2013 Hookstown Fair - Over 'til Next Year!

Feeding Time At The 2013 Hookstown Fair!

Don't we all feel this way on the first day of the fair, wide-eyed & eager like the sheep above?  Excited and happy to be out & about checking the exhibits, the animals, and visiting with all of our friends?  The Hookstown Fair enjoyed fine weather for fair week ..... not too hot, just a bit of rain late one night, and cool enough temperatures that the animals were comfortable.  

Exhibits For The Fiber Folks & A Backstory .....

Here was a bit of serendipity in the fiber arts exhibits ..... right next to each other, entries from 2 people who have been Wild Rose Farm customers!  Norma & her husband bought a WRF ram years ago, and Maria came with her mother to buy yarn and combed top as a young person just learning to knit & spin.  Both of them are quite prolific with their entries and I was pleasantly surprised to see these 2 blue ribbons side by side. 

Fair Week .... It's Finally Over .... Whew!

We get a "season pass", so we're at the fair for all 5 nights watching the 4H livestock shows, checking all of the exhibits, visiting the Southside Historical Village, and bidding at the 4H livestock auction to support the kids and fill the freezer.  By the end of fair season in a few weeks, we'll be "all faired out", just like the piggy sleeping it off above! 

Hope you get to enjoy your local fair, even for a day!  

Lone Lamb ......

Lamb On The Loose .....

This little lamb was not doing well in the pen with all of the others.  Nothing specific, she just looked droopy & poor.  So she gets to roam around the barn and come out and munch in front on the lawn area.  She won't be running off since all of her friends are back behind the barn.  Hopefully she snaps out of it ..... sometimes they don't. 
Maybe I'll remember to get a picture of #401.  She was thinking about dying about a month ago.  Again, nothing we could put a finger on, just suddenly hanging her head and looking sickly.  Well, she made a complete recovery in a week or so, but the proof of her stress shows in her wool.  She has "wool break" and is a shaggy creature as she looses the short fleece that she had. 
Anyway, you consult the books, try to troubleshoot symptoms, and "sometimes", "something" works.  It's not always cut & dried with animals.

2013 PA Perfomance Tested Ram Sale Results

Suffolk Ram Heads To The Barn At JAS Registered Stock Farm

Our last post ended as the truck pulled in at JAS Registered Stock Farm & we dropped off the Suffolk ram - you can bet he was an RR ram!  We haven't seen the auction results posted yet, so here are some highlights from the  2013 Pennsylvania Performance Tested Ram Sale :
Suffolk rams - 7 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $475 & price ranges from $350 to 2 rams that sold for $750 each.  Texels - 6 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $550 & price ranges from $450 to $725.  These chunky rams are definitely becoming more popular.  Senior Dorpers - 2 offered & sold for $300 each.  Junior Dorpers - 7 offered/5 sold/2 walked - Top indexing ram sold for $1050 - others sold for $300 - $325.  White Dorpers - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $725, 2nd ram sold for $550.

Maple Spring Farms - Lovell 13-566 TW RR 4.21 LEA

Senior Dorsets - 6 offered/sold - Top indexing fall born ram above sold to Wild Rose Farm for $600 - others sold for $375 - $650.  Junior Dorsets - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $500, 2nd ram sold for $450. The Shopshire ram from Calvert Farm sold for $600.  Katadin - 3 offered/2 sold - the top indexing ram was walked, the other 2 sold for $600 & $300.  Polypay - 2 offered/1 sold - Top indexing ram sold for $300.  Hampshire - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $450 & 2nd for $350 - both were RR.  Southdown - 1 ram - walked.  And the story of the day - the Merino ram - an entry from Robert Calvert of Calvert Farm sold for $1000.  This QR twin represents years of progress in breeding Merinos and was a great looking ram ..... unfortunately, my picture was blurred, but you can see him in the on-line sale catalog Lot # 138.
Yes, we dabble in Dorsets as a cross when we have enough Rambouillets.  They make a great cross and a good ram, like this performance tested ram, sires some nice replacement females and meaty market lambs.  We can also get some nice longer staple spinning fleeces from the x-bred ewes.
Oh - and here are some of the Suffolk ewes at JAS Farm ...... since we have the same sheep shearer, I may be able to get a fleece or two by spring for my friend Feisty!  You know who you are ..... :)

Suffolk Ewes & Polled Hereford Cattle

Thanks once again to the registered sheep producers who make this sale possible by sending their best rams in to be performance tested.  Not all of the rams make it to the sale - the top indexing rams are considered "flock improvers". 

Ram Sale

2013 PA Performance Tested Ram Sale - Suffolk Ram In Ring

Wild Rose Farm went to the 2013 Pennsylvania Performance Tested Ram Sale on Saturday.  We were successful bidders and brought home a new Polled Dorset ram for our crossbreeding program.
The picture below shows our Senior Dorset ram behind a Suffolk ram purchased by our friend who rode up to the sale with us.  More sale details & pictures later ..... it's been a busy weekend!

 

Suffolk & Dorset Rams - Time To Unload The Suffolk ...