The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: colliewoman on July 09, 2012, 10:04:44 pm
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Some like to bucket train, some like to use a dog I am going to share my story of this week with my sheep....who will be going to the freezer if they don't pack it in :D
I had a phone call at 2 on friday afternoon, 'ere did ye know yer sheeps is at post office?'. Well no, obviously not I don't generally take them shopping with me. That and the fact I was in Wales at the time :o :o :o
Mass panic ensued, and I am in tears worried about my little sheeps :-[ . My friend said she will try her best to get them in but 'you know what sheep are like, can I go get your dog?'
Er he's in Wales with me. So I said just rattle the bucket and they will follow you into the jaws of hell if you wanted.
Bless their little hearts, 2 by 2 all the way from the field someone had popped them into for safekeeping (I have yet to find this person to thank them with a pressie) all through the village and out to their paddock, they didn't try and wander once :love: :love: :love:
My sheep have never met this person, yet they followed her anyway. I would highly recommend you bucket train your sheep, even if you never intend having to lead them. Mine were not the only escapees this past week, but I do believe mine are the only ones all back where they are supposed to be ;)
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I'm very glad to hear your sheepies are safely back home cw :thumbsup:
But... do you not get sheep rustlers where you are? Who apparently wouldn't even need a dog or hurdles to lead such tame woollies into a trailer... Sorry if I've just rendered all your nights sleepless...
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Mine are bucket trained, it does save a lot of hassle.
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I'm very glad you got your sheep back :-* Mine are bucket trained (mainly) too and I think the ease outweighs the worry of rustling.
Besides:
The hill sheep are sweeter but the valley sheep are fatter
We therefore deem it meeter to carry off the latter
I think someone would pinch other big sheep before my friendly little Shetlands.
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With you there Jaykay - plus I don't thing any rustler would see them if they were lying down - the grass is too long!!!
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Hi
Don't talk to me about bucket training! At the atart of the year I put some lambs over at mother in laws paddock with the intention of eating the 2 wethers and keeping the 2 ewe lambs to start a new flock with. Of course the sheep understood this and arranged a suicide pact meaning i ended up with one ewe and the 2 wethers. The time came for the wethers to go in so the ewe lamb went back for a holiday to my friends flock.
A month or so passed and I brought 2 lovely 2 shear dorset downs to put at the mother in laws so collected the hampshire ewe and settled them in at mother in laws. a nice starter flock.
The hampshire will follow me anywhere if i just hold my hand out and I thought this would help train the Dorsets, some hope.
I dorset will now eat out of my hand and follow me into the pen while the other will keep its distance and seems to know exactly how close it can come but still be too far to catch with a crook. No matter of trying has got it to follow me yet!! If i put some nuts in a bucket and leave it in the hurdles and then hide behind the hedge it will merrily trot in for a feast but at the slightest sight of me is at the other end of the paddock again.
I am loseing patience as this has been going on for a month now!! I have once managed to get her in the hurdles so got some crovect on and ckecked feet etcetera but thats it.
I have reached the point that she could go down the road and we will have a freezer full of mutton if she keeps this up - if only I could catch her!!
whats to be done with her!!
sorry for high jacking the thread, glad you got your sheep back just wish I could train this ewe!
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My Shetlands will turn cartwheels for a digestive biscuit. ;)
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Colliewoman - Glad they are back safe and sound. ;D
Wallyward - They quickly get wise :D . Our Soay are bucket trained and will come running from 2 fields away when they hear me shout. Usually they are no trouble to catch in a hurdled area. However we recently had to catch and handle them more than we normally would - heptavac, crovect and then a ewe lamb developed an abscess. She soon realised that she was the target of our unwanted attention and no way would she follow the others into the pen. She watched every move we made and just stood on her own in the middle of the field and yelled. I know sheep aren't supposed to be that intelligent but it was a real job to outwit her ::) . We had to build temporary pens between fields and all sorts.
Try moving your catching area if possible and call her in with food as often as you can without trying to catch her.
Good luck.
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Good news CW. Mine are bucket trained and for a newbie sheep keeper this is a real bonus
Sally
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However we recently had to catch and handle them more than we normally would - heptavac, crovect and then a ewe lamb developed an abscess. She soon realised that she was the target of our unwanted attention and no way would she follow the others into the pen. She watched every move we made and just stood on her own in the middle of the field and yelle
I've got two who do exactly this - far too smart ::) :D
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I'm very glad to hear your sheepies are safely back home cw :thumbsup:
But... do you not get sheep rustlers where you are? Who apparently wouldn't even need a dog or hurdles to lead such tame woollies into a trailer... Sorry if I've just rendered all your nights sleepless...
