American RBST Foundation Flock USA0001
British Registered Soay sheep
Southern Oregon Soay Sheep Farms
Viewpoint
a monthly newsletter
We are pleased to present our monthly
farm newsletter, Viewpoint. Born out of our love of these sheep
and the people we have encountered in an 11 year journey as British Soay breeders, Viewpoint
is designed as an educational, entertaining and useful tool to enhance the
reader’s knowledge and enjoyment of this breed and its care. Each month we will
present a featured article that will detail an aspect of sheep farming based on our own
experience, a Monthly Calendar of farm management reminders, a Tip of the Month, personal
reminiscences, as well as related lists, recipes or schedules that complement the
articles.
Viewpoint is available in PDF format and has been formatted for
printing and saving. Each new edition will be added to this page as it comes out so that
you can access both current and older issues. Please email us at kathiem@soayfarms.com to be added to the mailing
list. You will receive an email with a link to the latest copy each month. We hope you
enjoy Viewpoint, and look forward to hearing from you.
Subject Index,
April 2008-November 2009
To make Viewpoint
more useful, I have added a subject index which will direct you where to find the
resources, recipes, books, equipment and featured topics that have been mentioned in past
issues. The index will be update every three months and it has been formatted for
printing and saving.
 March 2010
Articles
Feature "DIY Sheep
Care, Part 1 " Veterinarians who treat farm animals are getting harder and harder to find,
because of this shortage farmers increasingly have to depend on their own rudimentary vet
skills, like giving shots, to care for their animals.
"The Miracle of St. Ana" St. Ana was the very first "British
Soay" in the USA, she was special and we almost lost her too soon
Regular Features
Tip of the Month crowd
sheep tightly in a small pen to handle them
Resource Guide, Some useful verterinary
guides for the sheep farmer
.Calendar of the month time to start getting ready for lambing
February
2010
Articles
Feature "Winter
Care, Part 2 " When the snow has melted and is replaced with
mud and muck a new set of headaches can
arise, foot scald and respiratory
problems among them.
"A Book Review" Storey's Guide to Raising Miniature Livestock
by
Sue Weaver
Regular Features
Tip of the Month an
old metal garbage can filled with water makes a great
bashing toy that rams cannot knock over.
Resource Guide, Dr. Naylor® Hoof n Nail®, on line visual guide for trimming feet,
details for Storey's newest Guide, Hobby Farms magazine,
favorite on line
livestock supply catalogs
Important Announcement
for UK Breeders regarding electronic ID tags
Calendar of the month Its catalog season, time to
restock supplies, trim
hooves.
January 2010
Articles
Feature "Winter Care
" Winter cold and deep snow
bring new challenges
and potential problems in caring for our animals. Acidosis and urinary calculi
can be two that we don't necessarily think of and are
relatively easy to prevent.
"The Perfect Christmas Present" Gamma Seal Lids are not your
typical "mom" Christmas gift but were perfect for this one.
Regular Features
Tip of the Month
turn empty buckets into useful, water tight storage containers
Resource Guide
A variety of sources: Landa Weatherbeeta
dog coats, Gamma Seal lid, a safer Heat
Lamp.
US/UK translations :Supplements (US)
= Concentrates (UK) etc.
Calendar of the month
Merge rams back into bachelor flocks in late January,
watch for excessive
fighting, remove visual screens from fences, merge
ewes back together, vaccinate
rams and trim feet, get fecal samples to vet for
evaluation.
November
2009
Articles
Feature "Girl Talk " The fall rut
isn't just a "guy thing", ewe behavior changes too
"Birds, Bees and Lambs" A short story about a late bloomer
Regular Features
Tip of the Month
Keep good records of all dates
Resource
Guide Books on conservation breeding strategies
Calendar of
the month
Still time to put rams to ewes, put up visual barriers
between breeding groups,
watch for runny noses/raspy breathing, trim hooves
October 2009
Articles
Feature "Male
Bashing" With autumn comes the rut and changes in appearance,
behavior and temperament.
"Certainly, Unabashed and Dashed" How old must a lamb be before
she can get pregnant?
Regular Features
Tip of the Month
Ram lambs can be fertile at four months
Resource
Guide Books and on-lines sources
about rams and the rut
Calendar of
the month
Time to
put breeding pairs together, RBST birth notification and registrations are
due
September
2009
Articles
Feature "Traveler's
Tales" Two stories about runaway Soay and how they found
their way home
"An Early Lesson" Soay can jump like fleas, I learned the hard way not
to get in their way.
