For Sale Page Updated

Ewe and ram lambs for sale!

Check the For Sale tab and contact for more info. 

2015 Classic Preparations

In a little over 2 weeks we will be heading out to Manitoba for the 2015 All Canada Classic Show and Sale. This will be our second Classic and we are excited to be attending again. After a quick glance at the Classic Catalogue it looks like it will be a great event with lots of high quality animals entered. 
We will be taking 7 animals along with us: 1 yearling ram, 2 yearling ewes, 2 ram lambs and 2 ewe lambs. The flock was just sheared a week ago (May 30) so our entries will be sporting quite short fleeces, meaning what you see is what you get. Along with the information advertised in the Classic Catalogue, extended pedigrees and more can be found by selecting the animal you are interested in on our CLRC webpage. Also feel free to contact us, preferably by e-mail since we are not always by our phones and sometimes it takes us awhile to respond to messages on our voice mail, if you have any questions or would like to see pictures of an animal attending the show, their dam/sire or other relatives. 

PRAIRIE WINDS 8B
Entered in the Hampshire Yearling Ram class at the 2015 Classic.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the show and sale and safe travels to everyone making the trip from all across Canada!

October Update

It has been awhile since the last post, but lots of exciting things have been happening.

On August 16 we filled the trailer up with purebred and commercial stock for the Priddis & Millarville Fair. It was a nice day for the fair and once again there was a good turnout for both competitors and spectators. It was great to get to visit with all of our friends there and talk sheep. We competed with our purebred Hampshire ewes and one ram lamb and were very successful, taking home the award for the Champion Purebred Ewe with our mature ewe Prairie Winds 17Z.

Champion Purebred Ewe: Prairie Winds 17Z

We also participated in the grade ewe, market lamb and coloured sheep classes. 

The grade ewe lamb class.

The coloured sheep class.

Thank-you to the judge and all the volunteers who worked hard to make the sheep show and the fair a success this year!

We are happy to report that the alpacas have settled in nicely and are doing a good job keeping the ewes safe while out on pasture. They are quite interested in what is going on when we bring their sheep in to work with them (shearing, vaccinating). The one bad habit that we have noticed is that they like to stand in the water trough, especially on hot days, since it is low enough that they can step into it. This means we have to dump and clean it out more often than we used to. 

We also purchased a new Hampshire ram lamb from Clint Wiens in September. We gave him 10 ewes to breed this year and are excited to get some new quality genetics into the flock. The rest of the ewes are also out with rams. The other sire we will be using on on Purebred ewes is Prairie Winds 6Y and for our commercial ewes we are using 2 black Suffolk x rams. Lambing will start earlier this year for us compared to last year as we are planning to take lambs to the 2015 All Canada Classic in Winnipeg. We are working on getting the barn cleaned out and putting up some new fences for when we move the ewes back home.

 

Hope everyone had a good summer and good luck going into lambing season!

July Update

It's been a long time since the last blog post, so here is a little update and some pictures.

Lambing started and ended with purebred Hampshire ewes this year. Our first lamb was born February 9 and our last lamb was born May 15 (next year we are hoping lambing season won't stretch out this far). The sires we used this year were Bell Hank 21Z, Prairie Winds 6Y and our black Suffolk cross ram. The majority of our ewes chose to lamb in March when we got some extremely cold weather here in Alberta and this didn't make lambing easy. Even though the weather made it a tough year we are very happy with how this year's lamb crop turned out.

We had to wait longer than usual before moving the ewes out onto pasture because of the late winter. We sold our first batch of 25 lambs and a few cull ewes on June 3. They made two pretty nice pens of feeder lambs averaging 79 and 89 lbs. per animal.

 About a week ago we made a new acquisition of two alpacas to be used as guardian animals for the flock when they are out on summer pasture as we had a couple of lambs go missing. They are currently in a 'trial phase' with 20 ewes to see how they will work out.

We are looking forward to participating in the Priddis and Millarville Fair again this year coming up in August and are also hoping to head back out to Regina this year to show at Agribition in November (weather permitting of course).

