GentleLake Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 My worst butter was a Suffolk ewe. Didn't dare turn my back on her. Way worse than any of the rams I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I've found bottle babies in general to be different for my dog and until recently wouldn't work them except in chore situations because of Timbers youth and my inexperience. One of the ram lambs that we butchered last year was turning into quite a pushy brute, despite having 'discussions' several times. We have one ewe that was a bottle baby and she can be a twit to work. She doesn't respond like rest of the sheep do to pressure and doesn't flock as well. 'Little Orphan Lambie' gets it in her mind where she wants to go and insists on continuing to take off full speed for that location away from rest of the sheep. Not easy for a young dog to deal with. My worst butter was a Suffolk ewe. Didn't dare turn my back on her. Way worse than any of the rams I had. We had Suffolk's growing up, can't count how many times I was taken out. We had one ram in particular who would guard the barn yard. Love my sweet natured Katahdins now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I have to say that I was blessed with very docile rams, either Dorsets or Corriedales. This one Suffolk ewe was a cull I started out with and kept because she was a good lamb producer and mother, but she absolutely convinced me I didn't want any more Suffolks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm back home from picking up my new sheep. They are an interesting mix of breeds, part Katahdin, part Black Belly Barbados, part something spotted, and part something with small or no ears, and who knows what else. I got older ewes and some ewe lambs. All of them have been worked with dogs. Two look pregnant, which is OK with me. I won't work any of them for a bit. I'm going to be working on settling them, in other words, I have a chair, good book to read, and a dog on a leash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Congratulations! I did a lot of taking the sheep out, letting them graze w/ dog on leash and relaxing in a folding chair with a cold beer last summer. Doesn't get much better! Now the dog is off leash and we graze the sheep some, march them to a new spot, graze them some more and repeat. It's a great learning experience for me, dog and sheep. You learn a ton about their personalities and communication watching them move about, so don't get to into your book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I think you have judged me correctly. I will either not read the book at all because I'm too busy sheep watching, or I'll miss everything. Maybe I should take a textbook or something that is not engrossing out with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 One thing that Dan and I did a lot of each time we stayed with his breeder for training, was to go out and tend her sheep on the days that she had to be gone to work all day. The fences on the ranch were not built with sheep in mind and were not at all sheep-proof, so the sheep would tend to wander - sometimes where they should/could be, and sometimes where they shouldn't be. We would tend within paddocks, outside the paddocks along a dry creek bed (a very rough area but with some tasty grazing), and in a large, unfenced on most sides, open area. This was wonderful work for Dan, who has a very hard time "turning off" when stock are within sight or even within his imagination. I can walk among stock or near stock with Celt who, knowing it's not time to work, successfully transmits his "off duty" vibes to the stock and they largely ignore him and relax. Dan is another story as he is always ready to work and the stock know him well, and do not relax in his presence like they do with Celt. We'd be out there in that California February sunshine, and I'd stretch out on the grass while the sheep peacefully meandered and grazed. Dan's job was simply to lie or sit by me and relax. Did he really relax? He kept his eyes on the sheep and his body would ease. He might not ever curl up and go to sleep (I surely did doze, quite a lot) but he'd take on a demeanor that did not alert the sheep. We'd both have to get up and do something on occasion - follow them out to another field or outside the fence and keep a close eye, putting them back in the field when that was needed, stuff like that. Dan got some gentle work in between relaxation sessions. It's like the exercises described but simply on a larger scale (about 120 head of sheep and lambs, in large paddocks to the wide open spaces). This was a great exercise for Dan and a great time for me to get a little shut-eye, and a good opportunity for sheep to graze where they wanted with supervision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I agree, Sue. That has always been some of the best dogwork ever! I should think the prairie will give us similar opportunities, although there won't be as many sheep--at least for a year or so :-) A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 I'm back home from picking up my new sheep. They are an interesting mix of breeds, part Katahdin, part Black Belly Barbados, part something spotted, and part something with small or no ears, and who knows what else. I got older ewes and some ewe lambs. All of them have been worked with dogs. Two look pregnant, which is OK with me. I won't work any of them for a bit. I'm going to be working on settling them, in other words, I have a chair, good book to read, and a dog on a leash. Congratulations. As others have said, watching sheep and learning about their individual characters is fascinating and can easily fill endless hours for both you and your dogs. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I had no idea that sheep were such beggars!! Every time I go outside, two of them walk over about as close as they can come and start asking for food. Then they go over to the door I come through when I feed them and look back at me, like they are saying "Get a move on, Lady!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Dear Aspiring Shepherds, Be sure to keep grain & other hot feeds secure from ewes. They can overeat and die. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Mr McCaig is correct. If Too much grain is given in a single meal ( or if the diet is transferred over to grain too quickly) then the levels of lactic acid can build up in the rumen. This lowers the rumen pH and may cause an acidosis which can be fatal. The rule of thumb, I have been told is never feed more than 0.5kg (~1lb) concentrate or grain per feed. If for any reason you do not have access to sufficient quality forage to meet their needs and you have to give more concentrate/cereal then divide their requirements so they are fed two or three times a day. Also try not to use too much finely ground/over-processed grain. Sheep101 http://www.sheep101.info/cud.html and http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/graintruth.html has some useful advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 No worries there. I live by the forage first philosophy. I buy every different type of hay available to me and feed as much hay as they want/can eat. I also cut browse for the goats and sheep every day. Grain or concentrates are only for the calories that they aren't getting from grass and hay or to hide minerals or probiotics in. All ten sheep together are getting less than 6 lbs of pellets per day at this point. That's with 2 visibly pregnant and 2 that are thin from milking. I'm not a sucker for beggars, but I was surprised by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Over th last few years, I've helped a few smallholders/hobbyists with their sheep. IME the tamer the sheep , the more they seem to beg and/or push their heads into the feed bucket when you are carrying it. This behaviour has definitely helped teach my dogs how to steadily hold the sheep off the troughs (and me) while I pour the feed out...and then how to lie still and calmly watch stock while they feed. I didn't mean to imply in my previous post that you didn't know how to manage your animals.. I was just adding some additional info to Mr McCaig's post (#161) in case others reading this thread did not know how much grain equated to his wise warning 'they can overeat and die" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wolf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I'll never forget way back when and someone in KS wanted to have a clinic. At the last minute they called me for stock. Mine were lambing/kidding so I called a friend and got a group of goats. Well the day I went to pick them up they had broken into the shed and eaten a LOT of pig feed. O h well, onto the truck they went. Had to leave them in the truck overnight as we left very early the next AM for the clinic which was 100 miles away. got there to let them out the back of the truck was somewhat messy .. The clinician did not want to send his dog into the mess so I had to climb in and toss out goats. this is NOT the best way to unload goats from a truck. One went bolting across the K-State campus. I had not brought a dog (having a bench seat and the clinician and his dog there was no room for mine. After about an hours chase, the campus police helping we finally caught the miscreant in a stairwell. Quite memorable about stock overeating grain, fortunately none died (but there were many thoughts about eating a particular goat) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Maxi, I just want to take a moment to say that I DEEPLY appreciate the people here who take the time to try to impart the knowledge they have gained in their chosen pursuits. I may already be aware of the dangers of overeating because of my goats, horses, etc., but there are thousands of areas where I know nothing and the learning curve is very steep when there are living things counting on you doing the right thing at the right time. I'm glad to know that there are people here and on other websites that know a whole lot more than me, so when I have issues, I have options for finding answers. Thanks for offering your wisdom and experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 WooHoo!! Today, my instructor told me that if we keep going like we have been, we should be ready for Pro Novice in the fall. I don't know that I will find any trials in the fall that offer Pro Novice that I can make it to, but it's nice to hear that we are getting somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Sounds like you are heading much further than I have ever gotten, and I'm very happy for the two of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 We are having a great time and I am learning soooooo much. And some day, I might even work out my timing, but probably not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 You will, I am sure. You also have youth on your side, at least certainly compared to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 I don't know if you can call 50 youth. No, I'm sure you can't, but I do at least have a young attitude(most of the time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Compared to practically 67, 50 is definitely youthful! Believe me on this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Well, I caught my foot on something and fell on my face the day before yesterday, so I was feeling very old, like 150. I'm younger today, maybe only 45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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