# Very sad day on the farm



## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

Guys today has been a super rough day. Daisy had a sore on her back that wasn't getting better but she wouldn't let me near to treat it. We have been trying to round everyone up to vaccinate and worm but dreadlocks has been getting everyone in a tizzy making getting them in the catch pen a nightmare. My neighbors who have been working with animals their whole life offered to help get Daisy for me so I could treat her. They caught her and we got her in the catch pen and she seemed fine. Next thing we knew she was dead. Tried CPR and nothing. Now her 2.5 week old lamb is off with the herd, too fast for me to run down and I have to figure out what to do with Daisy. 😭

We figured out the people who sold her to me lied through their teeth about these sheep. Daisy was supposed to be 1.5-3 years old like all the rest of my sheep but by the looks of her teeth (or the lack there of.) She was much much older. 

::sigh::

Any advice how I might catch her lamb so I can start bottle feeding him? I just can't stand the idea he might starve now that she is gone.


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

Oh I am sorry about Daisy! That’s really hard, I’m sorry she died. 

If you don’t know about the magic of cow panels and hog panels, let me give you a crash course. For catching sheep, put them in the lot, set up cow panels with T-posts like a narrow chute. You may have to widen one end so you can run them in the chute. Put a pallet across the end for a stop or just clip the ends together with carabiners. That’s how I worked my sheep before I got working equipment. My run and chute is made of 2 cow panels and 1 hog panel, cut in half, to make 2 sides. 

For the lamb, use hog panels, the holes are smaller. 

Now is that clear as mud? I’m on my phone, I’ll get on my laptop and find you some pictures.


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

Ok, here is a link to us building our loading chute. It is made from a scrap length of wire and a cow panel. 





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						Taking Lambs To Slaughter
					

Our lamb loading has a lot to be desired. We have invited our friend over to help us catch and carry lambs to the trailer, it took 2 or 3 of us, that worked, not great, but it worked. I have tackled them in the lot, slipped a halter on them and led/dragged them to the trailer with me pulling and...



					www.backyardherds.com
				




Here is a link to my sheep working equipment. You won't have the fancy gates, I have used pallets and 2x4's stuck through the holes in cow panels behind the sheep to keep them from backing out. It's not great, but will work. This will give you an idea of what it is supposed to look like. How can you build a makeshift working chute if you don't know what one looks like? Several other members posted pictures of their set ups too. I have a large lot that is their night pen, so I built a small pen in front of the chute. I lure them into the small pen with feed, shut that cow panel gate, then walk them through the chute. 






						SCORE! Sheep Handling Equipment
					

WHOO-HOO!!!! :weee:weee:weee:weee  I'm just a little excited. I found a Craigs List ad for sheep handling equipment. Two guillotine gates, a stop gate and a 2-way sorting gate for $650 from Premier1. I immediately looked up the pieces, new they totaled $955. This couple had used hog panels to...



					www.backyardherds.com
				




Now don't be discouraged, you just need maybe some lengths of wire, hog panels, cow panels, maybe even plywood-whatever you have. Piles of pallets? 

I hope this helps and maybe you can get some ideas from it. You should be able to run the sheep up in your makeshift chute and pluck the little fellow out, pen him up and bottle feed him. He may be stealing milk from other ewes if you have any with lambs.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

We bought 4 cattle panels and just made a square with them. We stupidly thought zip ties would be enough to hold them... twice we made that mistake. We have them tied together with rope now but there is no more tricking them inside now. A shoot would have been much smarter. We also found out today that our fence is still not strong enough for my PITA sheep dreadlocks. She found a wire that is wide enough to get through and just laughs at us now. She jumped through both ways while we were catching daisy. We are fixing that tomorrow morning when my husband is home.


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

Feed them in the pen. Did you T-post the cow panels to make the pen more sturdy? I use zip ties for stuff too, also hay twine, carabiners, clips and whatever. Professional! LOL


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Feed them in the pen. Did you T-post the cow panels to make the pen more sturdy? I use zip ties for stuff too, also hay twine, carabiners, clips and whatever. Professional! LOL


Yeah tpost corners and one in the middle of each panel. They didn't hold even when we had 10 zip ties on each corner. We almost had them the other day when they suddenly flipped out and it finally busted. It was awful. 

How long can the baby last out there with no milk? I'm seriously stressing out.


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

He won't last very long. Unless as I said, he is stealing milk from another ewe. Watch them, you might see him nursing on a ewe. I sure hope so for his sake. What kind of sheep do you have?


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

Dorpers


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

I just went out to feed them to see if I could get baby but they wont come for food.


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> Dorpers


Duh. They are on your avatar. (smacks forehead)



Fluffy_Flock said:


> I just went out to feed them to see if I could get baby but they wont come for food.


They must have plenty of grass-they don't need you! Leave feed out for them and back off far enough that they will go in and eat. these girls are wild and need calming down. Feeding them each day and standing closer to the pen might do it. I wouldn't rush to close it, that will scare them more. This will take time. Since your lamb is 2 1/2 weeks old, he knows where milk is and I'm going to hope that he is smart and sneaky enough to be slipping up on an udder. LOL I have seen my lambs sneak a drink from other ewes and they had moms!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Duh. They are on your avatar. (smacks forehead)
> 
> 
> They must have plenty of grass-they don't need you! Leave feed out for them and back off far enough that they will go in and eat. these girls are wild and need calming down. Feeding them each day and standing closer to the pen might do it. I wouldn't rush to close it, that will scare them more. This will take time. Since your lamb is 2 1/2 weeks old, he knows where milk is and I'm going to hope that he is smart and sneaky enough to be slipping up on an udder. LOL I have seen my lambs sneak a drink from other ewes and they had moms!


I sure hope so but I feel the chances are slim. I only have one other ewe who has milk and she barely stands still for her own lamb who is coming up on 2 months old


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 14, 2020)

Aww that makes me so sad.... I just saw my avatar. That's Daisy and her lamb that we are talking about  😭  😭  😭  😭


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## Baymule (Mar 14, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> Aww that makes me so sad.... I just saw my avatar. That's Daisy and her lamb that we are talking about  😭  😭  😭  😭


Oh! That makes the loss even worse! I'm so sorry!


