Hard at Work

The kids hard at work putting in cedar posts in the new sheep holding pen at the new farm.

Long Weekend

I spent the long weekend up at the new farm cleaning it in preparation for us to move in.  These are some of the photos I took.

First dinner at the new farm.

Woods are full of wildlife so The Boy placed his stealth camera out every night.

Plenty of hiking was done.

Wild flowers along the creek.

Watching out for wildlife.

Beautiful skies.

More evening sky.

Future sight of grazing sheep.

Home sweet home.

Traces of wildlife

Gardening while in good company.

Cleanup and bonfires.

Chain of Shame

We are still learning about our livestock guardians dogs as much as they are learning their job requirements.  We discovered that Delilah is wonderful around the sheep.

Her calmness and quiet presence relaxed the sheep early.  Within days they accepted her amongst the flock.

I could easily leave her untethered at night in the barn or outside all day with them.  I never feared she'd hurt them in any way.  At only 10 months old, she is amazing.  I haven't even noticed any rough play with the lambs which is common in LGD's of that age.  Yep, I felt confident with Delilah guarding over the lambs.  The goats, however, was a different matter.

Especially the pygmy babies which she became far too excited over.

I'm pretty certain she's never seen a goat before.  They either brought out the predator in her or she thought they were a predator moving in on her flock.  Even if this was the case, poor Delilah ended up wearing the chain of shame.

I actually just learned about the use of a drag on adolescent dogs which the timing couldn't be more perfect.  I actually was thinking of Samson who would benefit from the drag, however, today it was Delilah who reminded me that no matter how mature she acted, she was still just a pup.

Moving

I can finally reveal what the big change in my life is going to be.  I'm moving!

To wide open spaces.

Where the sheep can graze all day long.

It's a rundown, abandoned property but it comes with 100 acres which half is wooded.

And yes, with a natural spring creek running through it.

But because the place has been abandoned, we have our work cut out for us.

But I enjoy the challenge and hardwork.  It will be a busy summer.

Training

I spent Mother' Day outside most of the day supervising the sheep and lamb on the electronet.

Some (the sheep) knew exactly what it was and required no training, the others (the lambs) needed to learn while others (the kid goats) needed a repeated lesson.

I took them out in separate groups.

For the purpose of less crowding and accidental pushing or shoving into the fence.

With each group, I took a LGD out with them.

True, one got more attention then the other.

And I'm almost at the point they can go off leash...within the electronet.  But not when the sheep are inside.

Not that the dogs require imprinting on the sheep, they are very much aware of them and feel part of the flock.  Especially Samson, the male.  However, it is the sheep who have to accept the dogs.  In their minds still, they are predators.  It will take time and trust development for that to happen.  But they are making progress.  That's them sharing some shade under the trampoline.

But they only accept him while he is tethered, when he is untethered, then his movements spark alarm in the flock, which sparks a stampede, which can harm a lamb.  So they remain tethered for now.

LGD

LGD, if you didn't know, is the abbreviation for Livestock Guardian Dog.  They come in many different breeds bred specifically to guard livestock, mainly sheep.  Though many people use them to guard goats, chickens and even themselves.  I wanted them for my sheep.  But since I lock my sheep up at night, I never really had a purpose for them.  With the number of ewes increasing in my barn and the number of lambs I'll be keeping over summer, I figured the barn will be mighty crowded and hot over summer so sleeping outside under the cool evening air would probably be best for my sheep's health.  But not if they were attacked by a coyote.

So I began my search for a LGD, and preferably not a puppy as I wanted them to be able to go to work asap.  But short of funds, my budget did not include paying big bucks for an older well trained LGD.  Then yesterday I noticed an online ad for two Great Pyrenees being given away for free.  I immediately contacted the owner and learned they were born in a born, raised among sheep and were already working dogs.  So why free?  It turns out they are both still fairly young.  One is not even a year old and the other is almost a year and a half.  They are virtually still puppies.  And like most puppies, like to play with their playmates.  And like most BIG puppies, they don't realize their own strength.  The result was an injuried lamb.  The shepherd wouldn't have any of that and put them up on kijiji.

I think there was more to it as I'm not sure that is uncommon in young LGD's.  When we went to meet them, they were filthy and covered in yellow urine stains, had mats all over their body, and were severely underweight.  The female has a leg or hip issue and the male is beyond timid.  However, neither has an ounce of aggression in them.  I suppose with the combination of their appearance, their super sweet personalities and our budget, we took a chance on them and brought them home.

The female, Delilah, is your typical long haired Great Pyrenees with badger markings.

She is friendly as can be, however since they were honest enough to inform us of the lamb hurting, I decided it would be best to keep them caged over night.

The male, Samson, is a short-haired Great Pyrenees crossed with Maremma, or at least that is what is written on his health record.

They were both bought from the same breeder and from the same parents but not the same litters.  I don't question Samson's mother was a Great Pyr, however have my doubts that Samson's dad was a Great Pyr or a Maremma.  Though I realize that badger markings are common with the breed, I don't know if having them over their body is common.  And besides, he's much smaller than his sister who is apparently the youngest of the two.

Not that it matters to me whether he's a purebred or not, just as long as he's mixed with another guardian breed.  And according to the owner, the male was the better guardian.  They both naturally joined with my flock when they arrived at the farm.  Actually, it was Samson's safety zone.  He felt more secure blended in amongst the sheep.

The my sheep had a much different reaction.  Most of them feared the dogs who thought nothing of walking amongst them as if they belonged.  The sheep, however, saw them as predators.

I really have my fingers crossed for these two and hope they work out.  Their personalities have so won me over, I just hope their working skills will also.

Happy Day

First day out to pasture is always a happy day.  The ground is not really ready to take the heavy onslaught of my adult ewes but it is perfect for a handful of meat lambs and one babysitting momma ewe.

Change

The blog has been quiet these last couple weeks as I have been a bit preoccupied.  Change is in the air.