Amos said:
I think she meant weaned off of the dam. Yes you can milk sheep, but they aren't really a dairy animal for the reason that they don't give much milk, usually just enough for the lamb to grow on.
Actually, there are dairy breeds of sheep that give just as much milk as dairy goats...well, almost just as much. Miss Prissy, on BYC, has milking Friesians. In Europe, there are quite a few sheep dairies but it hasn't really caught on here in the states...which is why all the gourmet sheep cheese seems to be generated in Europe.
I had plans of trying to milk my sheep a little, just to see about the quality, to save for any bummer lambs, to see if I could get enough to make a little Gouda....just playing around. Now, of course, I don't need to do so....I have the nearly dead Blossom!
FF, have no fear, I used to own a cow when I was young and I have spent the better part of my life studying up on being a farmer...have several livestock manuals, all the info on research conducted by the FDA and USDA, and have read more books than I can count on the subject. I've wanted to be a full fledged farmer since I could walk, so its kind of a passion of mine. Have the info...just like to pick and choose what info I want to adhere to in dealing with my own animals. I like to use a little old school stuff mixed with a little Salatin,and throw a little nursing knowledge magic in on top of it....it seems to work for me!

I appreciate all your helpfulness, though, as always!
Big Brown Horse, my Aunt Betty is my favorite aunt and I wanted to name one of the sheep after her....of course, it would follow that I would have to get a black one for the purpose, as that is one good song and I have a quirky sense of humor. When I told my boys that her name would be Black Betty, Lamb da Lamb, they rolled their eyes and gave me the look....then they had to laugh!

I'm counting on the humor of the name to keep me singing each and every time I spend time with the animals.
Like my roo named Sue~my son is a Johnny Cash fan.
Or my chocolate lab mix named Chocolate Jake...if you say it fast it sounds like chocolate shake!

Or Katie~my nosey chicken who reminds me of my mother~Katie~who is the biggest busy body in the world in her area.
And her partner in crime, Shaka Kahn (sp?), who is a black chicken with a red head..... hee, hee!
We have a tendency to find names with some humor or significance here....of course, Blossom came with her own name, so we really can't play with hers but I'm sure we will give her her own nickname soon.....maybe something to tie into that silly song about how "all the boys love it when I bring my milkshake to the yard"~some trash the boys have laughed over before!
