Owner offers sheep for sale

PALMER -- Forrest Shumaker's handshake could be that of a lifelong farmer -- firm, but ingrained with dirt and endowed with the sort of calloused smoothness that years of work with wooden and iron implements produce.

But this farmer isn't even old enough to apply for a driver's license.

Twelve-year-old Shumaker has been raising sheep, pigs and other animals for three years at his family's farm off Marsh Road in Palmer. The youngster has already been to five fairs -- three Alaska State Fairs and two regional fairs down in Ninilchik -- showing and selling his animals.

"It takes a lot of work," he said. "It's backbreaking."

Shumaker is being joined in his amateur shepherdry by his brother and sister, each of whom have their own creatures to handle. The four young sheep being raised by the Shumaker siblings bear such descriptive names as "Tigger," "Oreo" and "Night." Shumaker's sheep is named "Patch," because of a distinctive black spot near his rear legs.

All of the sheep were born this spring, and already they have reached a considerable size -- only a few feet shorter than Shumaker's diminutive frame.

Sheep raising, for Shumaker, means using special feed and grooming and exercising his wards daily. A typical exercise routine involves leading the animal around by its front legs to exercise its rear leg muscles, but he's invented a more efficient manner.

"I just run around the pen in a circle and they chase me," he said. Since all of the lambs exercise at the same time, this means that on any given day, from three to four sheep are hot on his tail.

"If I stop too soon, sometimes the sheep hit me," he said.

Such an impact could leave quite a bruise; typical weight for a single sheep at the fair's auction is from 90 to 150 pounds. The sheep reach this weight via a special diet in which they eat food specifically designed for growing sheep. Pig food is more effective for weight gain, Shumaker said, but using it is impractical.

"Pig food has copper in it, and sheep can't eat copper," he said. "It's something with their digestive system."

The local 4-H club has been helping Shumaker through the sheep-raising process from an early stage. At 4-H Rally Days, he received expert advice on how to care for, tag, maintain and show his sheep. Each animal should be shown in a certain manner, and posed with back legs spread apart and front legs closer together.

This showing, however, is only part of an elaborate process every sheep goes through prior to showing, like an actor applying makeup before walking out on a stage.

The sheep must be sheared less than an hour prior to showing, Shumaker said, because their underwool contains lanolin oil, which will collect dirt and grime if they are returned to the pen before entering the auction ring. The sheep must then be washed and dried with an industrial-strength hair dryer.

Fortunately, Shumaker is an expert showman. At a previous fair, he entered a showing competition with another sheep, and wound up in the finals with three other competitors showing a pig, a goat and a llama. The twist was that each of the showmen had to handle each of these varied animals.

"The only one I had trouble with was the goat," Shumaker said. "It just wouldn't walk anywhere I wanted it to."

Nevertheless, Shumaker beat the competition to win first prize that year, and was rewarded with an enormous ribbon.

"It's the biggest ribbon they'll give you at the fair," he said.

Shumaker has also raised chickens, though he's never sold them at the fair. He's also helped raise turkens on his family's farm. Turkens are an unusual breed of chicken that has a head and throat similar to those of turkeys.

Shumaker is hoping to break the elusive 150-pound ceiling for sheep weight gain with Patch, but time will tell.

"You've got to keep pushing 'em," he said, making a quick punching motion with his palm and fist.

Shumaker's sheep and other Valley animals can be seen and even purchased at the Alaska State Fair auction, which will take place at the agricultural pavilion on Sept. 3, starting at noon.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.