Geek.Farm.Life

Comment by Libbye

August 7, 2007 @ 9:08 pm

Hi Misty!
You might want to post about your sheep at the HobbyFarms sheep list at Yahoogroups. There are a good number folks there with spinning flocks. It’s a fun & friendly group too.

Last week you mentioned that you were thinking of switching to Shetlands. I had a few in my flock for a while and still have a few crosses. In my experience (granted quite limited compared to hair sheep) I found them to be very hardy and super easy keepers. They seem pretty parasite resistant and they’re fertile as all get out. They are easy to work with sizewise, they’re pretty much all fleece! I did however, find them to be MUCH more flighty than my hair sheep. They didn’t tame down much at all even when handled daily and they don’t flock very well for the dogs. (good for training, a pain in the neck for farm chores). And the ram was the only ram I’ve ever had at the farm who made me not go into the field without a dog or a stout stick. He lived to butt people with his big ole horns.

So if you want Shetlands to be easy to handle I’d be really careful where they come from! There are a couple of very helpful Shetland breeders on the list I mentioned above.

Comment by Danni

August 10, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

Hi Misty and Andrew,

I’ve just finished listening to all of your archived podcasts, and have really enjoyed them. Even though I live in a fairly large city, I’ve found that it’s opened my eyes to many things I haven’t considered before, and it keeps me entertained while I’m working out or knitting.

That’s partly why I found this past week’s article in the New Yorker particularly interesting. I didn’t know if you’d seen or heard of it, but it pertains to CCD and some ongoing research on the matter. It’s called “Stung,” and it’s by Elizabeth Kolbert. I’m obviously not a bee-keeper, but I found it timely and thought you might too. I’ve attached the link below…I hope you have a chance to take a look. Thanks for the podcast!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/06/070806fa_fact_kolbert

Comment by John Glasscock

August 14, 2007 @ 8:46 pm

Um, last I checked, Brisbane was the capital of Austrailia, not Adelaide.

Pedantically yours,
Etherdog

Comment by andrew

August 14, 2007 @ 8:57 pm

John G, did you mean Canberra?