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 14, 2020)

Baymule said:


> Feed them in the pen. Did you T-post the cow panels to make the pen more sturdy? I use zip ties for stuff too, also hay twine, carabiners, clips and whatever. Professional! LOL


I love baler twine!!  I call it farmers’ zip ties!!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 15, 2020)

Omg... when it rains it pours. Went out to get the baby and in the process of catching the baby (which we did) 4 sheep decided to follow dreadlocks through a gap in the fence and are off in the wild. These sheep are so wild and skiddish that the one we did catch with baby was fighting so hard to get out of the catch pen she almost broke her neck. We let her out before we had another dead sheep to bury but now we are down to 3 sheep on the property when we started the week off with 8. I'm seriously considering shooting dreadlocks (not really)... if she didn't lead everyone out they would have stayed put. She is such an instigator. 

I'm trying to get baby to take a bottle but so far he has only drank about 6oz which is good but hopefully I can get him to do better over the next day or so.


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## Beekissed (Mar 15, 2020)

I would definitely get rid of the instigator...as you've found out, she's taught all the rest to jump fence.   I know a guy that shoots any of his sheep that get out of the fence as he's found they can teach the rest of the flock to do the same within 3 day's time.  Says it's just not worth it to keep those kind of sheep.  I agree with him.  

Time to  fix fence, move them into a handling area~I'm with Bay....cattle panels are my favorite farming tool, though I found wild sheep will run right through zip ties, no matter how big or how many you've applied~ and remove the problem sheep.   While you have them in the handling area, you may want to feed them something good so you can start to train them to come when you call/shake the feed bucket/can/pan.   It's worth the trouble to establish this habit.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 15, 2020)

Beekissed said:


> I would definitely get rid of the instigator...as you've found out, she's taught all the rest to jump fence.   I know a guy that shoots any of his sheep that get out of the fence as he's found they can teach the rest of the flock to do the same within 3 day's time.  Says it's just not worth it to keep those kind of sheep.  I agree with him.
> 
> Time to  fix fence, move them into a handling area~I'm with Bay....cattle panels are my favorite farming tool, though I found wild sheep will run right through zip ties, no matter how big or how many you've applied~ and remove the problem sheep.   While you have them in the handling area, you may want to feed them something good so you can start to train them to come when you call/shake the feed bucket/can/pan.   It's worth the trouble to establish this habit.




At this point I am thinking that's what I need to do. This brings up a whole new host of questions though. Do I report them lost? To who? Am I liable for fines now? I doubt they will last long with the number of coyotes out here but I don't want to be fined for doing something wrong. What a nightmare this is.


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## Blue Sky (Mar 15, 2020)

^plus zip ties get brittle over time especially with sun exposure. Congrats on capturing your lamb. Be patient. He’ll take the bottle and bond. Then you’ll not be able to keep him out from under foot. I’ve never heard of fines for escapes unless it’s chronic or some kind of serious damage happened. You may want to alert neighbors or use a neighborhood app.  And these things happen to us all. Hang in there.


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## Beekissed (Mar 15, 2020)

Fluffy_Flock said:


> At this point I am thinking that's what I need to do. This brings up a whole new host of questions though. Do I report them lost? To who? Am I liable for fines now? I doubt they will last long with the number of coyotes out here but I don't want to be fined for doing something wrong. What a nightmare this is.



You need help to help you round them up and you need to let your neighbors know you've lost some stock so they know to call you when they see them.   They may come back, so watch for that too.    Put it out on FB local page that you've lost your sheep and folks are usually really nice and eager to help.


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2020)

Notify the sheriff department. Often times, the deputies and called out to round up stray animals. If no one claims them, they are sold. If someone calls the sheriff department to report stray sheep, they could then notify you. Maybe you could catch them and take them home.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 16, 2020)

Blue Sky said:


> ^plus zip ties get brittle over time especially with sun exposure. Congrats on capturing your lamb. Be patient. He’ll take the bottle and bond. Then you’ll not be able to keep him out from under foot. I’ve never heard of fines for escapes unless it’s chronic or some kind of serious damage happened. You may want to alert neighbors or use a neighborhood app.  And these things happen to us all. Hang in there.


The only thing I’ve ever heard, is that someone hits your livestock with their car, your responsible.  Which...is somewhat grey lined for me...out west, where it’s flat for miles...you can see huge cows in the road.  So, if you hit them...I think it’s your fault.   Here, if one of my crazy goats darted out like a deer and got hit, then I could see.  We keep them on the back pasture, even though free range.  If they ever wander front...that’ll be the en$ of the free range.  Cattle panels are definitely the way to go.  We use 2x4 to secure them now, so we can rotate the pasture.  Then we just hit it in with sledgehammers.  I’m getting hot wire too.  But, right now, the kids, they fit right through the wholes...so the fencing is useless until they are older.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 16, 2020)

Oh god.... so they came back and are currently in a standoff hiding in the woods behind my property. Good thing we fixed the fence so the last 2 we have out there couldn't get out... incidentally that also means the other ones can't get back in. 

If I pop my head out the door to my house (1200' away) they scatter into the woods. I left out a feed bucket to entice them to want to come inside and I see they do want to but man this is frustrating. 

I thought about cutting a hole in the fence to let them back in but at the same time I worry the few I have now will just dip out and then the flock will have no reason to return. I think that they are just sticking around because mama's baby is still in the fence crying at her. If he gets out I doubt they would stick around.


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## Baymule (Mar 17, 2020)

Do you know anybody in your area with a sheep dog? Maybe you could ask on Facebook, Craigslist or do a search for Border Collies.


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 17, 2020)

Do you have a way to lock up the ones that are still contained?  Then you could open the fence and let the wanderers back in.  A bucket of feed might convince them to come back inside the fence.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 17, 2020)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Do you have a way to lock up the ones that are still contained?  Then you could open the fence and let the wanderers back in.  A bucket of feed might convince them to come back inside the fence.


So for the past 2 days they have been coming around the fence. We have tried luring them with grain, walking behind them to move them to an open gate and having our cowboy neighbors help push them into the front fence that we have down. Every time we try something they pop back in the woods and disappear for a few hours. We talked to a new sheep breeder (who isn't sketchy like the first ) and she is going to try and help us.


