Sheep on a Schedule

When the summer monsoon rains come, I let the sheep out most afternoons to graze on the green grass. They love it, of course, and it lowers the feed bill for the alfalfa hay.

Awhile back, I opened the gate for them to graze in the morning. Apparently, I messed up their schedule. All the sheep hesitated to go out, and Gimli, one of the rams, simply refused to exit at all. Instead, he shifted over to his usual spot to await hay. I finally scattered COB (corn, oats, barley, and molasses) on the grass to get Gimli out. After they ate it, the sheep dispersed and started browsing.

Seriously, guys, you can graze in the morning as well as the afternoon. Silly sheep.

Monsoons

Yay! The monsoons have come. Wonderful rain.

Last Thursday, however, the torrential rain, hail, and wind was a bit much. Part of the barn roof came off. Luckily, the sheep are fine, and there's still plenty of covered space for them to stay out of the weather. The fourth picture shows a dead tree that the wind blew over. I'd been thinking about cutting it down, so it saved me some work.

And today, a week later, lovely green grass, not a lot yet, but a good start. I let the sheep out for a few minutes to graze this evening. When sheep get the first lush grass of the season, they can be allowed to eat only a very little to give their rumens time to adjust. My dog, Logan, did a decent job herding them back into the sheep enclosure where they had alfalfa hay waiting for them.

Rain!

The monsoon rains began almost two weeks ago. It's so exciting! The plants are loving it. It's great to have green grass again.

I know most of the pictures I post of my sheep show them on dirt. They really do get to graze sometimes. Below are pictures to prove it.

When the first lush grass sprouts, I can allow the sheep to graze for only 10 minutes or so. Then I put them back in their enclosure and give them some fairly dry alfalfa hay. If sheep get a lot of rich grass or alfalfa suddenly, it can lead to gastrointestinal problems and actually kill them. So right now my sheep get to graze briefly each afternoon. I'll extend their yummy-grass time a little each day, until their bodies get used to the richer feed. Then they can graze for much longer periods.