Monday 28 May 2012

A beautiful day today, perfect temperature, perfect breeze :-)

Big Moo gave 2 3/4 litres today courtesy of an extra milking at midday. She proposed a treat and I proposed a small donation and we both got what we wanted. Evening milking went smoothly too, almost afraid to be pleased in case I jinx it !

More seeds in the seed house, onions, capsicum and peas. I have a suspicion I'll need to set up another bed...

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EMMALINE and CLEO

Emmy and Cleo are awassi x white dorpers purchased from out west at about five months old. Awassis are a dairy breed with a long fleece and white dorpers are a meat breed that sheds. The breeder's aim is a dairy sheep that sheds.

As you can see Emmy and Cleo have different fleeces and faces having different fathers as well as mothers. This is one of the interesting things about cross-breeding. Both girls were shorn at the same time and Emmy has a fleece 8cm long already while Cleo is about 4cm.


I'm going to keep Emmy's fleece in spring when we shear her and see if someone would like to clean it up and spin it. It would be very cool to have a pair of socks or beanie made from our own wool :-)

Emmy and Cleo are an experiment to see how they go as milkers. They have turned out to be curious, steady and engaging characters. Dorpers are quite outgoing sheep, and awassi have been bred for steadiness, so they are potentially an ideal combination.

Their only fault is that they sneak off at feeding time to mug the geese for their mere handful of grain before gleefully galloping back up the hill to pretend they've been right there all along.

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