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 17, 2020)

Glad you have help coming!


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## High Desert Cowboy (Mar 17, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> The only thing I’ve ever heard, is that someone hits your livestock with their car, your responsible.  Which...is somewhat grey lined for me...out west, where it’s flat for miles...you can see huge cows in the road.  So, if you hit them...I think it’s your fault.


It all depends on where you are at.  My home is a prime example.  If I take the one road to town and I hit a cow, the owner is liable for damages.  If I go to town the other route, I go through open range and now I’m responsible for replacing the cow in an accident.  Open range is the deciding factor.  As to hitting a cow, I’ve had calves jump out of the sage brush, cows standing on the curve on the mountain, and a black cow laying on the black asphalt at 5AM on a cloudy (black) morning.  Thus far, knock on wood I’ve managed to miss all of them, but when you deal with it daily you come to find it’s incredibly easy to hit a cow in certain circumstances.  I’d say at least 80% of the time it happens late at night or early morning.  
My favorite connector/holder/tie in place tool has always been baling twine.  Its all over the farming community, and it’s incredibly strong for what it is.  I’ve even braided it together to make a horse lead.  I helped build some corrals and a round pen years ago and we used cedar posts, lodge pole pine, and put it all together with baling twine.  Used it for a couple years with no problems, and from what I’ve been told it’s still standing today.  It doesn’t look the nicest, but in a pinch it’s your best friend.  Shoot my littleround pen I use for my sheep is part chain link and part field fence, and it’s spliced together with baling twine.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 17, 2020)

I love baler twine!!  We just bought haying equipment...first thing I said to my hubby...I want to get quality baler twine!!  A friend of ours sells us our hay right now, and his twine is, just...well, it frays and it’s unusable..Chris thinks he probably got it at an auction.  I’m glad there are not really, any free range cows around here!!


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## WyoLiving (Mar 17, 2020)

The difference in who's responsible depends on the law.  A lot of the states out west are "Fence Out" and Free-Range states.  Meaning you don't want someone else's livestock on your property - You are responsible to fence them out.  
And If you hit a cow in the road, it was most likely the most expensive, most treasured cow that the rancher ever had, lol.
Eastern states tend to have "fence in" laws.  You are responsible to keep your livestock home.

@Fluffy_Flock   I hope your sheep stay safe and you get them back in teh fence without too much trouble.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 17, 2020)

I'm in central Texas so we are a fence out/open range state. At least I have that going for me


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## farmerjan (Mar 17, 2020)

We have both free range and fence in counties here in Va.  We live in a free-range county and keep some cows in an adjoining county that is fence in.  So yes, it depends on where you are are.  

I would try to just feed the sheep along the side where they keep showing up.  Move the feed piles a few feet closer to the area where the gate is.  Might take you a week or two. 
 If you keep going out there to try to get them to come in then they are going to just quit it.  And if the lamb inside stays without the mother for very much longer, it is going to be weaned and she will feel no interest in coming back for it.  But to keep on going out there and keep trying to get them to come up is just making them more likely to just stop coming around at all.  
If you can get them in, I would suggest a pen where the fence or panels are very very well done and keep them confined for awhile so that they will get more accustomed to you.


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## bethh (Mar 18, 2020)

Oh my goodness, I sure feel for you.   I don’t have sheep but I have an LGD who recently was giving us a run for our money.   I hope you figure a way to get them back.  
And as I read this thread,  little bo peep and her lost sheep kept coming to mind.


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## Nommie Bringeruvda Noms (Mar 18, 2020)

I don't have sheep, and never have, BUT! I've rounded up my share of escaped livestock (& other critters), and the one thing I've found most likely (after reading your struggles, I'll not say it's a 'sure thing') to lure them in is better bait. If those ornery sheep are content to graze, simple grain may not hold any value, in their eyes. Do you have any sweet feed? If you do, take some - not much - out to the ones you already have. The others may be hiding, but is most likely they're still watching, closely. Take it out at the same time, every day, and just give it to them in a bucket, and walk away. The fugitives will get curious about what's so yummy, and come closer. Watch from the window, don't go out. At another time of day, move your panels into a better catchment, around the spot where you've been putting the sweet feed. Set it up so you can get to it quicker than they can run out of it. This whole process may take several days to a week, considering how long they've been out, and how hard you've been trying, so be patient. You want them to get used to you being out, as well as finding out how yummy the sweet feed is. Once you have it all set up - even if you have to put a small deer blind out, to hide in - one of you stays in the blind, or otherwise hidden, while the one who usually takes the sweet feed out does that again. Then wait until they're happily munching, and whomever it's hiding, quietly, but quickly, close them in. You'll only get one shot at it, once you try to close them in, so be very patient, and keep doing the rest until you're 100% sure you can close them in, when you do it. 
Good luck...


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## Nommie Bringeruvda Noms (Mar 18, 2020)

Oh, and, if you don't have any sweet feed, just take their normal feed, & add enough molasses to make it sticky, but not wet.


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## Hipshot (Mar 18, 2020)

I use wire for fasting panels to t post .It is not a bad ideal to have orange cnostruction fence .fastened to hot fence post If well placed it can turn a flock .For years I have incorporated concrete supplies into farming.#4 rebar  makes the best hot wire post .I buy it in 20 foot lengths and cut it to 5 foot lengths . That gives me a 4 foot high wire for horses 
A two foot length of 3/4 inch black gas pipe with a cap screwed on one end makes a good post driver 
.Surveyors flaging tape is cheap ,an is great for  alerting animals to the wire. Loop ties and pig tail twisters are the greatest thing in the world for guick wiring a patch over a hole in woven wire.All are available at homedepot 
I would suggest a temporary electric hot fence constucted around the wayward sheep ,if possible .Then the sweet feed placed daily closer to the gate till inside  .Then off to the sheep sale.Just keep saying I am smarter than a sheep .


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 18, 2020)

Sheep haven't been seen today. We went looking for them and we see a bunch of their fur on a barb wire fence that has a wooded lot. Lots of buzzards flying around there so we think at least one may have gotten caught by coyotes. Of course it could be a deer or hog but I dunno. Hope to see them soon.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 18, 2020)

My suspicion comes from the fact that mama was limping really badly yesterday when we saw her so she probably wouldn't be outrunning anything.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 18, 2020)

High Desert Cowboy said:


> My favorite connector/holder/tie in place tool has always been baling twine. Its all over the farming community, and it’s incredibly strong for what it is.



