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Gideon's girl
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With respect to footrot - I've been told that some breeds are more susceptible to it than others (esp. the black faced/footed sheep), but that a lot of it depends on whether the organism responsible for it lives in your soils. It's one disease I'd surely like to avoid...

This year the UK has been having a campaign about reducing lameness in the national flock. It'so called 'the 5 point plan' . It is summarised in this .pdf http://www.eblex.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/brp-manual-7-Reducing-lameness-for-better-returns120814.pdf

that also gives advice to farmers about treating the main causes of lameness found in the UK flock ( I guess they will be similar in the US).

 

One important thing they are advocating is to stop trimming hooves (apart from for Shelly hoof and white line disease/abscess). Work from the University of Warwick (plus others) has shown that this slows healing for footrot and CODD - instead treat with topical spray and inject the appropriate long-acting antibiotic..

 

They also say don't trim healthy hooves for cosmetic reasons. The bacteria is carried on the trimmers, so if you do a regular routine trim, you can transfer the condition from infected to healthy sheep.

 

The other things the programme advocates is be careful where you source your animals from and quarantine on arrival.Watch and treat individual lame sheep as soon as you see it. Be ruthless about culling repeat offenders to build up to resilience in your own flock. Also keep handling areas clean and if you do have a widespread footrot problem consider vaccination.

 

With regard to susceptible sheep, It is definiitely true that there is a genetic component and some are more resilient than others, but I wouldn't be guided by colour alone. In the UK, some like Hebrideans (completely black) seem much more resilient.

 

PS Good luck with the layoff scare..hope it works out OK

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One of my dogs would sour them in a hurry. He has but one pace: warp speed. He doesn't have a good sense for his sheep. And he won't LIE DOWN (though he knows this command perfectly well off stock). He's very, very keen, and the sheep sense this and run like gangbusters. He's not grippy, but the sheep still flee when they see him. After a few minutes' working sheep, they're panting. (His training is now "on hiatus

I had a dog like this. What I ended up doing was going back to work close to the sheep - With me between him and the sheep. Basically I didn't let him move until he was settled, then I let him balance the stock to me. As soon as he started to show any sign he was excited, I'd push through the sheep and use my body language to push him off. I'd then block him from working them until his mind had calmed again. Once his mind had calmed, I'd ask for another flank..

 

If he completely refused to settle, i'd stop the training session.

 

Throughout the sessions,, I tried to remain calm myself and also be completely consistent with the 'high energy means you are NOT allowed to move those sheep'. It took some time, but because I was always in a position where I could block him, the dog gradually realised that the only way he was going to be allowed near sheep was if he had a calm attitude.

 

Of course, there were still times after that when he got excited, but generally it only needed a warning growl and slight forward movement from me for him to remember to behave himself. If that wasn't sufficient for any reason then going back and repeating the earlier blocking exercise once or twice definitely made him rethink his attitude again.

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Down here they say you can have 3-6 sheep per acre, but I have 3 ponies(by size, not breed), and the 4 goats.

Curious, I always thought adult size was the only thing separating ponies from horses (though the Icelanders do insist literally their breed is a "little big horse" :rolleyes: ).

What kind of horses do you have?

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Thanks for the tips, Maxi! My mentor claims she doesn't know where her hoof trimmers are - yet another reason why I want to buy sheep from her.

 

Fingers crossed today on the layoff. We should know in about an hour...

 

 

This year the UK has been having a campaign about reducing lameness in the national flock. It'so called 'the 5 point plan' . It is summarised in this .pdf http://www.eblex.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/brp-manual-7-Reducing-lameness-for-better-returns120814.pdf
that also gives advice to farmers about treating the main causes of lameness found in the UK flock ( I guess they will be similar in the US).

One important thing they are advocating is to stop trimming hooves (apart from for Shelly hoof and white line disease/abscess). Work from the University of Warwick (plus others) has shown that this slows healing for footrot and CODD - instead treat with topical spray and inject the appropriate long-acting antibiotic..

They also say don't trim healthy hooves for cosmetic reasons. The bacteria is carried on the trimmers, so if you do a regular routine trim, you can transfer the condition from infected to healthy sheep.

The other things the programme advocates is be careful where you source your animals from and quarantine on arrival.Watch and treat individual lame sheep as soon as you see it. Be ruthless about culling repeat offenders to build up to resilience in your own flock. Also keep handling areas clean and if you do have a widespread footrot problem consider vaccination.

With regard to susceptible sheep, It is definiitely true that there is a genetic component and some are more resilient than others, but I wouldn't be guided by colour alone. In the UK, some like Hebrideans (completely black) seem much more resilient.

PS Good luck with the layoff scare..hope it works out OK

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That sounds worth trying. We've also tried the "patience game" that has worked well with other super-keen dogs - go out in the field, lie them down, don't let them up until they're settled but have stopped hyperfocusing on sheep and have remembered you're in the picture as well. Give them a flank, lie them down, rinse and repeat. It did seem to help, and he was working well for me a year ago. This year he took a step backwards (we stopped several training sessions because he had the bit so firmly in his teeth, and his "listening ears" were a million miles away), and so we're giving him a break.

 

 

I had a dog like this. What I ended up doing was going back to work close to the sheep - With me between him and the sheep. Basically I didn't let him move until he was settled, then I let him balance the stock to me. As soon as he started to show any sign he was excited, I'd push through the sheep and use my body language to push him off. I'd then block him from working them until his mind had calmed again. Once his mind had calmed, I'd ask for another flank..

