810-LancttUr Farming, Saturday, Scptambar 9, 1995 jCidg „ K orfre t* v' 1 Jennifer Finds Success With Southdowns LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Fanning Staff AKRON (Lancaster Co.) Jennifer Zimmerman was not hap py when her mother suggested she start raising sheep. “I did not want to do it,” Jennifer said as she recalled her attitude toward her mother’s suggestion. Two years later, Jennifer is delighted that she and her brothers. Jay, IS. and Jimmy, 11, decided to raise sheep and show them at 4-H and fair competitions. “It took a while, but after we started showing sheep and learning more about them in 4-H, it became really interesting to work with them,” Jennifer said. Recently, Jennifer showed a Southdown aged ewe that was named Supreme Champion Sheep at the Elizabethtown Fair. “The secret to having a champ ion, I think, is walking the sheep a lot,” Jennifer said. She estimates that she spends about 5 to 7 minutes daily walking each of her sheep. She fastens harnesses on the sheep and usually walks 2 to 3 at a time. It isn’t easy for Jennifer to find time to care for her sheep. She lives in the town of Akron and can Before shows, Jennifer prepares her Southdown lambs for shearing. Jennifer lives in Akron with her parents, Jay and Joanne Zimmerman, but keeps her sheep with her Aunt Judy Moyer’s Strawberry Southdowns. not raise sheep in the borough lim its. Instead her sheep live at her aunt’s farm in Lebanon. “Every day that we don’t have school and as much as we can on other days, we go to my aunt’s place,” Jennifer said. Her aunt, who has been into breeding sheep for many years, has SO Southdowns. The Zimmermans have about 17 head all of them Southdowns. Southdowns are one of the old est breeds of sheep. The South down originated in England where it contributed to the development of other breeds. The Southdown is best suited to farm flock produc tion. It is medium to small sized with gray to mouse-brown face and wool on the legs. An early maturing beed, it has good lamb ing ability, average milking ability and excellent crossing ability for producing meaty lamb carcasses at lightweights and hot-house lambs. The Southdown is adaptable to varied and wet climates, and yields a medium, easy to-spin wool. “I like Southdowns because they are smaller than a lot of other breeds and easier to show and pre pare for shows,” Jennifer said. Her aunt’s Lebanon County ' >/*♦ Jennifer shows off Anyana, chosen the supreme champion Southdown at the Ell- place is called Strawberry South downs. Separate pens with plenty of room for running and exercising are erected among the tree-lined acres. An Australian German She pherd named Bear guards the sheep. Bear runs along the fence and barks whenever he thinks a sheep is not behaving. “Sometimes a sheep will jump over the fence. Then Bear makes sure it doesn’t go on the road,” Jen nifer said. Jennifer knows all her sheep by name. She tries to select names to fit the sheep such as Chipmunk, which has big cheeks. Sometimes the sheep are already named when she purchases them, sometimes, she just likes a name. Such is Any ana, the supreme champion sheep that was named after a girl who |K nifer tries to walk each one 5-7 minutes a day. v/i moved to Germany. “1 just thought it was a neat name,” Jennifer said of the deci sion to name the champion sheep. When Jennifer is not taking care of her sheep or in school, she is either delivering newspapers or playing field hockey at Ephrata High School. “My brothers each have a news paper route, too,” Jennifer said. “TTiat’s how we get money to pay for our sheep.” The money earned for winning is used to pay for the feed and to buy more sheep. ery cooperative, but Jen-
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