We call hay ropes "4 H fencing".  Sturdy and strong for a year or so.  It will eventually degrade, but usually by being rubbed through.  FYI  At a fair or without a knife you can thread a hay rope through the rope on a bale and by pulling it back and forth quickly through friction cut the hay bale rope.  We use it for everything around here including emergency leads for the dogs when we have to out them up in a hurry on the field.

Just saw this post!  As to getting your sheep back, first notify the sheriff.  Loose animals are called "estray" and can be sold off after a certain period of time unclaimed.  The sheriff will be notified if a stray animal is found on someone's property since it is against the law to just keep them knowing they are strays.  It counts as "rustling" and the old laws are still on the books most places.

To catch the sheep if they continue coming around - you need to use stock panels to make a long deep pen and drop small bits of hay at the open.  Gradually move the hay back until they are coming into the end of the pen, then close them in and tie the pen shut.  Do not try to get close to them since they will try to break out.  Just feed and water them in the pen until they have calmed down.  Goats and pigs are the worst at getting loose since goats and pigs revert to feral within a week or two if not caught.

Often they will come up to the fence where the other sheep are confined.  I would suggest makig the new catch pen to go around the outside of the pen fence where you have the ones you caught confined.  If you run the catch pen in an L shape around the outside of that pen, gradually moving the hay farther inside until it in in the far leg of the pen, you can close the gate on the catch en and the sheep hopefully will not be able to escape  before you can do that.  Maybe even park your car or truck in the sightline of the gate of the catch pen so you can sneak up on them and close the gate from behind the vehicle.

*Any time you buy sheep or other livestock, *no matter if they are supposed to be tame or not, confine them in a small pen for a month or 2.  Feed them there while you get used to them and they get used to you feeding them in that spot.  Continue feeding them some grain there every night even after you start letting them out to graze.  They will associate being fed grain in that pen and come in every evening.  It also makes it easier to protect them at night if you have a lot of predators.  Your LGD will have an easier time protecting the sheep inside a night fold than scattered across your property.  Once they are used to coming into a pen for feed, they will be easier to confine if you need to separate them, , vet them, assist with lambing etc.  

If you know who owns the land where the vultures are congregating, call them and ask if you can search for your sheep.  You don't want to go onto your neighbor's property without his permission, but if he knows you are searching for strayed livestock he will probably help you look.  At least you can find out which one(s) were taken by predators, if any, when you find their carcasses by the ear tags.

Your perimeter fencing needs to be in good shape.  Your interior pens can be a little weaker as long as your animals can be kept inside your property.  Good fences are more important than the livestock since without good fences, as you see, you won't have any livestock soon.  

I am going to post in my "Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along" how we train our sheep to return to the barn or fold each night.  Training your sheep where to go for feed and grain will be a great help when trying to round them up since they will be willing to go into that pen without fear.  That will make it easier to catch them or round them up without using a rifle.

 We do this with each new group of sheep when we purchase them and bring them home.  Just turning them into an existing flock and hoping they will follow those old established sheep back into the pen will not do it.  They don't know the old flock and the existing flock don't know them.  It takes them a while to learn their place in the hierarchy.  This is even more true if you buy several from another flock to put in with your existing flock.  The newcomers form their own small group off by themselves instead of joining with the old flock right away.

Hope you will find your sheep and can get them back in with the others.


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## bethh (Mar 18, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> We call hay ropes "4 H fencing".  Sturdy and strong for a year or so.  It will eventually degrade, but usually by being rubbed through.  FYI  At a fair or without a knife you can thread a hay rope through the rope on a bale and by pulling it back and forth quickly through friction cut the hay bale rope.  We use it for everything around here including emergency leads for the dogs when we have to out them up in a hurry on the field.
> 
> Just saw this post!  As to getting your sheep back, first notify the sheriff.  Loose animals are called "estray" and can be sold off after a certain period of time unclaimed.  The sheriff will be notified if a stray animal is found on someone's property since it is against the law to just keep them knowing they are strays.  It counts as "rustling" and the old laws are still on the books most places.
> 
> ...


I plan to tuck away this valuable information that you shared.  @Fluffy_Flock, I sure hope you catch them soon.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

Still planning on posting the story of the Ridgetop attempt to train sheep that we bought and did not raise to understand where to come for grain and feed.  Remember these were field raised sheep.  They were raised with LGDs and used to herding dogs moving them from place to place on flat land.  Another look at the Ridgetop way of learning while doing.    And another chance for everyone to enjoy our wild and crazy life as we muddle along.  Watch for coming attractions . . . .


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

Did the sheep ever show up at te fence again?


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 19, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Did the sheep ever show up at te fence again?


😭 😭 😭 😭  no. I think they are gone for good.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

That is too bad.  What do you have left of your flock?


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 19, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> That is too bad.  What do you have left of your flock?


I have a 3 week old ram lamb (daisy's baby) a 2 month old ram lamb and an older ewe (age unknown) she was supposed to be pregnant but she certainly doesn't look like it.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

Ugh.  That is bad.  However, now is the time to plan for your new flock reestablishment.  You need to get your fences properly done, and then set up a smaller inner corral to use when you need to keep them confined for lambing, breeding, vetting, etc. 

Did you report it to the sheriff?  Also I think the newspapers in Texas list weekly or monthly reports of "estray" animals that have been found and impounded by the county.  Be sure to check that list.  Hopefully you will have the ear tag numbers on your bill of sale for proof that the sheep are yours, if found.  

You can breed that 2 month old ram lamb to the old ewe in another couple of months.  He will be old enough by 5 months.  If she takes and delivers any ewe lambs, you will be starting on your flock again.  Or you can take the opportunity now to look over this experience and decide how you want to proceed.  You can buy from another breeder, or at a purebred Dorper auction.  I wouldn't buy at the neighborhood auction or from the person from whom you got the other sheep.  If you want some tips on buying new stock, there are several good articles on this site.  