If he completely refused to settle, i'd stop the training session.

Throughout the sessions,, I tried to remain calm myself and also be completely consistent with the 'high energy means you are NOT allowed to move those sheep'. It took some time, but because I was always in a position where I could block him, the dog gradually realised that the only way he was going to be allowed near sheep was if he had a calm attitude.

Of course, there were still times after that when he got excited, but generally it only needed a warning growl and slight forward movement from me for him to remember to behave himself. If that wasn't sufficient for any reason then going back and repeating the earlier blocking exercise once or twice definitely made him rethink his attitude again.

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Well - the layoff happened, and my husband wasn't part of the bloodletting (WHEW!). Keep your fingers crossed for us, because we may be putting in an offer on the place we've been eyeing...

 

!

What a relief..and good luck with getting your new place

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Well - the layoff happened, and my husband wasn't part of the bloodletting (WHEW!). Keep your fingers crossed for us, because we may be putting in an offer on the place we've been eyeing...

 

Time to start picking peoples' brains!

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Thanks, all! Relief, YES. My husband is a software engineer - a field he describes as "the auto workers of the 21st century". A tough field to find employment in at his age (and pay scale) should he have been laid off. His company has (along with the rest of the world) outsourced a lot of their programming (so he holds conference calls from our house with India three times a week, often at very early hours our time). Interestingly, a lot of their layoffs are going to happen with the folk overseas. Their hourly wages may be less, but so is their productivity.

 

 

I know you must be relieved!

 

J.

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What wonderful news!! My husband worked in the space industry and when he got laid off the new job paid much less and we pay a lot more out of pocket for insurance, a whole lot more.

 

I have a miniature horse, a Haflinger, and an undersized American Paint Horse(that's the boarder that will be leaving soon). I wish I had an Icelandic, but most of the ones here are allergic to a type of gnat we have by the millions. I didn't think it was ethical to encourage people to breed Icelandics in Florida.

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Oh, you're my age then. I always tell people that I'm older than dirt. What they don't know is that due to my compost pile, I make my own.

 

I love my Haflinger, but I don't think I would ever get another one, too much work. You wouldn't believe the amount of trouble they can get into. Kind of like a Border Collie puppy... Mine can unlock many types of gate latches, unstring hot wire, clear a 4 foot fence, pull down small trees, and any number of other **interesting** behaviors.

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This is how rare sheep are in my area. Nobody carries sheep feed, not Tractor Supply, not D&E, not Brevard Feed and Seed, not Brevard Farm and Ranch, not Amber Acres, nor any of the others for 30-40 mile around me. Fortunately, my favorite local feed store is very willing to order for me when the time comes.

 

So that begs the question, which kind of sheep feed do you prefer? Do they have different feeds for lambs versus grown sheep?

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e.

 

I have a miniature horse, a Haflinger, and an undersized American Paint Horse(that's the boarder that will be leaving soon). I wish I had an Icelandic, but most of the ones here are allergic to a type of gnat we have by the millions. I didn't think it was ethical to encourage people to breed Icelandics in Florida.

We have six Icelanders at the moment. Great horses, luckily as it is the only breed available here. I am used to the size because I didn´t start riding til after I move to this country 18 years ago.

I agree with you on the ethics of keeping/breeding animals in climates very different from where they belong.

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Gideon's Girl--sheep feed? I just feed mine alfalfa when there is no grazing. If my alfalfa stash is running really low, and there are a lot of lambs hitting the ground (like right now), I sometimes supplement with some oats--just a little, as price-wise, they are providing more nutrition than trying to put down even more hay.

A

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I keep both alfalfa and oats on hand, but down here they are both trucked in and cost a lot more than you would think. Close to $30 a bale for alfalfa and $19 a bag for oats. I'm not saying I won't feed those, because I will if that's best or what's needed, after all I use both for my horses. But I sure hope there are good feeds that cost less down here than those do. I am hoping that I won't need much feed at all for most of the year.

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My Tractor Supply does carry All Stock. I try to feed by a forage first philosophy and provide plenty of hay if the pasture isn't enough, a lot of the ones we can get down here and a little of a few others. They only get a half lb. of alfalfa and more often than not, it's pellets.

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I'm in SE GA. Mine live on coastal hay in the winter. I have also started using the protein tubs from Tractor Supply. The tubs are all stock and weigh 125 lbs. I also give ewes with lambs peanut hay. You should be able to get that where you are. It's the alfalfa of the south,19% protein I think. I pay $7.50 a bale for it here, but the bales weigh well over 50 lbs. I feed a little of the peanut hay to my mini's also, and they love it.

I do give them corn on a daily basis. They get a very small amount daily so when the lambs come I don't have to worry about getting them used to it.

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Hi Cindy

 

What kind do you have?

 

I get 2 kinds of coastal, orchard, perennial peanut, timothy, and alfalfa. I feed mostly coastal, then peanut, and a handful or two of the rest, more alfalfa in winter when we don't have grass growing much.

 

My mini is 27, so he only gets hay pellets, not enough teeth for long stems.

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You might want to contact the Meat Sheep Alliance of Florida. They have members who raise woolies as well as hair sheep, despite the name. The President lives in Apopka, which isn't that far from you. They are hosting a sheep Jackpot show in Sanford on Jan. 4th. Only kids can compete, but you could meet a bunch of sheep people there.They also hold a Sheep, Wool and Herding Dog Festival in Ocala, in April.

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