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Monday, November 30, 2009
Why I Stay Home....People often ask me whether I go along with my husband, Rick, when he travels for work - the answer is 'not usually.'
I got most of the travel-bug out of my system before our kids arrived, and I guess I've become a bit of a homebody over the
years. It also takes a bit of organizing and extra work to be able to take off when you are leaving behind three border
collies, a dozen or more barn cats, fifty sheep, three llamas, and fifteen chickens! Someone is going to have to care
for all these animals, and that someone isn't always easy to find - especially due to the short-notice trip planning that
Rick is often forced to do!
We will both be leaving soon to pick up the two rams we recently purchased in Ohio,
so I am in the process of making arrangements for us both to be gone for several days. Our dogs nearly always stay at
Canine Corner and Cats Too in Cedar Rapids - they always have lots of fun and come home exhausted (a wonderful benefit when you have energetic border
collies!), so that is where they will be going for this trip. The rest of the animals have to be cared for in their
own environment, so we need to find someone who will come to our place to care for them in our absence.
Luckily,
I have a few friends who all have animals of their own and are willing to come in - either for the same kind of help when
they need to leave their animals, or for some other trade. They will have to feed and fill the waterers for the chickens
every couple of days, plus collect the eggs daily. They will also have to fill the automatic cat feeder in the barn
every couple of days - especially because we now have one cat who likes to dig all the cat food out of the feeder, and then
none of them will eat it once it hits the floor! What a mess! I wish I had a good fix for this, but we are still
working on it!
Finally, whoever comes out to help with the animals will need to feed three different groups of
sheep a total of about two-hundred fifty pounds of hay, one group about three pounds of grain, and fill the ram's water bucket
- all done every day that we are gone.
Feeding the sheep is not something that just anyone can come out and do,
though. There is more to "feeding sheep" than just dumping food into troughs or feeders.... Sheep are
notorious for not showing obvious signs of illness until they are nearly dead, so whoever feeds them must always be looking
for signs of illness: sheep who don't move with the group, sheep who keep their heads down, who are maybe limping or moving
oddly, or sheep who shake or rub or cough or.... Well, you get the idea. Feeding time is the perfect time to check
them all out because they are all milling around while waiting for the feed, and whoever is feeding can get a good look at
them up close - something that isn't always easy when they are out in the field.
We don't necessarily do much the
first time we see a sheep "acting off" but we note it down for the next day. If that same sheep is again
not acting normally at the next feeding, we quarantine them and take a closer look. This is the reason that many farmers
will tell you that "A sick sheep is a dead sheep." Usually, by the time they are obviously sick, they are
near death. As prey animals, they understand that any sign of weakness will be locked onto by a predator, so they keep
illness to themselves until they are too far gone to hide the symptoms. To catch it early, you need to be vigilant and
look very carefully. We have found that if you can catch the problem early, most of the problems can be resolved fairly
quickly, and the "sick sheep" can return back to the flock as a picture of health!
So to get back to
the original point, no, I don't travel a lot with Rick. We try to arrange trips so that one of us can stay and take
care of the animals. There are usually too many arrangements to make before we leave together, and we don't usually
make them unless we're both traveling for a holiday or some other special trip - or unless we're picking up sheep!
Well, I'd better get back to making those plans for our ram pick-up trip....
Friday, November 27, 2009
Celebrating and Being ThankfulThanksgiving at our place is much like Thanksgiving at most homes across the U.S. - with one rather unusual
addition.... We not only celebrate with a big turkey dinner ourselves, but we also make sure that all of our animals
have something to celebrate, too.
It all begins early in the day, just after our stuffed turkey goes into the oven.
Because we eat our big meal in mid-afternoon on Thanksgiving, we try to get all of our chores done early, giving us time to
relax before and after the meal. As soon as we've got the turkey cooking, we head up to the barn to give each sheep
and llama a small amount of grain (about a quarter-pound per sheep), scattered on the remnants of the day-before's hay.
We can't give them too much grain, because a sudden change in diet like that could make them all quite sick, so we give them
just a taste to celebrate the day.
A few hours later, we go back out to the sheep to finish our chores: feed
out 200-250 pounds of hay, a bit more grain for the bred ewe lambs and Zoe, and refill the ram's water. Then we can
enjoy our own Thanksgiving Day dinner!
After the big meal, we pick the turkey carcass as clean as possible, putting
all "pickings" into one of three containers: human food (leftovers), dog food, and cat food. When we are done
dividing, we add a bit of filler (like bread or pasta) to the cat dish, and send it out to the barn with one of the children
(this year, Heidi took Wednesday's pre-Thanksgiving cooked turkey entrails up to the barn, and Alex took Thursday's
turkey skins, cartilage, etc. up there). It always helps to call the cats when feeding them so that the huge meal is
eaten by more than two or three cats who are hanging around the barn, so the kids are told to shout out, 'Heeeeeere,
kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!' at the top of their lungs. Inevitably, the kids are amazed at how many cats come running
from all corners of the barn and through the many doors.
The dogs, too, get to celebrate in the house. We
divide the turkey-picked dog food into three relatively equal portions in dog dishes and let each dog have their share.
