SHEEP ESCAPED, UPDATE

[Chick_a_dee]

UPDATE: We rounded up the one ewe, but the other is MIA, it's now dark out and we've been looking for hours, we alerted our neighbors, put up posters, etc. We're hoping she got in with our neighbors cattle, chances are shes still within 250 acres of us, we're surrounded on all sides by a 250 acre dairy cattle farm, and he'll bring her back if he finds her, plus we alerted the horse farm down our street, and another couple dairy farms if they should see her. If we can't find her, we'll have to live with it, there aint much we can do and we daren't walk into the forested areas right now due to hunting season being in full swing now. I'm more worried she'll be shot by a hunter, than attacked by coyotes.


We got our sheep today but they just ran through our fencing, which is 4 rail electric on poly posts atm, so now we need to up the fencing ... the sheep people are suggesting 5 rail instead or 6, but im just afraid they'll break out of that too, anything stronger and more permanent but not too expensive?

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

so they actually ran through the wire... maybe it need to be more visible.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Sheep, as well as goats, are mastermind escape artists and I don't think you are going to find a cheap fencing solution that will keep them in. Not with the prices of fencing now anyways. I bought sheep/goat panels from TSC back in April for my goats and they have never managed to escape. My sister got goats after I did, however, and her goats got right out of their pasture that is fenced in with regular cattle/horse fencing and is hot with electric fence. After that game for 3 or 4 times, they finally gave up and tied them out. I don't think that would be an ideal solution with sheep, so you're going to have to get some regular old sheep/goat fencing, which is not going to be cheap now. Sorry.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Well we captured the one sheep, she's now in the stall and we'll leave her in there until i get her a halter (we've ordered, just waiting now), we spoke to the people and they said that once she imprints on us she should come at feeding time, but we'll be letting her out into the front corral attached to the barn, in reality I probably should have had them put in the barn but I didn't think about it at the time. She seems to respect wood fencing more than the electric, so i'll go with a combo, and i might just have to put her in the roundpen during the day until i get better fencing up. We didn't find the second sheep, she ran off and we haven't found her yet, it's night now but luckily we're surrounded on all sides by a dairy cow farm, and so we alerted them, plus the other farms on our road, we're hoping she's in with Jim's (our neighbors) cows tonight, or managed to find shelter in the hay barn on his land. We got the one we have down in the barn now because she ran into our garage and we closed the doors on her, if we don't find the second one well i guess that's life, it's unfortunate but the chances of her being found are slim since it's hunting season here right now, and its more likely a hunter will kill her than a coyote. I hope she got into Jims cow fields, she'll be protected by the cattle tonight, and Jim will find her in the morning and bring her round.

The one in the barn has settled in, and is eating her hay and some alfalfa pellets, if I don't find the other, again... not much I can do about it, I've put up posters, alerted my neighbors, looked for hours, we'll just have to accept it. At least the one in the barn may be pregnant, so we'll still have two sheep in the end lol.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
LOL yep, it was pretty visible but I think it was the fright of a new place, and the fact that its low impedance so it pulses, and its not constant, we've got one of them down in the barn, the other ran off, can't find her, we're hoping she's in with our neighbors cattle.

 

[lorieMN]

sheep that arent used to electric will run through it,you have to use the high tension stuff with tighteners and it will run into some money but they will stay in that once they are used to home,I had 6 strands on mine but they never went through it,but it was allready there home..one thing you can do with the caught ewe is to put her in a pen she cannot get out of within hearing range of where you think the other escaped sheep is..they want there flock and will usually come back to the other,they dont like being alone,makes them feel like coyote bait.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
That's a consideration, I'm going to get the corral infront of the barn wired up, its already wood and apparently they respect wood a lot, so I'll add 5 or 6 stranges of electric to that, and get them a juiced up fencer rather than our horse fencer which they have no problem with breaking out of. We think the other one is on our neighbors land, we're surrrounded by a 250 acre farm, and behind the people across the street is a sheep farm, any chance she went there? Our neighbor all around has dairy cows, so we thought she'd wander into there.

 

[gumpsgirl]

I really hope that you do find her. Fingers crossed that you will receive a phone call today from somebody who has found her.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
We took a walk around our neighbors corn fields, and theres some hoof prints, though can't distinguish if they're deer or sheep, there are some smaller ones so chances are she took a detour through his corn field, we think she's gone east through his land. We're keeping our fingers crossed we find her, or someone else does. Posters are up, we've put up ads on Kijiji looking for her, there isn't much more we can do now but wait, and look whenever we get a chance. Tomorrow after I get done school we're driving down into the GTA to get a solid state plug in fencer, and some fence tape as well as tposts to rig up some hardcore fencing for the one thats left, once she has the halter, I'll feel safer putting her outside, at least then if she gets loose we'll have an easier way of catching her, she's hunkered down in the barn right now, and if we don't find her friend we'll just have to get Heidi a donkey or something instead, but for now she's fine, and if she's pregnant we can expect a lamb in February.

The good thing is she's not pining away, and she's actually eaten quite a lot so she's calm enough to eat.

 

[MandyH]

We've got the square block fencing around our pasture. Nothing can get in or out, thank God. Now when the 3 year old leaves the gate open and 6 sheep commence to tearing up my blueberry bushes, blackberry vines, and figs, well that's another story. Sheep can be very skittish and they are VERY VERY strong. I knowfrom having to catch a couple that never really got to be too friendly, when it was time to worm and such. Best of luck on finding her.