[Jacob-list] Hi!

[Lisa P]

Hi there!
  My name is Lisa. My husband and I are looking at moving to three acres in 
the country near the state forest here in Florida. Last year I started 
looking into animals to raise for their fiber.
  I had decided on Angora goats. I started looking for sheep as well. A 
woman I am planning on getting my goats from has Merino sheep up in Northern 
Georgia. She mixes her mohair in with her sheep wool as a blend.
  Merinos are popular, so I wanted another sheep that was a little on the 
rare side. I came across the Jacob sheep on a web site that I will mention 
later when I come across it again! :0)
  I have spotted dogs, so the spotted sheep seemed cool too! :0) I have 
Australian Shepherds. I hope to train them to work the sheep and goats, as 
well as agility! I am going to be a busy person! :0)
  I am planning on doing the processing of the wool myself. I have asked 
around how to process the fiber. It seems pretty straight forward. I will 
have to sheer myself as well, since there is not a big market for 
professional sheerers around here!
  As with the Angora goats, I will probably be the only Jacob sheep breeder 
here in Florida. I have talked with a breeder in Texas. Her sheep have 
faired rather well in that climate, so I feel confident that the goats and 
sheep will do well here as well.
  I have recently been told about OPP. I am also looking for general as well 
as hereditary info that will be passed around on a list like this. I hope to 
get some ideas for a feed and water trough. I will probably use field 
fencing to fence the goats and sheep in.
  Can I run the two together? Or should I put them on seperate acres? Of 
course I will need to supplement feed my animals. How many sheep/goats 
should I expect would be appropriate for two acres?
  Eventually we are going to expand our ranch. I want my herd to eventually 
pay for itself. I know this is going to take a while, I grew up on a 
dairy/crop farm. I have experience with record keeping through my 
agriculture/FFA class and my 4-H projects growing up. My dad still runs a 
large dairy herd of Holstiens up in PA.
   Well, I am going long here. I look forward to "meeting" all of you! Oh, 
before I forget, could someone send me the info on the fiber show in 
October? I think the initials are SAFF. I am not sure what they stand for, 
but I would love to attend!
  If any of you out there are going to attend, I would love to meet you 
there! Till later!
In His Hands,
Lisa P.
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com