# Got my 4 sheep home



## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

And I did it in a Jeep Wrangler today too!

The babies rode up front one at my feet and the little one in my lap.

The moms rode in the back on top of some cardboard.

I have to say this.

I will never. EVER. Transport sheep in my Jeep again. They are nothing like goats when traveling. They are not smart like goats. lol

They are quarentined away from the goats for now, but most likely I'll put them all in the same 3 acre orchard together but with seperate housing.

Here is Sinjin and her daughter who is a week old:










And here is Blaze and her daughter who is 2.5 weeks old.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Are they cute! I had to :laugh: about the jeep ride home.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

They are beautiful ! Look at those skinny long legs , wow , lolol
Thryanre really pretty , congrats 
Sounds like you had one heckuva adventure with them in your Jeep , lolol


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

Congrats on the new additions. Luckily I have a truck so when I brought mine home I tossed the 3 of them in a large dog crate. I wonder if you could have done that with the sheep. I agree that mine were smaller and all 3 fit just fine. You should either be able to remove the seat or lay it down to accommodate the crate. I got the crate at a flea market for I think $75 for this specific purpose. Best $75 I ever spent.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

ooh lovely sheepies <3 

what breed are they? they look like they might be a self shedding breed?


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Yeah they are "hairless" non wooly types. They are BIG. About 200#'s each. I can't remember what type they are. I think she said St Croix/Dorper/Barbadoes crosses.

This was what the back of my jeep looked like:


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

Eww lol. Glad you got them home safe. Blaze looks like she has a nice udder. Ever had sheeps milk?


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

xymenah said:


> Eww lol. Glad you got them home safe. Blaze looks like she has a nice udder. Ever had sheeps milk?


I have not. They won't even come near me right now but if I can get close I'm gonna milk those udders!


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

I love sheep's milk cheese but never have had the milk. They say its sweeter. I would love to try it.


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## alpine_fan (Jan 6, 2013)

I love sheep's milk! I grew up on it more than cows milk and loved to put it on my cereal or just plain drink it...I'm not one of those people that likes to drink milk on its own either...
We would also make sheep's milk fudge...
We would have to milk one of our ewes every year she lambed because her tits were so large even an older lamb couldn't nurse on them...
Good luck with your new ewes...they look like they will be good mothers and probably good milkers...

To get them to be friendlier I suggest getting into a routine and calling them into a building at night. You don't have to catch them, but just do stuff around them...
You may already know that, but I can attest to it working on my ewe named Rodeo...she lives up to it, acting like a bucking bronco/bull...
Anyways, sorry that I babbled...


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Ewww , sorry about your Jeep !! Glad everybody arrived home OK 
I love those sheep !!


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

Congrats on getting hair sheep!! Love the colors! I have a small flock of Katahdins and now also added a Dorper ram. Can't wait for lambing to begin next month! I think as you spend time just hanging out with them, they'll get more comfortable with you and be less flighty, that's how it's been with mine since I got them a year ago.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I wonder why their tails arent cropped ? Isnt better , for sanitary reasons to crop them ?
I just think their poo would get all stuck in their tails...


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Trickyroo said:


> I wonder why their tails arent cropped ? Isnt better , for sanitary reasons to crop them ?
> I just think their poo would get all stuck in their tails...


The older one has no poop stuck to her tail. They person I got them from said its for breeding purposes and since I'm not breeding the baby I didn't have her do the younger ones tail. Seemed more likely that the tail would get an infection. Too risky for a sheep I'm just going to have as a pet.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Only wooly breeds need their tailscdocked, its the wool that the poo sticks to


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## bgr09 (Dec 30, 2012)

How far did they come


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## bgr09 (Dec 30, 2012)

How long of a ride I meant to say


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

The ranch I got them from is 2 hours away.


