Jingle goats

Enjoy this holiday YouTube video from Giggle with the Goats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4_EdJ-XkUA

Thanks to Terry Poole for suggesting the link.

Singing lambs

In celebration of the holidays, Brooks Brothers has created a video of sheep singing Jingle Bells. They encourage viewers to "Share the Miracle" with friends.

View video at Brooks Brothers

View YouTube video

Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothing chain in the United States. They were founded in 1818 as a family business.

Cute video

Here's a cute video of an Icelandic wether named Punkin and his Portuguese Water Dog dog friend Rock. They seem to be having quite a lot of fun in the video.

Video clip from YouTube

Say -- isn't Portuguese Water Dog the breed of dog that President Obama chose as a pet for the First Family? Maybe the President should get a sheep for Bo to play with.

http://youtu.be/6tCbMFp7eUo 

Thanks to Herb Reed for sharing this video.

Goats milk more with festive music

A farmer has discovered that by repeatedly playing Mariah Carey's festive favorite "All I Want For Christmas Is You" to his dairy goat herd, he can increase milk production by 20 per cent.

Angus, 57, who runs St Helen’s Farm in Seaton Ross, near York (UK), said: “We are absolutely dumbfounded by the difference playing this song has made to the goats."

“Our milk maids started listening to the radio when they were milking them. They immediately noticed the animals were more relaxed and started producing more milk as a result."

“When one of the girls brought in a CD of Christmas classics they seemed to perk up when the Mariah Carey song came on. It’s really upbeat and they seem to love it."

“I think the staff here are sick of it now but unfortunately it works for the goats.”

St Helen’s Farm milks 2,000 goats. Each produces about three liters a day -- or three and a half liters if Mariah is playing.

Read full article at Express.co.uk

Thanks to Shannon Uzelac for suggesting this blog entry.

Cows & Cows & Cows

It's not sheep or goats, but its fun to watch.  Watch the YouTube video cows & cows & cows.

Sheep-pigs!

It was back in the 1970's that the last known pair of sheep-pigs were sent to slaughter.  But, now they're making a comeback and living  in Wiltshire, England.

They're called sheep-pigs because they look like sheep AND pigs. They are a distant relative of  the Lincolnshire Curly Coat, a pig that used to be sheared annually.

Their woolly coats make them very winter hardy. During the summer, their coats are not as thick, but protect them from getting sunburn.  Otherwise, sheep-pigs are aren't that different from other pigs.

Sheep-pigs hit the headlines last month when actress Emma Thompson took one to the London premier of her latest film.

 Read article at Mail Online

Thanks to Kelly Cole and Cindy Mason for suggesting this story.

Cows with names produce more milk

According to British scientists, cows with names produce 3.4 percent more milk during their 10-month lactation period than cows that don't have names.

British researchers compared production from the country's National Milk Records with the survey responses of 516 dairy farmers to see if there was an association between yield and cow naming. Dairy farmers who reported calling their cows by name got 2,105 gallons of milk from their cows compared with 2,029 gallons from cows without names.

The reason for the link is unclear; however, it is known that if cows are slightly fearful of humans, they could produce the hormone cortisol which suppresses milk production.

Read article at Telegraph.co.UK

And the bride wore wool

Louise Fairburn, who is an award-winning sheep breeder, decided to get married in a fleece from her own flock. She designed the gown and took wool from her favourite rare Lincoln Longwool, Olivia.

Mrs Fairburn even carried a Bo Peep-style crook and the ring bearer's cushion was made from a fleece. Guests were given chocolate sheep-shaped favours and even dined on lamb dishes by celebrity chef Rachel Green.


Read more at MailOnline

The Poo-Canoe

Two Welshmen are set to paddle across the English Channel in a canoe made from sheep dung.

Lez Paylor and Lawrence Toms run Creative Paper Wales, where they produce paper made from sheep excrement. Animal poo paper is becoming more and more common as an environmentally safe way of producing paper.

Toms and Paylor have now embarked on a mission to build a canoe using only environmentally-friendly materials and to cover the frame with waterproofed poo paper. The pair are confident the canoe can be made seaworthy and have announced plans to paddle across the English Channel in aid of the Wales Air Ambulance.

Source: The Morningstarr*, July 18, 2009.

Help Sponsor the Poo-Canoe

Monkey herds goats

At a plantation in India, a monkey herds dozens of goats. "Mani" takes the goats out for grazing and brings them back. She is said to make a strange noise when one of the goats is missing or when danger lurks.

Mani didn't receive training of any kind. According to the manager of the estate, she is as good as any shepherd. Though given her freedom, Mani prefers the company of goats. She and her baby play with the goats and their kids.

View National Geographic Video

Thanks to Kelly Cole for suggesting this link.

"Extreme sheepherding"

Ever thought about creating art with your sheep? Want to turn them into fireworks or play a game of pong, using sheep and sheep dogs as the game controllers and paddles? What about recreating the Mona Lisa with sheep?

One of the hottest new videos on the internet has a couple shepherds, their dogs, more LED lights that you can shake a stick at and their tech staff doing just that.

The light-up sheep art video is less than three minutes long, but features the crew preparing the sheep with the mounting of the lights and some warm exercises including drawing a giant sheep on a hillside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw
http://break.com/index/light-up-sheep-art.html