Sheep

Those horns are REALLY hard!

But that isn't what this is about. I have to give a bit of background first.

This time of year we separate the boys from the girls. This is so the lambs will not encounter constant bullying from the boys. Sheep can be very territorial when new animals are introduced to the flock. S, this is for the lambs safety. The poor little critters have to deal with the other ewes bugging them and pushing them out of the way. A large set of horns doing the job is not really a healthy option for a growing baby.

So, Thomas, and Harry both migrated to their boy-house. They were NOT happy about this. Harry still bellows as often as possible to go back to his girlfriends. Thomas is far more reserved. But, after a few days they have calmed down, and accepted their own little barn filled with straw, hay, and even their own light.

Of course this little barn is not a real barn. It is more of a very sturdy shelter. Made from salvaged and scavenged pallets, metal, and wooden boxes. Inside is a hayrack, and even a wall so the two boys don't have to "share" the space. the only downfall is that it is a very confined space. Great for sheep, not so great for people. Really bad for people and sheep together. Terrible for people and rams with horns that really want the food the people is holding.

In a nut shell I was incredibly stupid. I put myself in a position of danger. this is not normal for me. I am normally very careful about where I am in relation to a large, unpredictable animal that can knock me flat in a heartbeat. But, on Monday I was about to leave for a talk about Nature Connection I was involved with. It had been months getting this together with a group of people so to see it actually happen was great. I was excited.

Our sheep love grain. They REALLY love it. They will do ANYTHING for it. All brains go out the window at grain time. So I hurried through chores. I stepped inside the boy-house and put down grain. I put the first lot down. Harry came into the house. I was just about to leave and thought "Oh shit. I Shouldn't be in here". No sooner than I thought that then

WHAM. I heard a crunch and felt a bolt of pain go through me face, travel up to me forehead, and around to the back of my head. The back of my head went numb. Harry and I had just gotten in the way of Thomas and his food. And Thomas wanted Harry out of the way. I got in the way of the the two of them.

I backed out of the boy-house and shook my hand off. It was covered in blood and tissue. Oh great.  I had to steady myself so I didn't fall over. The back of my head was still numb. Wow. I couldn't believe what had just happened.

Of course the sheep were all bellowing for their grain. Mmmm. I proceeded to fill up the second grain bins for Harry then went back to the paddock. The girls and babies all got their grain as well.  I put the tarp back up on the gate (a shelter when the boys wanted to be close to the girls and it was raining) and made my way up to the house. The one thing I didn't do was finish collecting the eggs. Tim could do that when he got home.

My head was pounding, I was getting shivers all over my body, and I was still bleeding like mad. into the house I went. I had to call and let the others know I wouldn't be there. I needed a cup of tea. I needed to call Tim to tell him to come home a bit early. I needed to sleep.  Ouch. Boy was I stupid.

So to make a long story short, I did all those things. Tim and I went to emerge and got a clear for any major damage. My family doctor agreed, with a likely hood that I had fractured my nasal bone, and possibly my hand. I know my hand got hit somehow, but I don't know how).

The moral of this tale is one simple thing. DON'T RUSH. Being hurried caused me to disregard basic safety precautions. I knew better than this. I was an IDIOT! Animals are unpredictable and must always be monitored, even the nice ones. Thomas is a great ram, calm, gentle, and respects people most of the time. It wasn't his fault.I feel really lucky to be alive. If I had of fallen in that confined space with a jealous set of horns and a bucket of grain...I hate to think what could have happened.

This is just plain cool. We met Judi at the conference. She was kind enough to take some of our wool home and spin it. This is what happened.

Isn't that cool! Thanks Judi!

On August first we lost our beloved Itchy. Two weeks earlier we had Dr. Rob, come in to look at her. We started getting concerned after she was shorn. She looked too thin and too bloated to be well. Sometimes if a ewe has been stressed or drained with lambing, they can lose condition. Itchy had been hassled by the goats all winter and had a lamb earlier this spring. We started off with a dose of bloat ease to see if that helped, but it had no noticeable effect. We decided to watch her and see if she improved. It seemed as though she was losing the use of her back legs, albeit very slowly. So she was wormed, at first with diatomaceous earth, and when that seemed to have no effect, we went with the ivomectin. That still didn't seem to do anything.

At that point we called in a vet. Luckily we had a great recommendation from Val at Heartwood Farm -  Dr. Rob. He came in told us that she probably wouldn't make it until winter. This wasn't a huge shock as she had continued to be going downhill. So we did all we could to make her as comfortable as possible for her remaining time with us.

On holiday Monday, August 1st, when we went out to do chores, we saw Itchy lying down in the paddock. This was not unusual for her but she looked different.  She didn't get up when we approached. She couldn't get up. We made a blanket sling for her and helped her into the barn, out of the sun. this seemed like the best place to make her comfortable.

Dr. Rob graciously came over on HIS holiday Monday and euthanized her for us. It was a quiet affair. It was sad. Itchy was one of our first sheep and had had two lambs for us. The best we could do was give her a peaceful exit.

We will miss her wool as it was so lovely and soft. Luckily we have Harry, her wether lamb. He has a lovely fleece and is beginning to look just like his Mum.

Thank you, Itchy Sheep. You taught us a lot.