SageHill Ranch Journal

[SageHill]

Is auntie bred??? She sure wants to be a mommy! Cute and sorrowfully sad at same time.

Nope, she’s definitely not bred. She’s only been with the same wethers and ewes for over a year. It ~was kinda cute until it wasn’t.
The whole flock - just 10 total watch out for the lambs. The ram lamb snuck out of the pasture today (under a gate - he won’t fit much longer) and the whole flock piled up in the corner where the gate is. Didn’t take long for me to see why!

 

[SageHill]

Beautiful day today. Started out at 48!! Loving it. Took the sheep out for some "roadside maintenance" Auntie Barb was cut out of the "work crew" and left in the barn. I could envision her making constant attempts to get back to the barn. She missed out on fresh greens. My friend who lost her dog the day the lambs were born came out to see them this morning. It was good to see her, she's doing well. I snapped some picks of her with the lambs. One came out sooo good - the ewe lamb just about touching her nose and my friend with a small smile
Today's the day I'll be turning the small pen into a creep feeder. Though I wonder just how much use it will get. I don't see any of the other sheep pushing the lambs out of the way for food, at least not yet. I'll have water, alfalfa and grain in there for the lambs.
Of course Auntie Barb and the lambs continue to be best of buddies. Actually, Mama Sheep, Auntie Barb and the lambs are a unit out in the pasture. I separate her out at night.
@Baymule - you said that she'd probably let milk down for them - would that be as nutritious as Mama Sheep's?? Based on what I know of dogs the answer would be no - but I'm a newbie at this.
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The "Unit"

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Hey Dude, I think you forgot to eat.

 

[Baymule]

If she lets them suck, it will bring in milk, especially since she is all about the babies. No reason it wouldn’t be as good as moms.

 

[SageHill]

If she lets them suck, it will bring in milk, especially since she is all about the babies. No reason it wouldn’t be as good as moms.

Oh man! These lambs are going to be FAT!

 

[Baymule]

I think you are going to need a ram…… Auntie Barb needs a MAN!

 

[SageHill]

I think you are going to need a ram…… Auntie Barb needs a MAN!

HA! She's already chosen "her boy" --- and he's practicing on his twin already!

 

[SageHill]

Out early this morning to graze. I can barely get my first cup of coffee down and Obi is doing the "let's get moving" routine. Once again I left Auntie back in the barn - a good move. One of the "trial sheep" (long tail wether) who gave me trouble last time he was here was on the "sketchy" side. Seemingly always looking for a chance to make a break. I truly don't want any of The Littles to learn this bad behavior. He never did make a break - Obi somehow always is in the right place at the right time. I think I've figured out the "why" that particular sheep is that way - he's a trial sheep - arena trial - where the stock always move away from the dog. Only after an hour out did he even lower his head to nibble a little. The others all got to the business of eating. I ~could see The Littles checking out what the errant wether was up to though. If Auntie Barb had been in the mix things would not have been pretty as she would have been trying to break back to the barn no matter how far away we would be. I'm not sure when I'll take the lambs out to graze with everyone, but I'm thinking soon-ish.
Yesterday I set up the creep feeder - and ...... it works. YAY the lambs go in, the lambs go out, the lambs go bouncing all about . {sorry warped humor}.
The rest of the day - was cleaning stalls, barn chores and later will be a trip down the hill for groceries.
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Lambs in the creep feeder.

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Grazing one of our hill tops...

 

[Baymule]

Sounds like a lovely day!

 

[SageHill]

Out grazing again this morning. It seems sooo weird to get out a bit before 8am because it's so dark. I can hardly wait for the time change when I'll be out by 7 and done before the rest of the world to be only just getting started. Yeah - I'm one of those "love standard time" peeps.
Nothing special this morning other than the peaceful "quiet" of sheep moving and eating.
The last month or so that we've been grazing I've been catching videos of Obi working. When I had him into my vet he asked if I had video of Obi working. Of course I did - but it woefully is not all of what he does. Of course my vet loved it (he's an awesome vet ) but at that point I decided I need to make a short video that is all encompassing of exactly what Obi does out there. It's a huge undertaking - getting the video and then going through ALL of it to get bits and pieces of what I see in my mind. Video editing is not my forte' - stills you bet, I can easily power through 1,500 photos in a day. Video - ohhhhh gawd no. But it's really something that needs to be done especially while Obi is in his prime.
The lambs are growing like weeds. They are still cute, but I can already see that they've change from baby lambs to lambs. Those cherubic face pics are now a thing of the past. Such is life, they grow and that is what we all want. They do sort of come when I call them .
Got to run - have to teach detection class. (my life has gone to the dogs )
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weed patrol

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Dance moves

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[SageHill]

More of the same out and about grazing paths and road sides. Yesterday I went and helped a friend set up for
what is going to be an awesome Halloween party - she has a "native garden" - sages, pomegranates, and a lot of native bushes know idea what they all are - but she's carved a winding path through it and made Halloween "signs" on old barn board. Some ghosts here, huge "web" and even bigger spider, LOTS of "spider webbing" -- that is ~almost as sticky as real spider webs. Hundreds of little plastic spiders (she'll be finding them for years to come I'm sure!). And lots of little path and bush lighting - because when it's dark here it's black! She's got all sorts of games planned for the little kiddos. We've got other plans for that night so I'll miss, but it was fun setting things up.
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Grazing -- can you guess which one is a "arena trial" sheep???? I think I've seen him take MAYBE 2 bites in almost two hours of grazing. Yeah - ALWAYS looking for the dog.
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