Death on the Farm

Our sheep are primarily pets, although we do breed them and sell their offspring (at unusual livestock auctions) we tend to become more attached to them than perhaps somebody who had been raised keeping sheep purely as livestock.

The winter of 2007 had been particularly cold, and as January 2008 rolled around temperatures were not getting much better.  Where we live there are a few coyotes, we use to see them rather regularly just outside our pasture.  If seen we would often run out and chase them away as they scare rather easily. 

At that time we had a farm light, a flood light for the yard, it illuminated the barns that the sheep had free access to. Apparently it illuminated them too!  On January 3, of 2008, coyotes entered the sheep pen at night.  The sheep could not have seen the approaching predators, just as we when in light rooms cannot see into the darkness.

Of course I don't know exactly what happened except that in the morning when one sheep did not come for breakfast I had to walk around to try and find her, but instead found only a backbone and hind legs.  Mrs.  Whiteface had been killed and eaten. 

The picture of her is from the summer previous, as she stands over her two lambs with another ewe (Mrs Greyface).  She would have been an easy target, she had artritis in her legs making her slower moving when she would just wake up, particularly in the winter.

I hold no bad feelings towards the coyotes, although for a while I did at the time, but they were just doing what comes naturally to them - they have to eat too. 

We now have no yard lights, so the sheep can see danger at night, and when winters get more cold they are brought into the fully enclosed barn at night.

Read about How to Keep Yourself Safe from Coyotes - click here.

The Differences Between Sheep and Goats

Do you know how to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat?  A lot of people think that if it has wool, it's a sheep; if it has hair, it's a goat - but this is not true!

When we first moved to the country we were pretty familiar with livestock... and of course when we found hair sheep we soon learned more about them.  On many occasions when we would share pictures of our hair sheep people would make comments "That's not a sheep, it's a GOAT!".  Well of course we know our animals, and they were wrong... but you cannot blame folks for not being familiar with hair sheep as they are not common. 

There are in fact many physical differences between sheep and goats.  Without looking can you think which one has a spit lip and which does not?

Sheep or Goat?

One simple difference is that sheep graze, they prefer to eat grass from the ground, goats browse, they prefer to nibble leaves on trees.  Male goats are likely to grow a beard, and some male hair sheep are likely to grow manes!

It's even harder to know if the animal pictured below is a sheep or a goat?  It's actually a Sheep Goat Chimera an animal created in a "test tube" by scientists who combined a sheep embryo with a goat embryo.  This is not the same as a hybrid.

photo source

Learn more about Telling the Differences Between Sheep and Goats, click here.

Read More about Bizarre Man Made Animals, Chimera, click here.

Painting Sheep

Not to be confused with Painted Sheep.

Remember that Ram I told you about... Click Here if you missed it... Well we did have some good pictures of him, and I am a painter - well at least I paint, not so much a "famous artist" or anything of the sort.

I loved the texture of his horns, and his hair, this is in the fall and he has grown a thick main, the angle is so strange it was perfect to paint.  I did the painting in acrylic paints.

This is a detail of the finish painting - of course you can see the background is changed to make it more dramatic from the rather boring pasture.  I also opened his eye somewhat.  I am rather happy with how his horns turned out and the hair as well - remember this is a hair sheep, a Barbado, which is not a woolly sheep - many mistake them for goats.

I own the copyright for both images, they are not for reproduction.

What Animals Can be Kept together on a Farm

When we think about keeping sheep, or any animal, we must consider if our animals will be fine together or not.  This applies to aggression issues, but more so to feeding and dietary needs.  With sheep we want to be very careful about copper as too much can be deadly to them.

Other concerns include your fencing, while one fence might be fine for containing horses, it will be useless for containing goats. 

Most livestock animals tend to be okay with other livestock animals provided they have enough space; they stick with their own kind.
I have kept the following animals with my sheep:  Donkeys for protection (although Jack donkeys tend to be too aggressive), Llamas, cats (they come and go in the pasture), and free range hens (they are in a coop at night).  At one time we had horses - large and miniatures - with the sheep.

Learn more about which livestock animals can be kept with which and concerns.  Click here to read more.

Popular Breeds of Sheep in the USA

Worldwide there are hundreds of different breeds of sheep (and most are not white and woolly).  Certain sheep breeds are more common in certain areas of the world, according to climate, use and the whims of the people of those areas. 

Some breeds of sheep are more known for wool, although in some areas the wool market is not as strong and hair sheep (used for meat) are favored.  Most of the best wool now comes from Australia and New Zealand, where the Merino breed is popular. 

In North America other sheep breeds are more common, and the popularlity of each is always changing. 

Some sheep breeds are being favored as better for mothers (easy lambers, good milkers), others for meat, wool, and so forth.  Many sheep producers have mix breeds, keeping one breed of of sheep for ewes and another breed for their ram. 

Mixed flock of sheep, some hair sheep (Barbado), some wool sheep (Suffolk x Dorset).

Click Here to learn more about the eight most popular sheep breeds in the United States, including the Suffolk, Dorset, and Hampshire.