I'm not sure, though, which they enjoy more: the turkey or the whipped cream they get for dessert. It has long been
a tradition in our household that after the pie is served for our own dessert, each of the dogs gets a squirt of canned whipped
cream in their dish to top off their doggie-meal, and the dogs await their treat as soon as they hear the sound of the
first piece of pie being topped with whipped cream. It is funny to watch them try to control their eagerness as they
wait for their turn for the cream!
So, as another Thanksgiving fades into memories, I can't help but again
count my own blessings. I find myself thankful for the more obvious ones: Rick, my family and our many friends
(especially Karen, who is not only a close and treasured friend, but also edits this blog for me, correcting any errors),
for my health and ability to continue doing what I love, and for my home that is not only a roof over my head, but a
place to experience the wonders of life and death with my flock, and also to rest and restore myself. As I consider
my many thanks, though, I find that I am also thankful for things that are not so common....
I am thankful
for my three border collies: Coda, who will work with me to move my sheep in ways that a human being alone never could, and
will immediately step between me and a charging ram to take the hit meant for me when he could just as easily have run and
saved himself. Lisa, who first taught me the joys of working in partnership with a dog, and who teaches each new puppy "manners"
that no one else can. Chance, who is still (at nearly 18 months) such a goofball that he keeps us laughing many an evening
- whether he ever herds my sheep properly or not! I am thankful for Luca, Chachi, and Vinnie, our llamas, who live with
our sheep, guarding them day and night against the many coyotes and other predators looking for a quick meal. And I
am thankful for our sheep, who have filled my life with joy, lambs, and fleece. Who could ask for more!?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Reminders of the PastWith my niece, Heidi (9), and my nephew, Alex (11), here for the week, I once again have live-in help!
It has been a lot of years since our two kids, Justin and Ashleigh, lived here and helped with chores - I had forgotten how
much fun it could be to share the ins and outs of our sheep business with a younger generation!
 Our theory has always been to allow kids of any age to help to the level of their ability - with adequate supervision, of
course! That hasn't changed, so when it comes time for chores each day this week, I have always asked the kids to come
and help.... Inevitably, both Heidi and Alex have come along, with Greg, my brother, following along with the camera.
It is amazing how much help two relatively young assistants can be!
In the past couple of days, they have climbed
both of the piles of hay in the stalls and dropped hay bales to the ground that were just too high for me to reach.
Yesterday, Alex carried 200 pounds (in 50 pound bales) from the storage in the stalls out to the feeders and loaded them
in! Not to be out-done, Heidi carried her own 50 pound bale over to the closest feeder, too. This whole hay-carrying
competition reminded me so very much of days gone by when our own children competed to see who could carry more, who could
trim the twine the fastest, and anything else they could think of!
Both Alex and Heidi learned the importance of keeping the sheep out of the area while working with hay,
loading the bales with knots on top (so that the knots don't get caught in the hay underneath when you are removing the "strings!"),
and then how to clip and remove all the twine from their bales. Alex then also learned the difference in both the look
and feel of alfalfa hay vs. grass hay - he caught on surprisingly quickly!
Heidi found that she could
hand-feed the llamas some of the grain blend - something none of us has been able to do, although I must admit that we
also haven't tried very hard.... The kids also learned how to move the llamas using their bodies for blocking - another
technique all of our helpers learn right away.
 Along with all the work that our chores involve, there is always time for finding the fun waiting for us.... Neither
of the kids consider kicking or flipping down bales from the tops of the piles work - they would knock those bales down all
day, if we had enough space for them all near the ground! Heidi also found it to be lots of fun to "fly"
out of the split door that closes off the stall with all of the grass hay. Somehow, no matter how important or difficult
chores may be, kids can somehow also find the more entertaining aspects, too.
It's been quite a while since I did
chores with our own young kids, but I must admit that having Alex and Heidi here with us this week sure takes me back....
Monday, November 23, 2009
With New EyesI am here feeding sheep, changing their coats, giving llamas injections, and generally working on this
acreage to some extent every day. Because of that, I forget some of the "cool" aspects of what it is
that we do here. One day begins to fade into the next, and pretty soon, they all tend to seem the same...until we get
company! There is something about looking at what we do with new eyes that brings out the interesting and the unusual
- and it has already begun! With Thanksgiving coming this week, my brother (Greg) and his two kids (Alex and Heidi)
have driven nearly halfway across the U.S. from West Virginia to spend the week here with us on our small acreage in
Iowa, and to visit "Oma" - my mother, who lives in Cedar Rapids. It's funny how, suddenly, our routine
has become interesting, and the "norm" has become exciting! Whether it is bringing in the eggs from the
chicken coop, or changing coats on the ewes who have torn them in the timber, there are things to show, explain, and watch!  We loaded the rest of the hay into our barn last Thursday, so all of the stalls are filled to the top with grass hay, which
will be fed out four bales a day for the next month or two - a perfect "mountain climbing" experience in the flats
of Iowa when you are nine or eleven years old! Hiking out to the timber holds many possibilities - last time they were
here, they brought back cattle bones that they had found, dating from over fifteen years ago when cattle grazed our property. Now that Rick is back at work (and not helping me with chores, as he did after my surgery last week), the daily
project will be making sure all of the sheep have enough food, water, and salt/mineral mix for the day. With my
right knee still slowly recovering from the surgery, I need help getting the livestock fed - and, hopefully, our visitors
will help fill that role for the next few days. At this time of year, I am feeding out two hundred pounds of grass hay
and fifty pounds of alfalfa hay each day, making sure all salt feeders are filled (if not, that's another twenty-five
pounds to carry out to the feeder!), and filling the water for the rams, who don't have an automatic waterer like the ewes. I am sure that, in the process of completing the "chores," we will also find some fun. I have
found that there is something about the presence of kids.... They seem to notice the new, the novel, and the fun/funny
in places that the rest of us normally don't even look. I'm sure that will be true this week as we enjoy our
visit with Greg, Alex, and Heidi, and see our farm and our lives through their eyes.
