Sheep Tale I

One day about two weeks ago I heard some unusual sounds from the sheep. A baby sheep kept calling and calling and a mommy sheep kept calling back. The sheep do talk during the day, but this was much more frequent and sort of sad. I looked outside and saw Pumpernickel’s baby sitting next to the fence. On the wrong side.

I ran outside and chased her down and she tried to run through the fence and got snagged up a bit and I caught her and pitched her over the fence and then turned the charger on because Andy had forgotten to turn it on after feeding them that morning.

This was when we learned:

1. Baby sheep are not scared of the fence and will test it to see if it is on
2. Baby sheep can somehow squeeze through the fence and/or crawl under it

Sheep Tale II

We finally hooked up with the shearer and got the adult sheep sheared. We’re about a month or two late, and it’s been hot, so you’d think the sheep would have been excited about it. However, sheep are sort of stupid…or maybe they are incredibly smart. Not sure.

The shearer was scheduled to come out at noon (why the hottest part of the day??), so Andy and I went out at around 11 to try and get the sheep herded into a smaller, more manageable area. Of course the sheep don’t like to be managed and escaped the fence and we had to run around waving our arms to finally get them all contained. By that time we were pretty tired, but, alas, that was the easiest part of the day I think.

When the shearer arrived, Andy and I tried to put a harness onto one of the sheep to lead her out for her haircut. We’d bought the harness back during lambing time and it specifically said it was for sheep. I guess it was for bigger sheep because it wouldn’t stay on Sadie’s head. The shearer took pity on us and came over with an actually useful harness and snagged Pearl. He led her out of the “pen” (smallish area fenced in with the portable electric fencing we use) and tied her up to a post in our porch area. He then went back for Sadie, who wanted nothing of it. While the shearer was dragging Sadie to the shearing area, Pumpernickel’s baby flung herself at the fence and pushed her way through somehow and got away. While we were trying to get the baby back in the fence, Pumpernickel also escaped. At around this point Anya (who was on the upper level of the porch) started crying, so I had to abandon ship.

Eventually Andy got Pumpernickel and her baby into the new “pasture” where we planned to put the sheep after shearing. Not ideal but she was at least contained. Then, Andy decided to try and give the baby sheep their shots. This was when utter chaos broke out. Baby sheep do not like to be caught. Baby sheep don’t care about pesky fences. Baby sheep stampeded, and baby sheep were everywhere.

At this point I am sure the shearer was having a very hard time containing his laughter at these silly city folk trying to be shepherds. Luckily he was too busy shearing to pay too much attention.

Andy finally got the babies in the new field with Pumpernickel and her baby. I believe grain was involved. Things went fairly okay after that, and finally everyone was sheared. The shearer got a good tip.

This was when we learned:

1. Baby sheep are more scared of shots than of going through an electrified fence
2. Grain is a powerful sheep lure

Sheep Tale III

Last Thursday night was sort of chilly, so we closed most of the windows. Andy was back in the office doing something, and I was (as usual) distracted by trying to amuse Anya. Around 10 or 11, I started noticing that the sheep seemed a bit noisy. They don’t usually make much noise at night, so it seemed a bit odd. I opened the back door and took a peek out, but (duh) it was dark so I didn’t see anything. The baaing didn’t seem too weird, so I went back to my discussion of quantum physics with Anya. But I kept hearing them. And then I finally realized they were so noisy I was hearing them through the closed windows.

About this point Andy emerged and I was hunting for the flashlight and I told him what was going on. Did I mention not only was it dark out but it was foggy? I took the flashlight onto the back porch and started shining it around. Good thing sheep eyes get all reflectivey like cats eyes, or I may not have seen Pearl meandering around the yard outside the fence.

Crap.

We threw on shoes and ran outside and found that the battery on the fence charger was dead because it had been cloudy and foggy and the solar panels couldn’t make any juice. Only Pumpernickel and the white ram lambs were still where they should be. Everyone else was galavanting about having a merry old time. Well, I take that back. The two lambs were not quite where they should be; they were tangled up in the fence. One of them was very, very tangled, and I was worried we were going to have to cut the fence to get him out. Luckily we managed somehow to free him and get him back on the right side of the fence. The other lamb that was caught wasn’t tangled so much and we quickly got him freed and back in. Unfortunately, by this time the escapees had disappeared.

Our property is lined on both sides by a barbed wire fence and pine trees or shrubs. The escaped sheep had somehow made their way through the shrubs and past the fence into the neighbor’s field. We couldn’t see them, but we could hear them. They did not seem at all interested in coming back even though the ram lambs and Pumpernickel were calling for their mom/baby.

About this time I had to go take care of Anya and couldn’t help anymore. Luckily, Andy remembered the power of grain and ran off to the barn to get some. When the escaped sheep heard the grain jingling in the grain can, they came running. It was still a bit of a feat to get them back inside the fence, but it did happen.

This was when we learned:

1. The importance of making sure the battery on the fence is charged
2. Adult sheep will jump over a fence when a baby sheep has pulled it down by getting tangled in it