Well, anyone who's been in the business a few years would think so! :o) But when you live on a place that's totally un-sheep proof, and have spent the last many months working on the fences, small milestones bring a lot of satisfaction!
The four ewes have been imprisoned in the barn for the last week, while lambs are weaned. This is a big shift, because they have been living in the "ram paddock", my only secure paddock, ever since I've had them. The barn, with two nice attached paddocks, is to be the ewes' new home for some time to come. Today I did the last bit of fencing to allow them out into a tiny yard, which will give them 24/7 access to the outdoors. I want to be sure they are bonded to the barn, know that's where their food and water is, and to be able to reliably call them in for goodies before I shift them into a larger area. The yard they are in now leads out to their first paddock, and will be broken into catch pens over time. When I get my fence goodies from Premier, the paddock will be further broken up, they will be trained to 3 strand electric fence, and we will spend the winter practicing paddock shifts. They were very happy to see daylight again today! But the very best part was that they all came into the barn when called for a morsel of grain. Seems like nothing, but it means I have a measure of control, at least over their stomachs! It just seems a big deal, because it's the first step toward making the rest of the land sheep-friendly, and is the goal I have been working toward for months. The best Christmas present I could ask for right now! I am very excited to read the reports on lambing trickling in! I hope folks will continue to share as the lambs arrive! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Take care, Barb L. =============================================== This message is from the Blackbelly Sheep mailing list (http://www.awrittenword.com/listserv/index.html). To respond to this message, send e-mail to [email protected] To unsubscribe or change your membership options, go to http://lists.coyotenet.net/mailman/listinfo/blackbelly To search the archives, go to http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
