a blog at Firefly Fields
life on a small farm in Wisconsin
What Color is Your Finnsheep? (Intro & Quiz)
In the past few years, I have had Finnsheep breeders (new, experienced or wannabe) email me with questions regarding color and color genetics in Finnsheep. They may have purchased a sheep or lamb and not know for sure what color it really is. Or they may have had a "different"colored lamb born in their flock and not be sure how to register it. So here is a little quiz and some information to get you started in learning more about color genetics in Finnsheep.
(Allthe photos in this current blog post are of my own sheep or sheep Ihave bred and all are purebred Finnsheep (aka Finnish Landrace Sheep). Jot down what color you think they are. Answers will be given at theend. Hint: choices are white, black, brown, grey, fawn and piebald (spotted). Sorry, there is no prize other than patting yourself on the back for being such an informed friend of Finnsheep.
Quiz - #1 What color?
Knowledge of color genetics is just one of the reasons why selection of a trustworthy and knowledgeable breeder is so important. This is someone who you feel really understands color genetics, wool, and other traits in the breed and keeps scrupulously careful records of breeding groups and parentage. Find a breeder who is trying to preserve the breed and improve it. Not just someone whois a good salesman or has the lowest prices.
Raising a healthy ewe and healthy baby lambs cost money. No breeder is going to sell lambs at a loss. If they are selling their lambs dirt cheap, what kind of feed and care has been invested in that baby? One you get your purchase home, a poor quality sheep and an excellent quality sheep are going to eat the same amount of feed. And a healthy sheep is going to cost you less in vet bills or potential losses than a poor keeper that you bought out of pity. Don't think that you are going to get some"starter sheep" (like a "starter home") for little money and later upgrade. You will become attached to the sheep you buy. Finns are charming and they will get under skin and into your heart. I promise you. The legacy of your original purchases will live on to haunt your breeding program for many years to come. You are better off buying a small number of the best quality sheep you can afford and taking your time to learn how to be the best shepherd you can be.
If you can't find the exact ewes you want (the breeder is likely keeping the best ewe lambs back as replacements for her own flock), then get good healthy ewes and invest in one or two really excellent quality rams. There is a saying that "the ram is half of the flock". That is because one ram can produce many, many babies in one year. (Finn rams have a serious work ethic.) But a ewe is only going to produce about 3 babies(on average) in a year.
Finns have lots of babies. So growing your flock in numbers is easy. Growing your flock in quality is the challenge because there is no perfect sheep. While a lot of progress has been made in wool quality in the past 10 years, there is still improvement needed in the quality of the natural colored sheep if we are to reach the levels that they have in Finland. (And if you have problems in the wool of your white Finns, then you have big trouble!) While Finns are a lightly boned breed, that does not mean spindly like a toothpick.
Superior conformation, friendly personality,good udders and milk production, attentive mothering, and lovely wool are all traits which may be stronger or weaker in each line of your sheep. And although the US Finn breed standard favors maternal traits above all else, who wants tons of healthy lambs that all have Brillo pads for wool? What good is a friendly sheep who doesn't have the structure to carry a load full of babies? (Ever seen a pregnant woman carrying twins? A full term pregnant Finnsheep is at least that big!) Balancing these important qualities and never doubling up on a fault isthe art of being a good breeder. You owe it to your sheep to make them the healthiest and best that they can be.
Quiz - #2 What color?
If you are going to breed colored sheep (or even white ones), the buyer must also educate him/herself so that he/she can recognize all the colors and how they are inherited. Then when someone tells you that the grey lamb you are buying has a black dam and a brown sire, you will know that can't possibly be true. If you only want white sheep (which are just colored sheep with a white pattern masking the color) then understanding color genetics will help you avoid producing colored lambs in your flock.
In the United States, we have no genetic testing to prove our sheep are pure Finnsheep. In Finland, their breed association allows registration based on DNA profile. This allows them to preserve rare bloodlines which sometimes crop up in very remote parts of the countryside, but which may not be registered. And they can get genetic testing to do so, though it is expensive. Even if we were to get genetic testing of Finnsheep accepted in the U.S., it is possible that our North American Finnsheep might not test as pure anyway.
