Hello, new member with questions about sheep

[Calendula]

Welcome to BYH! I can't answer your question about sheep, but I also live in lower Michigan. I also have chickens and ducks, no Muscovies, but I do have a two Buff Orpington roosters and then a Barred Rock/Buff cross.
I also have Nigerian Dwarf goats.

 

[norseofcourse]

Welcome from Ohio! I have sheep, but I don't have a pond, but I would not put it past sheep to try and drink out of it. There is a parasite called liver fluke that needs snails for part of its life cycle, but I've also heard that geese and ducks eat snails which helps control liver flukes, so that may help.

@purplequeenvt @Sheepshape @SheepGirl and others might have thoughts about sheep and ponds.

 

[Bruce]

Well that is a new concern for me and my 2 alpacas. I have a pond, man made but not plastic lined so I was reading this thread just out of curiosity. @norseofcourse's mention of snails reminded me of the intermediate host for meningeal worm (for which the boys are given Ivermectin in the season) so I looked up liver flukes in Alpacas. Found, in part:

"Alpacas are susceptible to infection with fluke (Fasciola hepatica) which can cause a spectrum of signs from sudden death and acute illness such as weakness, reduced appetite and anaemia, to more subtle chronic signs of ill thrift.

Adult liver flukes (Fasciola hepatica)
The liver fluke is ingested while grazing and the small fluke burrow through the intestine and migrate to the liver where they move through damaging the liver before laying eggs in the bile ducts. Eggs are then hatched and passed in the faeces where they find their way into water snails in which their life cycle continues before they are eaten again."

Now I wonder if I need to be concerned about this!

 

[Sheepshape]

Well, I've got sheep, chickens, dog, cats and ponds (one of which is really a mini lake and is about 10 feet deep). Sheep prefer to drink from accessible sites....so, if the pond has a gently sloping edge, they'll drink from it. Sheep seem to prefer clean to dirty water (unlike the dog, cat and chickens who seem to be the opposite). Sheep which do not have overly long or thick coats which can get waterlogged are able to swim for short distances, but they won't be swimming as a hobby (only if they fall in).

Sheep and chicken get on fine....but the chickens WILL steal any grain/pellets/ewe or lamb nuts. Sheep are also very happy to eat chicken corn or layers pellets given the chance. I'm sure ducks would be fine,too.

As norseofcourse says, boggy areas predispose to gastropods (slugs and snails) and a small boggy-soil-loving snail is the secondary host for liver fluke.If liver fluke is prevalent in your area, then flukicide will be needed regularly in the warmer weather, especially after rainy periods.We have a very we climate and a chronic fluke problem, so we have to use flukicide 2-3 times over the summer period, depending on the temperature and rainfall.

Lambs can be a bit of a problem in spring with the chickens as they chase them in play.....at least my chickens get slimmed down a bit then.

 

[Latestarter]

Wait... who wants to eat a slim chicken? I say the heftier the better!

 

[Sparrow]

That is great information to know about the liver flukes. Since we got the four ducks the water is dirty most of the time, and haven't noticed as many snails. The plan for spring through fall is to irrigate the gardens with the nitrogen rich pond water, then re-fill the ponds with the well water so there will a constant flow of fresh water, and to get some water plants (that the ducks won't eat) for the shallow ledges.

I'll have to read more before deciding on getting sheep.

 

[Bruce]

Must be a small pond or a great well and pump!

 

[Sheepshape]

Wait... who wants to eat a slim chicken? I say the heftier the better!

Ha .......vegetarian, you see.....so the only ones who gain from my fat friends are the dog and cats.(I eat their eggs, though, on the very odd occasion they decide to lay). But here I am talking MORBIDLY OBESE if I let them. They are large birds anyway, Brahmas and Naked Necks....all show and broodiness (and about 10lbs weight). They are mainly old, greedy and lazy (oldest 10).They guzzle any and everything they find and don't fly (so many leg/foot feathers and so big a weight to feather ratio). I've lost quite a few to old age/illness/the foxes recently, so I'm planning a hatch of chicks in the spring (AFTER lambing).

Bruce...if you think/know that you are in a fluky area, make sure that you regularly treat them with anti-helmintics for all stages of fluke. By the way I'm green with envy about anyone with alpacas....I love them! But treat them, treat them ASAP.

 

[Ozzy Goat Girl]

Welcome!

 

[Bruce]

I'll have to find out about the flukes. Maybe the extension service knows??

My boys have always been vaccinated for M-worm by their prior owner. The lady "kitty corner" has 2 intact males and doesn't vaccinate. But given a doe dropped twin fawns behind the pond INSIDE the fence last spring, I'm taking no chances. I don't know that she will jump the new fence with hot wire at 5' this year, especially with the alpacas inside.