#FarmVoices

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Alberta Winters

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

We have been getting our fair share of snow here this month. This morning it took over three hours to clean out the driveway with the tractor and we had to shovel out the ram shelter and the path through a drift to the water trough for the ewes. The snow piles and drifts from earlier in the month grew again with the snow and wind we got last night. We are thankful that we are not lambing in this weather but we did get an early Christmas surprise when one of the cows calved a couple of days before Christmas. Both mom and baby are doing good.

We are expecting lambing to start for most of the flock in late February/ early March. The rams we used this year were Bell Hank 21Z, Prairie Winds 6Y and our commercial black Suffolk ram.

Here are some pictures of the farm yard with the snow

Canadian Sheep Breeder's Scholarship

This year I was chosen as one of the recipients of the Canadian Sheep Breeder's Scholarship. I feel honoured to be chosen and would like to congratulate my fellow recipient Emily Mastine! A short profile of the scholarship recipients can be found on the Canadian Sheep Breeders' Association Website. I encourage anyone who is eligible to apply next year, I know from experience that scholarships can really have an impact when paying for school. Thank-you to the CSBA for supporting my educational pursuits, I will put the money to good use!

PWH at the Priddis and Millarville Fair

On Saturday we attended our 5th Priddis and Millarville Fair. Friday was a busy day of washing, trimming and delivering fair entries and we worked until we ran out of daylight on the 15 sheep entered in the fair.

Saturday was an early morning, waking up just after 4:00 to pack and load the show string up so that we could make it to the fair grounds with time to spare. The sheep show started at 9:00 and it was good to see that there were lots of entries in all sections of the show like last year. We had stock entered in the purebred, grade, market lamb, junior and coloured sections of the show. Once again we also enjoyed warm, sunny weather for the outdoor event and there were a lot of people that came out to see the fair. 

The final placing for the Purebred Ewe 2 yrs. or older class. 

The Coloured Sheep class being judged.

The fair is always a highlight of our summer and we can't wait to go back next year. It was great to visit with all the sheep producers we have got to know over the years and see some new faces as well. A big thank-you to all the organizing volunteers, judges and sponsors that work so hard to make this day a success! 

Our complete show results can be found by clicking the Show News tab.

PWH at the All Canada Classic 2013

Last Thursday we packed up the trailer and drove out to Barriere BC for our first All Canada Classic as exhibitors. With the recent flooding in Alberta earlier in the week we were unsure if we would even be able to make the trip and the day before we left we were sure we would have to make a detour. Luckily thanks to the hard work of the road crews the highway through Canmore was cleared and we made it into town before dark. It was good to see the barn full of sheep and that lots of breeders were able to make the trip to Barriere safely.

Friday the sheep were vet and tattoo checked before being painted with the numbers for the sale. The vet and culling committee worked a very long day to get through the over 300 sheep that were entered in the show and sale. This process is very important to ensure that the animals being sold are all up to a high health standard and have legible tattoos.

The ewe lambs with their lot numbers for the sale.

Show day was Saturday and the Hampshire class was judged by Raymond Read from South Africa. Our lambs stood 5th and 7th in a tough class of Jr. Ewe Lambs. Saturday night was the Banquet and we enjoyed a lamb dinner.

Left: Prairie Winds 40A Middle: Prairie Winds 52A

The sale was held on Sunday with over 300 sheep moving through the sale ring. Luckily the order went alphabetically by breed and the Hampshires weren't too far down the line. 

Prairie Winds 40A sold for $400

Prairie Winds 52A sold for $350

Thank-you to our buyers, the show committee and sponsors for putting on a great event and making our first Classic a successful one. Looking forward to maybe seeing everyone again next year in Ontario.

Summer Synergy Fundraising Auction

Have you heard about Summer Synergy? What about the Summer Synergy Fundraising Auction?

This year the Senior competitors all submitted an auction item as part of the marketing component to be eligible for scholarship money. The proceeds from the auction will benefit the event and go towards supporting the youth that attend this event who are passionate about agriculture. There are some great items, but be sure to check out my brother Dale's entry: http://www.livestockxchange.ca/sale/summer-synergys-online-fundraising-auction/bullseye-print
I featured the original drawing on a previous post when I won the Calgary Stampede Art Scholarship for the rural division with it in 2011. The winning bid will take home a framed art print of 'Bullseye'.