I hope not, but I always think if someone wants them that badly they'll have them no matter what I do. I know mine are distinctive so if they ended up at market sans original tags, they are still recognisable in an instant to me or my neighboring farmers.
Mine are too small to be worth nicking I hope, not with the big fat commercials around :-\
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Glad it all turned out well, all my animals are bucket trained, sheep, pigs even the Christmas turkeys follow the bucket up the ramp into the trailer in time for the big day! ;D
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good stuff, i can see me walking round glastonbury shaking a bucket. 'have you seen some sheep?' yer mate their rockin out to stevie wonder!!
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:thumbsup: brilliant!
many times I've been out with my bucket, one quick shake and I have 5 sheep jumping up trying to mug me for it. works though.
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I don't have them all bucket trained just one or two and they tend to lead the others in.
My hampshires are a bit greedy and if one thinks the other is getting more food they're there like a shot!
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Ours watch for anyone witha bucket and hammer towards them fleece flying. Very amusing
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That must have been a sight CW, your little sheep following a bucket through the village ;D . So glad they are safe and sound!
Most of mine are bucket trained, but OMG I am nearly trampled in the ensuing stampede when 44 ewes and lambs come tearing across the field and more than once I have been swept away on their backs when some have dived between my legs, I think this is their ploy to get at the food quickly :D . I now call them from a safe distance! However there are always one or two who don't follow the others and need rounding up ::) . I did try a bit of hand feeding at one time to keep them coming after they had some traumatic treatment session, but soon gave it up after I kept being mugged with sheep jumping on my back LOL!
It is funny that even the friendliest of my sheep know exactly when I have designs on them for capture, and I have to try and outwit them. Not always easy though! I have one Gotland in particular who is like a dog, will come to me for hugs etc but she is also the one who puts up the biggest fight when she's restrained ::) .
My Kune Kune pigs will also do anything for food, good job as once very early in the morning I could hear Ernie grunting. In my half sleep I thought 'aww that's Ernie'. Then realised it was rather close to the house, jumped up and saw the pair of them just disappearing out of my driveway. I ran downstairs in my nightie, put some wellies on, grabbed some pignuts and by this time they were up the lane. I rushed after them rattling the nuts and they immediately came haring back - thankfully no cars passed in this time as I must have looked a sight in my nightie with pink flying pigs on it, wellies followed by two pigs ;D ;D :pig: :pig:
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It's a laugh though when the quietest sheep who will do anything for food, when you want them they know and dissappear! it's all in the body language we try not to look at the ones we want to catch cause they pick up on it and do a runner ;D
i mean c'mon do i look like a wolf! :innocent:
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Wallyward... obviously I don't know your set up but I 'cured' one of my sheep of this doubling the size of the pen. I guess it just didn't seem like a pen to her at that size (the length of the fencing as a back and 10 hurdles as the other 3 sides) and she hasn't been a pest since. Might help!
Colliewoman... OMG.... that road in your village is pretty scary at the best of times. I will keep my ear out to see if I can find out who put them in the field for you! Lifesavers.
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Wallyward... obviously I don't know your set up but I 'cured' one of my sheep of this doubling the size of the pen. I guess it just didn't seem like a pen to her at that size (the length of the fencing as a back and 10 hurdles as the other 3 sides) and she hasn't been a pest since. Might help!
Colliewoman... OMG.... that road in your village is pretty scary at the best of times. I will keep my ear out to see if I can find out who put them in the field for you! Lifesavers.
Thankies hun, I would like to at least give them a bottle of wine :D
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Gabi is complaining now that the moorits are too tame when she goes in with the feed bucket they mob her and bang into her legs , "those horns are bloody hard ". :innocent:
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Yes, the do seem to have more corners on them than other sheep ;D ;D
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Wallyward... obviously I don't know your set up but I 'cured' one of my sheep of this doubling the size of the pen. I guess it just didn't seem like a pen to her at that size (the length of the fencing as a back and 10 hurdles as the other 3 sides) and she hasn't been a pest since. Might help!
Colliewoman... OMG.... that road in your village is pretty scary at the best of times. I will keep my ear out to see if I can find out who put them in the field for you! Lifesavers.
Hi M S & P, good idea. Have only got 6 hurdles over at the mother in laws but will take some extra over from the main flock and give that a try.