http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html The ranching with sheep site blog keeps you up-to-date on all new pages and updates added to our Ranching With Sheep Web site. Subscribe here. en-us ranching Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:27:15 GMT Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:27:15 GMT ranching-with-sheep.com http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/hair-sheep.html Are hair sheep the next up and coming breeds of sheep to raise? As low sheep wool prices continue to keep wool as a costly by-product of wool breeds many will be considering these different breeds of Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:59:35 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/different-breeds-of-sheep.html Different breeds of sheep including the wool breeds, hair sheep, meat breeds and prolific breeds to help you narrow down your choice Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:46:19 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/rare-breeds-of-sheep.html Why rare breeds of sheep should be taken into consideration by all of us who are sheep ranching and/or interested in sheep breeds Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:39:21 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/breeds-of-sheep.html Selecting breeds of sheep suited for natural, grass based sheep ranching. Almost as important as selecting breed is selecting for maternal traits terminal sire characteristics Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:31:10 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-breeds.html Sheep breeds, a condensed version to help you pin point the breeds of sheep best suited to your land, your ranch and your desires Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:12:30 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/herding-events.html Looking for herding events? Whether your working your first dog or your tenth, Dog Tale Ranch offers opportunities for training and working your stock dog in real ranch setting. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:00:08 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/what-is-a-paradigm.html Just what is a paradigm and what does a paradigm shift have to do with ranching with sheep, agriculture or you and me? Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:08:01 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/aggressive-dog-behavior.html Aggressive dog behavior in livestock guardian dogs sometimes becomes an issue for new and even been-around-awhile owners. So take heart - you're not alone in dealing with dog behavior issues. Read abo Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:48:27 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/guardian-dog.html The livestock guardian dog is a tool to help you decrease sheep predator losses to your stock. The tool can be more effective if the person using it has a little knowledge. Glean some tips so your LGD Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:30:21 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/livestock-fencing-extras.html Find out what other livestock fencing considerations to take into account to ensure your sheep fencing is feasible and enhances instead of hinders the daily functioning of your ranch and your land Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:15:44 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Blog-2010-Entry-6-The-Great-Bale-Escape Sometimes you try your best to set up well in advance and it backfires on you. Across the south end of our bale graze area is a row a bales basically set there to act as a fence line. After a winter storm passed through here there were snow drifts to the top of the bales. The sheep ignored these as the drifts proved too deep even for their curious and venturous nature. That is until last week. During the winter time the snow settles and becomes more and more firm making walking where it was once not possible, possible. When I walked out in the evening to call up and feed the guard dogs I was startled to see a group of sheep come from the far side of bales (that is outside of the fence), trot along the top of the bales and drop down, back where the rest of the flock was. Our great plan to foil their great plan was to borrow a tractor and move snow. After all we still needed to clear our yard out. That didn't go so well. When you're in the position of having to beg, borrow and, well okay this tractor wouldn't be worth stealing, you have to deal with what you get and work around others. The tractor wasn't exactly ready to move snow. So the majority of the flock spent a day outside of the bale graze paddock. Come evening we took dogs along to gather them up and put them back where we felt they belonged. Observing their tracks and where they had gone to (turned out not far at all) we noticed they had been foraging for REAL grass on a piece of native prairie grassland. These girls know how to forage and have the desire to do so. It's exactly what we wanted in our sheep. Foraging for grass in February in Saskatchewan. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:52:50 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-raising.html We've compiled the questions about sheep raising that we get asked on a frequent basis, and put them together here. Read our answers to questions like "how do sheep compare with cattle?" and "what do Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:42:45 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-trek-2009-and-why-i-need-my-working-dogs.html Last winter we had about 100 head of sheep. We had approximately 40 lambs that were grazing an area 1/2 mile from the main farm here in central KY. Well, Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:50:32 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-minerals.html When it comes to sheep minerals and maintaining sheep health the majority of your problems and your fixes will be contained in your land Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:59:57 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/why-some-primitive-working-dogs-can-be-a-ranchers-best-friend.html My late husband Larry and I had a passion for preserving a rare breed, especially one that had a potential to assist man