Feelin' a bit sheepish...

[Beekissed]

Now that we have the sheep in a paddock....but with no dog that will actually STAY in the paddock with them, we are currently shopping for a donkey for a guardian. Going to look at this girl today.....

 

[thistlebloom]

I love donkeys! We have a crippled mini mule and I could listen to his chuckling bray all day long. It never fails to make me laugh.
If our acreage was fenced I'd get a pair of BLM burros just to let roam around and eat brush. And listen to them bray.

 

[Beekissed]

I love donkeys! We have a crippled mini mule and I could listen to his chuckling bray all day long. It never fails to make me laugh.
If our acreage was fenced I'd get a pair of BLM burros just to let roam around and eat brush. And listen to them bray.

I think that will make me chuckle as well.....I love that sound! She's very sweet and quiet, gentle and easily handled. Can't wait to get her here~tomorrow!!!~and give her a good all over brushing, trim her hooves and just give her some attention each day.

The guy is also giving me some antique cart shafts and a single tree, along with her shipping halter. I'm tickled!!! Been thanking my good, good Lord all day long and just floating about a foot off the ground.

Also may have found a safer home for Ben, one with better fencing than we have and young children to love on him, so that was a praise as well. My cup runneth over!!!

 

[Baymule]

That is double the good news! A guardian donkey and a home for Ben. I like donkeys, they are so smart, so wise and just fun to have around.

 

[Beekissed]

Willow...our new, sweet donkey. She was calm when she arrived, let us pet her and brush her all over and just explored the paddock and the strange things in it. They are scared to death of her but they'll get over it. She seems to want to join them but they keep running away. She's definitely the boss of the food....May soon found that out. She's very gentle, calm and quiet. The dogs think she's a definite threat, so I've been giving Blue a zap every time he barks at her.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhhhhhh!

 

[Baymule]

Awww..... she looks so sweet.

 

[Beekissed]

Awww..... she looks so sweet.

She is....until she gets near Shine and her lamb, then she tries to kill the lamb. Also tried to kill our new 2 mo..old LGD pup. Sweet in all other ways and with humans, ignores the adult sheep and other lambs.....just wants to kill THAT one. It looks like all the rest, a little white lamb.

She is currently listed for sale. She'd make someone a great pet or project donkey or even a brood jenny....but not a sheep or goat guardian.

The new pup is a fawn Anatolian female that my son bought, called her Charlie. Don't ask me why, but since we have a ram lamb named Sweety Blossom and a tom cat named Ruffles, I guess it all works here on messed up acres.

She's a sweety, as all pups are, and it only took her two days to learn how to act around the sheep to avoid getting butted, which impressed me greatly. She has learned to lie down in a submissive posture when they go to butt her and they back off and leave her be....at first she growled and barked at them while cowering, now she's showing proper submission and curiosity towards them, which they are now allowing. Sharp as a tack, especially since she's never really worked with livestock at all.

I have high hopes for this one!

June never lambed, though she still could as I kept the ram in with them for almost 2 months. We got all ram lambs thus far and the twins from Rose are the best looking of the bunch and were also larger at birth than the other two. The other two will likely be wethered for meat this fall while Rose's two will be sold as breeding ram lambs.

We'll be reevaluating Shine after next year...if she doesn't twin next season, it's likely she'll be culled. May is a first timer, so she will get another season as well to show her genetics. Rose is a keeper, though she doesn't have the body style I particularly like, she has a stellar udder, had wonderful lambs and is a great mother as well as a docile sheep to have around. If June doesn't lamb this season at all, she'll be butchered this fall as well.

We'll be buying two ram lambs and several ewe lambs this season to add to the flock.

 

[Baymule]

And that is why I sold my mule, she wanted to stomp to smithereens everything that wasn't a horse. She was an equal opportunity hater.

I'm with you on the dog thing. My Pyrenees are not bonded with the sheep, but protect them by way of territorial protection. Sentry has more bonding than the GP's do, but is limited by his issues. He tries. We watched him yesterday, watching the sheep. he positioned himself where he could survey them all and we marveled at his dedication. And this was a day after a trip to the vet with a ruptured anal gland impaction. (we had him to the vet two days prior and the vet didn't catch it) I'll post that adventure in his thread in a day or so, been busy. Poor crippled leg, no hip socket, sore butt dog, still wants to work. So much heart and dedication wrapped up in a dog suit.

 

[farmerjan]

We had one donkey that loved all the lambs, would stand guard with them as they would all collapse in a pile to sleep. Had another that hated all the lambs.... he was fine after they got to about 40-50 lb size... just hated the small ones for whatever reason. Ran him with the weaned ones/ ewes without lambs etc.
We have 2 now that are quite feral that stay with the young rams that are weaned. They really don't do anything, but are just there. Donkeys are funny about what they decide they like and don't like. A good one is worth it's weight in gold, one that decides it doesn't like something can be a real menace.

One thing, Most donkeys do not like dogs. As in HATE them. So I am not surprised about the reaction to the puppy. Too much like a wolf/coyote/predator to them. Since we had one that didn't like the little lambs, I am also not real surprised at the reaction, except for her to only dislike one lamb inparticular. But they are way too smart about some things....