Friday, November 20, 2009
I'm always "just looking"Rams are an easy part of the flock to ignore, but are also very necessary for the health and growth of
the flock. It seems like every time I think I am "all set" for rams, I find that something comes up and
my ram flock is changing again....
I currently have eight rams: four Romney and four CVM/Romeldale. The four
Romney include Ira, our "homegrown" white ram lamb, and three recessively colored rams from Tawanda Farms in
CA: Graham, Geoffrey, and Goliath (originally named Theo, Tommie, and Brutus, but renamed according to our system of naming
by year of birth). The four Romeldales include Ivan, a ram lamb whose sale ended up falling through so he is again waiting
for a new home; Hodgins, who is also for sale; and Ignatius and Ink, the "homegrown" ram lambs I used in breeding
the Romeldale flock this fall, and that I'm thinking of keeping for a while.
I like to use at least two different
rams for each breed so that prospective buyers can put together a "mini-flock" consisting of a small group of ewes and
an unrelated ram. It also allows me to keep ewe lambs from either ram and still be able to use those same rams the next
year without breeding the ewe lamb to her own sire.
Because the Romeldale breed is so rare, it is sometimes difficult
to find good quality, unrelated rams to breed our flock. Any ram that we bring in must be top quality; his genetics
will likely become part of our flock for years to come! This is true, not because he will necessarily have a place within
our flock for that long, but because his genetics will be part of each lamb crop for as long as he is here. Since
our replacement ewes come from our own lambs, his genetics, as carried by his daughters, will continue on in our flock
long after he is gone. For this reason, it is important to choose our rams carefully!
 So, when a good friend in Ohio decided to sell off her entire flock of Romeldale/CVMs a month or so ago, I did think that
perhaps I should look at the rams she had - just in case there were any remarkable rams there. But with hay to get into the
barn, breeding season ending, and my knee surgery coming up, it fell between the cracks, and I missed the opportunity - or
so I thought! It wasn't long after the ewe flock sale that she e-mailed me: it turns out that she has two rams that,
at least on the surface, might interest me. They are both recessively colored, carry genetics resistant to scrapie (a deadly
sheep disease), have great fleece, and very correct conformation.
I really don't need a new ram though....
I like the guys I used this year - they fit all my criteria for our flock rams, and they are still young. But on the
other hand, should I ever pass up unrelated rams without even looking? Not really, so I looked. Just to see what
she had.... You never know - they might be just too good to pass up!
 Well, I'm sure you figured out that, in the end, I didn't just look, but also bought these two rams who are totally unrelated
to most of my flock in the last four generations. One is a solid dark brownish-gray, and the other is a CVM. Each
one has a gorgeous fleece and is very well built, with a nice blocky look to him.
So now, I get
to plan a trip to Ohio. I hate long drives, and this will be one of them. On the other hand, it will be good to
see my friend, Chris, again when we pick them up at her farm. So much for "just looking" - I should have known
better!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Zoe Leads the LambsZoe is our oldest sheep, older than most sheep ever get to be on other farms, but we don't
routinely "retire" sheep here based on age. Our sheep continue to breed and produce fleece until they
no longer do it well. Zoe was ten years old this past spring and still produces a soft, lovely colored fleece
every January in addition to two or three wonderful lambs each spring. She produces enough milk that her
lambs grow well, so Zoe is still here, happily living and producing on our farm. Because of who she is, she will likely
be here until the day she dies, production or not - she has earned a special place in our hearts. 
We bought Zoe and one of her daughters, Belle, from a small place just north of us in the summer of
2006. Zoe and Belle tended to keep to themselves that first summer, not wanting to mingle with the rest of our
flock - and that was OK with us, if that was how they felt. Once the breeding season came and went, however, I realized
that although Zoe had been bred and was carrying twins, she was also losing weight rapidly while in with the adult ewes -
not a safe condition for her or her lambs. Since that was our first year breeding ewe lambs and they were
getting the higher protein alfalfa hay rather than grass hay, I decided to put Zoe in with the ewe lambs to give her
the extra nutrition. Belle was left in with the adult ewes eating the grass hay - she was doing fine there!
Oh, my, what a ruckus that caused! Belle had never before been separated from her mother - even by a fenceline
(although she was an adult four-year-old ewe at the time!) and wanted us all to know how miserable she was! Belle "cried"
- bleating for her mother - for days, walking back and forth along the common fenceline and refusing to eat. Zoe, on
the other hand, started out by calling for her "baby," Belle, but soon realized that there was alfalfa in the hay
feeder in the barn, and abandoned Belle for the hay within hours. Eventually, Belle, too, gave in to hunger and actually
became one of our adult ewe flock. They still enjoy each other's company when they are together, but they are no longer
"glued together" like they were back then.
