Feelin' a bit sheepish...

[Beekissed]

Pics of the sheep and the new sheep guardian dog, Charlie(female)....

In this pic below you can see it's time for a paddock change, which is what we did right after this pic.

One of the new ram lambs in the pic below....he's the more friendly one, but not in a good way. Will need a lesson in manners soon.

You can see where we've had the place timbered in the background...we have a LOT of work to do to recover that space and get all that wood and brush worked up. As you can see, we still don't have much grass to offer in most places in the yard, as the weather has been pretty cold still and we have poor grass to begin with....hoping the sheep will help us improve that.

These lambs are 1 mo. old~from left to right: Single ram, twin rams, single ram...all rams thus far, still have one ewe to lamb. Shine(black ewe)has just about rubbed off her winter coat, all except that pesky top knot on her butt. The Kat/Dorp cross ewes aren't even attempting to shed/rub off the shed.

The grass isn't much but it seems to be keeping them fat even while nursing lambs, so I'm pretty pleased. The lambs are growing and quite sturdy as well.

 

[Baymule]

I love Charlie! Wow! all your hard work is greening up the pastures. Your lambs look awesome, I see the fence you put up, I see the love of the land in your pictures. I'm sending you a big hug and a goofy grin of pure happiness for you. Dreams do come true.

 

[thistlebloom]

It's all beautiful Bee. Good work.

 

[Beekissed]

Did training on Charlie for staying in the high tensile fencing and the movable temp wire and it yielded positive results. She's pretty sensitive, so a few vibrations on a little collar reminded her to stay away from the hot wires(she's so little she can just scoot under them in between pulses).

She's also responding well to leash training(these Anatolians are incredibly smart and intuitive) and was trained on chickens yesterday, but I chose the wrong chicken~an EE that screamed loudly the whole time and scared the pup...NOT the desired result~so will repeat that training with one of my calm, sweet WR hens.

She also had her first lesson on food etiquette today and responded VERY well to that too. I'm very pleased with this dog's response to training, she's not a bit stubborn on things. Will continue to give her lessons each day on leash, manners, sit, stay in the fence, and waiting for her food/letting me mess with her food, etc.

The sheep had their 6th paddock move today and are down to two wires and even one wire in some places in the temp wires. Will soon graduate to one wire only, around a foot off the ground, to move them....which really makes it easier on us. It would be one wire already but I needed to train the pup about staying in the fences first. Now I need to move Blue down to the paddock and do his training on the fence wire also....he will be moving in rotation with the sheep and Charlie as they get further from the safety of the house, which will be as soon as we finish A paddock.

Hope to work on making some ram aprons this week/weekend so I can turn the new breeding ram lambs in with the rest of the flock. When I apply the aprons, I'll be giving the white ram a lesson in human relationships...he's way too disrespectful towards humans after being "spoiled" by his previous owner a bit. Has lost his respect of humans, but I'll soon put that right..... or he will soon be turned into a wether. I won't keep a disrespectful animal on hand, particularly a ram.

 

[Baymule]

Bee, you make me smile.

 

[Beekissed]

Blue has become collar wise to the Ecollar and didn't even need any correction for training in the sheep paddock this evening....he has no intention of braving both the electric fence AND the Ecollar. Just a vibration is all it takes for Anatolians to get their minds right. Just putting the collar on him produced the desired effect.

Ben, on the other hand, takes actual shocks to effect a change. Longer fur, more callous neck to wearing receivers, more bull headed.

So, Blue's first night in with the sheep on paddock rotation, along with little Charlie. Charlie really needed this....she's been trying to play with the sheep and getting the rough end of the deal. She's been roughing Blue up ever since we put him in the paddock and seems tireless. This is good for both dogs, as Blue hasn't had anyone to play with either....they both need the socialization of play, the exercise, muscle development and the fighting skills it provides.

Blue is very gentle with the pup....but the pup shows no mercy. She's going to be boss dog soon and Blue will be her beta, but he's not going to be dominated all the same. He's got game.

So far I'm LOVING having Anatolians....smart, intuitive, ferocious when needed but smart enough to know when to apply it. Friendly and social also. Not a bit bullheaded, which I also appreciate...nothing worse than a stubborn dog to work with.

June looks like the lamb is going to burst out of her behind like that alien thing in the movie Alien...if she doesn't lamb soon it will just climb out half grown. Bagged up, hugely swollen vulva...wish she'd just get it over with because the suspense is killin' me!

Will be stringing fence tomorrow between thunderstorms and will be trying to do that all weekend. Gotta get A paddock up and running before we leave for our annual family fishing trip so the sheep will have fresh pasture to run on while we are absent.

 

[Baymule]

Aren't they awesome dogs? I will enjoy reading Blue's and Charlie's journey together with your sheep.

 

[Beekissed]

Aren't they awesome dogs? I will enjoy reading Blue's and Charlie's journey together with your sheep.

Bay, how's your new little girl doing? I'm betting she's fitting right in with your nice pack.

They are...and Blue reminds me of Jake in little ways, which warms my heart. Not quite as eager to please as Jake, but still has a few of his traits that were unusual.

Charlie is going to be a great working dog, I do believe. She's tough and solid and already shows a more bold and aggressive style. We'll be needing that in light of Blue's more laid back approach. I think they'll make a good working pair.

All is quiet out there~well, except the usual night sounds~ which is what I like to hear. Blue is a quiet kind of dog and only barks at real threats, so I'm hoping he will teach that to Charlie as well. I like a night where I can hear the frogs, the whippoorwills, and the owls....it's just such a night, 66* and a balmy breeze. Perfect!

 

[Beekissed]

Blue stayed in the fence and seems a little more relaxed there this morning. I'm still working out how to feed the dogs without the sheep ganging up on them....when I get my water/mineral wagon built, I'll also build a drag unit for the dogs that will allow them to eat while excluding the sheep, but haven't gotten to that yet.

So, for this morning, they had to eat under a picnic table that is in the current grazing area. Not ideal, as the sheep could still kind of nose into their feed pans, but at least they were better able to defend their food there. Next paddock won't have a conveniently placed picnic table, so I'll have to come up with something soon or just bring the dogs out each morning for eating....that would soon become a pain in the patoot.

 

[Baymule]

What about a pallet safe zone? You are a pallet wizard and I know you can come up with something brilliant.