Whenthe original Finnsheep were brought into Canada in 1969 and subsequently into the United States in 1969, some were kept pure. Others were out-crossed to other breeds (to widen the genetics) and then"bred up" to be 15/16ths Finn. It was felt that 15/16ths Finns were genetically indistinguishable from purebred Finns and they were allowed to be registered as purebred until 1991. At that point, it was decided that the genetics in the U.S. were sufficiently diverse to prevent the problem of inbreeding and the "breeding up" program for any animal born after January 1, 1991, was discontinued. The Finnsheep Breeders Association (US) still allows the registration of cross-bred Finnsheep as Class II and this is useful for people who are trying to breed Polypays or other composite breeds which contain Finn.
The practice of "breeding up" is not unique to Finnsheep. It is actually common in the history of most breeds. For example, I was told that the Blue-faced Leicester was originally brought into the U.S. by using imported semen on Border Leicesters in the U.S. and then breeding them up until they were considered "pure". The USDA will not allow the importation of live animals (livestock, not cats and dogs) into the U.S. from other countries, except in rare cases of university and government research programs, due to fear of bringing in disease. So at this point, your options for importing new genetics from foreign countries are frozen semen and in some cases embryos.
Quiz - #3 What color?
In1998, frozen semen from 10 rams (white, black, brown and grey) was imported into the U.S. from the state flock at Pelso, Finland. Thanks to improved veterinary technology, artificial insemination is now possible to allow purebred Finn genetics to be brought into the U.S. I hope we will be able to continue to bring in new genetics from Finland. The average Finnsheep I saw in Finland are still far superior in quality to the average Finnsheep in the U.S. And they are still discovering rare genetic lines in isolated parts of the country. Although Finland is a very modern country, where you can be on an island accessible only by boat and still get 4 bars on your mobile phone (!), there are still older people who have been living "off the grid", and in some cases away from roads, raising their sheep. As these older people retire or die, there is an effort by some breeders in Finland to rescue and continue these very old bloodlines.
#4 What color?
ANSWERS to the quiz:
#1:BLACK. Elias is a black wether (neutered male). Note the black hair on his head and legs and the black pigment on his nose and lips. This is a bit of a tricky one because he has faded through out the years(i.e. what is known as a "fading black") to grey. His first fleece ata year of age was coal black. After that his fleece started to lighten till they reached a medium grey and have remained that color for years. He is now 8 years old. In this photo the tips of his wool are sun-bleached to a brownish color. But if you would part his wool, it is grey other than the very ends.
#2. WHITE. This ram lamb has a peach appearance due to the presence of pheomelanin (reddish brown pigment) in the hair (but not the wool). It has nothing to do with the wool color. (It is not a fawn color.) They still have pink pigment and a pink tongue like other white Finnsheep. When all baby lambs are born, they have a combination of hair and wool fibers on their bodies. Even in very fine wooled sheep, when you can't see any hair. As they grow up, the % of wool fibers increases, that is why the reddish color fades.
#3 BROWN. Kahvi is a brown ram. Notice the brown hair on his legs and face. Brown Finnsheep have a liver colored nose and lips (like a chocolate Lab or red Doberman).
#4GREY This is Taivo as a young ram lamb. Grey (and Fawn) Finnsheep are born black (or brown). Often you can see a few lighter hairs coming in on the flanks. The dilute color will always appear by age 8 months and usually does by age 6 months. The pigment and tongue color in the greys are a bluish pink. (Eat a blue popcicle and look at your tongue.)
(Allthe photos in this current blog post are of my own sheep or sheep Ihave bred and all are purebred Finnsheep (aka Finnish Landrace Sheep). Jot down what color you think they are. Answers will be given at theend. Hint: choices are white, black, brown, grey, fawn and piebald (spotted). Sorry, there is no prize other than patting yourself on the back for being such an informed friend of Finnsheep.
Quiz - #1 What color?
Knowledge of color genetics is just one of the reasons why selection of a trustworthy and knowledgeable breeder is so important. This is someone who you feel really understands color genetics, wool, and other traits in the breed and keeps scrupulously careful records of breeding groups and parentage. Find a breeder who is trying to preserve the breed and improve it. Not just someone whois a good salesman or has the lowest prices.