It turns out that putting Zoe in with the bred
ewe lambs that year was a stroke of genius! Not only did she bring her weight back up so that she was once again in
good condition, but as an older, mature ewe, she had a lot of patience and experience to share with the young ones that
surrounded her. She is now the only sheep in our flock that actually has a job: she teaches the bred ewe lambs
how to become producing members of our flock, and she excels at her job!
Young sheep are known to be
"skittish" - they tend to bolt when afraid, and they seem to be afraid of almost anything - especially our working
dogs. They are also often unsure about hay feeders when they come out in the fall - these lambs have spent their lifetimes
eating grass from the pasture, and are not initially comfortable getting their nutrition inside the lean-to or barn from
these big rectangular boxes. Zoe helps take care of all of these issues and more! The ewe lambs rightly see Zoe
as their sub-flock leader, and she leads them by example to do the things they need to do. She teaches them to move
easily away from the working dogs rather than running at the sight of them. She teaches them to come into the lean-to
to eat hay when the grass is dwindling. She is like a "granny sheep" to them, helping them cope with that
confusing first year....
Zoe is not the most outgoing sheep on our farm, nor is she particularly nervous.
She has just about the perfect combination of healthy suspicion and curiosity, keeping her out of trouble but allowing
her to enjoy new foods and experiences. Because of those traits, she is the perfect leader for her young sub-flock of
ewe lambs, teaching them about danger, but also showing them how to enjoy some of the occasional perks. Every year,
we marvel at what a great job she does with the "little girls," and hope that she has at least another year in her
- and so far, she has not disappointed us.
This year, Zoe has five ewe lambs in her "little-girl-flock,"
which includes her own 2009 daughter, Itasca. At least four of them (including Itasca) have been bred and are carrying
one or two lambs of their own, and I expect that Zoe, too, is carrying twins. Because of her many wonderful traits,
we have kept many of Zoe's daughters in our flock and sold many others as breeding animals. Belle, Grace, and Hannah,
are all Zoe's daughters from previous years, and also part of our flock. I only hope that, when the time comes, one
of them can fill her mother's hooves as the "granny" to the "little girls."
Monday, November 16, 2009
Harmony in the PastureMany people seem to be surprised when they hear that not only do all of our sheep have names (based
on the year of their birth, with 2001=A, and the coming 2010 lambs to be named beginning with J), but that I can also recognize
each of them as I walk in the pastures. Sheep are a lot like people in that they each have their own personality - some
are cranky, some shy, and yet others are very friendly or outgoing. As our lambs mature into adult ewes, their individual
personality begins to come through so that, by the time they deliver their first lambs, they are easily recognized by face/build
and by behavior.
 And, like within a group of people, certain personalities stand out.... Harmony is the first of these that comes to
mind. She is a white Romney among a lot of white Romneys in our flock right now. As a lamb, we had to supplement
her with a bottle from time to time because she was born the year that the shearers brought in sore-mouth (which is thankfully
now gone!) and her dam, Celeste, lost one side of her bag to sore-mouth and mastitis. Celeste was able to feed one of
her twins, Heavenly, but did not have enough milk for Harmony, so she would get occasional bottles from us. Harmony
learned at a young age that people brought good food and warmth in the midst of a cold, cold spring - her outgoing nature
had her running to us each time we appeared in the barn with bottles, hopping into our laps and snuggling in under our open
coats to enjoy her bottle and some love.
Harmony is now a one-hundred sixty pound ewe, but has not changed much!
Whenever I enter the adult ewe pasture or paddock, one white ewe will immediately separate from the flock and come running
across the field toward me calling and bleating her welcome. It reminds me of those romance movies where the long-separated
couple run in slow motion across the field into each other's arms - the difference being, of course, that Harmony is not a
person, she does not run in slow motion, and we've usually only been separated twelve hours at the most!
Although
it can be intimidating to stand in place as an adult ewe runs full-tilt at you, Harmony has never run me over.
As she gets close, she will lock her legs and come to a full stop just inches in front of me, leaving four tracks
in the grass as evidence of her rapid stop. She will only welcome me this way if I am alone, as strangers do intimidate
even her. What she really wants when she gets to me is a scratch under the chin, a piece of apple or carrot, or
a nibble of grain. She loves to follow me around as I attend to my business, even if I come empty handed. She
is probably the most outgoing of our "girls" right now, which is unusual, even for a bottle lamb - and unusual because
her mother, Celese, is very stand-offish, and sheep often inherit their disposition from their parents.
Many people
love coming home each day to be greeted by their dogs or cats, who run up to meet them at the door - my "greeter"
is Harmony, and there is never any question as to which sheep she is! Harmony is the white sheep bounding across
the pasture with her 20+ pounds of fleece flopping in the breeze - just like she's in a love story!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Hey, I'm Thinking Hay!There are a lot of things that are important when you have a flock of sheep: a good vet, other shepherds and shepherdesses
for advice, good starter animals, good fencing, etc. There is one thing that really stands out this time of year, though,
and that is good hay! During the summer months in Iowa, our sheep have a variety of pastures
through which we rotate - all of them are lush with bluegrass (a flock favorite) and clover. We don't worry much about
what they are eating during the spring, summer, or fall - we know they are out there in our own pastures, building themselves
up on all that new growth.
