Dogs with jobs

[BCSnob]

Is there any interest in stories about dogs doing farm jobs? It is lambing time.

[BCSnob]

During this morning’s (before sunrise) sheep check I found a new set of twins and a single. I was able to lure the mother of the twins into a pen without a dog. When I picked up the single and held it out to lure the mother she ran off and would not come back to her lamb even after I set it down and backed away. Fortunately we locked all the sheep in the barnyard so she could only go so far. I got Lee to help. Goal was to get the mother and some other sheep into a large stall in which I could catch the mother and lead her through the barn into a pen. She would not go into a stall not even with some of the other sheep. I grabbed a crook, had Lee bring her with some of the other sheep into a corner of the barnyard. As she ran past me I hooked her neck with the crook and then grabbed her. I picked up het front legs and walked her into a large stall and locked her in. I then put her lamb in a pen and the Lee and I pushed her from the stall, through the barn into the pen with her lamb.

Sheep hate night herding; as prey animals this is when they are the most vulnerable and fearful (panicky). The sheep’s panicky reaction often makes the dogs excited which the sheep sense increasing their anxiety.

[BCSnob]

Quick update on our numbers as of 8am Feb 20:

Ewes lambed: 25 (out of 55)
Singles: 5
Twins: 20

[Crowe]

Just precious!

[BCSnob]

Trying out my legs

[BCSnob]

This video was sent to us.

What do you do if your sheep pasture is on an island that doesn’t have a ferry landing?
Use a boat

[BCSnob]

6 new mothers since I’ve been at work

[ppine]

Babies coming every day.

[BCSnob]

The first due date for lambs was Saturday Feb 15. We started checking the flock for lambs last Thursday. Saturday afternoon the first lambs were born. The ewe and twins were out in the middle of the field by themselves. Almost by themselves; Wendy our Kangal (livestock guardian dog) was nearby keeping watch over them.

The job is to move the ewe and twins to a pen in the barn. I carried the lambs low to the ground (ewes know their lambs are on the ground not floating in the air) to lure the ewe to follow; Lee followed the ewe making sure she stayed with me and her lambs. Some ewes are scared of us more than drawn to their lambs we’re carrying; the dog needs to focus on just that sheep (not any of others) and prevent that ewe from running back to the birth location or to the rest of the flock. Mothers, especially new mothers, will turn on a dog; the dog needs to stay off far enough to not elicit the ewe to turn but be ready to stand up to the ewe (or at least not loose control of the ewe) if she turns on the dog.

Lee was being a bit too pushy (excited) and caused this ewe to turn on him. He stepped out of the way to not get hit but did not loose control of the ewe. We got the ewe and twins into a pen. Video 1 is of the ewe and twins on Sunday right after they were turned out of the barn.

I’ll post more stories later. We have 21 lambs as of 7:30am Tuesday Feb 18

[BCSnob]

Our sheep give birth out on the field or in the barnyard; their choice. After birth we bring the ewe and her lambs into a pen in the barn; to ensure the lambs are milking, the ewe and lambs are having no issues, and to aid in the bonding process (ewes can reject lambs and lambs can wonder off before bonding is strong). We put ear tags in the lambs to identify them. We treat the ewe for intestinal parasites, and trim her hooves. Once we know the lambs are strong enough to keep up with the ewe and the ewe will keep track of all her lambs; we turn them back out into the field.

[Crowe]

Adorable!

[BCSnob]

I’ll come back with more info in the “jobs”; for now here are two videos of ewes with their day old lambs.

Video 1

Video 2

[BCSnob]

Sorry, it’s been a bit busy here. Let me start with a small intro for those who don’t know about us.

We are not the typical RVers; we use our RV for housing at dog shows (sheep herding competitions). We set up camp in a pasture on the host farm along with many others; no hook-ups. Keeping sheep goes hand in hand with training our dogs for competition. The sheep pay for their up keep and improvements on the farm through the sale of adult sheep and lambs.

We have dogs for two different functions; protection of the sheep from predators and herding the sheep.

[ourtravels]

Yes, please!! I love working sheepdog tales. Love the lambs, and how the dogs interact with them.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I love reading about your dogs!!! And seeing cute kids (the lamb kind - I have plenty of cute human kids...LOL!)

[Little_Kopit]

Yes please. All kinds of jobs.

:B