Regular Features
Tip of the Month
Soay love zucchini (Courgettes)
Resource
Guide Breeders Assistant Database Software for
managing your flock
Calendar of
the month
Colder
weather and short days mean the rut is around the corner start getting
prepared, start planning fall
breeding groups, start preparing for winter..
August
2009
Articles
Feature "Soay Fleece
Management" In spite of literature to the contrary, Soay
sheep are very prone to fly-strike (wool maggots) in areas
where blow flies are
found. Close observation and fleece management are critical
to preventing or
controlling this potentially life threatening problem.
"Sheep in the Mist" A little trick I learned for keeping Soay sheep
more
comfortable in searing heat.
Regular Features
Tip of the Month
disposable fly traps
Resource
Guide Where to find a "Shepherd's Mate"
portable head gate, which
clamps on to a fence or hurdle for restraining sheep (from
the UK, I am still looking
for one in the US), dagging (hand) shears, fact sheet on
parasitic diseases in
sheep including fly-strike
Calendar of
the month
Get
hay for the winter, ship lambs, wean rams lambs from their mothers.
July 2009
Articles
Feature "Summer Lamb Chores" Creep panels (pre- weaning), scrapie ear
tags, ram lamb
castration, shots and worming .
"A slow descent into madness" and I thought I had sent Roy a
Soay
ram
June
2009
Articles
Feature "Barn
placement" Things to think
about when building a small farm; barn
placement, water and air drainage, barn access, water runoff, manure
management
"The barn and the blues" the beginning of a long career with blue tarps
while I wished for a real barn.
May 2009
Articles
Feature "Soay
Lambing 101" Get your binoculars ready. Soay ewes
lamb very easily with few problems. The lambing process, what to
expect,
where to find information in case there are difficulties, rejected lambs and
what to do with the newborns; ear tags, shots, records, etc.
"Mini and Mighty" Dalton mini-ear tags, used for identifying newborn lambs
April
2009 One Year Anniversary Issue
Articles
Feature "Moving Mountains"
Coccidiosis is a common problem with lambs,
especially bottle babies. Breaking the cycle by hauling
manure away and
a strategic de-worming program for ewes will help reduce the
problem.
"Of Trial and Tractors" A pensioner's story about learning to drive a
new tractor.
March 2009
Articles
Feature "What's in a Name" naming
themes for Soay sheep; we borrowed it
from the Canadians, they borrowed it from a British tradition
"An unexpected gift" a special name
for a special lamb
February
2009
Articles
Feature "Barn Pharmacy 101" the
importance of a well stocked barn pharmacy
"The
Medicine Chest" a list of supplies and medicines to start out with
January 2009
Articles
Feature "Merge with Caution" merging
rams after breeding season
"Choosing ones Battles" sometimes one has to be
creative
December 2008
Articles
Feature "The Expected Unexpected"
preparing for emergencies
"It
always happens in the middle of the night" - and I thought I was
prepared
November 2008
Articles
Feature "Shipping Soay" How
to get sheep across the country from the
breeder to your farm
"An Early Christmas Story" The lambs arrive
October
2008
Articles
Feature "Soay School Abroad". A
trip to St. Kilda and a photo gallery of Soay
on St. Kilda, Scotland
September
2008
Articles
Feature "Soay
School", A week-end workshop of hands-on experience working
with Soay sheep.
"Alice's Old Barn"
a "teaching tool" sometimes it pays to "not have the
money"
August 2008
Articles
Feature "Handling
horns" dispelling some of the myths about horns, how to cut
ram's horns, Soay horns as they age.
"The Hard Way"
a story about a bored ram and a new fence line
July 2008
Articles
Feature "Fringe
Benefits" going into the wool business, rooing (hand plucking)
Soay sheep. from sheep to
shawl
"Of Fleece and Friendship"
a very special chocolate brown knit Soay hat
June
2008
Articles
Feature "Coping with
Teenagers" At about three weeks Soay lambs turn into
teenagers, ignoring their mothers and getting
into mischief; broken horns
heads stuck in fences, playtime
Creep Feeders for transitioning lambs from
milk to hay,
"Lights out"
when the sun goes down
May
2008
Articles
Feature "Bottle
Feeding Soay Lambs" raising an orphan or supplementing a
mother's milk without taking her lamb
away, how much to feed, how often, what to
watch for: scours, signs of too little
milk, coccideosis
"Maya's story, My first
Bottle Baby" A lamb rejected by her mother
April 2008
Premiere Issue
Articles
Feature "Breeding the Older Ewe" - My firsthand experience at breeding an
older Soay ewe,
special care and feeding.
"A Mother's
Need" - Can a Soay Sheep grieve? Never underestimate the
bond between a Soay ewe and her lamb.
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