There comes a time every fall, however, when the grass begins to slow its growth and
I begin think about hay for the winter. Our acreage is not so big that we can feed our sheep all summer and also make
some of it into hay for those non-grazing months. We buy our hay from Triple H Hay Farm in Springville, Iowa, and have
for years. Many years ago, our daughter (Ashleigh) bought a very old and very thin horse who was very fussy about
his hay. As we searched for high-quality hay that he would eat, our vet suggested we try Triple H, and we've bought
our hay there ever since.
When I first started buying hay, I couldn't tell the difference between grass hay and
alfalfa hay - in fact, I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell the difference between hay and straw, if we're really being honest!
In our first year with livestock, we made our own grass hay for our sheep and horses, and bought maybe thirty bales of alfalfa
for the sheep's gestation and lactation. We've come a long way since then! Now, I can even tell the difference
between different types of grass hay, and we buy somewhere around nine hundred bales of grass and alfalfa hay for each winter!
This time of year, I somehow can't stop thinking hay.... I worry about whether they will be able to get that
last cutting of alfalfa that we typically buy. I worry whether I have bought enough of each kind: grass and alfalfa.
I worry whether we can get it all into the barn - if we can't, I worry about whether the weather will allow us to get the
second load in when we need it (we always seems to run out during the January snow storm!). I worry about
whether we'll be able to find anyone to help load the hay into the barn - we're getting to the point where we're breaking
down about as fast as some of our equipment, and help is becoming a must! I worry whether, when I test the various loads
of hay, our alfalfa will be high enough in protein, or whether I will have to purchase a grain blend to supplement during
gestation and lactation. Basically, this time of year, I do a lot of "hay worrying."
It is a good
thing that all of this worrying is almost over! Next week, the rest of our hay will be delivered. We
think we have figured out a way to put the entire winter's hay into our small twenty-four foot by forty foot barn: mostly
in the loft, with some of the grass hay (that is eaten first) into the stalls that we will eventually use for shearing in
January and then lambing in February. The plan is for the sheep to eat all of that grass hay stored in the stalls before
we need the space early next year - we will see how this plan turns out!
Somehow, once the hay is loaded
in and the samples sent out for testing, I don't worry so much about hay anymore. At that point, the decisions have been
made, for better or worse, and there are other things to think about: my knee surgery is next week, followed closely by Thanksgiving.
After that, we will be ultrasounding the bred ewes in early December to get fetal counts for each ewe and determine late gestation
feeding from those results. And on, and on. Hay will become something that we have to ration out to the flock
each day and nothing more....
But for right now, I am thinking hay. Whenever someone asks me what I'm thinking,
that's what it is - did I get enough alfalfa? Will we actually get six hundred bales in the loft? At least, at
this point, I know that this week, my thoughts can turn to other things, and the hay will be put up for the winter.
So, do you think I should have gotten more grass hay.....?
5:07 pm | link
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Trip to the Sales BarnIt took a bit of effort yesterday, but I finally did get the two yearling rams, and then the ram lambs and wethers into the
trailer, headed for the sales barn. I decided to put a partition into the trailer to separate the older guys from the
smaller ones so there would be no aggressive "ramming" while they waited overnight for the trip to the auction.
I actually ended up having the most trouble getting the older guys in! The yearling rams that had to go have
been biding their time with my other adult rams in a paddock near the barn. The problem I ran into yesterday was
that I needed only two of the ten rams currently in that paddock. Initially, I thought I would try to get them all into
the trailer, and then off-load the ones I didn't need, but after several tries, it became obvious that there were a few who
just didn't want to take the step up into the trailer. I finally got one of the guys I needed (Hayden), along with a
friend, so I called that good, barricaded Hayden in behind the partition and pushed the friend out. Now, I just
had to get Hosea, the other yearling ram who had to go. Hosea does not like the dogs. He grew up on a farm
where they never, ever saw dogs, so Hosea is very dog-sensitive. As soon as Coda came out to work in that paddock, helping
me to get the rams into the trailer, Hosea jumped through the electrified seven-wire fence into the neighbor's pasture.
He then spent all of the time it took to get the other guy into the trailer crying and baa-ing at us to let him come back
- although he didn't want to be near the dog, of course. So that gave me an idea.... As soon as I
got Hayden into the trailer, I took Coda and we went through the fence, too! As soon as Hosea
got one look at us on the same side of the fence, he was convinced there was no better time than the present to go home, and
jumped back through to our side! The only hard part was when I came back through and forgot that the neighbor's fence
isn't electrified at the third wire like ours is - his is electrified at the fourth wire - OUCH! Once Hosea, Coda and I were back on our property with the trailer, Coda and I simply caught Hosea,
walked him (struggling, of course) over to the sliding door of the trailer, slid it open, and when he saw his buddy in there
with no dog, he was convinced that it was the best place for him - and he jumped right in! After all that, the
little boys were fairly easy to load - Coda shepherded them over to the open back of the trailer (by now, I had both other
rams secured behind the partition), and when I shook the bucket of grain - since it was feeding time - they hopped right in!
