They look lumpy because that’s wool that’s been left behind. It would be like shaving your head but not keeping the clippers level.

Unlike your head sheep aren’t smooth and curved. They have bones that stick, sides the go in, plus the wiggle so you can’t keep the shears perfectly flush with their skin. If you want the wool for spinning you can’t go back and level it out since that would make second cuts. (very short pieces of fiber)

So they end up with wool still left on them and they look lumpy and bumpy. In about 3-4 weeks they’ll look normal again as the wool grows out. If you look at the pictures of Sam (Farm->Sheap->Sam) he was sheared about a month before we got him and you can see the shear marks on him.

-Andrew

I added the time lapse movie links in the post. I have no clue if the mp4 works in itunes or not. messed format anyways. ;)

The milking rate of ~5.5lbs/day is normal for Baby and for Patra she’s doing very well for his first year at over 4lbs per day. For 2 fairly new milkers they are doing ok. If we were milking Cream I would expect she would be closer to 10-12lbs/day since that’s her historic average. So Cream would give closer to 70lbs/week. It takes a few years for them to ramp up, and Cream has had many many years to reach her high production. Baby is low for a Saanen, but she’s only 2.

What’s this about a Misty-palooza?

At any rate, thanks for sharing just how green your beehives and milking stand are. Is the milk rate still within normal parameters or has there been a shift in milk rates with your dairy herd?

And what is the rumor about Misty-palooza this summer where your faithful listeners can camp on your site for one night (where we all bring the beer, wine, and food)? Sounds like fun!