Luckily Texas is full of Dorper breeders so you can replace your Dorpers easily.  Just don't buy the first ones you find. There are lots of on line Dorper auctions too, where you can bid online and then pick up from the breeder or seller at a place you can agree on.  I prefer White Dorpers.  Several Dorper breeders with both Dorper and White Dorpers have mentioned that the White Dorpers seem calmer.  MikeCHS and Baymule have Katahdins.  You might think about that breed depending on where you are in Texas, west or east.  Now is the time to consider changing breeds if you want to do so.  

This was a serious setback, but you can overcome anything.  First on the list should be repairing those fences, and setting up a smaller inner corral to feed in so the animals will get used to going into that area for feed.  It will make it so much easier to work with them in the long run.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 19, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Ugh.  That is bad.  However, now is the time to plan for your new flock reestablishment.  You need to get your fences properly done, and then set up a smaller inner corral to use when you need to keep them confined for lambing, breeding, vetting, etc.
> 
> Did you report it to the sheriff?  Also I think the newspapers in Texas list weekly or monthly reports of "estray" animals that have been found and impounded by the county.  Be sure to check that list.  Hopefully you will have the ear tag numbers on your bill of sale for proof that the sheep are yours, if found.
> 
> ...


Yeah we have been working on the fence and corral. We have the outside fence fixed and wire is ready to go up this weekend for the corral actually. We had the same advice from a breeder we met with this week. She showed us her flock and they were so friendly! We literally just walked among them able to pet them. We aren't sure if they are going to be our replacements though because they are mixed with Barbados which I'm not big on. They are 75% white dorpers though so I am considering it. When they have lambs with our dorpers they should be high enough percentage dorper the Barbados horns most likely won't be in many of the rams. I grew up with Barbados sheep and the horns are just not something I want to deal with. The first thing I told the lady when we went looking is we need EASY to work with sheep. And they truly seem to be very calm. She also has a few LGDs she has been training for sale that we are looking at.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

That is excellent news!  LGDs are great!  Getting sheep that already bond to the dogs is even better since you won't have to train them to accept the dogs. 

Also, here is another idea  as far as the Dorpers.  Get the mixed breed Dorper x Barbados with as much Dorper as possible.  Then when you buy a ram, get a good registered purebred Dorper ram lamb.  I recommend getting a registered ram since you are guaranteed he is purebred.  Using the more expensive purebred Dorper ram on the ewes will be the cheapest way to upgrade your flock quickly.  Don't keep any of the Barbados cross rams, sell them all for meat.  Then continue breeding in purebred Dorper rams and eventually your flock will be almost pure Dorper. 

Ulf Kintzel of White Clover Farms has written a number of excellent articles about farming Dorpers.  Most of them can be read on-line.  He discusses how to use grade ewes and purebred rams to convert your flock to all purebred in just a few years.

Remember that the Dorper is a made breed.  There are 2 types of Dorpers.  The black headed variety is registered as Dorper while the white headed variety is registered as White Dorper.  You can't breed a registered ram of one variety to a registered ewe of the other variety and register the lambs as purebred.  There are also 2 distinctions in registration of Dorpers - Fullblood and purebred. Fullbloods are sheep bred from full South African ancestry while purebreds are all other registered Dorpers of at least 87% Dorper blood.  Most of them are almost 100% but if they are registered purebred they are the minimum.  Only Fullblood and purebred rams can be used to sire registerable lambs.  

You can register Dorpers sired by registered Fullblood and purebred rams out of unregistered ewes of other breeds.  If the ewes are unregistered Dorpers, the lambs can be registered as 50% the same as they will count 50% out of any other breed of ewe  whether registered in her breed or not.  It takes 3 generations, each bred from registered purebred or Fullblood rams to become 87% and thus register as purebred.  You can see that in 3 years your entire flock will be effectively purebred Dorper.  

I am with you, I hate horns and disbudded all my Boer goats too.  When selecting your stock, remember that the Dorpers were developed from the Black Head Persian using Horned Dorset rams.  Your Barbados x Dorper will produce a certain number of horned animals and you will have to cull heavily to keep horns out of your flock.  By using purebred registered Dorper rams you can cut the incidence of horns even more.  

It sounds like you are moving in the right direction for you.  There will be a lot of on-line auctions coming up in the spring when breeders will be putting fall born lambs as well as early spring lambs up for sale.  I suggest you look into those sales before buying too many Barbados x Dorper ewes.  

Here are some online sales coming up in Texas.  I don't vouch for the animals or breeders, but many of them are well known and you can look them up on line also.  You can go on the sale website and check out the animals - most will have pix and videos so you can see the animal.  The pedigrees will be posted.  If the breeder uses NSIP or  Lambplan, you can see what the animal is expected to produce.  You can often find some good buys at the minimum bid.  Lots of less well known breeders will have animals up for sale out of well known bloodlines.  You can check the pedigrees for the bloodlines.  You can access the pedigrees of any animal by going on the Dorper Association website and putting in the registration # of the animal.  Looking is lots of fun and is free!  

March 28 is the Holman Powell White Dorper Sale in Hamilton, TX  Bid on line by signing up with LMAuctions.com and the catalog can be found by going to holmanranches,com

April 4 is the Red River Classic Dorper & White Dorper Sale, Bowie Sheep and Goat Auction LLC, Bowie TX

There are others, but these are in TX.  There wer3 4 others in TX during January and February.  I suggest you go online for the catalog for the Holman Powell sale.  They are well known breeders and most of the better breeders use their bloodlines in one way or another.  I am not sure about the Red River Sale, since if it is an in person sale, it might be cancelled.  However it would be worth checking on in case they are doing any on line bidding.  Like  said, you don't have to sign up and bid but looking is fun and free.  If you decide to bid, remember that you will have to arrange pick up either by yourself, or a livestock hauler.  You can often find someone who is coming your way and will bring the animals to you for gas money too.  I am not sure how the Corona virus will effect these sales but it could be that buyers from states with restricted travel will not bid.  

Have fun and check it out.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

OOPS!  
Just checked on the Holman sale and it has been cancelled *but *there will be sheep available at the ranch. They are located in Sutton County, I think in Sonora.  This might be a way to get some really good stuff cheaper since they will be needing to sell stuff and no one to bid against you.  Remember that you get what you pay for and if you want good quality Dorpers to make money on market sales, you need to invest in some good carcass qualities.  If you only have a certain sum to invest, check them out for a good quality ram for your flock.  Remember the ram is half the flock so don't skimp on him and his genetics.

