Simply Sheep

[Beekissed]

Rose is taming down a little...could be due to the peanut butter dog biscuits I've found she goes crazy for.

She's getting so tame now that she practically mugs me for any feed in my hands, even if it's not HER feed. Haven't been giving them any supplemental feed lately...they had enough for training purposes and to get some meat on their bones~Rose, in particular, was not looking too fluffy after weaning her lambs.

So, now the poops are back to sprinkles most of the time~quite a relief!~and I'm not stepping in cow like piles of poop. The girls are rounding out and gaining some conditioning.

Made a nipple drinker for them from an insulated drink cooler...not sure if they are using it consistently yet, but put a bit of peanut butter on the nipple to give them the idea and the PB disappeared, so someone has triggered that nipple and knows water comes out.

I'm hoping to use an aquarium heater in that cooler this winter and hope the nipple doesn't freeze up.

Should cut down on water waste and keep their water much fresher. I can also put a chunk of ice in there when it's really hot and it should keep it pretty cool.

Rose let me brush her a lot today...she's shedding and wanting to scratch on the fencing, so I started out scratching her with my hand and then went and got a rubber curry brush to do it better. Couldn't believe she just stood there and let me do all of that. Shine, of course, would never do that and stood off a little ways, stamping her foot in protest.

Still working on the winter pen...need to build three more gates and possibly another. Also need to revamp a wall of one part of their shelter, secure the hoop shelter side, finish stanchions and several other tweakages.

They seem to like their sulfur block and also the sea kelp and salt mix, some sampling going on at both sites.

They are staying in the meadow, close to structures and the dog, as much as possible. No fencing up yet, so this is great...but I hope to start building that fence soon so I can direct their grazing, get them to graze the outer perimeter grasses and browse, and rotate their grazing.

 

[Mini Horses]

It seems that city folk are as out of tune with animal behavior as they are with the food chain

So true.


But, then, I should have chocolate milk next yr -- brown doe And I named her Hershey!!! It's a given.


Many people don't even cook anymore. They heat & eat. Sad.

 

[wyoDreamer]

The stores around here are making some good money on their "heat and eat", their "pre-prepped" and their "meal kits". Those things are easily 2-times the cost of getting the raw ingredients and making at home. I bought a "baked ziti and meatballs" heat and eat lunch the other day. Just put it in the microwave and eat. It was 2 cups of pre-cooked pasta, a cup (or less) of spaghetti sauce, 4 ounces of meatballs, and about 1 ounce of shredded mozzarella. It was pretty bland, I am not completley convinced there was meat in the meatballs, and the cheese was very light covering for my tastes.
It is sad to say, but 2 of my nieces are the "do not cook" type. But if they don't like to do it, is it so bad that they have alternatives available. One has a decent job, so she and her hubs buy the meal packs. Just assemble and cook - but the cost is outrageous. Easily 3x the cost of materials, but she likes the ease of not having to measure and portion everything out. But, there are no leftovers from a $40 meal pack for 2. For $40 I could cook at least 3 suppers and have leftovers for a week of lunches.
The last niece is only 13, so the jury is out on that one. It is promissing that she loves decorate desserts. So in order to decorate, she has to bake the cakes first. And, box cakes don't take frosting as well as homemade, so all her cupcakes are from scratch. She has potential, lol.

 

[tortoise]

fecal egg count. fecal egg count. fecal egg count. Do the whole flock. Cull the heavy shedders. 80% of parasite problem comes from 20% of the animals. or something like that, I don't remember the numbers. Remember the goal is not to eradicate parasites - which is impossible - but to keep the parasite load low enough that lambs are gaining well and ewes are holding condition well through gestation and lactation.

DE only works in a dry environment. The inside of an animal is not dry. It does not work on the inside of an animal. Just like Lazy Gardener was saying above. Great for other purposes - just not that one. There is lots of evidence to show DE works to prevent insect infestations in stored grain. It works to keep flies off a surface - I assume it makes it unpleasant for them to land on.

As far as my sheep, we do fecal egg counts annually plus if we note anything not-quite-right (which happened once, two failure to thrive lambs with high parasite load, they did not survive despite vet diagnosis and treatment). The last few years we've done one worming for ewes with ivermectin in spring. We don't have much problem with parasites here, other than those two ne'er-do-well lambs the one year. One was an orphan/reject, the other was a preemie from terminal c-section.

 

[Beekissed]

I was happy to see that the "Food Stamps" system in the US (now called SNAP, I guess) now includes the purchase of seeds and plants for the production of food. Not sure how many on the SNAP program will take advantage of it, but at least the idea is there.

Me too! They also allow them to use that funding at farmer's markets too now, which is GREAT.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Aren't we supposed to be eating off farms??? I can't wait to see the progression with your herd. Can't wait to see how your land management program comes along.

 

[Beekissed]

Got an aquarium heater to place in my cooler waterer....says it will keep water temps 75 degrees. We'll see. Cheap, if it works....$11 and some change, free s/h.

Also have a few cheap float valves on order so I can move from the current nipple bowl delivery system to a shallow basin instead. The larger sheep find the nipple bowl too small to drink from, though the smaller ones seem to like it fine. Will design my own basin, most likely, from a shallow baking pan or something similar, if possible. Can get those at GW for $1.

All that will cut out the need for a hose to the drinker, cutting down on the water to be heated outside the cooler. The float valve should connect directly to the cooler/reservoir, eliminating the garden hose. Will have to revamp the cooler stand but will figure it out.

If all this works, it will give us clean water all winter and also the rest of the seasons, with less water waste all around. No fouled water....fresh and clean all season long. If I had water to my animal places, this would likely be easier, but I don't and it all must be carried from the house via buckets, so all of this is an effort to provide clean water, less waste and less carrying of buckets.

If this works, the dogs and fowl will also be put on a cooler waterer system. Cheaply but effectively done...if it all works.

 

[Beekissed]

I don’t have to fight ice all winter and I sure am glad. We have scattered icy days and sometimes a week or two of freezing temps. I fill the horse tank and bust ice twice a day while the freeze is on. I carry buckets of boiling water to pour in the icy frozen buckets of water for Sheep and chickens. THAT gets old and I only have a week or two of it. I really hope your water heater works and works well for you. Toting buckets ain’t no fun!

I'm used to it, but when it gets so cold that the outside spigot freezes, it all has to come from inside the house and that's when it gets a little more problematic. I tend to spill water, as I'm very clumsy.

I'm looking for a better way of doing things so that the animals get cleaner water and less overall water goes to waste.

When I get the sheep shed built, I'd like to do a rain catchment system off of that so that we can decrease muddy mess where the water runs off the roof and also capture water where it's used most, so it won't have to be transported up there.

 

[Beekissed]

Pics of the new dog...still working out his ways and finding out a few surprises about this dog. It's like learning dogs all over again...this breed is a whole other breed of cat, which I knew but it's different when you actually experience it. I'm impressed with how he thinks and I think this will be a fun journey.

Shine lays down the law....he's wary, as a good dog should be.

 

[baymule]

I was afraid there might be a problem with the donkey and lambs. They can be their own set of problems. Glad you got it straightened out.

I'm glad that you have found a home for Ben. He is a good boy, just a little wacko when it comes to storms. Trip isn't that bad, but he does hit the panic button. We let him in, he snoozes out in the floor, safe and secure.

And Blue. Yep, he is a puppy. He will drive you crazy, then someday, it will click and he will amaze you!