Make sure to register as a bidder and bid on an item or items that grab your eye. The auction ends on June 18 at 7:00 PM. Your support of this event and its youth participants is greatly appreciated!

4-H on Parade 2013

This weekend some of our Hamp cross ewes will be making the trip to Calgary to compete at 4-H on Parade. 

A ewe lamb that will be shown in the sheep show.

The annual Calgary 4-H Region show takes place at the Stampede Grounds and is a highlight to many of the competitors 4-H year. The event takes place from May 31 - June 2 and the full schedule of events can be found by following this link: http://ag.calgarystampede.com/events/550-4-h-on-parade-presented-by-cervus-equipment.html#schedule. The event features livestock shows including beef and dairy cattle, horses and sheep as well as dog classes and a lifeskills display and auction. The shows and displays are all set-up indoors so even if the weather is not perfect you can still enjoy the event. The public is encouraged to come out and support the area's youth who area participating in the event and ask questions about their projects and 4-H experience. Hope to see you there!

Find Us On Facebook

PWH is now on Facebook, like our page for pictures and updates on lambing, shows and more

Prairie Winds Hampshires Facebook Page

The Blackie Babies Are Here!

Black is always in style and last fall we decided to try something a little different by keeping and breeding a black Suffolk cross ram lamb to some of our ewes. For the commercial herd it is nice to have a Suffolk ram to breed to some of the mostly Hamp ewes because they make a good cross. We didn't just select this ram because of his color, but for traits like his length and rate of gain. His dam is also a black Suffolk cross and is a very prolific ewe that has no trouble weaning triplets and has also produced great market lamb projects for 4-H.

The ram 32Z as a lamb (can't find a good picture of him to show what he looks like now).

We were pretty interested in how using this ram would affect the color of the lambs and how many would take after their daddy. So far there have been 3 black ewe lambs born that 32Z has sired (a set of twin lambs, and a triplet from another ewe). While his lambs have had smaller birth weights on average as compared to lambs out of the Hamp rams, they have all been smart, lively lambs. His dam also had a black ewe lamb in her set of triplets born this year out of a Hamp ram. 

I think having a black lamb in the show ring really stands out, especially if your competing against a class where you literally are the black sheep. These ewe lambs might make their way into the show ring as they are very clean, correct, feminine and have lots of length, overall they're very stylish. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the lambs sired by this ram will look and turn out like.

First Lambs of the Year

This morning we finally got our first set of lambs! Our estimated start date was on Jan. 12, so even though they have waited until today to start we weren't too far off with our guess using a gestation table. We are very lucky to have mild winter weather to make it easier on the new babies.

The ewe, 'Bear', and her lambs. 

The ewe that lambed is my brother's 4-H mature ewe (2 years old) that will be shown this year with the lambs she had today at 4-H shows. She gave birth to twins: one boy who weighed 10.5 lbs. and one girl who weighed 11 lbs., for twin lambs these are good birth weights. 
For now they are the only ones with a pen but the rest of the barn is open for the flock to use. All ewes get their own separate pen once they lamb to bond with their lambs and for easier monitoring. They are given clean straw bedding, water, feed, a salt block and if the weather is cold a heat lamp for the lambs to sleep under. 

My ram Prairie Winds 6Y, the daddy of the lambs.

All of the lambs born from now until the middle/end of February are sired by a Hampshire ram from my own program. He is a yearling and this was the first year we used him for breeding. This first set of lambs means he was able to get the job done and we are even more happier that they are twins. Here is a link to his pedigree.

It is always good to start the year off with a pair of healthy lambs. As the barn continues to fill up I will try to keep posting pictures and updates. Happy lambing to everyone!

PWH at the Canadian Western Agribition

The decision to enter Agribition was made back in September. It was a show I wanted to go to for a couple of years but either scheduling conflicts or bad weather had prevented us from making the trip from Alberta. 

The sheep left the farm on Wednesday morning and we were planning on having them arrive in Regina sometime that evening. However my parents who were driving the truck and trailer ran into a storm and had to stay overnight in Gull Lake and try to make it the rest of the way in the morning. 
Around 2:00 in the afternoon on Thursday they made it to Barn 5 and got unloaded. Later that afternoon the sheep were vet checked and the Commercial Sheep Show took place. I was planning on driving down that night from Saskatoon, but the road report still had a significant area highlighted with 'travel not recommended' so I stayed put and made the drive in the morning. 