Good luck!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 19, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> OOPS!
> Just checked on the Holman sale and it has been cancelled *but *there will be sheep available at the ranch. They are located in Sutton County, I think in Sonora.  This might be a way to get some really good stuff cheaper since they will be needing to sell stuff and no one to bid against you.  Remember that you get what you pay for and if you want good quality Dorpers to make money on market sales, you need to invest in some good carcass qualities.  If you only have a certain sum to invest, check them out for a good quality ram for your flock.  Remember the ram is half the flock so don't skimp on him and his genetics.
> 
> Good luck!


I'm definitely going to look to upgrade my flock in the future but for now I need to get a certain number of sheep on the property to get ag exempt property taxes. I'm putting a lot more money into this than we planned since everything went sideways real quickly. I'm going to do the best I can though.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2020)

Get the cross bred ewes if you can get them cheap.  See if she has any older ewes (not too old) that are bred she will sell.  Then put in a purebred Dorper ram to put the meat on them.   I think if you can show that you are actively bringing in the sheep you will be all right.   Is any of the property under crops?  Depending on your county I think it equates to 1 head of cattle = 5 head of sheep and you need to have a certain amount per acre or so many acres per cow.  I.e.  1 cow per 5 acres depending on the county.  I'm remembering what it was near Tyler when we were shopping for our ranch last year.  Anyway, try to spend on the good ram lamb.  A lamb will be cheaper than a proven ram and you can keep him for quite a few years of breeding.  Use him for 2 generations (on his daughters as well) and make the 3rd breeding season (on granddaughters) terminal for the meat market.  No problems with that close breeding for that many generations, Then buy another good purebred ram.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Mar 19, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> Get the cross bred ewes if you can get them cheap.  See if she has any older ewes (not too old) that are bred she will sell.  Then put in a purebred Dorper ram to put the meat on them.   I think if you can show that you are actively bringing in the sheep you will be all right.   Is any of the property under crops?  Depending on your county I think it equates to 1 head of cattle = 5 head of sheep and you need to have a certain amount per acre or so many acres per cow.  I.e.  1 cow per 5 acres depending on the county.  I'm remembering what it was near Tyler when we were shopping for our ranch last year.  Anyway, try to spend on the good ram lamb.  A lamb will be cheaper than a proven ram and you can keep him for quite a few years of breeding.  Use him for 2 generations (on his daughters as well) and make the 3rd breeding season (on granddaughters) terminal for the meat market.  No problems with that close breeding for that many generations, Then buy another good purebred ram.


All her 75% dorper ewes are young, like between 6-10 months old. She has some older bred ewes but they are all 25 or 50% dorper so I definitely want the highest percentage she has. I already have my application in with the city and they said I just need 7 on the property and didn't say anything about age so hopefully I just need 4. Hopefully she can pick me out some that are at the higher end of that age range so I don't have as long to wait to breed.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 20, 2020)

*Perfect!   You are right not to bother with the lower percentage Dorper crosses.  Do not bother with a ram either since if you cannot buy a purebred one you have 2.  Better to buy a good one though.  *All this sounds very pushy after rereading it so if you absolutely don't want to read anymore, no problem.  I am not trying to tell anyone what to do.  I just like to put out the information in advance rather than when some one writes in after a problem.

Starting out is always expensive.  However, buying the wrong stock can be the costliest mistake to make.  Your biggest investment should be a good ram.  I bought my first 2 rams at an on-line auction. Some rams did not even sell.  The 3rd ram I bought as the first and only bidder on him at another show and auction.    I paid very little for them considering the bloodlines and breeders.  Mine were the only bids.  There are always more good rams for sale than there are ewes, since one ram can cover 30 ewes.  You should be able to get a very good young ram lamb fairly cheap.  I don't know what price you are looking at but you might be surprised to find that the prices for purebred stock are not as much as you think.  I have seen groups of registered ewes bred to registered rams with excellent bloodlines go for $200 a head because they were 3-4 years old.  Each ewe should have a minimum of 1 lamb so the final price for the ewes and lambs drops to half that.  Of course, hopefully, they all twin with ewe lams but the ram lambs become wethers for meat sales.  Your lost/dead sheep will be a deducted loss on your farm taxes.  That deducted loss will also include the ewe that died leaving the young lamb.  If you are claiming your farm on your taxes, all your expenses can be claimed in certain ways.  Either as a straight write off for certain items - feed, meds, usable equipment and goods, and as a yearly depreciation deduction over a period of years for breeding stock and long term investments like fencing and equipment.  Check with the tax guidelines on this.

Since these cross bred ewes are youngsters, get the highest percentages Dorper she has.  Get 4 large *fall born *ewelings.  They will be breedable by summer.    Try to get larger ones since the bigger they are when bred for the first time the better and healthier for them.

Also, buy a *younger* purebred ram lamb - probably a spring lamb born anytime after January 1.  The older the ram the sooner he is in production so the older yearlings and stud rams will have a higher price on them,  Young ram lambs will be priced much lower.  What you are buying in a young ram lamb is the bloodline and breeding.  Contact the various breeders that are within driving distance of your ranch and ask what they have in either a late fall ram or a spring ram.  *The spring rams will be cheaper which is ok since you are buying a future breeding ram for your 4 fall born ewelings.  *

Since you only need 7 sheep on your property, you will have 4 young ewes, 1 older ewe, 2 young ram lambs which you can castrate for meat, and your new spring ram lamb for breeding this summer.  Depending on the age of the ram you are able to get, if you get a fall born ram lamb he will be able to breed the older ewe.  

Next, go on line and contact Powel Holman about their cancelled sale.  They have stated that they will have animals available for sale at the ranch.  All the other consignors will also have the animals they were going to put in the sale for sale at their ranches too.  These breeders NEED to sell this breeding stock since they depend on these sales for their livelihood.  This is an opportunity for you to take advantage of the sale cancellations to get good stock cheaper.  I will post the list of advertised consignors below for you to look up on line and contact. One of them might be closer to your area for you to pick up the buckling.

