kelpiegirl Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Well, three days of getting the pasture ready, and still not done yet. Beat, real beat. Let's see, got the one open area on the fence closed with woven wire- after pounding posts in with a mallet. Then got the back part that was open done (same as the first area). We are talking MANY feet, much more than I thought. At least I got lighter duty posts, so my malletting is quite as hard. String trimmed where the electronet is going- now that was fun- only 402 feet of knee high grass. Walked the entire fence line today- even where the sheep will only be when walked, and noted holes/places to fix. About 30 feet- will get ANOTHER roll of woven wire. Then I gotta get the shade going. Then just fill the stock tank, and put sheep mineral block out, and THEN- when it arrives, put up the electronet and ensure it is working. She are coming tomorrow afternoon, so I will be about dead tomorrow night. PLUS I will worry about them all night- of course. Tell me again, why did I do this? Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 To be connected to the pulse of nature in a visceral meaningful nurturing way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Eh. Or maybe you just really like to eat lamb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi Julie, Two pieces of advice. 1. Get a proper post pounder. Driving t-posts is never a fun job, but driving them with a mallet or sledge is whacko. 2. Return the mineral block and buy loose minerals. Mineral blocks are either soft and a very expensive source of protein (which you don't need on good pasture) or hard and lead to excessive dental wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Hi Bill Planned to get a post driver- but $$ made me think twice- but may get one tomorrow. My arms are spent. The mineral block got busted into by deer last night- so chalk that up to a learning experience. I am really thinking about putting these guys into an enclosure at night. Any ideas for an affordabe enclosure- with a shade roof that they can use during the day for shade if they wish? Just worried about Coyotes. To rehab the entire fence would be HUGE $$ and I am only renting a portion of it- so all that money goes with the landowner when I leave. Do you all put your sheep in at night? I heard from agway folks that a place about 1/2 or less from me just had 4 calves taken down/eaten. Julie Hi Julie, Two pieces of advice. 1. Get a proper post pounder. Driving t-posts is never a fun job, but driving them with a mallet or sledge is whacko. 2. Return the mineral block and buy loose minerals. Mineral blocks are either soft and a very expensive source of protein (which you don't need on good pasture) or hard and lead to excessive dental wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I would definitely put sheep up for the night! Period, anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Oh, and ditto the post driver! No matter how much it is, you will use it for YEARS to come! Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I use loose mineral wherever I can, under cover, but the humidity here makes it cake up really bad and then the sheep ignore it. I'd love to spend $100 on a weather resistant feeder but the money never quite seems to be there. I like the blocks for moving around with the smaller groups. Last year when the fences were so bad, keeping the protein blocks out meant they'd go for a nibble there instead fo the grass if they just got a hankering for it. The grass is always greener unless there's a 27% protein block sitting out. They must not eat much because one smallish block lasts 40 sheep about a week. But if I take it out they get to looking for the way out again. Mine don't chomp the mineral blocks, they seem to slurp at them. Maybe because they have multiple mineral sources available? and you're doing it to commune with nature. Which you'll defnitely be doing after a few hours of pounding posts. Do have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi Becca, I never put out more than a couple of days' worth of mineral at a time. it is a bit of a pain with the small groups (like the rams, who consume about three ounces a day) but I find that it's worth the bother. I find they consume it more consistently if it's always fresh, and particularly in the lambs that consistent consumption is really important -- they have very little ability to store minerals, and the males are very susceptible to UTI/stones if they get too much phosphorus and/or not enough calcium. On days like today (steady light rain, interrupted by downpours), they'll be without mineral, or the mineral they have will be soaked and unattractive. But there's no more than a day's worth wasted. My observation about the weather proof mineral feeders are often out of sight and out of mind. Humidity will cause the mineral to cake up in them, sheep will empty them, but folks often don't keep it on their mental to-do list. Also, as the flock grows, it's important to have enough mineral feeding stations. If you're running more than 50 ewes, I think you should have two feeders set so they are within sight of one another but far enough apart that the sheep aren't crowded around them. For more than 100, I think you need one percent plus one. That can get very pricy if you rely on the weatherproof versions. Plus they're a pain to haul from paddock to paddock. Night penning: I don't do it, but I generally have a guard dog or very hot electronet. Or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted June 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 How big a pen to house 5-7 hair sheep? Thanks Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Bill, I've found mine run to me when I'm putting out the loose mineral, and gobble it down. It's like chumming sharks. And it's not cause they are hungry. They are fat as ticks and up to their ears in all kinds of veg. I have been afraid I'd make them all sick or create some kind of weird behaviour in them so I've been sending it out with a variety of people at all times of day and even sneaking out under cover of darkness, but they come a 'running. It started the first day, the first time I put it out. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 They aren't getting enough. Keep increasing the amount you put out until they start to leave some of it until the next day. This may mean that they gorge on it for a couple of days, but salt is a pretty good limiter. The label will probably give you some sort of indication of how much they should be expected to consume, but if they have been deprived for a while they will overconsume for a while until they are satiated. I rented some sheep for a vegetation managment contract and when they got off the truck the second year they ran to where the mineral feeder had been and started eating the dirt where last year's mineral had spilled. I guess the mineral feeders at the home farm were not filled for quite some time. We put out 50 lbs a day to 200 sheep for two weeks before they started to consume at anything close to the label rate of 1/2 oz per head per day. We had to use eight feeder points to keep overcrowding to a minimum until they were caught up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I never even thought of something like that. I'll set out more and see how it goes. Thanks very much. The ladies will appreciate it, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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