Two of my ewes all settled in.

Friday morning I made it to the grounds around noon and started trimming sheep right away. I got three of my ewes done before the Purebred Show started at 2:30. There were lots of sheep in the barn and they were able to have five breed shows: Dorper, Dorset, Hampshire, North Country Cheviot and Suffolk. There were two other Hampshire breeders showing and I had four entries in the Hampshire section of the show: two yearling ewes and two ewes 2yrs. or older. In both classes my ewes came in 1st and 2nd place and got to advance to the Champion Hampshire Ewe class. My yearling ewe Prairie Winds 8Y won the Reserve Champion Ewe for the Hampshire breed. After the Grand Champions were crowned the Interprovincial Competition took place. I brought my four ewes back in along with a Yearling Hampshire ram from another Alberta breeder to make up the unit to compete against a Saskatchewan group of Hampshires, an Alberta group of Dorsets and a Saskatchewan group of Hampshires. After the show was over we went to the banquet and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

The Hampshire class of ewes 2 years and older. The middle ewe is Prairie Winds 1X and the ewe on the right is Prairie Winds 2X.

Saturday morning I was back at the barns early to feed and finish trimming my ewes for the Jr. Show. I wanted to make sure my animals looked their best as this would be the last year I would be young enough to enter in it. My yearling ewe Prairie Winds 8Y won the yearling class and my mature ewe Prairie Winds 1X placed 2nd in her class, both moved on to the Champion Class where Prairie Winds 1X won Reserve Champion. 

After the Jr. Show was over we sat and watched the SSBA sale, we didn't do any buying but there were definitely some ewes I would have liked to take home. That afternoon we finally had a chance to wander around and have a look at the massive trade fair and other exhibits. It was an eye opener to find out how much there was to see beyond the sheep barn. Just after 4:00 we walked over to the beef show ring to watch the RBC Beef Supreme Challenge. Of all the things going on at Agribition I would say that is a must see event because of all of the different breeds of Champion cattle showing in one ring. Sadly we weren't able to watch the Champions be selected because the sheep move out time was 6:00 and we had to get our stalls packed up. 

Watching the female portion of the Beef Supreme, there was so many animals we couldn't get them all in one shot.

The truck and trailer making their way back to Alberta on Saturday morning.

Overall it was a very successful and fun Agribition for PWH. We will be back next year for the show, hopefully driving through nice sunny weather and with more animals.

Sheep Snapshot Sunday: Agribition

Ribbons from the SSBA and Junior Shows at Agribition 2012.

Alberta Agiculture

This video has lots of facts about how awesome Alberta's agriculture industry is. Enjoy!

Rams for Sale

Here are pictures and links to pedigrees of the Hampshire rams I currently have for sale. 

Prairie Winds 2Y~ Pedigree

Prairie Winds 4X~ Pedigree

Comment for more information.

PWH at the Priddis & Millarville Fair

Last Saturday we travelled to our 4th Priddis & Millarville Fair with 20 sheep for the sheep show. We had entries in all section of the showing including Purebred, Grade, Market Lamb, Junior and Coloured Sheep which was why we had so many going. The day before was spent washing and trimming with a break in the afternoon to deliver our photography and art entries.
The number of entries was definitely up this year and hopefully next year the show will be just as big. It was a very good day for our family with success in many classes including the Champion Purebred Ewe and Ram. Because I won with these animals I was also chosen as the Award of Excellence winner  for the 12-18 yr. old category.

Tank aka Prairie Winds 1Y was the Champion Purebred Ewe, she also won this award last year as a ewe lamb.

My ram lamb Prairie Winds 21Z was the Champion Purebred Ram.

In the Grade section we had the 1st place Ewe Lamb and Ewe 2yrs. or Over and in the Coloured Sheep  section we had 1st place in the Coloured Sheep class and 1st place in the Coloured Ewe with Lambs class. For a full list of placings go to the Show News tab.

The fair is a lot of fun to attend and we will be back next year. The show is very relaxed and it is nice to see everyone have fun showing. Thank-you to all the volunteers and sponsors for putting on a great show and fair!