New to sheep first day

[Baymule]

Thanks for the update. I am so glad that they settled down for you. You can turn a bucket over, sit on it and let them get used to your presense. Good for you that you are getting them to come up and take treats from you.

 

[mystang89]

You can turn a bucket over, sit on it and let them get used to your presense.

I read that as ....Let them bathe in you presence...

Was sorta wandering if your sheep knelt in awe until I reread that lol.

 

[Baymule]

 

[farmerjan]

I am really glad that you have managed to get them to calm down and get used to you. Often times they don't. Just try to think like they would.
No matter how comfortable they get in your presence, you might see that if a stranger (to them) comes into their field/barn/lot they will be standoffish and wary. If you change their routine they will also be wary. It is the nature of the animal to not trust things that are different. That is how they survived.
Ours do not get too worried if it is my son OR I, but when we are together, there are ewes that will not come into the catch pen for feed, or will watch out of the corner of their eye because it is "different" than what is normal and routine.

I am assuming since they are dall sheep that they will have their very impressive and massive horns. Both the ewes and rams can have them, although the ewes will be much smaller. Do not ever attempt to push at their heads directly head on. These type of sheep are known for their "head butting" that is partially how rams got their name. They "ram" heads. They will hurt you without meaning to especially during their breeding season. You do not want to raise a ram that will see you as "competition" during breeding season.

 

[ashley carro]

Hi

I am just reading some replies to the thread. Funny that I am reading this reply this week.
All my sheep have become pretty friendly and like to have their heads scratched, but recently my ram gets “frisky” “agitated” when he gets his head scratched or rubbed and touching his head has tempted him to ram. So no more head scratching for him.
They are happy and in pasture now, have had no problems so far, they come when called now bc they associate that with food
One thing I am worried about is Hooves trimming especially when my ram is fully grown at 250 pounds. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!
Ashley

QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 550098, member: 15168"]I am really glad that you have managed to get them to calm down and get used to you. Often times they don't. Just try to think like they would.
No matter how comfortable they get in your presence, you might see that if a stranger (to them) comes into their field/barn/lot they will be standoffish and wary. If you change their routine they will also be wary. It is the nature of the animal to not trust things that are different. That is how they survived.
Ours do not get too worried if it is my son OR I, but when we are together, there are ewes that will not come into the catch pen for feed, or will watch out of the corner of their eye because it is "different" than what is normal and routine.

I am assuming since they are dall sheep that they will have their very impressive and massive horns. Both the ewes and rams can have them, although the ewes will be much smaller. Do not ever attempt to push at their heads directly head on. These type of sheep are known for their "head butting" that is partially how rams got their name. They "ram" heads. They will hurt you without meaning to especially during their breeding season. You do not want to raise a ram that will see you as "competition" during breeding season.[/QUOTE]

 

[mystang89]

When I trimmed my sheep hooves I sit them on their butts. They generally don't fight me. If they do then they end up on their back which renders mine as helpless as a turtle on it's back.

 

[ashley carro]

Some pics

 

[BreanneRN]

I have one New Mexico Dahl ewe I bought at a year old, because I liked the backstory... Found her on Craigslist and thought she was pretty from a breeder maybe 100 miles away. She was also quite wild and crazy. I had other sheep but it was not a good time to have gotten this one, as a month later, I had a new water well drilled. Of all the sheep I bought, that one is the only one that I paid to have delivered and the only one with a shipping injury. I believe she broke her bottom jaw bone. Because she was too crazy too touch and I didn't know what her head looked like before, I missed the swelling. She was crazy the whole 2 or so weeks that that well drilling went on! She did eventually settle down and I gave her a companion that was somewhat tamer... Still, there have been problems. These sheep ran with the bighorns, so to speak and intermixed with them. Bighorns do not normally have twins, but my NM Dahl was a twin, per the owner. Her first lambing she had a single ewe lamb without problem. The next year, she developed twin lamb disease and aborted late at around 4 months, both twins dead. I treated her (and she was so sick I could actually walk up to her) and she survived. It was then that I realized the full extent of her shipping injury (well healed by then). This year, she had a single ram lamb and was fine. So if production is going to matter to you, I don't think I would raise these. My NM Dahl has a very disfigured mouth from the shipping injury (she developed an overgrowth of tissue from the injury that further deformed and her teeth are all messed up in front). Still, she does alright now, possibly because I feed some pelleted feed everyday and she is a pretty easy keeper. I call her "Dolly". On the plus side, she is very sound of body and has a nice meaty build. My Dahl sheep could not be registered because she has no horns. The NMDahl standard requires the ewes to have horns. She remains the most wild of all my sheep which range in temperament from overly affectionate pesky bottle babies, to I'm affectionate and like to be scratched, to "I don't like you but will come for food" to "not terrified but don't get close because I'm respectful of your space" and her, still wild unless deathly ill.