High Desert Cowboy- How far is it up north?

[High Desert Cowboy]

Hey I’m just learning too!
First snow fall last night. A little skiff on the ground. The new ewe lambs are starting to be a little less flighty, I can now get within 10 feet before they take off.

Everyone else was happily eating. They were fixated on Bella’s right next to me.

 

[Baymule]

Animal crackers=sheep treats!

 

[SageHill]

When I moved here in 89 the gal I learned a lot from had polypays and rambouillet Over the years she has switched to hair sheep - going to the barbs and barb crosses, can't remember after that, and then dorpers, black headed ones. That's pretty much what she has now as well as most people here who have sheep to just work their dogs on. The black headed ones tend to be less flighty than the whites - so they say. And many to the point of being too heavy. She does have a large training operation with ~150 sheep. Training 5 or 6 days a week and now I ~think 4 other trainers not including herself. I stopped teaching there years ago. She switched to the hair sheep because of the wool and shearing - though she still ends up having most of them sheared every year.
I do teach herding here, though because I had a hard time getting enough appropriate sheep I'm switching to breeding for market/auction. I do use my dogs to graze in a transhumant style. I don't have border collies, but rather belgian laekenois and that is the style these dogs were originally bred to do.

 

[Ridgetop]

The black headed ones tend to be less flighty than the whites - so they say.

Sorry - it's the opposite. The White Dorpers are much calmer than the black headed Dorpers. The black headed Dorpers can be super aggressive and wild.

 

[SageHill]

Sorry - it's the opposite. The White Dorpers are much calmer than the black headed Dorpers. The black headed Dorpers can be super aggressive and wild

In all the herding facilities it's the black headed ones that are used. I have a feeling that perhaps it's the amount of handling they get perhaps? The difference between a producers flock and a training flock?? Once the herding facilities settle on a breed or type it takes a lot to change them. About half of the original group of sheep my friend and I bought 12 yrs ago (?) were the black headed and they were excellent, especially with young and inexperienced dogs. Such is life.

 

[Ridgetop]

Since sheep have to be trained to work with the dogs, it is possible that the black headed Dorpers are more flighty and may move better working wth the dogs. The White Dorpers may not move as well since they are calmer and once they are familiar with the dogs may not move for them. Not sure.

However, most of the long time breeders (who have both types) I talk to recommend the White Dorpers for their calmer, gentler dispsitions. Several have said that the black headed Dorpers are "mean" and "aggressive". LOL My limited experience with black headed Dorpers is that the black headed Dorpers were wild natured as opposed to the White Dorpers. However, it may also depend on the bloodlines.

I like my White Dorpers and without a lot of Animal Crackers they become calm and some become very tame. I have tried feeding them Animal Crackers but they won't eat them. I have tried putting them in the mouths of young lambs and they spit them out! LOL

 

[High Desert Cowboy]

So these new ewes are a little more “flighty” when it comes to moving them around. They don’t try to fight at all, but they will run long before the others will. That’s a good thing though. Having limited space and limited resources, my sheep are very dog broke. Their flight zone is smaller and they know if they run to me the dog can’t “get” them. Makes doing certain chores easier, but it also makes for bad habits. Bella works close, always has. But these new sheep don’t do close, so she has to get back into giving them space so that they move smoothly and they’re not breaking out from everyone. Fortunately they are still flock oriented so they don’t generally break away and separate from everyone. They spend most of their time with the ram, and generally go where he goes.

I snapped this picture from my bathroom window this afternoon. I have one chicken who keeps escaping the coop who decided that a napping sheep makes a wonderful perch. Gus Gus and his ladies couldn’t have cared less.
As far as using the herd to feed the family, tonight I tried something new and made a lamb and Guinness stew. When it gets cold we tend to do a lot of soups and stews so I figured why not. The kids loved the lamb bits, but in the future we’ll probably leave the parsnips out of the stew.

 

[Ridgetop]

I love parsnips but keep them for myself and serve up the carrots to the kids. LOL