I got hay bags and water for everybody at the barn and left them to relax for the night. We drove to the auction
early this morning - in order to be on the road to the Kalona Sales Barn by seven with all my chores done, I had to get up at five. I wanted to get there relatively early so that I wouldn't
have to wait all day to see them sold. I was in luck, though: I actually got done early enough that I was on the road
by 6:45 a.m., and they were sold by ten! The worst part of taking my sheep to auction is not knowing where they
will be going, but coming a close second is having to back up the truck with the trailer so that the back of the trailer hits
the "off-loading area," which is none too wide.... Every time I go, there are guys standing around inside
that area, watching as I back the trailer in. I don't know about you, but I don't have a lot of experience in backing
up trailers, so I inevitably turn the wheel the wrong way, resulting in the trailer getting way off course! Today was
no exception. I'm just glad they don't make any comments when I walk back to unload the sheep! In the end,
this trip was a great success, with all of our sheep selling for a much better price than I had expected. We usually
keep our lambs until December when prices are a bit higher (since most shepherds will sell off their lambs
once grazing is done in October/November), but with my arthroscopic knee surgery next week, we decided to take them before I
had health issues keeping me away from the fields. It turned out to be a good decision, and now we can go
ahead and buy the rest of our hay for the winter! Things are falling into place - for now anyway!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Trying to Outsmart ChachiDry, clear days are always better than wet ones on our farm. I do have to admit that we need a
certain amount of moisture for our grass to grow for the sheep to graze, but we have had an overabundance of rain this year
and I really, REALLY appreciate these nice, sunny days! Today's project was to move our guardian llama Chachi,
currently living with the market lambs, into another area. This sounds pretty simple, but sometimes it is, and
sometimes it isn't! The last time I tried moving one of the llamas out of one group of sheep and into another was when
I tore up my knee chasing Luca in September. Because of that experience, I went into my project today allowing plenty
of time, and choosing a nice dry day.... I've known for the last week or so that I needed to move Chachi: the ram
lambs and wethers (castrated ram lambs) who are currently still grazing in our timber will be going to auction very early on
Wednesday morning. To get them there early enough on Wednesday, I will be loading them into the trailer on Tuesday afternoon/evening.
Rick is out of town, so Coda and I have to do it ourselves - unless I hire one or two kids to help - certainly a possibility,
but I'd like to try to do it myself.  Anyhow, in order for Coda to be able to help me get the lambs onto the trailer, I need to get the llama out of
there. Chachi does a nice job guarding the sheep, but he isn't so good at following Coda's orders to load into a dark
trailer, and I can't afford to have him lead those lambs astray.... During this time of year, I feed that group
of lambs several pounds of grain each day to fatten them up a bit for the auction. Chachi likes grain, so I thought
I might bribe him into the adjoining pasture with the grain bucket. Once I got him in there, I could just close
the gate behind him and open the gate to where the girls are grazing, letting him join them at his own pace. It was
a good idea, but Chachi is getting to know me too well: if I am offering him grain without offering it to the sheep,
he gets suspicious and won't cooperate. So, once that failed, my second plan was to get him eating grain
with the ram lambs out of the feeders that happen to be next to the very same gate. Since Chachi
feels uncomfortable near people, I was hoping I could keep walking towards him, opposite the open gate, "pushing"
him through the gate with my presence. Another good idea, but, by now he knew something was up and just outran
me, circling back to the feeders and his friends, the ram lambs. OK, so if I didn't get him moved today, tomorrow
was never going to work - I knew he would prevent the ram lambs from entering the trailer tomorrow, so I HAD to
get him out of there. I finally modified my second plan by doing something my mother always told me NOT to do: I ran
with sticks in my hands. Please don't tattle on me! In fact, it was two sticks, one in each hand. I grabbed
two long branches, which extended my reach, and again tried "pushing" Chachi towards the open gate. This time, he couldn't so easily outrun me, as my arms were each now about ten feet long, thanks to the branches.
I also had an advantage because I had accidentally left the empty grain bucket in that same adjoining pasture. The combination
of me running towards him with my "huge arms" and the unsupervised grain bucket was all that it took: he ran into
that area to check out how much grain was left in the bucket. There was none, but I slammed the gate closed behind
him as I had planned, and I had successfully separated him from his pals, the ram lambs. Now, the project tomorrow
looks do-able: get eleven ram lambs and wethers into the trailer for a good meal of hay and a trip to the auction.
We usually don't make this trip so early in the fall, but with my knee surgery now scheduled for next week, things
will be much simpler for whoever will cover for me after the surgery -- if I can only get those eleven lambs loaded
tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed for me.....
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Amazing Guardian LlamasSheep are a uniquely defenseless animal, bred by man over the centuries to be calm and docile. Because of this, sheep
are eagerly hunted by many predators in the U.S., including coyotes (63% of losses), dogs (16% of losses), mountain lions
(4%), eagles (3%), bears (2%), foxes (2%), bobcats (2%), and others (8%) [for more information on losses and other statistics
regarding this topic, go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1527.pdf].
