They are sheep again!!!!
The pasture at Paulette’s is finally dry enough to put the sheep out. They have been in the barn all winter. I have vowed that this is the last year I am going to confine them to a barn. The more winters I raise sheep the more I realize that sheep belong outside. They just don’t seam to do well crammed into one spot for months at a time. The benefits for keeping them outside all winter far out weigh the slight benefit feeding them in a barn provides. On pasture the manure can be dispersed over the entire area since I can feed them in different areas throughout the winter. Sheep standing in their own waste all winter can cause big problems with their feet but on pasture they are moved around so that doesn’t happen. Disease is spread by an infected animal being in close proximity to another. Keeping the sheep inside is creating a great environment for the spread of disease. If one animal has some bug it is most likely going to be passed on to more of the flock. If they are dispersed outside on the pasture there sheep to sheep contact is greatly decreased and the air they breathe is not stale like in the barn.
I am sure people think they need shelter, and they do, but not like we would think. When I say I want the sheep outside all winter I am not trying something new. This is commonplace in many pasture based operations. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but follow the example of some successful sheep operations. I am doing this for the better of the sheep not my convenience. Sheep have a great fleece that is so efficient when it snows they get a buildup of the white stuff on their backs, it doesn’t melt. All the sheep need is some place to get out of the wind. It could be as simple as a stone wall or being able to get into a wooded area. On the hill the wind does get blowing pretty good in the winter but there are a lot of places for them to take cover and the sheep I am breeding are what are considered a hill breed, they are bred to be tough and thrive in that type of environment.
Well winter is hopefully over and next year is a ways off. A lot has to happen before that hill will support a flock of sheep. This week (03-22-2010) an excavator is being mover up there to start digging the foundation for the barn. I have been working at cleaning up the ground so that May 1st, a safe date to plant grass by, I can spread some seed and begin the process of turning that “bomb site” into a pasture.
The pasture at Paulette’s is finally dry enough to put the sheep out. They have been in the barn all winter. I have vowed that this is the last year I am going to confine them to a barn. The more winters I raise sheep the more I realize that sheep belong outside. They just don’t seam to do well crammed into one spot for months at a time. The benefits for keeping them outside all winter far out weigh the slight benefit feeding them in a barn provides. On pasture the manure can be dispersed over the entire area since I can feed them in different areas throughout the winter. Sheep standing in their own waste all winter can cause big problems with their feet but on pasture they are moved around so that doesn’t happen. Disease is spread by an infected animal being in close proximity to another. Keeping the sheep inside is creating a great environment for the spread of disease. If one animal has some bug it is most likely going to be passed on to more of the flock. If they are dispersed outside on the pasture there sheep to sheep contact is greatly decreased and the air they breathe is not stale like in the barn.
I am sure people think they need shelter, and they do, but not like we would think. When I say I want the sheep outside all winter I am not trying something new. This is commonplace in many pasture based operations. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but follow the example of some successful sheep operations. I am doing this for the better of the sheep not my convenience. Sheep have a great fleece that is so efficient when it snows they get a buildup of the white stuff on their backs, it doesn’t melt. All the sheep need is some place to get out of the wind. It could be as simple as a stone wall or being able to get into a wooded area. On the hill the wind does get blowing pretty good in the winter but there are a lot of places for them to take cover and the sheep I am breeding are what are considered a hill breed, they are bred to be tough and thrive in that type of environment.
Well winter is hopefully over and next year is a ways off. A lot has to happen before that hill will support a flock of sheep. This week (03-22-2010) an excavator is being mover up there to start digging the foundation for the barn. I have been working at cleaning up the ground so that May 1st, a safe date to plant grass by, I can spread some seed and begin the process of turning that “bomb site” into a pasture.
