First to arrive on 2 May were four Dorper ewes - all hopefully in lamb. We chose Dorpers for a few reasons - we are interested in rare and heritage breeds; they are a meat breed and they do a good job of self-shearing. The Dorpers have black heads - note the wooly top coats that rub/wear off. They are a South African breed, and are able, it appears, to have three breeding cycles as against two of most other breeds in the same timeframe. Rams and ewes mature at a more early age as well. We don't know yet how old ours are - we have yet to get them yarded - we need three people or two and a good dog - but we did get Astra in for a hoof trim.
The four smaller white lambs at the back, we picked up at the Clareville weekly Friday Livestock Sale, on 4 June. They don't have names. There are two ewes and two wethers. They were a bit boney when we bought them but they are fattening up nicely, eh? The two wethers are the Christmas dinners and freezer pack. We'll keep the two ewes and get them in lamb next year to produce more freezer packs.
The Dorpers in front - Annabel, Abigail, Aroha and Astra. All hopefully in lamb due end of August on. Freezer packs and mothers of freezer packs behind.Big excitement last Sunday 26 June - our first two cattle arrive. We have chosen Dexters - having gone to a Field Day last year and been impressed. We got them locally from Masterton and we are well pleased.
They are about three quarters the size of regular beef cattle and apparently the smaller cuts of meat are superb - not that we will be eating the breeding stock for a while to be able to comment ...
Bonnie and Bella with plenty of tucker. Bonnie is rising 3 and a first-time calver; Bella is rising 4 and a second-time calver. They are a little spooky, but we are wooing them daily with baleage. As you can see, they are not too high in comparison to the 7 wire fence behind!
Dexter Cattle, like the Dorper sheep, are registered with the NZ Rare Breeds Association. Dexters are particularly economical as well. You can graze 3 Dexters on the same space as 2 normal sized cattle. They are a dual beef/milk breed and come in three colours - black, red and dun.
Bella is due to calve any time after the end of August, and Bonnie September/October.
