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Denis and Jeanne
#11
Update: Jeanne has become more accustomed to us and the sheep. She eats from our hands and even approaches when we enter the field! She loves watching us in the garden and will stare for about five minutes at a time ("What are you doing NOW?!" Ears up, ears down.) She also loves the lambs and will run after them, as a game.
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#12
Aw! I can envision that. You both gardening, and Jeanne staring at you, thinking "What are you doing next?"

It's great to hear the news that she is becoming more accustomed to you and to the sheep. The more handling and human interaction she gets used to, the better, as it won't stress her so much whenever you have to give treatments, or shear them.

I saw a practical but rather sad thing the other day when walking on the 'moors' close by.
A farmer on a Quad bike was chasing a ewe about in a field. They were at some distance, across a large field from me. I kept watch, behind a hedge, on the alert in case it was some form of cruelty happening! This went on, and the ewe was obviously scared out of her wits and kept running this way and that. I saw her start to slow down, and watched to see what the farmer was going to do. She stopped eventually. She must have been at the point of utter exhaustion. Then he stopped the Quad bike, and went to her, and I watched as he gave her something -no doubt a 'drench' of some kind.
I realised that he'd had to run her like that so she had no more energy left to evade him and he could catch her easily to drench her.
But it made me so sad. That poor girl must have been exhausted and terrified.
I could see his point in a practical sense but it was so unkind. Yet probably the only way he could catch her.
If only these people had time to devote to relating to the sheep....Wouldn't that be so much kinder?

PS ...I'm glad we've added "Alpacas" onto "Sheep and Goats"! Now Jeanne and Denis have their rightful place in the forum!
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#13
Quote:PS ...I'm glad we've added "Alpacas" onto "Sheep and Goats"! Now Jeanne and Denis have their rightful place in the forum!

Now that we have Alpacas in our family, they need a place. When I set up the sections of the Forum it was late at night after many days of late nights. I am quite happy to correct any over sights. I thought of everything possible, but there were sure to be some omissions and they are easily corrected.

I am glad to hear the Alpacas are doing so well. They sound like a wonderful creatures. I sense that they are gentle and curious.

Surely there are better ways of dealing with a sheep than chasing it to the point of exhaustion. Could he have offered a treat that would attract the sheep.
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Catherine

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#14
(06-08-2015, 01:32 PM)Catherine Wrote: Surely there are better ways of dealing with a sheep than chasing it to the point of exhaustion. Could he have offered a treat that would attract the sheep?
Yes, that is exactly what we do. It is so easy! I call out to them, rattle a bucket with some granulated food (which they adore) and they came stampeding into the yard. I then close the yard gate if any treatments are necessary. It is easy to catch them once in the restricted space of the yard. (BTW for American and Canadian readers, I am using the word "yard" in the European sense, of a small enclosed bare area, not a back garden!).

There is absolutely no need to chase ewes. That is extremely stressful for them, indeed for all sheep, and they can even die from extreme stress. The trouble is, farmers are always in a hurry, wanting to make money, so they won't spend any time training sheep to come to them. They would prefer to spend lots of money buying a quad vehicle and run around chasing sheep to exhaustion in order to administer a treatment!

Not all farmers are like that. A long while ago on "Countryfile" - I rarely watch TV - I saw the presenter (Adam Henson, I think) rattle a bucket in an open field and his sheep came to him. But of course he is a sheep specialist and keeps rare breeds, if I remember correctly.

By the way, there is a special technique for getting alpacas into the yard, quite different from sheep. Once again, no need for quad bikes! We get a very, very long piece of rope and gradually, very slowly, move them towards the yard entrance. Alpacas do not challenge boundaries (whereas a sheep would just run under the rope!), so they just move away from the rope and in the desired direction.

However, recently when they see the rope we hardly need to bother. They know that we want them to go in the yard and once we approach the gate they go in without any more prompting. They know they will get a treat once inside! I suspect that soon they will come in the yard with our simply rattling the bucket, and the rope can be stored away.
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#15
Yes, the farmer and his wife who live just up the hill from me (Jet's people) don't chase sheep about like that. They are much kinder, and use the 'food method' if they need to get the sheep into a particular spot. They fix up gates and pretty roomy 'clamps' for them, and direct them in by rattling the food in a bucket, just as you describe.
They even leave food and milk out for a whole bunch of feral cats who have been around for many years, and make sure a small barn with hay bales is always available for them as a shelter.
I am glad to say they are always decent with their animals. I have no idea who owns the sheep who graze on the moors (that's a mile or two away from me) But they will not have healthy sheep if they treat them like that. And they are likely to have many abortions if they do it when they are in lamb.
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#16
There are two different attitudes to animals. Some people want to control them. It makes sense to them to chase a sheep until it is exhausted. I am sure they think they are saving time.

Does it really take longer to call the sheep to you with a treat. Instead of forcing them you are asking for their cooperation. In the end you have a healthier less stressed sheep. You make a good point about miscarriages. I am sure there are many bad things about chasing sheep and forcing them to do what you want.

When you have animals, there is always a gentler kinder way to do things.

I like how the Alpacas do things. They seem pretty clever. It would be nice if the sheep could learn from them.
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Catherine

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#17
Hi LPC. How wonderful to read about the latest addition to your animal family!
Denis and Jeanne sound like quite a lovely pair.
It looks like they have found a new "home sweet home" for themselves thanks to your gentle and compassionate caring.
We don't have to chase our goats down either.
As a matter of fact, we are daily carrying veggie scraps up to the fence for them. Especially this time of year when fresh produce is in abundance.
They can be clear across the pasture and if they see us walking toward the fence they come stampeding, lol.
At the very least they know they will get plenty of petting and maybe some dessert to boot!
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