There are many ways to protect sheep, and here on our farm, we use a variety of methods to ensure that
our lambs will grow to adulthood and that our sheep are safe. Besides the seven-wire high-tensile fencing with two electrified
wires around each pasture, one of the biggest safeguards we have are the guardian llamas we purchased nearly two years
ago. Their sole purpose is to live with and protect the sheep.
There are several animals that are used
as guardians for sheep in the U.S. - dogs are, by far, the most common, but donkeys and llamas have also been found to work
well. Because of the statistics, we started with a Great Pyrenees dog, Abby, in 2004, but although we worked with her
for three years, we found that our acreage was not large enough nor the right shape for her to work only our farm. After
three years and much soul-searching, we placed Abby into Great Pyrenees Rescue of Eastern Iowa (http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/IA164.html), where she found a new home on a larger acreage in southern Iowa, and we replaced her with our three guardian llamas - Vinnie,
Chachi, and Luca.
We purhcased gelded males, who have been shown to be the least expensive and most effective option.
Because they are guardians rather than fiber animals, their fleeces are hairy and not particularly desirable, so we shear
every other year - not for the fleece, but for the comfort of the animal.
The llamas are an interesting bunch....
They hum as a form of communication. They "air spit" at each other, at people, or at other animals as a form
of warning. They don't actually spit at people, usually, but are willing to spit at other llamas as they fight over
resources like food. They are independent thinkers, not inclined to follow the sheep so much as lead them. They
are normally separated so that each is in with his own group of sheep: Vinnie is in with the rams, Chachi is in with
the ewes, and Luca stays with the lambs. At this time of year, when last spring's lambs are sold and gone, and the ewe
lambs are brought in as part of the adult ewe flock, Chachi and Luca work together to guard the females of our flock, while
Vinnie remains with his rams.
It is not uncommon to see one of the llamas grazing with a sheep at his side or underneath
him. When Coda, our Border Collie, runs out to move the sheep, the sheep will immediately run to their llama for guidance
and protection before settling down to move for the dog. Thankfully, two of the three llamas have been trained to move
for our dogs, so only Vinnie needs to be caught and haltered to move from one area to another - the others move with the sheep.
I have seen these llamas do incredible things. One day, as we watched out of our kitchen window, Chachi began
to run towards the timber while Luca swept around the ewe flock and herded them up to the barn. When the ewes were
settled around the house and barn, Luca ran out to the timber at top speed to help Chachi. As we humans ran
to the timber to see what was causing the commotion, we found the two llamas facing off against our western neighbor's dogs,
who had come through the fence looking for entertainment. It was an amazing sight - especially since these same dogs
had, years before, harrassed our sheep and caused several injuries in the days before our guardian animals.
Another
time - on a beautiful, cloudless day last summer - I noticed that Vinnie's coat was wet on one side. Since this was
one of the few dry days last summer, I came closer to investigate what he had gotten into.... I ran my gloved hand along
his side, and came to realize that he was not wet with water - it was blood! A closer inspection revealed that it was
not his blood - he had tangled with some other animal that he obviously considered a threat to the flock! We never found
the remains, but it was obvious that the other animal had not fared well in the battle....
In our region of Iowa,
coyotes are a common sight on the roads and in fields. Coyote tracks used to abound as we took walks around our acreage,
and their howling is/was a common interruption to quiet summer nights. Since first Abby, and then the llamas have been
standing guard over our flock, we have not lost any animals to predation - a record we hope to continue! At least I
can sleep well at night, knowing that our sheep are well protected by our trio of llamas. Vinnie, Chachi, and Luca are
hard at work - and humming!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Every Problem Has a Solution - Eventually!OK, I admit that I spend a lot of time with my sheep, and sheep are not known for being the brightest
bulbs in the animal kingdom. I am also getting to that age where you might say that I've passed the end of my warranty
- and like a vehicle in the same situation, I find myself with one or more things starting to fall apart, and I'm constantly
needing to repair parts of myself.... My next anticipated "repair" is arthroscopic surgery this month on
my right knee, which gave out a couple of months ago. I am currently wearing a knee brace just to keep moving: carrying
hay to feed the sheep, climbing the steps to the barn, etc. The knee works, but cannot carry a lot of weight and my
balance is not so good right now. (Remember those two facts.)
So, a couple of days ago, I found myself in
an unusual position.... I had a small group of market lambs grazing in an unfenced area of our "front yard"
- a big two-acre area in front of the house that we have not yet enclosed. I kept the sheep there using temporary
fencing that was connected to the corner of one of our permanent pastures. The temporary fencing was thirty-six inch
tall mesh, attached to the corner post, and wired electrically to the hot wires of the permanent fencing. I had arranged the
650 feet of mesh so that it was somewhat like the letter P, with the base of the P attached to the corner post and the sheep
grazing inside the loop at the top of the letter. This worked out great, but to get to all of the rest of my sheep,
I had to cross the mesh fencing that ran between the permanent fencing and the market lambs - the base of the letter.
I had decided to take some pictures of the flock, but didn't plan on getting into the pastures with the sheep, so I didn't
take my cell phone with me. I basically grabbed the camera and headed for the sheep. When I got to the mesh fencing,
I did what I've always done for these many years: I slung my right leg across the electrified fence, careful not to touch
it for fear of being ZZAPPED! Electric fences are good in that when you've touch them once, you never forget to avoid
them - ever again!
