Fashion photos with sheep

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Jenne Giles of Harlequin Feltworks in San Francisco who asked if she could do a photo-shoot at the farm. It sounded like fun so we set it up and yesterday was the day. The photographer of the day was Allison Harrell She and her crew arrived mid-morning along with suitcases of props and lots of lighting equipment. Here  are some highlights.

I showed everyone the farm and Allison took some time to figure out locations for the various scenes.

First location was a stack of alfalfa. The model here is Kara, wearing one of Jenne's striking felt creations.

Kara is joined by Emily and one of my lambs.

Next location with new outfits. Emily and Kara were joined by a ewe and a goat in some of the photos.

Make-up artist & hair stylist, Elizabeth, found a new role as she negotiated with Amaryllis to be part of the day's activities.

A little grain works wonders.

Amaryllis cooperated quite well for most of this portion of the shooting.

Location 4 was the pasture.

Paulette invited her self to be part of this scene.

Doris and her triplets posed quite well also, although I didn't tell them that this wasn't all  about them.

The last location at our place was the chicken house.

Rusty worked all day to make sure that everything was in control.

It was very interesting to see what goes on "behind the scene" of something like this. My shop was tuned into the dressing room. Jenne's dresses and scarves were stunning. She uses Merino wool for her felt and the pieces are lightweight and soft. Accessories included everything from dozens of pairs of colored tights to frilly rubber swimcaps. Allison had her laptop with her so that she could show Elizabeth the look that she wanted with the make-up and hair. (Anyone who knows me will understand when I was surprised to hear that it would take about an hour or more to accomplish the make-up and hair part. I'm lucky if I remember to comb my hair when I get to my car--which is where I keep my comb.)  While the models were getting ready and changing in between locations Allison was busy getting the lighting just right and setting the scene.

I thoroughly  enjoyed this day and meeting all of these delightful women.  To see more of my photos you can find Meridian Jacobs on Facebook (become a fan while you're at it) and also be sure to look at Jenne's blog. The "real" photos (Allison's) will be coming later.

Thanks for a fun day, ladies!

Tay Sachs and Sheep?

Friday was an interesting day. Veterinarians I know had agreed to help with the project of testing my flock for the gene for lysosomal storage disease. I'll back track and explain briefly.  A gene for lysosomal storage disease has been identified in Jacob sheep. Carriers are unaffected but if two carriers produce an affected lamb it will develop symptoms of the disease and eventually die. There is interest among some breeders in identifying carriers so that they can either avoid the problem (don't breed carrier to carrier) or remove the problem (cull carrier sheep). But there is more to it than protecting our flocks. Researchers at Texas A&M and New York University Medical Center found that this disease identified in Jacob sheep is the same as the lysosomal storage disease in children, known as Tay Sachs. So there is interest in maintaining a carrier flock of sheep for use in studying human medicine. One of the members of the Tay Sachs Gene Therapy Consortium stated: “The goal of identi­fying and eliminating Tay-Sachs in Jacob sheep in order to conserve the breed is a noble goal. But we who are working on a human gene therapy cure are very happy that you did not succeed and kept the car­riers for the last decade. These sheep are genetically significant.”

This article it will give more background.

First up was to do ultrasounds on the sheep and one goat that will be part of the UC Davis VMTH Livestock Nursery at the CA State Fair.  I have provided sheep for the nursery for the last couple of years and because we're breeding out of season we like to check and make sure they are really pregnant.  I'm pleased to announce that Stephanie, the Toggenburg goat, and 3 ewes are pregnant and will be at the fair in July.

A protocol was developed to enable sheep producers to gather blood samples from their flocks themselves. The DNA test can be done with a few drops of blood on a filter paper. It was recommended to use a special lancet and take the blood from the ear. The Farm Club members and I worked on that a few weeks ago but it turns out that we didn't have the right supplies and it was a struggle. While I was waiting forthe correct supplies I talked to my veterinarian friend who suggested obtaining the blood from the jugular vein as you would for any other blood test. It's easier on the sheep (minimal pain) and easier on the person (if you know what you're doing).   In this photo I'm getting a lesson on how to do this.

I'm pleased to say that after a few missed attempts I was able to get four in a row. Then I figured that I at least knew how to do it and I went back to helping move sheep. We had a "clean" person who labeled and handled the samples, 2 people drawing blood and the rest of us caught and held sheep so we could work through the whole flock quickly. Oh, one of the Farm Club members was the photographer and took all these photos. Thanks,  Shelby.

It was a little more difficult getting blood from the rams. This is Tioga.

My son, Chris,  helped move sheep.

As much as I love my donkey sometimes she makes things more difficult. She is standing right in the gate where the sheep are supposed to go.

These are some of the samples that will be sent to NY for testing.

This is Sid, a wether who will go home with Jackie when he's old enough.

Thanks to the veterinarians who helped with this project and to the Jackie, Shelby, and Kathy of the Farm Club.

