have other interests and one of them is sewing. I recently updated my 20+ year old sewing machine with a new model. I was allowed to buy a PFAFF Quilt Expression 4 and I love it. Next on the list was to revamp the sewing room it now looks like this thanks IKEA, Alison and Cameron.

Alison

Cameron

I love bags so here are some of my creations. I used those shopping bags that you can get at supermarkets and stores then covered them with my favourite fabric. I'll do a tutorial when I make the next bag.

Preparing for the Sydney Royal Easter Show

We have decided to enter some of our best sheep in the Sydney Royal. This is a first for us and a little daunting. The place where we are staying has been booked  and the South African inspector will be at Claremont on the 20th February to inspect the show team. That is 2 items off the list. There are still sheep to shear and train for the show plus many other things that need to happen.
Dell Dorpers have an interesting article on preparing sheep for showing. We will be following their regime to prepare the sheep.

http://delldorpers.com.au/documents/ShowingDorpers.pdf



Daughter Jessica in the blue shirt is having sleepless nights planning what needs to be completed for the show





Good friends Martin and Eileen are a wealth of knowledge, experience and always happy to share any information that will help. They showed sheep at the Sydney Royal in 2011 and have inspired us to do the same this year.



Eileen, Sarah and Harry all part of the Southern Tablelands Dorper Group that will be showing sheep at the Royal Easter



Malcolm from Eastern White Dorpers and Harry from Royalla Dorpers are also a good source of information - you can tell by their faces.