Tag: flock

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Karakul Breed

Spotlight on a Sheep Breed – Karakul

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Ever since I started learning about sheep breeds I have been fascinated with Karakuls
(pronounced care-a-kul). Karakuls are a relatively primitive breed compared to those developed in Europe. They hail from Central Asia and are thought to be one of the oldest breeds of domesticated sheep, raised since 1400 BC. They are very rare here in the US.

Karakuls have a high percentage dark gene so many are black. A medium sized sheep, they weigh between 100-225 lbs. Their ears often point down unlike most sheep.
They have a broad tail where they store extra fat.

They have a very rough wool which contains guard hairs. This makes it an excellent felting wool but would be most uncomfortable next to bare skin. The wool makes really strong bonds and is great for rope or sturdier items, like my cat caves.
They are considered a long wool sheep measuring between 6-12 inches with very little grease/lanolin.

Unfortunately, Karakuls are best know for their pelts. When the lambs are born they have a very tight, black curl to their fleece. It is terrible, but somehow this got to be a fashion ingredient and coats and hats were made. These babies lose this tight weave when they are three days old so they are harvested before that, sometimes even fetal Karakuls. It makes me sick to think of these darlings losing their lives for someones coat.

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My Karakuls came to me because their mom lost their land lease in the village of Mendocino. She had a lot of animals to place and I was able to give a home to 7 of them. I was a foster parent to 5 others, but the longer they stayed with me the more attached I grew until I could no longer part with them.

They are a unique sheep. Very bold, intelligent and independent. They do not herd well and never seem to relax around my dogs. All the other sheep learn my pups are friendly but the Karakuls continue to stomp at them, and me for that matter, when they get stressed. Luckily they call the shots around the barnyard so they aren’t stressed very often! They are big snugglers and put themselves in my way to get attention. They are the goatiest sheep I have ever met!

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Stay tuned next month for a giveaway of Harvest Fair tickets in next months newsletter!

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Turnip’s Recovery

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My boy Turnip has been having trouble walking for the past few months. He would get these sick spells, a fever, gut trouble and then become lame.  I tried rest and antibiotics.  These would work but a few weeks later the symptoms would return.  I had my wonderful vet out and he felt his front knees which were warm and inflamed.  He thought there could possibly be a bacterial infection so we tried a longer, stronger round of antibiotics. Dr. Brazil warned that there may not be much we could do after this so I crossed my fingers. It didn’t seem to help much.

Everyday I would see Turnip shifting on his front feet from left to right, back and forth.  Some days it would be clear that he was hurting even worse because he would hang out all day in the barn.  I was really worried about him and part of what was so troubling is that he is only 8 years old and is perfectly healthy otherwise.

Finally I had Dr. Brazil out again and he came up with the idea that this looked a little like rheumatoid arthritis.  He had never heard of a case in sheep but most sheep don’t get individual care or vet calls.  He thought we could try a steroid and see how Turnip responds.

Within a few days it was clear that Turnip was feeling better.  He would rush out of the barn in the morning with everyone else and I no longer saw him shifting off his front feet.  Now every other morning he lets me feed him a syringe full of molasses water and a few little pills and even looks forward to his dosage.

I am so grateful that we found a solution to his problem.  Turnip is one of my bolder, friendlier sheep and is just a love.  Sometimes resting his head on my shoulder while I squat down to say hello.  I am willing to take on the extra expense since that is what is required here, but it is an extra $15 a month.  If anyone would like to sponsor  Turnips medication please email carole@plumblossomfarm.com.  As it is now I’m just glad he is feeling happy and healthy once again.

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New Arrivals!

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I am delighted to announce the arrival of three new ewes to the farm.  These sweet girls needed a new home because their parents were moving from Redwood Valley to a condo in Cotati.  Mike who introduced me to them was just so sweet and touching saying goodbye to his friends.  They had a happy life with him and I hope to give them some more joy here.

The two older girls are sisters and are 5 years old.  The baby is 2 years old and was a surprise to Mike when she arrived a few hours after first moving to their house.  They had softer, finer wool than I have ever played with before.

They are currently in a separate pen from my flock in quarantine since that is what the vet suggested for the first few weeks.  This is just to make sure no health issues pop up.  I also think it’s a good chance for them to settle into a new and different environment before dropping them in with a lot of new faces.  But the sheep from my flock have been communicating back and forth with them- wish I spoke the language better!

I had the vet out this morning to check them over.  He trimmed hooves and dunked them in a cleaning solution as well as gave them a dose of penicillin to ward off any foot rot.  He also wormed them again with Ivermectin ( I already wormed with Valbazen when they arrived) to cover all the worm families.

The auntie sheep had been blinking her right eye a lot and that worried me so I had him look at that too.  Turns out she has mild entropia where her bottom eye lid slightly rolls inward.  Since it was not a bad case we will just leave her alone.  I have had him fix these before but it requires cutting and stitches so we skipped it.

I will update next weeks blog with more information about the personalities of these beautiful girls. Until then I will be winning them over with treats from pears to saltines, which are always a hit!

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Sleepy Ducks

brown and white sleeping ducks

I find some of my most peaceful moments are spent around my animals when they are sleepy or napping.  I have experienced this many times with the sheep.  It’s a feeling of deep calm and almost a meditative state.

Recently I found it works with ducks as well. They were all cozied up in front of the house, dozing in the afternoon.  As they napped I took a few moments out of my hurried day to watch them.  An ease settled in me that I often get from watching moving water at the river.

Just one more gift the farm gives to me.  These animals bring hard-work, love and joy into my life.  Now I am reminded that if I take time to pay attention to it, they can bring me peace as well.

multi-colored ducksbrown and white sleeping ducks