October 28, 2024 On Saturday, the stubbornness of the sheep scattering across the land instead of heading to their allotment required some pretty intense pressure from me to change their mind. I can get out a bag of alfalfa pellets and still would not be able to control the flock from taking off in all…
October 26, 2024 Soon to go up to Waimea, and my friend Heather is coming with me. We will move the fences and get the sheep dewormed. Some of these six-month-old ones are still struggling with parasites, and yet lots of these ewes will be very healthy. I do cringe when giving them medicine, but…
October 22, 2024 The thrill of new baby lambs keeps most shepherds excited in their work. For me this is coming in the middle of December. However, more work and tension come at the same time. The moms will need their vaccination soon because diseases like tetanus lurks in the soil. My one tetanus case…
October 21, 2024 Greetings from Kona. These are some content sheep. The rains have been plentiful this season, so the forage is plentiful.
October 20, 2024 The physical limits of sheep require that they are able to stay upright on their chest. If they are stuck in the position you see in the video, they will act drunk. If they don’t get up in time, their stomachs expand because they can’t expel their fermenting gas. I set my…
October 18, 2024 When moving sheep from Waimea to Kona or vice versa, those individuals eventually form new bonds. In August I took four lambs to Waimea from Kona. They were raised on a bottle, and even those tame ones started bleating when their friends disappeared among the 100 other sheep. Among those four, you…
October 17, 2024 Yesterday’s shift of the sheep fences looked different this time. I normally keep the truck out of the sheep’s pasture they are occupying. However, being rushed to get everything done, I pushed down the boundary twine and rushed the truck across their field to pick up the posts and twine for the…
October 16, 2024 Healthy and content sheep do skip, jump, and do “silly” things. They also rest longer, or they sometimes butt their heads together. They might stand in a group or go out and “dance.” This place of satisfaction is easier to see in young lambs being well-fed by their moms. They will have lamb…
October 14, 2024 Sheep do have rhythms. At the first light, the flock of sheep walks as a group, covering the entire pasture, perhaps snatching bites of forage. This urge to move together is interesting; depending on the breed, certain sheep flocks stay together in tighter groups. If one finds a treasure trove of sweeter, more…