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## alpine_fan (Jan 6, 2013)

Actually you don't need to dock tails, it has just become part of what owners do for their meat breeds to make them more square on their back end


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Well we didn't do any docking. I just don't see the reason for an un needed medical procedure that could cause pain and/or infection.

They are doing so well tonight! The mommas came and took alfalfa pellets from me this evening, right out of my hand!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Im sorry for upsetting you Dayna , I just asked about the tails because thats what I am used to seeing. My husband has a friend that has sheep and all the pictures I would see , they had no tails .
These were white Dorper Sheep , if I got the name right.
He wants to get a couple of them come Spring..


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh no! I'm not upset at all. I don't disbud either. I band males that I don't want to breed but I'm all about "less pain" in my animal keeping. I would never tell someone else that they shouldn't dock tails if that's what they believe is the right thing to do. 

I may change my ways down the road, but for now I dislike causing pain to the animals that *I* deem un needed. It may very well be needed on another ranch.


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## alpine_fan (Jan 6, 2013)

We dock tails they day they are born for that same reason

Though we don't band them and they are only in pain for a few seconds
I agree on not causing pain on needless medical procedures unless it if for the better welfare for all of our animals...
Hope your girls get friendlier soon


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Tail docking is indeed necessary in wooly breeds. Undocked wool sheep are susceptible to flystrike. 

Docking hair breeds lije dorpers is not needed, just habit. 

I have never had a tail infection in over ten years and thousands of sheep


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

I know people who raise hair and wool sheep, they never dock hair sheep but always dock the wool sheep. Its for the same reason Keren said. I've seen people who are not experienced sheep leave a dorset/suffolk with a long tail and within a few months it had a raging tail infection.


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## RedGate (Dec 7, 2012)

I love them! I've considered getting a few sheep one day myself. My older siblings had market lambs growing up, and my parents said the sheep just really didn't have personality and were just kinda there... Or very flighty. But then truly my parents probably did not do much research on them. So what is the purpose of a hair sheep?


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## alpine_fan (Jan 6, 2013)

It does happen, the tail infection, but I know we have had sheep that have kept their tails (due to being to dang elusive) and they had no problems with infections. Fly strike is more likely if they get poop stuck to their tail.
Though I had a lamb who my mom banded the tail on and the puppy tore it off...we think...not sure what happened.
I think leaving a tail undocked will be fine, I've met people who have wool breeds and leave the tails on


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Dani-1995 said:


> I know people who raise hair and wool sheep, they never dock hair sheep but always dock the wool sheep. Its for the same reason Keren said. I've seen people who are not experienced sheep leave a dorset/suffolk with a long tail and within a few months it had a raging tail infection.


That's interesting that you say that. I've seen herds of woolies here with un docked tails...


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

RedGate said:


> I love them! I've considered getting a few sheep one day myself. My older siblings had market lambs growing up, and my parents said the sheep just really didn't have personality and were just kinda there... Or very flighty. But then truly my parents probably did not do much research on them. So what is the purpose of a hair sheep?


Mine are very funny! When I go out they charge me looking for treats and food, they grunt at me and follow me around. I would say that they have plenty of personality. Not like goats, different, but I would not say they are "just there". I think you might like sheep!


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

Hair sheep are meat animals. For the most part sheep aren't easy to milk, they have really small teats. The two ewes I showed last year were very flighty and kind of stupid, but at the sometime my boyfriends hair sheep are pretty cool. More like goats IMO. I personally prefer goats, sheep have their place and while I like them I absolutely prefer goats .... much sweeter, better personality and not as flighty


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Its more important with merinos vs the wooly meat breeds, they dont have the skin folds around the breech. 

And more important in Australia vs other countries since we have a different type of blowfly that is more aggressive, AND our sheep are run extensively.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

When I was younger I was shocked to see a sheep with a long tail for the first time! They're a a rare site. I didn't even know they had naturally long tails for a looong time


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

Ive seen a sheep blown with maggits around the tail,not a pretty sight,the sheep was shot poor thing,teejae


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