Ridgetop
Herd Master
What color will that bitch puppy turn ut to be? She is considerably darker that her brother.
SageHill Ranch Journal
- Thread starter SageHill
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #972
SageHill
Herd Master
She'll probably turn out similar to Ree. Deeper red than Obi or Zo. That's what my breeder in Belgium says.
Of course a crystal ball would be really nice ---Ree-ly
nice. (I have sooo much fun with Ree's name!)- Thread starter
- #973
SageHill
Herd Master
It's November and I'm finally back at it. YAY and YAY back to grazing, it's been way too long.
Went out both yesterday and this morning. Temps in the hig 40's to lo 50's to start. Makes for less of a rattlesnake issue.
We've had no appreciable rain since ?April I think. I think one or two occurrences of water from the sky to make things wet, but that's it. It is SO dusty out here any movement of sheep or dogs or utv produces clouds of the dust. Cough cough.
The ranch is crunchy brown, and needs to be munched down so when the rain does come it can get to the ground. So on that note, and I NEED to get out there, and remembering @Ridgetop saying the nutrition in the brown stuff is concentrated when compared to the green, oh and that we've got the new lambs that need to get out (thinking from the past how tasty they turned out) it was GET OUT NOW!
I've not had lambs all this close in age - most are within a 48-72 hour window - and they act as a group. A crazy run around, race around, get into trouble in spite of mama ewes trying to keep track on them. Funny to watch as the lambs will chase out of the barn and do laps and lamb races - as they do the ewes seem to take turns watching the group of wild ones.
Taking this group out is a lot different than the spring crop of lambs. The spring lambs would pretty much stick with their mama ewe. Still silly, but not this crazy.
Took the flock out to just outside the turn out pasture and they did graze down quite a bit. It was a bit of work for the dogs - Obi and Zo - but they managed nicely. Obi the old pro (God love him) and Zo the active teenager. Obi seems to understand the lambs and mostly waits them out - LOL even if they do a race loop around him. Zo, on the other hand is a bit more active in trying to keep them together racing ahead of the lamb race to bring them back. He's getting more patient, but heck it's only been two days and the lambs ~seem to be settling down.
After going back in the first day I thought to myself that I should have taken the flock down to the meadow or to one of the hills. Then I remembered the spring when I had to carry a lamb back because it was tired. HA - well with them all so close together in age I think I made the right decision to head back and not go further out. We'll work on distance. Yesterday was just gazing close by, today we did a little bit of moving along a ranch road which went amazingly well.
Graze yesterday.... Obi the Pro
Graze today - Zo the active teenager
Moving down the ranch road today --Zo, and OH OH THE DUST
Went out both yesterday and this morning. Temps in the hig 40's to lo 50's to start. Makes for less of a rattlesnake issue.
We've had no appreciable rain since ?April I think. I think one or two occurrences of water from the sky to make things wet, but that's it. It is SO dusty out here any movement of sheep or dogs or utv produces clouds of the dust. Cough cough.
The ranch is crunchy brown, and needs to be munched down so when the rain does come it can get to the ground. So on that note, and I NEED to get out there, and remembering @Ridgetop saying the nutrition in the brown stuff is concentrated when compared to the green, oh and that we've got the new lambs that need to get out (thinking from the past how tasty they turned out) it was GET OUT NOW!
I've not had lambs all this close in age - most are within a 48-72 hour window - and they act as a group. A crazy run around, race around, get into trouble in spite of mama ewes trying to keep track on them. Funny to watch as the lambs will chase out of the barn and do laps and lamb races - as they do the ewes seem to take turns watching the group of wild ones.
Taking this group out is a lot different than the spring crop of lambs. The spring lambs would pretty much stick with their mama ewe. Still silly, but not this crazy.
Took the flock out to just outside the turn out pasture and they did graze down quite a bit. It was a bit of work for the dogs - Obi and Zo - but they managed nicely. Obi the old pro (God love him) and Zo the active teenager. Obi seems to understand the lambs and mostly waits them out - LOL even if they do a race loop around him. Zo, on the other hand is a bit more active in trying to keep them together racing ahead of the lamb race to bring them back. He's getting more patient, but heck it's only been two days and the lambs ~seem to be settling down.
After going back in the first day I thought to myself that I should have taken the flock down to the meadow or to one of the hills. Then I remembered the spring when I had to carry a lamb back because it was tired. HA - well with them all so close together in age I think I made the right decision to head back and not go further out. We'll work on distance. Yesterday was just gazing close by, today we did a little bit of moving along a ranch road which went amazingly well.
Graze yesterday.... Obi the Pro
Graze today - Zo the active teenager
Moving down the ranch road today --Zo, and OH OH THE DUST
Mini Horses
Herd Master
When I was breeding the mini horses & donks, the foals would play together and then settle into a group to lay & nap! You'd see the mares take turns at babysitting close at the pile of babes, letting others wander just a little further out. Very orchestrated.
. I love herd dynamics.
Hen's with hatchlings are amazing to watch!
. I love herd dynamics.Hen's with hatchlings are amazing to watch!