Pretty faces

I was taking photos to try and get a good one for an ad.

Gem

Janelle

Moon

Zelda

Dazzle

Prancer

Zip

Babe

Fanny

These Meridian ewes are all with Kenleigh's Savor. He's just a little guy but has been doing the job.

Last, but not least, Amaryllis.

What's for Breakfast?

I moved the sheep to a new section of pasture this morning.

They immediately buried their heads. This is like a salad bar for the sheep--something for everyone. In the photo below you can see clover, trefoil (yellow flower), Dallis grass (broad-leaf grass), yellow foxtail (that grass with the foxtail-looking head), bermudagrass, dock, and other plants.

Some of these plants make summer grazing tough. The bermuda and yellow foxtail are late summer grasses and take over the pasture, crowding more desirable plants.  The sheep choose to eat the plants they like and leave the less desirable ones.That's why, to graze properly, you put more livestock on a small area and move them frequently. When the sheep are in a small area they eat even  the less palatable plants while eating the ones they really like. Then you move them to the next area. This also helps with control of internal parasites.

Dallis grass has been a problem too. It is a perennial grass that originated in South America and can be a good pasture grass if grazed properly. If I can't keep it grazed low it gets so tall and coarse that the sheep won't touch it. Then it takes over and nothing else can grow. If you go back to older posts in the blog you'll see where last year at this time I was doing everything I could think of to get the sheep to eat the thick stand of dallis grass. In the spring we finally burned it.

So what did I see in the salad bar pasture this morning?

Amaryllis went right for the yellow foxtail! Nobody else eats that.

Here is another undesirable plant. This grass is medusahead. It is an annual grass that grows in dry areas and has these nasty seed heads. Sheep don't want to eat it even when it is still green. The medusahead started growing in this side of the pasture when I couldn't get irrigation water to this area. The last few times I irrigated I have been more successful at getting water here so that's why it's green underneath. I hope that if I'm successful at irrigating this area next year the medusahead won't be able to take over.

But look who is eating it!

So what are the sheep eating?

This is Della with her mouth full of dallis grass. (That's the dallis grass seed head in the foreground.)

Ebony is eating trefoil and dock.

Linda is eating dallis grass.

The goat, Chloe, is eating trefoil and...

Jasmine is eating dallis grass.

One way to join me in a "pasture-walk" and photo shoot is to join the Farm Club and spend some time here. It's on my website--see the link on the right.

Who's in the barn?

The lambs in the last post are 10 days old now and yesterday I let them into the pasture with all the other sheep. Last night I found the little ram lamb limping and I diagnosed a broken leg, but wasn't sure where.  I took him to see my vet today and she came up with this splint to immobilize the leg. The break is at the top of the tibia and this splint holds the joints on either side immobile.  We'll leave it on about 3 weeks and see how he is.

While I had my camera in the barn I took other photos.

Amaryllis, the donkey.

Jasmine, one of my son's does. He has gone to his summer job and I'm milking the goats that are left.

Ewes and ewe lambs on the pasture.

These ram lambs were so happy to get out onto the pasture after being in a dry lot getting hay for weeks. I have to keep them separate from the ewes now so my options are more limited. This pasture now has plenty of feed.

This is trefoil, one of my favorite flowers, and good sheep feed. There is a lot of it in that ram pasture.

My husband came back from the hardware store and told me he bought something for me. The other day when I was irrigating I broke the only shovel that I could find --one with the handle taped. So this is MY shovel.

Moving On

Lambing season is over (except for one sheep that I bought and is due much later). For people who like numbers the stats are on my website in the Farm Talk column--things like how many ewe lambs and number of twin births, etc. It's actually interesting to me to see the tallies. Here is one of the last ewes to lamb. This is a yearling, Eliza, with a pretty ewe lamb.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend and I got serious about sorting wool. Here is a sample from a particularly nice fleece.  This is a yearling out of Meridian Diamond and bide a wee Yuri--the crimp in this fleece looks like Yuri's did. Maybe you have to be a spinner to appreciate this.

I have a lot of wool to sort and I find myself getting distracted. I sat in the barn and took photos. This is Stephanie below.

And Amaryllis.

This banty hen sets on a nest of eggs all summer even though there has been no rooster since I've lived here.

Once she settles on a nesting place I transfer her to this rubber feeder so that I can move it if necessary to get to a bale of hay. I started marking the eggs so that I could take the freshest, but then I lost track. Now I just let her have all she wants.

I got distracted by poppies too, but that will be another post.

Amaryllis arrives

No, I don't mean the flower, Amaryllis. This Amaryllis is a spotted donkey. She arrived on Saturday. She was foaled in a sheep pen in Iowa and has lived with Jacob sheep all her life. She will continue duty as a guard donkey here, but also as my equine buddy.

Zena is a favorite yearling and this is how she came in from the pasture this morning.