Home
Site Map
Sheep Raising Sheep
Sheep Management
Lambing
Sheep Shearing
Sheep Wool
Sheep Breeds
Predators
Resources & Info
Sheep in Art
Using Dogs Sheep Dogs
Guardian Dogs
Working Dog Stories
Grass & Grazing Pasture Management
Grassland
Fencing
Ranching Sustainable Agric.
Living off the Land
Articles and Interviews
Contact About
Contact
Newsletter

Working Dog Helps with Catching Escaped Sheep - Australian Shepherd

by Anne Jespersen
(Wisconsin)

Just after we moved to our farm in Wisconsin our little flock of sheep took off through an open gate (oops) and got mixed in with our neighbors' flock of sheep. They had an electric fence at the time, which did not even slow my sheep down- they went straight through it to get to visit with more buddies.

I went and got Cinder, my Aussie, who was just learning to shed (split sheep into groups). "Now is your big chance to see if the lesson took," I told her.

Well, it was not a problem for her. We lined out the sheep, with the neighbor's non dog broke sheep in the front and split off all of mine from the back. Cinder took them through the electric fence, which was now turned off so we wouldn't get shocked on our way back, and put them back in our field.

It took about 5 minutes, not including time to walk over there and back. I don't even know how long it would have taken if I hadn't had a dog to help.

Comments for
Working Dog Helps with Catching Escaped Sheep - Australian Shepherd

Click here to add your own comments

Time Saver
by: Arlette

Anne,

Okay I did chuckle about your sheep not being held back by the electric fence. Sorry, I know it likely wasn't funny at the time.

Good job Cinder, shedding groups of animals is not always an easy task to teach or do.
sheep fence
by: michelle wetherbee

I have issues with my electric fence too its like nothing is touching them even on highest voltage.

I'm only 13 and I inherited my flock from my grandmother, shes not doing so well. The sheep just keep on going out. I can always tell where they're getting out cause the wire is always coated with loose wool.

I put another non electric fence in its place but they keep on doing it. Does anyone have any recommendations on what a girl with no budget and adventurous sheep can do?
sheep fence
by: Arlette

Hi Michelle,

You are pretty courageous to take on the care of your Grandma's sheep.

Our rams got out of our fence this year too because we were having fencing trouble. Our fencer has high voltage output but the power was not transferring to the wires.

Do you know anyone who can come and help you sort out the problem with your fence? It might be a simple fix like tightening the wires or checking the voltage along the wires.

If your wires are loose the animals can slip through without getting a shock, especially sheep because their wool insulates them. Same with the new fence you put in place. The fence needs to be tight.

Do you know the reason your sheep might be getting out? Are they trying to find better feed?
sheep and electric fence
by: Sid Jones

We've been using electric fence for our sheep for about 12 years. Many of our fences are only 2 wires, and sometimes when the grass is real lush, there is not very much power on the fence.

We have found out the hard way about a few key things: first, electric fence respect is partly a breed thing. We now run a breed that is much easier to keep in the fence than ones we had earlier. Of course part of the reason may be that we learned more about not pushing the sheep too hard on the pasture. They will leave sooner or later, if they are not convinced they are getting enough nutrition.

I think the most important thing we do to maintain fence respect, is with the water trough. We almost always water our flock with a trough and float valve, out of a tank on a truck or trailer, and we put the trough under the electric wires. We try to have the bottom wire placed so that even if the sheep have wool on their backs, the bottom wire will contact their legs when they get pushing and shoving at the water trough. This is a continual source of re-education. If we are seeing a ewe or two on the wrong side of our cross fence, we pull back the water so there is less room to drink. This makes it more likely they will get a reminder.
We bought the biggest and meanest fence energizer we could find, so that the lessons are well taught, and it can burn its way through a lot of vegetation, since sheep fence has to be so close to the ground. The memory usually seems to last well through the winter. we have fed one of our breeding groups all winter accross a two wire fence from the bale stack, and there was no charge on the fence. If they won't stay behind the wires with their wool on, it doesn't matter if there is power or not, they have to be moved where the temptation is not so strong. The sooner you move them, the better.

I did end up having to shoot a few ewes once that just would not stay in, and things quieted down nicely after that. Not a thing you want to do, unless it is far from home, and you can't catch them, but it is better than having them spoil the entire flock.


Hope you can get on top of the problem, I know how maddening it can be when you feel like you are not in control of the flock, that you can't turn your back, or go to town for a few hours without getting a call from the neighbor that your sheep are out. Good luck

Sid

Click here to add your own comments


All content on this website:
Copyright 2009-2012 Ranching-with-Sheep.com
May not be reproduced without permission

Click here to read our Privacy Policy.

SBI
SBI!