The reason I am pushing you to get the registered purebred buck now is that with the travel bans in place, most sales and breed auctions are being cancelled.  The sheep breeders rely on these sales and auctions to get their _*good*_ breeding stock out for higher prices.  The price of those animals is the cream on the top of their skim milk basic meat sales.  Breeders select groups of their better rams, ewes, and lambs for these sales hoping for higher prices at the auction.  Since all the shows and auctions are cancelled, they can't sell them so they will have to sell privately for the minimum price *or less*.  Buying privately from the ranches, you can get a better quality breeding ram at a *lower price *than you could at the auction.  

You might be able to swing a package deal with one of these breeders who will be facing an overload of animals they can't sell at the breeding stock auctions and sales.  The fall ewe lambs they were hoping to sell will be breedable this summer and f they can't sell them they will end up with a glut of lambs next year and older ewes they couldn't sell.  While this Corona virus is not fvorable to commerce, it can work to your advantage in getting better breeding stock at a low price now.   Most breeders will do a price break if doing a group sale or package deal of 2 or more sheep.  This is the time for you to take advantage of the market.  See what you can get in good purebred sheep then make up your numbers with the cheaper crossbreds.   Since the price being paid in Texas for pure Dorper lambs is higher than crossbreds (and Barbados are a lightweight carcass animal) your sales on the market lambs will eventually pay back the original expense if you are able to buy cheap now.

Here are the listed consignors that were bringing breeding stock to the Powell-Holman sale.  These are some respected names in Dorper bloodlines, and most are in Texas.  

Powell Ranch Dorpers                                                 Johnny & Claire Powell
Hamilton Sheep Station                                              Alan & Jolene McAnelly
Oak Hill Ranch                                                             Chacho & Dawn Cahill
Monroe Schultz                                                           Glen Stegemoller

They all have websites talking about their stock, bloodlines, and most have pictures up.  They also will state if they are on NSIP or Lambplan, as well as what they are doing about parasite control in their flocks.  Do not worry about the championship wins they brag about - sheep are judged on structure, length of loin, and the amount of meat carried on legs& loin.  Those are the money cuts.  Animals that win usually have that structure which is what you want in a good breeding sheep for meat sales.  Oh, and if you buy from someone out of state remember that any ram over 6 months has to have a clean test for Brucellosis to travel over state lines.  Here in California all sheep must have a vet exam for hoof rot too.  Check on state requirements for livestock transport.  And you can ask for records if they are on Lambplan or Nsip or a state parasite program.  Make sure anyone you buy from has a scrapie free flock - they should have a scrapie flock number in their ears.

Let me know how it goes.


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## Isaac (Mar 22, 2020)

Have you tried grain? I don't usually use grain to get my sheep to come to me and they still all come running when shake grain in a bucket.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 7, 2020)

Here they are! Super excited about this. We spent a few hours at her farm picking out the ones we wanted. I spotted a very familiar face. Hard to tell from the picture but the one black head ewe in this group looked exactly like Daisy I just had to have her. I don't think she wanted to sell her tbh but she agreed. She happens to be heavily pregnant right now too lol. Not what I intended but absolutely thrilled with her! You can tell the whole group is so much more chill than my lost flock. Not even 2 steps off the trailer and they are already stopping to eat lol. Brought out some grain and sat with them and a few (including black head) ate right out of my hand!! 

I wish I had met this lady before I had gotten my first sheep. She has been such a mentor with all things sheep.


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## Margali (Apr 8, 2020)

High Desert Cowboy said:


> It’s incredibly easy to hit a cow in certain circumstances.  I’d say at least 80% of the time it happens late at night or early morning.



My cow vs car was at 10pm. Driving on nice asphalt country road heading home on wet, raining night. Round a curve and road looks a little funny in distance so started slowing down. A whole herd of longhorn taking a nap on the road. Nowhere to go cause steep ditch then fence line on either side. I stopped in time and then had loads of fun backing up to find a spot to turn around. I called it in to police and they sent a trooper to block off the road and ask at neighboring properties if it was their cattle. Nice intro to Texas right?! I'd only been down here a month.


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## farmerjan (Apr 8, 2020)

@Margali ;  Thank goodness you saw something that caused you to slow down and manage to not hit the herd.  Understand that Texas is a fence out....meaning free range state.   

@Fluffy_Flock ;  so glad that you now have a mentor to help you.  It is a shame that you didn't find them first, but at least you can go forward from here.  Maybe, if the other sheep are still hiding out somewhere, they might come to your fences and you might be able to get them back in.  You have realized that perimeter fences are very important, and the new friends/mentors have probably been able to give you hints and tips on how to do things with these new sheep.  Also, the calm and friendly dispositions on these animals will make it so much more enjoyable for you to get some experience with them.  Congrats on the new flock.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 8, 2020)

Margali said:


> My cow vs car was at 10pm. Driving on nice asphalt country road heading home on wet, raining night. Round a curve and road looks a little funny in distance so started slowing down. A whole herd of longhorn taking a nap on the road. Nowhere to go cause steep ditch then fence line on either side. I stopped in time and then had loads of fun backing up to find a spot to turn around. I called it in to police and they sent a trooper to block off the road and ask at neighboring properties if it was their cattle. Nice intro to Texas right?! I'd only been down here a month.


My intro to Texas was seeing a dead bloated cow on i35 on my way into Austin on the first day there. Literally first thing.


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## Margali (Apr 8, 2020)

farmerjan said:


> @Margali ;  Understand that Texas is a fence out....meaning free range state.


I wasn't mad they were out. I was just afraid that someone speeding was gonna ram them and multiple people/cattle were gonna die.


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## Ridgetop (Apr 8, 2020)

So excited about your new flock.  Even better that they are nice and docile.  Especially wonderful that the breeder is willing and able to help you in the future.  Everything you have learned up to now is good stuff and you can apply it.

If you can get some pix from the side please post.  How old are these ewes?

