Who else raises sheep?

[WoodlandWoman]

Oh, ours would come when I called them by name, so that was no problem. They'd come for my husband, if they saw a feed bucket in his hand. I always rewarded them for coming when I called, so they didn't need to see a bucket, for me. They liked treats and they liked being scratched. On their cheeks, under their chin, on their forehead or a butt rub, like a dog. Catching them was no problem, it was the flipping them upside down that was hard!

Actually, after a couple of years they were a little better about shearing, as they were really happy to get that heavy wool off. They scampered around like lambs afterwards. They never held a grudge, either, although it's not very helpful to have a sheep nibbling your boot laces or your back pocket while you're trying to work on the next one! I used to threaten them with a hoof trimming, if they didn't quit that!

Do you want to have your hooves trimmed??? Go find something else to do!!!

Since they were pets, I gave them small treats of various vegetables and fruits. Of course, a cut up apple or some carrot was always popular. I wouldn't give them a lot of it, but one or two of my parrot's pellets that had the molasses in it were very popular. They were even happy to just have a bit of their regular grain. The all time favorite, though, were raw peanuts in the shell. OMG! It caused a riot!

It sounds like you've had some pretty wild times! It's always funnier later, than it is when you're doing it. They can sure be frisky, especially once they figure out what's going on. The first one's always the easiest, no matter what you're doing. After that, they make you work for it! At least after we got them called into and locked into the corral, it wasn't too bad catching them. We had one that was always a little so-and-so. We finally figured out we should just do him first. Well, duh!

I can just picture you roping! I can't picture me doing it. I guess that's why I went with shameless bribery.

 

[therealshari]

I think I like the idea of bribery.

Our mentor uses a variation of that technique. She puts down a fresh flake of alfalfa and then wades into the flock until she finds the one she wants.

She very carefully reaches down and grabs a hind leg and hangs on for dear life... It's game on!

Of course, that only works for so many times... sheep are a lot smarter than most folks think.

We've yet to flip our ram over on his back... that could be a real wrestling match... think I'll rake the sheep pen first. Rather have hard sand than soft manure to land on.

If you like to read blogs, both mine and Cindy's tell our sheep, horse, dog, chicken, and general farm stories.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Do wethered (neutered) rams make good pets? Or would I be better off with an ewe? I am getting (and have had) goats for pets, a wether and a doe, and have been ogling over Cotswold(sp?) sheep. Any advice? Are there certain breeds that are better then others for pets? Does anyone raise Babydoll sheep?? They are sooo tiny and expensive!!

 

[therealshari]

Well, that was fun!

Dixie and I managed to tag 3 of the 6 who need tags.

First up was "Merino" one of our yearling we've had for a while. She's part of a set of triplets from "Mama Beulah", who had quads this year. She couldn't resist the sweet feed. Dixie quickly jumped on her and down she went... tagged and mug shot taken before she knew what happened.

Second up was Chiquita, our big PolyPay/Suffolk X ewe. She's so tame we didn't even have to put her on the ground. After watching the indignities with Merino, she was content to stand for us.

Third one was another of the triplets. She made a "wrong turn" into our catch pen. Again Dixie jumped and this time, I tagged her. Got her mug shot and let her go.

We thought better of the idea of tagging Aljinon, our ram by ourselves. I thought maybe I could put a lead on him, but he thought otherwise... and he's bigger than me.

The other gals are entirely too fast and flighty for just two of us. Will have to wait for Cindy and Bev to tag the last of the flock.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Good job!

 

[therealshari]

Yippee Yahoo!

We're shearing sheep today!

Got a call this morning from one of the local sheep farmers who also shears sheep "on the side". He's on his way to shear our little flock.

Let's see, so far we have 300 feet of power cord run to the pen, two extra panels up (including having pounded in the posts) to create a squeeze chute, a couple of collapsible "leaf bags" to hold the fleeces, a tarp for him to work on...

I'll get pictures as I'm able.

Fortunately, we separated the ram yesterday and move all the lambs (including the bottle baby) into the big pen. That should make things a little easier. We can do him first and put him back into his own pen before herding the rest around... Somehow I think this is going to be quite an adventure.

Note to self: When I do the "re-make" of the sheep pen... built a permanent holding pen and squeeze chute with the right kind of gates!

 

[therealshari]

Got pics up in our blog... Got a huge surprise too...

Some sheep just aren't what they're supposed to be. You'll have to go the blog to read about it.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Ha ha ha! That was really funny! I bet things are quieter, now. What a great blog.

Actually, I started laughing as soon as I read that your shearer is named Flip! That is just too perfect!

I have to have my DH read your blog when he gets home.