It was in this position, with one leg on either side of the fence, that I came to a sudden
realization.... My right leg was now in a brace and unable to support my weight as I tried to bring my left leg
over the fence! Worse than that, I am one of those people who leads with the right leg, and so did not have the balance
to bring my right leg back over the fence to where my left leg stood. Here I was, trapped with one leg on either side
of this electrified mesh fencing, and no way to move either leg over to the other side! DRAT! And the fence was
ON! Double DRAT!
So there I stood....out standing in my field. By now, all the market lambs had come
over to watch my predicament - at least somebody was amused! All I really needed was to hold onto something - either
to maintain my balance so I could return to where I began, or to help carry a bit of weight on my right leg as I lifted my
left to the other side. I just needed to hold onto something, but there was nothing nearby - nothing. I waved
at cars passing on the road - they all waved back. We live in a very friendly area. I knew Rick was out of the
country for a few more days - I couldn't stay stranded there until then! I had to figure a way out of this mess!
Well, eventually, I did realize that I could very carefully walk down the length of the
mesh fencing to either the top of the P or to the base where it connected to the permanent fencing. Once I made it to
the permanent post, I could carefully hold onto the top of the post just enough to swing one leg over. I had finally
found a way out of my predicament!
OK, so I never claimed to be that smart.... (You remember my first sentence?
That sheep are not so bright and I spend a lot of time with them....)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wild Barn Cats and CiderLike most farms in this area, we have a number of barn cats in our barn to help control rodents. I say "a number"
because we have no idea how many are there.... There are people from "in town" who, when they get tired of
their cats or their cats become sick, drop them off "in the country" to fare on their own. Most of these town
cats unfortunately end up dead because they don't have the skills - and often the claws! - to survive on their own, but occasionally,
they get lucky and wander onto a farm with a sheltered barn. And sometimes, a very few of them end up on farms
where the people actually put out food for their barn cats, like we do - they have a self-feeder of dry cat food that we refill
when needed. The wild cats much prefer what they can catch to the dry, so usually the dry is only eaten when
their hunt is unsuccessful. The first cats in our barn new barn in 2000 were cats that had been abandoned
near our home, and that our daughter, Ashleigh (then in high school), would find in the fields or timber. As long as
the kids were still here in the summers, they would spend enough time in the barn to tame any kittens. Unfortunately,
the kids are now adults and gone, and our barn cats are fairly wild as a result of their isolation - with the exception of
Tippy and Gwendolyn (Gwennie), who are hold-overs from the old 'kids-at-home' days. Being so wild makes it a problem
when one of them gets sick beyond the slight sniffle or superficial scratch. There is no way to handle these cats easily,
and the only way to catch them is in a 'fishing net" or the "live trap" that we keep in the loft of the
barn - they are just much too wild to handle! So, with that background, all of last week, every time I went into
the barn to measure grain or get bales of hay for the sheep, I could hear a very sick cat: coughing, wheezing, and having
trouble breathing. I kept looking for the cat with the problem, but there were just too many nooks and cranies
in the barn for cats to hide, and I had no luck. Finally, yesterday afternoon, I found the cat.... Actually,
she is only a kitten. By the time I found her buried in the hay in one of the currently unused hay feeders, she was
in really bad shape: barely breathing and then her breath was raspy, with both eyes and nose full of thick discharge.
This kitten was only a baby - maybe six weeks old would be my guess - and I couldn't just let her die in my barn....
The vet's office was closed, but I knew that an anti-biotic was part of the answer, so I got Rick to hold her and gave her
a bit of Polyflex (an anti-biotic I eep on hand and use for the sheep). She is so small that I didn't want to overdose
her, so I gave her the smallest amount we could get into the syringe and brought her into the house.  To make a long story short, "Cider" is now temporarily living in our powder room next to the garage, eating
heated canned kitten food, and drinking kitten formula from a bottle three times a day. The Polyflex has done a good
job knocking the infection down, but we have an appointment at the vet this afternoon to possibly get something more appropriate
for her. I figure we will get her feeling better and get a little more weight on her (she is very thin....), and then
take her back out to the barn. The interesting part of this cat story is the fact that (1) I am allergic to
cats and must not let them into the house - except this time, I guess, and (2) Cider has her own sentry/guard at the powder
room door! I'm not sure, however, whether the sentry is so much to protect the occupant or, more likely, to consume
the occupant.... Lisa has been camped out, with her nose against the space under the door, since Cider came into the
house. Lisa, who has an extremely strong prey drive, is very dangerous around cats. Our cats know that their
domain is up near the barn, and the dogs (especially Lisa) know that they are not allowed near the barn unsupervised - they
must stay near the house. This "truce" has worked fairly well over the last seven years. I am a little
concerned about Cider becoming too comfortable near the house, but we brought her down in a box, and will take her back that
way, too. Hopefully, that way she won't connect all this good food and warmth with the house! We have gotten
her to love attention, though - as much as Tippy or Gwennie. She sits in my lap and purrs as I talk to her and pet her.
We've had to be very careful with her in the house, with Lisa so close. She has won our hearts, though. I wonder
if she will take up Tippy's habit of sleeping on top of the sheep during the winter....
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