Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Baymule]

A hard trip, but well worth it for what Maxwell can bring to your flock.

 

[Mike CHS]

I miss Ringo!!! When you want to rotate to another paddock, you just go to a gate and call his name. He would head that way and not long after, the ewes would follow along and we would all walk through the gate or gates depending how far we were moving. Max ran through the netting while we were setting up and in with the senior ewes so I had them follow me into another paddock while I moved Max back to the original one. This time I left Teresa at the gate where the hot wire was connected to make sure it was hot this time. He tested it three or four times and finally decided it hurt enough to leave it alone but he still wasn't in the paddock where I wanted him. I went and got some feed but he was obsessed with staring at the ewes and not paying any attention to me.

The better graze is in the paddock I wanted to move him to, not to mention the water so I went and got Lance. Max's home farm has a Border Collie so he knew that game and after getting pushed up the field a bit, he decided enough was enough and butted the heck out of Lance. Max got bit for the effort and I'm pretty sure that was a first since he backed off and started playing the game a bit better but still not going where I wanted. About this time Teresa came home so we got both Sassy and Lance in the field and started pushing him up the field. Max decided enough of that two dog stuff and went trotting up into the paddock where I wanted him.

Tonight we start working on getting his trust (without the dogs).

 

[frustratedearthmother]

The dogs sure do come in handy and I'll bet they were happy to have some work. But, I'm sure you'd like Max to be as well behaved as Ringo was so you don't have to use the dogs. Has he discovered animal crackers yet?

 

[Mike CHS]

He hasn't gotten that curious yet but I'll start putting a couple of Animal Crackers in the feed bowl. It takes time. Even Ringo wasn't the way he is now when we first got him. It was only a month or so when he discovered that a brush felt good and he just kept getting better from there.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I guess Max was sizing up the new routine....and Lance and Sassy aided in his decision making.....I'm sure it won't take too long before he knows the gates and gets with the "program".....

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm pretty sure Max has never been bitten before. Sassy won't counter attack but Lance will every time and most sheep don't try it a second time. He has worked cattle so he's pretty tough.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

It's going to be fun following your journey training Max......

 

[Mike CHS]

It's going to be fun following your journey training Max......

It's more a matter of Max training me as to what he will tolerate and what he won't. I already learned he doesn't like to be double teamed by dogs so that's a plus. The dogs work well as a team and I haven't seen a sheep yet that won't go in the opposite direction when both of them are working.

 

[Baymule]

It may take Max awhile to come around, but he will. He may not know it, but he just won the Ram Lottery and he has a great home.

 

[Mike CHS]

It may take Max awhile to come around, but he will. He may not know it, but he just won the Ram Lottery and he has a great home.

I'm patient and he so far seems to want to be a partner so it should work pretty fast.