I talked to the vet on the phone, and he mentioned that too. He's coming out on Wednesday, and I have a whole list of questions for him (it'll be our first visit). I'm hoping that he'll say I can wait to give the shots when the ram is leaving so I won't have to separate them, but if we need to do it now, I certainly will, and then have those three elsewhere. The trickiest part of it all will be getting the other eight back out to their paddock, and the three to a different place.
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Aw...that's all too complicated. I'll just put them all in the stall in the barn (piece of cake getting them in--a bucket of corn or alfalfa pellets will have the whole flock thundering after me, stepping on my heels and crowding me from all directions). I have a half panel in the stall where I can do some separating, but a leg hook will let me snag any individual animal (most of them are very tame anyway). And then to get the majority back out to the paddock (probably about 200 yards at this point), I'll have one person outside with a bucket of grain, and a gate-keeper to only let the ones out which should be out. The goal will be to keep the three small ones in, and let the others out. Once they're separated that way, the grain bucket person will walk the main flock back out to the paddock, and the three little ones will be in. My worry is about getting them into a SEPARATE place. I have a couple of ideas about places (the duck yard has a tall wooden fence), or I could put a separate electric net fence someplace nearer, or put them in with the chickens who are in an electric net fence in the whole big huge vegetable garden--though that might be a bit weird. I have plenty of cattle panel (I think--we've been using it regularly for various things, like making portable sheep shelters, and filling in some egregious gaps in fences).Do you have any cow panels? These are infinitely useful and will make a good sorting chute. If you don't have any, it might be a good idea to start accumulating some. They are not cheap, have gone up from $20 to $26 here. If that is not an option right now, go load up on pallets and build a chute. For the "working" part, buy a hog panel and cut it in half. It is low enough that you may be able to step over it, I can and I'm 5'7" tall. You need a "stop" at both ends of the hog panel. The stop keeps the sheep from running the whole length of the chute and confines the ones you need to work on in a smaller space. To make the stop, leave a gap between the last pallet and the hog panel, wide enough to slide a pallet through. Be sure to T-post the ends of the hog panels and the last pallet. Run a few sheep in the hog panel, slide a pallet through the gap and they are confined. For the stop at the other end of the hog panels, use hay string and tie a pallet to the end.
For putting the young ewes in a pen, you can make a halter and drag them where you want them. Get ready for a workout. They will try to run away, they will fight and then just lay down. LOL If you have help, it would be nice. My first weaning and separating of sheep was wild. I had a pen ready for them, but it wasn't close to the sheep barn and lot. Went through all the fighting and laying down, refusing to move, so we picked them up and put them in my garden wagon. My husband pulled the wagon, I held their legs up so they couldn't roll over and jump out. LOL LOL
I hope I have helped with my description of a make shift run and chute for you. I used to drag cow panels around to make loading chutes, working chutes, etc. I love cow panels!
One of the best purchases I ever made was a used Premiere 1 set of working equipment.
Handling Equipment for Sheep and Goats - Premier1Supplies
In a well-designed handling system, the system of animal “flow” from entry to exit(s) is important.www.premier1supplies.com
I got 2 Guillotine gates, a stop gate, a 2 way sorting gate and a hog panel, cut in half. We used--you guessed it!!! Cow panels to make the chutes!! LOL LOL
This link is our equipment purchase and it shows how other people set up their chutes and equipment. Maybe the pictures will help you set up something to work and sort your sheep.
SCORE! Sheep Handling Equipment
WHOO-HOO!!!! :weee:weee:weee:weee I'm just a little excited. I found a Craigs List ad for sheep handling equipment. Two guillotine gates, a stop gate and a 2-way sorting gate for $650 from Premier1. I immediately looked up the pieces, new they totaled $955. This couple had used hog panels to...
As you read the posts, you will see me in the hog panel chute clipping matts off the sheep with house hold scissors. Major job. blisters and no fun at all. I have since gotten a set of hand shears for those girls that don't shed well and they are awesome.
Cow panels for the run, hog panels for the short chute are not the greatest, but they work. Sheep and lambs do get their legs through the holes and they can get hurt. Prompt attention to get their legs back in the chute or they will figure it out themselves. Maybe one of these days I will get solid sides, but for now this is working for me and is a huge improvement over chasing and doing the flying tackle. LOL LOL
I have since made a loading chute for the stock trailer, again with cow panels.
I hope this gives you an idea on building some sort of small holding pen, even a temporary type of working chute, anything to help make it easier on you. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Well, they're eating mostly fescue now--I'd say about 75%, after not touching it most of the summer. They're actually loving it, which has surprised me. I wasn't going to have them on this particular pasture yet, but we had to have some pond work done and where they were supposed to be needed to be kept clear for the big machinery to get through. I'm not TOO worried about the parasite eggs because they grazed this particular pasture only very lightly several months ago the last time they were here (not much sheep poop) and it was in the 90s that whole month which I've read is not very conducive to barber pole eggs hatching. But they're clipping it pretty evenly down to four or five inches, so I don't know. But they are currently breeding, so I hope the fescue doesn't have too adverse an effect on them.....
That'd be easy enough. No other problems with that?
