SageHill Ranch Journal

[farmerjan]

NICE looking carcass.... good flesh.....

I would love to have a mobile butcher in this area.... and to find a reliable poultry slaughter place again.... I love to raise them, but not going to start the killing process and all that by myself again... I would be willing to buy the plucker if I could find someone that wanted to do it and use my equipment in exchange for getting mine done... some sort of barter situation... I would be raising a bunch again... and I want to raise some turkeys again... need to slaughter the culls...

That's neat that they actually compete ......

 

[SageHill]

Poor Zo. I've been teaching him his flanks (go bye [clockwise] and away [counter clockwise] in the corral and he's been doing really well. We skipped Monday and Tuesday and tried yesterday. Poor Zo. He totally freaked out as he got close to the barn. TOTALLY. He's never freaked out. He was on his way back to the house. I always have a slip lead so I finally managed to get that on him. He kept looking up to the hills. Sigh - he's not reacted to coyotes on the graze, but could it be a pack? Or maybe a rattlesnake? Or maybe a mountain lion? I kept looking and following his gaze - nothing. I had a sneaky suspicion what the problem could be (even though I was looking for another reason). Yup, you guessed it, the spot of Monday's harvest. I walked him around calmly on my part, with putting a reassuring hand on him every time we stopped. Not a 'you'll be ok, poor boy' hand, just a firm solid hand on his back. Babying a dog through a fear is a sure fire way to encourage and cement the fear. Poor Zo, tail tucked to his ears (if it would reach). I got him so he was pretty much not shaking. Then debated if I should attempt to work him on the sheep. Finally decided give it a shot. He did one fast loop around, came to a screeching Risky Business / Tom Cruise sliding stop at the far end of the corral. He would. not. move. Sigh. We worked through it. Took a ton of time - but it takes what it takes once you dip your toe in the water. First getting him to move on his own (not a time to use a lead), then a recall repeat repeat repeat. God bless the sheep - they first just stood there seemingly to say 'what the heck is wrong with him? That's not the Zo we know.' Then they all came up behind me all nice and calm. Zo was torn, what to do? But he was still semi-freaked out. More recalls (and after every recall he'd retreat to the far corner). Added in some happy push/shove and laughter that helped break the ice, but after a bit that was too much. Poor Zo. Then with a lot of encouragement and the best sheep in the world Zo finally went for a spin. And then he was ok. We worked the flanks and he did well. It took a ton of time. Way more than I had planned to spend at the barn -- I had cookies to bake. As we were walking back I checked the time - 30 minutes until it was time to put sheep away for the night. Sigh. I decided to put them away early. Zo, on lead again, had to pass what he perceived as the scene of the crime - he wasn't happy at all, but not as bad as a little earlier. I had him sit on his box while I fed and put sheep away. He managed to stay on his box. Gotta love early puppy training and strong foundations. Zo - he's a sensitive guy. I'll see how he does this afternoon - but will be ready for a rerun of yesterday. Should be somewhat better, but always plan for not. The good news in that is he did work. So I think things will be fine.
Grazed this morning and the sheep found a new munchy - it's either Coyote Bush or Stansbury's cliffrose according to my phone. I'll do a little digging to make sure what it is, then I'll put it in the Wild Graze. My guess is coyote bush - though both are native to this area.

 

[Ridgetop]

Wonder what had him so upset!

 

[Mini Horses]

@Ridgetop Probably the smell of blood. He herds, plays fence.

Your tolis would herd the flock to safety, then search for the attacker -- without your permission or agreement! . Poor Zo...he detected the unexpected danger/damage, no clue what to do.

 

[SageHill]

Quick Follow Up -
This afternoon Zo was much better. Still very concerned walking over the general area, but he went right to work with his flanks on the sheep. another day or two and he will be like nothing happened. On another but similar note - I can pick up our frozen packages tomorrow afternoon!!!
Zo on his Go Bye flank

Zo on his box

@Ridgetop more than likely the smell of death. Same reason some dogs are
petrified of the vet's office. 'Tis my take on it. Oh and I happened to find the brass casing
-- thinking perhaps that ~could~ have been part of it - but Zo could care less about that.
He asked if it was a treat!

 

[Bruce]

Copy, paste and print. Mamma Wall’s Eggnog can become your family tradition.

I can attest to the yumminess of Mamma Wall's eggnog. More work than picking up a half gallon at the store but like everything else made with fresh ingredients so much better than factory mass made stuff.

And no, you can't use frozen eggs. If one happens to have spring chicks that start laying in Nov/early Dec, you are in fat city.

 

[Baymule]

Zo freaked out, but you calmly worked him through it. You let him know that you had his back and gave him confidence. I say well done on both of you.

 

[SageHill]

Merry Christmas All.
We've been out grazing a lot lately, just haven't posted - though I do have some things to add to the Wild Graze.
Typical grazing morning, sheep enjoying picking and choosing what they want and grabbing huge mouthfuls. I love seeing that. Had a chat over dinner with a friend who has sheep for training dogs. Big operation. She grazed her sheep many years ago before all the herding teaching. It seems there are two mindsets (or perhaps more than that).
One - the sheep will eat what you make them eat, especially if they are hungry enough, and almost opposite that the sheep will eat what they need to eat given the chance. In both cases the sheep do get enough to eat - no one is starving their sheep. You all can guess my mindset - and I admit, it's one that has evolved over the now three years of doing what I'm doing - taking them out, moving to areas on the ranch to let them graze on what they want. I pick out an area, and put them in the area using one of the dogs. Then I wait - telling the dog to "graze" - which is stop moving them and find a good perimeter for the area and become a fence. I'll wait and wait for the sheep to put their heads down to eat. Here is where my friend and I differ - 10-20 minutes of standing and not eating is telling me they don't want what is at or near their feet (though now I don't wait very long - a minute or two --- why waste grazing time!). I move on to another area. My friend says they will eventually give up and start eating - that's the way it was when she grazed. Such is life. I don't think I'm doing anything new, nor is she. We're just of two different mindsets. I've bought lamb (freezer campers) from her years ago, tasted good, but typical lamb flavor. Mine - all whopping one that has gone to freezer camp tastes more like beef?? OR rather does not have the typical lamb flavor. Such if life - I'll learn more as my journey continues in this. And food for thought.
Today's grazing also had the usual coyote experiences. Three this time (though I think two sightings could have been the same coyote - dark in color, the other was lighter).
The other day I had one walk up closer and closer until I aimed for a headshot when it quickly left. Not happy with the walking closer to us. Will be having a more serious deterrent sooner than later.
Good news for today - shot at two (by the time I was ready for one of them it has disappeared into brush). Both hits and rather than do the jump and trot away it was beat feet fast take-off. YES. That's what I want (well what I want is never to have to deal with this - but then that's a wish).
I was hoping for a possible Christmas lamb - but looks like it's not to be - perhaps a New Year's lamb?
.......
That's definitely NOT Obi or Zo!

Not flustered at all.- they have their Obi and me looking out for them - though sometimes they will
stare off intensely in another direction. Sometimes they are right - so far the only one who
has any accuracy with the "stare off" is Stripe.

 

[Mini Horses]

They are OBVIOUSLY getting enough to eat!! . Market ready. That's actually a handsome coyote. Not missed a meal I'd say.

 

[Baymule]

It sounds like you need a “more”deterrent, like a permanent type fix. That’s too bold and too close.

I’ve seen coyotes in my front field, it sure is nice to have it fenced in. I’ve seen tracks at the pond and right up against the fence in the back field. It’s going to take awhile for me to get that field fence line cleared and fenced.

Coyotes howl at night and all 4 of my dogs howl with them.