Did you get a ram?  If not, call around to some of the good TX breeders since with the cancelation of a the shows and sales those breeders will need to sell their breeding stock and prices will be low.  This is the time to pick up a really good purebred ram cheap.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 8, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> So excited about your new flock.  Even better that they are nice and docile.  Especially wonderful that the breeder is willing and able to help you in the future.  Everything you have learned up to now is good stuff and you can apply it.
> 
> If you can get some pix from the side please post.  How old are these ewes?
> 
> Did you get a ram?  If not, call around to some of the good TX breeders since with the cancelation of a the shows and sales those breeders will need to sell their breeding stock and prices will be low.  This is the time to pick up a really good purebred ram cheap.


I will get pictures tomorrow if I can. I took these today though. 





The white ones and the tan spotted one are all between 6-10 months. The black head I'm not sure of her age. I should ask her. I just have my 2 ram lambs from before. I can't buy another right now I just can't afford it. I love the way my rams look though. My 3 month old ram looks like he will be a beast when he is fully grown and the little one has perfect black head colors.


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## Ridgetop (Apr 9, 2020)

Keep the best ram - learn about where the meat is carried and use that to select your breeding ram.  Pretty or cute is not an option for you wen building a meat herd.  You can use the ram for 2 years even on daughters if necessary to produce meat.  So you have a 2-3 years before having to spend anything on a quality ram.  Later, you can invest in that if it is what you want.

I  like your new ewes they look really good, healthy and carrying good weight.  Also having docile and more tame ewes will be helpful when having t catch them to doctor them.  Teach them now to follow a bucket of grain and you will be ahead of the game!

So excited for you with your new flock!


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 9, 2020)

Wow so I just can't catch a break! Wild storm blew through and took out our sheep shed, quail coop and chicken coop. Luckily most of the animal survived. Sheep came out unhurt. 




This is all that's left of that structure. 

Finally found the last of our animals and in all the chaos only lost 1 chicken where the coop landed on the bird.

Off to find plans for windproof shelters now... 😭  😭  😭


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## Baymule (Apr 9, 2020)

Congrats on your new flock! They are some lovely girls. I am very happy for you that you now have tame sheep. My first 4 came off a 300 acre ranch, they were wild, but calmed down and made pets. LOL 

That sucks about the shelter. Looks like it was made from pallets? What about using cow panels to make a hoop shelter? You can drive T-posts and wire then to the T-posts and cover with a tarp. Or you can get more detailed, here's a link to a hoop coop I built. 





__





						HOOP COOP
					

I have more pictures for you @ninnymary !! I built a hoop coop the last week of May. I had chicks in the house, they were driving me nuts and I wanted them OUT! I built the whole thing out of stuff I already had. The tin for the roof was used, the treated lumber for the frame came off the half...



					www.theeasygarden.com


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 9, 2020)

That was our original idea to make it of cattle panel but we get 30-40mph winds on the regular so I don't think it would be strong enough. This shed was made with about 15 oversized pallets plus 2x4s. It was VERY heavy. Winds we have had here were enough to flip a shed that was anchored 2ft in the ground with 4 anchor screws. I think I'm going to need to concrete something in the ground. 

These winds were 60-80mph straight line winds.

Neighbors down the road brought back my quail roof though so there's that.... I feel extremely lucky we only lost one chicken. Went to check the sheep fence and it looks like the shed rolled right over the fence and popped back up from the tension of the barbed wire. You can see where the t posts were laid down. I'm shocked the wires didn't snap!


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## Baymule (Apr 10, 2020)

I'm thinking cinder block walls with earth banked around them. Tie the roof on good!

The wind is always blowing here, but we have a lot of trees that blocks it. On open areas, the wind never stops.


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## Fluffy_Flock (Apr 10, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I'm thinking cinder block walls with earth banked around them. Tie the roof on good!
> 
> The wind is always blowing here, but we have a lot of trees that blocks it. On open areas, the wind never stops.


Unfortunately I think you might be right! That's a major construction project right there. Ugh we have to do something quickly because the weather is going to be crap all weekend.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 10, 2020)

Cattle panel hoop houses are sturdier than you might think.  We have some major winds where we live and ours have stood for several years (anchored with T-posts and pallets for wind break).


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## Ridgetop (Apr 10, 2020)

I am glad you didn't lose your new sheep flock!  One chicken lost is getting off light with that sort of wind.

Several years ago winds like that took 8 12 x 24 pipe corral stalls attached together with corrugated metal shelters and metal barrel feeders, and flipped them upside down on our hillside.  Luckily, those winds had kept us awake most of the night and we had turned our horses out to avoid them spooking and trying to escape maybe breaking a leg, or getting hit with flying debris.  Since then we have not out up corral shelters on the field.  We used the shelters to build a tipi sheep shelter on the field and it has withstood the winds.  However, our second tipi shelter we put up for the rams in the front field is sheltered by being in a hollow surrounded by power pole retaining walls, and backing up to one of the power pole walls.  That shelter which we thought was safe was blown down flat by the wind.  Luckily the sheep didn't like going in it much, preferring the old trampoline to shelter under.  Strong winds are a problem when you live on a flat prairie, or on an exposed ridge top.

We also want to put up more field shelters for our sheep but need to make sure they don't blow way.  We have a major problem with wind at our place.  In the past 30 years we have lost the roof on our house twice, the barn roof and another shed roof once, as well as losing our lower open 12 x 12 goat shelter and had a tree come down on us costing us more roof repairs and our HVAC.  we were able to repair and replace all these, but the insurance company was not happy and hit us hard with depreciation value.  We have 2 Connex boxes on the field now (the shipping containers that are used to ship freight on the big semis.  Currently we have the space between them gated off and have stored our horse corral panels and other livestock equipment in the space.  We want to roof over the space between the 2 20' boxes  to make a covered hay storage area.  Or it could also become sheep shelter since DH wants to store the hay inside one of the Connex boxes instead.  Not sure what we will do but don't want to spend a lot on a permanent structure since are we planning to move in another couple years. with us when we move to our new place whenever we are able to move. 

If the hoop houses are sturdy enough, maybe putting one up beside the Connex box would protect it from the wind. Replacing the tarps would be a hassle, but not too expensive compared to a roof.  

Bay's advice about putting up cinderblock walls with earth banks is also a plan.  What is you stacked bags of cement on the outside of the stacked cinder blocks instead of earth?  Without  foundation or mortar?  Like when Bay puts them under fences in hollows and runoff channels?  When it rains they would be like rocks - but would they blow over too?


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