Hi Albert,
5 ft is about the average feed-or-flight response perimeter that you'll
find with most blackbellies, even the tamest. Food is the overriding
equilizer if the rest of a sheep's environment is calm and normal.
There are always pros and cons for raising any breed of animal. With
blackbellies, if you want beautiful exotic animals that taste out of this
world, then you will have to put up with their over-alertness. If you want
calmer animals that are less exciting to look at and perhaps don't taste as
exquisite, then get Katahdins or St. Croix.
I'll let Barb Lee talk about pasture rotation and moving sheep. She has no
problem with hers.
I can't comment on slaughtering a pregnant ewe; don't know if it would
affect flavor or not, but I doubt it at only 1 month.
Much of the solution to the pregnant ewe problem and the concern about
startling your ewes if you threaten your ram can be solved by separating
the ram from the ewes. You will have almost total control over when the
lambs are born, thus allowing you to adjust their food quality/quantity to
the levels they need when pregnant. If you time your lambs to be born in
the fall, you can make the most efficient use of your pasture; the lambs
will grow out while eating the best grass, which increases the quality of
the meat and decreases the expenses you incur from supplementing with hay.
Just food for thought.
Carol
At 12:18 PM 8/19/2005 -0700, you wrote:
Hi Folks,
Albert Lewis from Descanso, CA...
This post is in reference to the discussion on the danger of rams as "pets."
Although I have zero interest in making my ram a pet and have had no trouble
with any challenge/ramming incidents, I think I will be even more cautious
in the future. ONE QUESTION, however. Rather than being friendly with the
ram, someone suggested making threatening motions, etc. if you do anything
at all. However their herd instinct is SO strong (in my flock at least)
that I could never/rarely behave any particular way to the ram without doing
it to the other ewes as well. How can you build a better bond with the ewes
(I have never been able to get closer than 5 ft. to one, and then only with
food nearby)? I'm considering getting rid of all my Blackbelly's in favor
of Katahdin's in order to get sheep I can move around a rotational grazing
situation with more ease. Any comments on this as well? Also, we want to
slaughter two of our older ewes (around 1 year old) but we think they might
be a few weeks/month pregnant. Is this problematic? How do you deal with
this other than slaughtering soon after they give birth?
Thanks to all.
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