in a working capacity. The ancient Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:25:24 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/working-dog-putting-the-cows-away.html One cold March day, our herd of cattle escaped their feedlot pasture and headed half a mile away to their summer pasture. The grass truly was greener Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:37:03 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Blog-2010-Entry-5-Sheep-and-Traffic-Circles Our round bales are set up in rows for winter grazing. At this point in the winter there is a significant amount of snow piled up between each bale. There is a zone of clearing in the immediate vicinity around each bale. Each time we allow access to a new bales it takes a brave lead ewe to plow a trail to the new row. More often than not she'll follow our footsteps to do so. Once at the row the flock uses a system that resembles traffic circles to move bale to bale. No kidding. Picture a circle around each bale and then two trails through the snow on two sides of it. These trails are often started by us when we move along the row cutting bottom twines which we do each time we start a new row of bales. Or the trails are started by the two heifers as they are more willing and able to plow through snow. Because sheep dislike wading through deep snow they move around the bale and exit at a trail. Other ewes arriving to a bale will be on the second lane. Occassionally someone is in the wrong lane and I'm sure who turns around is somehow determined by bravado or status. When a herding dog comes along there is often a traffic pile up. In their rush to move quickly the sheep forget about any lanes. Hhhmmm... this is sounding vaguely familiar. Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:08:43 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/treating-internal-parasites.html If you will be treating internal parasites in your flock of sheep you will want to take into account these helpful considerations to increase the effectiveness and help save a dollar Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:52:44 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/internal-parasites.html While there may not be a magic bullet for controlling internal parasites in sheep there are sheep management practices that will help to maintain sheep health and keep worm loads under control Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:32:04 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/livestock-fencing-options.html Having livestock fencing options besides the commonly used high tensile fence allow the sheep rancher to make a choice suited to the various needs of the ranch Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:07:38 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-flocks.html The simplistic nature of raising sheep flocks on grass make it an appealing choice to consider. Contributions to health of land and livestock are only a portion of the many benefits Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:19:41 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/flock-of-sheep-starting.html Not all sheep are created equal. Establishing a flock of sheep means taking into consideration what breed traits you're after to begin with and just what type of operation you really intend to run Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:53:24 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/flock-of-sheep.html Raising a flock of sheep on grass means having some sort of selection criteria to ensure the animals fit the environment. Having ewes and rams that are efficient and hardy is a good start but it doesn Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:42:36 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Blog-2010-Entry-4-Storm-Stuck We're just coming through to the other side of a winter storm. It began the day before yesterday with light blowing snow and kept up for close to 36 hours. At the close of the first day I went out for a second time to check on the flock. They were all still up and moving about, curious about where I was forking flakes of hay about. It isn't cold out, just a winter storm. I wasn't too worried about the flock but rather curious about how they would manage. That night it snowed right through and the stiff winds kept blowing. It was a workout the next morning to walk the 1/4 mile out to to the flock. It was still storming out, with increased winds. Expecting to find the flock hunkered down on the lee side of the natural brush shelter we were bemused to find them still sleeping at the opposite end and in full force of the wind. The flock was nestled close together and several animals on the periphery were covered in light snow-banks. The flock very often takes care of itself with surprising ability. This time I figure they literally got caught with their heads down. While they were busy with their late afternoon eating the winds picked up and the snow blew in around them before they ventured to find shelter, like the two heifers had. Then they were reluctant to move into the winds and now driving snow. So they stayed put and the snow blew in around them, making them even more reluctant to make a move. We roused them up but they were un-willing to venture through the deep snow and into the wind at just our insistence. So I made the laborious trek through deep snow up to the house and back again. This time I was armed with a couple dogs. The flock moved for the dogs and we settled them on the lee side of the brush where new feed was waiting. The storm continued throughout the day with the snow abating later on but the winds continuing to blow. This morning was calmer with only light winds. The flock was close to where we left them and were ready to walk about and get to eating once more, including our Christmas born lamb, Little Jesus. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:41:21 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/intensive-farming.html Intensive farming is about as far removed from natural as you can get. Requiring great amounts of human, fossil fuel and dollar energies to maintain their focus on mass production these systems are th Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:20:49 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/agricultural-revolution.html Are we ready for an agricultural revolution built on sustainable practices? If so, how would you shape or define sustainability for the farmer or rancher? Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:10:55 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Blog-2010-Entry-3-Cold-Weather-Breeding The activity of the rams has slowed way down so it would seem that any ewes who have cycled have been bred. We're likely at an in between point and the next group of ewes to cycle will begin shortly. The rams can at least think about eating for a few days. When you lamb in the warm season it means you're breeding in the cold season. In a typical weather year in Saskatchewan the cold can work against you. If it's too cold the rams might be working hard but their viable sperm count will be decreased so the chances of the ewe catching with lamb are more slim. Due to the nature of most rams at breeding time they usually loose condition which can really effect them when it's cold outside. They need to maintain energy to breed but when it's really cold just staying warm can sap a lot of energy from an animal. Saskatchewan sheep ranchers who lamb on pasture make sure to pick rams with heavy wool covered scrotums. And if the weather is particularly cold they may play around with how many rams go out when, or keeping rams inside during the day and bringing the ewes in to the rams each evening. So far we haven't taken such measures but we're thinking on it. The January weather in Saskatchewan this year however, has certainly played to our favour. It's been a beautiful month thus far. Most years it doesn't play out like this. Yet there's always a flip side or I guess a balance to be weighed. We haven't had a hard winter so the ewes are in really good shape. Maybe too good for decent lambing percentages since if the ewes are carrying too much extra weight they won't catch with lamb either. Yet not much we'll be able to do about that side of things immediately. We'll let time tell, and if that's the case learn the lesson and be wiser for it. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:37:33 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-fencing.html Sheep Fencing. Comparing the livestock fencing options for permanent and temporary fencing for sheep Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:03:06 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/high-tensile-fence.html Among prairie ranchers high tensile fence is likely the most common type of fencing for large areas. It is commonly used for various livestock species. Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:43:05 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/livestock-fencing.html Perimeter or cross fence, temporary or permanent, the purpose of the livestock fencing you wish to build will help to determine what type of fence to consider using. Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:03:01 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html It's a slow time for working dogs. The rams are out with the ewes for breeding which means our entire flock of females is in one group at the moment. Ewe lambs included. Weather permitting the dogs come out while we do chores and help move ewes away from bales while we work. Each week we need to move the Electra-netting to the next row of bales so one lucky dog gets to gather the flock and move them elsewhere so we can do this. Otherwise, there isn't a lot of work that involves a high level of activity for the dogs right now. Yesterday I moved the Electra-net to allow the sheep access to the next row of bales. It's a two man job really but there was only one man available so it took awhile. Once the netting is moved I cut all the bottom twines off the bales before letting the sheep back in to graze. With 400 head they'll check out and start on almost every bale in the row. It's far easier to have the twines off them all than to guess which bales they'll select first and have a mess of twines later because you guessed wrong. Our daily chore load consists of walking out to the flock (they're about 1/4 mile from the yard) and checking bales. We'll cut twines off where needed, do some forking of hay if they have something piled up, and role out any cores small enough to roll. Yes, we fork hay; with that good old manual tool the pitch fork! It's a slow time for us here at Dog Tale Ranch. Slow is okay and it's January in Saskatchewan so a good time for things to slow down. In all disciplines of life I feel there should be a time when we slow up. Even for working dogs. I walk a lot throughout the year, every day actually, most days twice a day, but this is when it pays off the most. It's how the dogs and I stay active and mentally sane throughout the winter. Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:30:43 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-health.html Use these tips to help maintain sheep health and learn why tending to your land is such an important factor Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:40:37 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-care.html While good sheep care and sheep management will render a toolbox of supplies almost unnecessary a wise shepherd will remain prepared Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:13:25 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-management.html The building blocks of sheep management including sheep health, sheep diseases, sheep minerals, land and grass Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:52:39 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/guard-dog-breeds.html Guard dog breeds tend to go un-noticed but since they play such an important role for the rancher with livestock of any kind we can't leave them out of the picture Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:49:37 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/herding-dog-breeds.html The best voice for sharing the virtues of herding dog breeds is the voice of the people who use them day in and day out. These are your stories. Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:39:48 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Blog-2010-Entry-1-Swath-Grazing-Trial When the really cold weather hit in December (-40 Celcius for a stretch of several days) we brought the flock closer to home so they could access hay feed. They spent a day on hay and then walked out and went grazing on some nearby native prairie. Shortly after that they discovered the nearby millet swaths. The millet was a ten acre trial of swath grazing with sheep. They found it no problem, seemed to enjoy eating it and had no trouble accessing the swaths under the small amount of snow. We will repeat again next year to further decrease the amount of hay fed. <p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/images/swath-grazing.jpg" hspace="5" alt="swath grazing"></p> The ten acres of green millet didn't last very long though nor did the piece of native prairie so we're back to bale grazing. Bale grazing seems to be going better than previous years. There are more sheep this year (400 animals), so they quickly make a mess of a bale BUT they also clean up said mess in a jiffy. Sometimes its okay to let things get messy and see what happens. Little Jesus, our Christmas lamb and his mom left the goose house and rejoined the flock. Fingers crossed that he'll survive the winter and we won't see any more newbies until June! Otherwise, <strong>for those of you passionate about working dogs,</strong> especially your own, check out this new page <a href="http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/working-dogs.html">promoting the working dog</a> and add your comment or story (go to bottom of the page). Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:56:35 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-dogs.html The name sheep dogs encompasses a vast array of dog breeds and purposes. It is the herding dog and the livestock guardian dog who rest their paws at this sheep ranch Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:13:02 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/raising-puppies.html Raising puppies for livestock guardian work is an emotionally challenging task. These dogs have an innate desire to form strong bonds and protect that which they bond to, however, it is our job to get Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:36:05 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/working-dogs.html Spreading a word of good for the common good of sheep dogs and livestock guardian dogs who help lighten a ranchers load. Sharing your contributions depicting the value of working dogs. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:34:41 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/livestock-guardian-dogs.html Livestock guardian dogs; the long standing threat of sheep predators make them one of the few types of dogs still being used for a single main purpose. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:59:19 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/Ranching-blog.html#Beginnings Several people who have visited the ranch and some of those who wish they could, have expressed an interest in keeping in touch and learning more about how and why we do what we do here. So, we begin this blog. It's difficult to say where a ranching production year starts. You could pick any point. I'm sure it varies from rancher to rancher. But breeding time seems as good a place as any to make an introduction. The rams went out with the ewes on Christmas Day. If they cared about Christmas I'm sure they appreciated the gift. Our ewes lamb during warm weather which means breeding happens in cold and while we had notions of putting more thought and planning into breeding this year, in the end it was simpler (okay lazy) to let all the rams go out at once. Our second Christmas gift - a set of twin lambs. What the....!!??? The first lamb was frozen (it was around -25 Celcius when we found them in early daylight). The other was up on his feet. He's been christened Little Jesus, not so much for this Christian holiday as for the cuss words that came out of Allen's mouth upon discovering him. Ewe and lamb have moved into the goose house and seem to be doing fine. Not so sure about the geese. We're naively praying this is our only surprise winter lambing. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:33:31 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/shearing-sheds.html Shearing sheds will be set up to ensure maximum efficiency in countries of high sheep production. At this Saskatchewan sheep ranch a hoop style canvas building originally purchased to store grain now Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:07:58 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-shearing-tips.html Utilize these sheep shearing tips to help you keep pace on a hectic day when there is few hundred animals to be sheared Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:31:38 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-shearing.html Sheep shearing is a wool harvest that symbolizes the start of a new year. When raising sheep it is also the best time to have a good look at the flock. Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:15:18 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-wool.html Sheep wool is a unique fibre with remarkable features that make it what it is and allow it to be used in a myriad of ways Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:02:19 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/shearing-sheep.html Learn the process of shearing sheep, how to set up for sheep shearing, how the sheep fair through it all and what happens with the sheep wool. Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:55:26 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/about.html Welcome to a page about us. This is who we are and where we've been. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:05:26 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/sheep-herding-dogs.html Sheep herding dogs, more than just four legs and fur. Answering the ranchers practical questions about stock dogs. Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:00:50 GMT http://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/herding-facility.html A herding facility developed with the urban and rural herder in mind and built with the desire to provide real working opportunities for working breeds Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:43:47 GMT