Sheep Chat Thread

[theuglyduckling]

Quote:

is this one pregnant or is there something wrong with her?

 

[chooks4life]

Lovely pics, AlienChick. My lamb does the flehmen response like your ram, after smelling her own pee, or the dog's. Confused thing.

I notice the ram seems to have a very pronounced bridge to his nose. Is this bone or cartilage or just thick skin?
Quote: I've had both, though I have no goats right now. To me, they're a bit like dogs and cats. I don't intend to keep only one or the other for the rest of my life, but rather both. There are dull, antisocial, or neurotic members of every species. And each species has its gems.

My goats became emotionally/socially independent quicker than some of my sheep, but there are exceptions to this; it's no rule. It reflects more on the animal in question's levels of intelligence and instinct. I guess in order to find out which is 'better' (for you) you should do some research on the various breeds and their characteristics, needs, etc, because some goats are more like sheep than some sheep are. Some sheep are very goatlike in turn.

Best wishes.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

is this one pregnant or is there something wrong with her?

She could be pregnant, or it could just be gas from eating a lot of fresh grass.
As long as she's acting normal there is nothing "wrong"

 

[Penny Hen]

Ok, I have a question for you all. I know this is a sheep thread so most people might choose them but which is better, goats or sheep. I'm in 4-h and was wondering which make better pets. I was thinking either fainting goats or wool sheep. Does anyone have both? If so which do you think is better? I am just looking for a nice kid friendly pet.
Thanks -Hannah
A lot of adorable pics by the way!!!!

Both can be awesome. With fainting goats you have to be sure their fencing is secure not because they will break out but because they can't defend themselves. You can even go the Silky route and get one of the long haired one. It is still possible to find them without papers sold as a regular fainting goat but if they are the right size (small) and hair length you can get them examined and added to the Silky registry. Once you have papers the value of the goat can quadruple.

The sheep can be awesome though if it just for a pet you might not want to deal with the wool. It is pretty easy to find a male hairsheep bottle baby around here (TN). Wether him and he can even be taught to pull a small cart. If you want a sweet wool sheep though Finnsheep have lovely temperaments and lovely wool. If you buy a ewe and then decide you would like to show some club lambs breed her to a large meat breed (Dorsets are most often crossed with Finns) and she will give your two to four healthy lambs.

If you prefer a smaller sheep a Shetland ewe is darling and if hand raised very tame. The male Shetlands should be fixed if you are wanting a pet. Some lines of the Shetlands can be flighty so buy offspring from friendly sheep. If you want teddy bear cute then a Babydoll Southdown but they are pricey though you could show them. Cheviots are so cute but they can leap like deer. For just sheer drop dead handsomeness you could try a Clun Forrest. I don't know if anyone in Minnesota has them but if you like a larger sheep and want to make a splash in the show ring they have an arresting appearance.

My flock are mostly a cross between Finns, Shetlands and Dorsets. I do have two ewes of milksheep breeding: E. Fresian, Lacune and Dorset. The Shetfindors (as I call them) range from sweet and friendly to shy and friendly. For example the boys all come up to be petted and are never aggressive with people. The girls are a little more shy preferring not to be touched but they are great talkers and will follow me around talking to me. This is the first year I have kept a lamb from the Shetfindor/Milksheep cross. Prince is a big boy but very sweet. Shame you are so far away. I have a lovely yearling Shetfindor boy who loves being petted and given treats.



This is a female twin from Lorna one of the Milksheep. Compare her size to Prince below.




Prince is out of the other Milksheep, Queen Bodica (Celtic warrior queen who fought Ceasar). They are both one day old in these pictures. Prince is a single but he is such stout well made boy I could not resist keeping him for my junior ram. He has developed black freckles on his face and legs. One of the other reasons I am trying him out is to see if he can pass along some of his mothers ferocious protectiveness. The fall after I got her and Lorna I was raided by coydogs and over a period of 3 weeks, I lost half my flock. She had several scrape marks on her face from defending her smaller half sister, Lorna. She developed a true hatred for canines and even my own dogs won't crowd her especially if a lamb (anyone's lamb) is nearby. She hit my Sheltie/Lab cross in the ears and now they are cauliflowered. So you see why she was named after the Celtic warrior queen.

And yes they have been rinsed off but no soap was used. It was a mud pit here last spring and I wanted everyone clean, dry and warm.

 

[goats rule 101]

Thanks for the advice and opinions Penny Hen and Chooks4life! Cute pics by the way !

 

[AlienChick]

Quote:



She's actually just 'fat.'
Her previous owner fed her LOTS of treats.
I just purchased her a few months ago (the blk/wht one next to her is her twin sister).
They both are 4 yrs old and have raised triplets every year.
Their mother is coming up for auction this Saturday, so I'd like to get her as well.
They all produce AWESOME offspring.

 

[chooks4life]

Thanks for the info Penny Hen, that was informative. Handsome lambs!

@Goats rule 101: you're welcome.

@AlienChick: I remember something about bloating at one high 'corner' of the abdomen being a symptom of rumen issues of one sort or another... or something like that... I can't recall what, but it's not often fatal. A rich diet was the cause, I'm pretty sure, and a normal diet ought to fix it. Either way, they're good looking sheep.

 

[AlienChick]

Yes, sheep (and other ruminants) can bloat when consuming too much high-protein grass at once especially when they've been on a dry lot (hay) for winter and then let out all suddenly onto a lush pasture.
I had one ewe lamb bloat on me a couple of years ago.
They literally fill up with gas.
I use a mixture of baking soda, mineral oil and water to treat bloat.
They usually recover within 24 hours.
I can be fatal, so it's best to treat it as soon as possible.

 

[chooks4life]

My lamb's had repeated bloat due to her bad start to life. I used a few different things to treat it, but haven't tried what you mentioned. Another sheep in the herd she came from had something I can only describe as permanent bloat. I know, there officially is no such thing, but she was continually extremely bloated and so full of gas she grunted and couldn't walk for long stretches. Her owner put it down to 'age'. She was this bloated for 5 out of the 6 months I knew her, and towards the point that I moved house, she would just stand and watch the flock leave her behind, because it was too painful to walk. Poor thing.

 

[Penny Hen]

Thanks for the info Penny Hen, that was informative. Handsome lambs!

@Goats rule 101: you're welcome.

@AlienChick: I remember something about bloating at one high 'corner' of the abdomen being a symptom of rumen issues of one sort or another... or something like that... I can't recall what, but it's not often fatal. A rich diet was the cause, I'm pretty sure, and a normal diet ought to fix it. Either way, they're good looking sheep.

When I see that in my flock, I check the salt bin. Usually it is empty. I have had a great reduction in bloat problems since I got careful about keeping the salt bin filled.