Mine love corn. It’s pretty easy to train them to follow a bucket. Of course they could get you interested in herding. lol I’ve had some pretty colorful lambs born this year. I still have 3 ewes to lamb.
[QUOTE=scrtwh;6212934]
My guys love a sweet grain mix for sheep. Congratulations. Sheep are wonderful. I have a few shetlands that are adorable and friendly.[/QUOTE]
Thank you!
I think that’s what DH’s uncle has, Shetlands.
[QUOTE=hastyreply;6213228]
Mine love corn. It’s pretty easy to train them to follow a bucket. Of course they could get you interested in herding. lol I’ve had some pretty colorful lambs born this year. I still have 3 ewes to lamb.[/QUOTE]
I’m glad to hear, I’m hoping to be able to count on mine following a bucket. 
Sadly my Collie passed away a few years ago. He would have loved herding sheep. He used to herd the neighbor’s goats back to their pasture when they escaped. No training, he just knew where the goats were supposed to live, so we’d just open the door and say “Goats!” and he’d round them up and take them home all on his own :lol:
Current dog is a mutt, probably Lab/Schnauzer cross. No herding instincts at all. She seems to think that things like sheep and the neighbors mini-donk are just funny looking dogs with extra tasty poop :lol: Though I haven’t been letting her eat the sheep poop, I’m sure she’d be happy to if given the opportunity :dead:
Newborn lambs are absolutely adorable! There’s a farm near here that does lamb petting as part of their business, and I took my son there last year. Very cute. Mine are older lambs, their combined weight at the aution was 105 lbs (they were one lot, and we bid on them by the pound) and they’re still pretty cute. I hope all your lambings go well!
I do all my own basic vet work on my sheep…vaccinations, worming, hoof trimmings…you might learn…save you alittle cash.
young sheep seem to need more frequent wormings then older sheep…at least within my breed…at they age, they dont seem to need it as much at all.
Mine get vaccinated yearly for CDT and while I have them caught up, I usually check their feet and trim if needed.
One thing I must caution you on…getting taken out at the knees…when my sheep get excited…they crowd me…just the right height to trip me up…
Feed makes them SUPER friendly…and they know who feeds them…my husband scares our sheep if he’s in there, as he never feeds them…but I can walk in there and they are very calm…
Thanks spinandslide!
I can give IM injections to the horses, so I could probably learn to do them on the sheep as well, but I’d like to see it done at least the first time around. We also have a relatively high risk of rabies around here, so I do get all my animals vaccinated for rabies.
DH’s uncle mentioned that about the youngsters being so susceptible to parasites. So I’ll keep in mind that even if fecals come back extremely high that it may not be an ongoing problem. And I’ve heard that Katahdins, which I’m pretty sure these guys are, tend to be more resistant than Dorpers or a lot of the wool breeds.
He also said that it wouldn’t be too hard to learn to trim them myself, but that I should get the goat trimmers instead of the sheep trimmers because they’re sturdier. Though it seems like a lot of the tools are marketed as sheep and goat trimmers, so I may just have to read some reviews. And maybe I can talk him into showing me the next time he’s in town.
I’ll try to remember about the tripping hazard, too :lol: So far these guys are pretty small and shy, but I’m guessing as they get braver that will be more of a concern.
yep, its not hard to do…my husband showed me how to trim their hooves…we got goat hoof shears…they work well…
Once they warm up to you…they will be under feet…LOL…be forewarned
You wil enjoy them…mabey Im weird, but nothing beats a spring evening sitting watching my sheep graze…they all have their own unique personalities…yours will too…when they arent so shy.
I imagine I’ll be the same way - I already like sitting on the back porch watching my horses, even if they’re just standing around grazing. :lol:
And I’m hoping that they’ll actually like being petted and scratched more now that they’re starting to shed (since they’re hair sheep, they do shed). They’ve certainly gotten better about tolerating it, and it seems like all that hair coming off would be really itchy.
I could certainly live with underfoot if it means they like (or even just cheerfully tolerate :lol:) being petted.
