Today Was Sheep Adventure Day

For two years now I been letting the flock out into the hay field either after it was cut or this year just to try and stem the tide of the BarberPole worm life cycle. The flock would wander maybe a little bit over half way to the far end of the place and then get scared and come running back. A loud truck or tractor was all they needed to incite the panic run. I thought I was pretty safe that they would never test the triple strand barbed wire I have on the back end.

I was wrong.

The entire flock, minus the two rams of course, all 44 of them decided to go visit the neighbors yard this morning. Sheep love close cropped green grass. They simply cannot resist it's call and apparently the bottom strand of that barbed wire is just high enough for them to squeeze under.

The neighbors were quite delighted by the visit honestly and remarked over and over about how friendly the girls were. Luckily those neighbors are not big on ornamental plants and have their garden well away from the fence line or they might have been a bit more pissy about the visit.

By the time my son got down there using the road as I was coming up through the field the entire flock figured out how far they actually were from the safety of the barn and had started the panic run back. Looks like we are going to run field wire down on the back now I guess. So in preparation of having the flock locked up on the smaller field for a few days I moved the garden fence this afternoon and opened up another half acre of failed Buckwheat and other assorted grass and weeds to the girls. That ought to keep em happy and busy for at least two days and will have the area nice and clean for a Fall tilling too.

Was pretty much a non-eventful day for the chickens. The new Barred Rock hens seem to have fit in fine and didn't really challenge the current hen leader although they seem to have fit in right below her. The other three black hens are old enough I don't think they care anyway. Littlebit continued her far ranging travels and was seen pretty much everywhere around the barn from time to time. None of the other hens seem to be aware that they can come and go through the gate as they want yet. Nevermind that they stand there and watch Littlebit and Rocky (Who is the largest of the flock) do it, for some reason they are convinced they cannot get through.

Still only getting one egg a day though. I am convinced only three of the hens, the two reds and one black, are even laying now. The other three blacks because they are too old and the rest because they are too young I imagine. Oh well still more eggs than we eat right now anyway.

We also said goodbye to Goatygoat this afternoon. I remembered that one of the guys I work with had a baby goat with him at work a couple months back and mentioned it was a pygmy bottle baby. He came out and looked at her and said he was sure she was a pygmy just like his and would be pleased to take her and keep her as a breeding doe.

When I let her off the tie out she immediately jumped up on his truck and hopped around. I told him he was going to have his hands full since she was raised as a pet.

Mrs. PP called like five times today trying to talk me out of giving Goatygoat away. I admit I was already quite attached to her but she really needs her own kind. Sure it was all fun and nice the last week with temperatures in the mid 70's , low humidity and no rain playing outside with the goat but these bluebird days are not gonna last forever and it wouldn't be fair to run the little girl with the sheep for the rest of her life.

So Goatygoat is gone now. I will miss her a bit cause as I said she was a hoot to hang out with while I was working around the place. I let her eat one of Mrs. PP's flower beds this afternoon so she would remember her for a while too.

I am thoughtful like that.


Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!