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 10, 2024
October 8, 2024 When sheep are huddled together, it shows their design kicking in. In a fierce storm, they will stand so tightly together it helps them to stay warm enough. When dogs come raiding that flock, they also try to huddle tightly together. I know as an earthly shepherd, when all the sheep heads…
October 7, 2024 Lambs raised on a bottle can surprise you with their behavior after they are weaned. Some of them stay loyal, coming to me even when I don’t have any treats to offer. Some are stubborn, doing exactly as they please, which makes them inconsistent leaders for the flock. Others act like I…
Stubborn sheep. But they can change too. One of this year’s bottle fed lamb’s personality really demonstrated independence. He would often be in a different area of the paddock, then start crying his heart out not just for milk but for them to pay attention to him. Yet he was the one that missed his…
This last lambing season, I ended up with four lambs that got rejected by their mom, or their mom died. Also, two additional rejected lambs showed up, and those were adopted by other mama ewes. Yet one of those adopted lambs fell behind, and it later revealed that the two-teat milk supply was on one…
It still amazes me that the bottle-fed lambs never seem to be satisfied. They got fed five times a day with milk, given treats like grain or haole Koa branches I know they love. I keep an eye on their water, their safety, and make sure that they are given enough medication so internal parasites…
Willful and stubborn sheep polluting their land 200 hungry sheep and no sheepdog makes it crazy difficult to push them into their prepared paddock. To safeguard their health and also from getting out onto the road they have to obey my voice. But their heads are down, each doing their own thing. The majority are…