Ridgetop
Herd Master
I supposed you could trundle a wagon with you for the lambs when they get tires. Better idea is to train a couple of sheep to pull the wagon and you can ride back! LOL
- Thread starter
- #976
SageHill
Herd Master
Oh gawd, don't give me any ideas
- you do know that when I had the Tervuren I had a 4 dog hitch right?! Still have the cart. But I can see loading it up with tired lambs (who are hooligans to the n'th degree) and watch them hop in and out of the moving cart. Wish I could draw decently, it would make a great cartoon!
peteyfoozer
Herd Master
I got Boone a pulling harness but have yet to use it. I need some heavy stuff dragged back to the house from shipping container but I’m too sick to go out there. I will use the time in recovery to figure out what I can hook him to for the task…
- Thread starter
- #978
SageHill
Herd Master
Another cool morning. Great for a little grazing - LOL just Obi and me. Zo hurt his paw yesterday, on the underside of the right front the pads are fine, but between the pads is red. With the crunchy brown vegitation he more than likely pounded his paws into brush - a few days off, spritzes with my cure all Bactine and he should be good to go again.
Obi did great, ohhhh those wild hooligan lambs -- racers I tell ya'. Obi is so good and so patient with them but never loses them and always brings them back. Once outside their "play pasture" they settle down thank goodness!
Thanks to last year's grazing in the green I identified a lot of what they were eating. While it's all brown now, I can't tell what everything is, but I still can identify some of it. Today's forage of choice - Telegraph Weed.
Here's pics of the two brown lambs - both are ewes so they'll be staying to see how they grow out.
Obi did great, ohhhh those wild hooligan lambs -- racers I tell ya'. Obi is so good and so patient with them but never loses them and always brings them back. Once outside their "play pasture" they settle down thank goodness!
Thanks to last year's grazing in the green I identified a lot of what they were eating. While it's all brown now, I can't tell what everything is, but I still can identify some of it. Today's forage of choice - Telegraph Weed.
Here's pics of the two brown lambs - both are ewes so they'll be staying to see how they grow out.
- Thread starter
- #979
SageHill
Herd Master
Nice crisp morning. Perfect for grazing. This time just Obi Wan, last time Zo worked through a lot of weeds with tiny stickers/thorns - not as bad as tumble weeds, but still left him with pink sore paws. He's almost good to go again. Should be good later this week (though it's supposed to warm up again). The lambs of course thought the morning should start with lamb races as usual. They started on their first lap only to be thwarted by Obi who watched and figured out a good intercept point. It wasn't until then the silly hooligan lambs realized their mamas were on the way to the gate and not back in the corral with the feed bunks! I have to admit once they noticed that their behavior changed into a stick with the flock mentality. And even better --- time to eat.
We did the full loop so that took a long time. When I started heading back one of the younger lambs decided perhaps laying down was a good idea. That told me I really did pick a good time to head back. Of course, about 5 minutes before that Obi started moving the grazing flock in a direction that would head home. Dang dog - he's always right!
Interesting to note, and I've probably said it before, the dog knows when to move them on, even just a little bit to prevent over grazing an area down to nothing.
Because we haven't been out there grazing due to warm/hot weather and it's accompanying rattlesnake activity, everything out there is at about the same height. UNTIL we start grazing. Check this out - first an area where they were grazing, and then the area next to where they were, it's where Obi pushed them ever so slightly.
Grazed area.... (you can see in the far background where they are now grazing)
Foreground where they were, and sheep in the taller stuff grazing.
It never ceases to amaze me how this all works. When one has to stand out there and just watch there is so much to see and learn if you are open to it.
The yummiest thing out there was the telegraph weed both what is green and the dried out brown as well - as it was last time out. The other brown stuff is tasty once the telegraph weed is pretty much stripped down.
I have to admit once they noticed that their behavior changed into a stick with the flock mentality. And even better --- time to eat.We did the full loop so that took a long time. When I started heading back one of the younger lambs decided perhaps laying down was a good idea. That told me I really did pick a good time to head back. Of course, about 5 minutes before that Obi started moving the grazing flock in a direction that would head home. Dang dog - he's always right!
Interesting to note, and I've probably said it before, the dog knows when to move them on, even just a little bit to prevent over grazing an area down to nothing.
Because we haven't been out there grazing due to warm/hot weather and it's accompanying rattlesnake activity, everything out there is at about the same height. UNTIL we start grazing. Check this out - first an area where they were grazing, and then the area next to where they were, it's where Obi pushed them ever so slightly.
Grazed area.... (you can see in the far background where they are now grazing)
Foreground where they were, and sheep in the taller stuff grazing.
It never ceases to amaze me how this all works. When one has to stand out there and just watch there is so much to see and learn if you are open to it.
The yummiest thing out there was the telegraph weed both what is green and the dried out brown as well - as it was last time out. The other brown stuff is tasty once the telegraph weed is pretty much stripped down.
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Ridgetop
Herd Master
I like the length you are getting on some of those lambs. Really nice. Those brown ewe lambs are really cute.