Raising a healthy ewe and healthy baby lambs cost money. No breeder is going to sell lambs at a loss. If they are selling their lambs dirt cheap, what kind of feed and care has been invested in that baby? One you get your purchase home, a poor quality sheep and an excellent quality sheep are going to eat the same amount of feed. And a healthy sheep is going to cost you less in vet bills or potential losses than a poor keeper that you bought out of pity. Don't think that you are going to get some"starter sheep" (like a "starter home") for little money and later upgrade. You will become attached to the sheep you buy. Finns are charming and they will get under skin and into your heart. I promise you. The legacy of your original purchases will live on to haunt your breeding program for many years to come. You are better off buying a small number of the best quality sheep you can afford and taking your time to learn how to be the best shepherd you can be.
If you can't find the exact ewes you want (the breeder is likely keeping the best ewe lambs back as replacements for her own flock), then get good healthy ewes and invest in one or two really excellent quality rams. There is a saying that "the ram is half of the flock". That is because one ram can produce many, many babies in one year. (Finn rams have a serious work ethic.) But a ewe is only going to produce about 3 babies(on average) in a year.
Finns have lots of babies. So growing your flock in numbers is easy. Growing your flock in quality is the challenge because there is no perfect sheep. While a lot of progress has been made in wool quality in the past 10 years, there is still improvement needed in the quality of the natural colored sheep if we are to reach the levels that they have in Finland. (And if you have problems in the wool of your white Finns, then you have big trouble!) While Finns are a lightly boned breed, that does not mean spindly like a toothpick.
Superior conformation, friendly personality,good udders and milk production, attentive mothering, and lovely wool are all traits which may be stronger or weaker in each line of your sheep. And although the US Finn breed standard favors maternal traits above all else, who wants tons of healthy lambs that all have Brillo pads for wool? What good is a friendly sheep who doesn't have the structure to carry a load full of babies? (Ever seen a pregnant woman carrying twins? A full term pregnant Finnsheep is at least that big!) Balancing these important qualities and never doubling up on a fault isthe art of being a good breeder. You owe it to your sheep to make them the healthiest and best that they can be.
Quiz - #2 What color?
If you are going to breed colored sheep (or even white ones), the buyer must also educate him/herself so that he/she can recognize all the colors and how they are inherited. Then when someone tells you that the grey lamb you are buying has a black dam and a brown sire, you will know that can't possibly be true. If you only want white sheep (which are just colored sheep with a white pattern masking the color) then understanding color genetics will help you avoid producing colored lambs in your flock.
In the United States, we have no genetic testing to prove our sheep are pure Finnsheep. In Finland, their breed association allows registration based on DNA profile. This allows them to preserve rare bloodlines which sometimes crop up in very remote parts of the countryside, but which may not be registered. And they can get genetic testing to do so, though it is expensive. Even if we were to get genetic testing of Finnsheep accepted in the U.S., it is possible that our North American Finnsheep might not test as pure anyway.
Whenthe original Finnsheep were brought into Canada in 1969 and subsequently into the United States in 1969, some were kept pure. Others were out-crossed to other breeds (to widen the genetics) and then"bred up" to be 15/16ths Finn. It was felt that 15/16ths Finns were genetically indistinguishable from purebred Finns and they were allowed to be registered as purebred until 1991. At that point, it was decided that the genetics in the U.S. were sufficiently diverse to prevent the problem of inbreeding and the "breeding up" program for any animal born after January 1, 1991, was discontinued. The Finnsheep Breeders Association (US) still allows the registration of cross-bred Finnsheep as Class II and this is useful for people who are trying to breed Polypays or other composite breeds which contain Finn.
The practice of "breeding up" is not unique to Finnsheep. It is actually common in the history of most breeds. For example, I was told that the Blue-faced Leicester was originally brought into the U.S. by using imported semen on Border Leicesters in the U.S. and then breeding them up until they were considered "pure". The USDA will not allow the importation of live animals (livestock, not cats and dogs) into the U.S. from other countries, except in rare cases of university and government research programs, due to fear of bringing in disease. So at this point, your options for importing new genetics from foreign countries are frozen semen and in some cases embryos.
Quiz - #3 What color?
In1998, frozen semen from 10 rams (white, black, brown and grey) was imported into the U.S. from the state flock at Pelso, Finland. Thanks to improved veterinary technology, artificial insemination is now possible to allow purebred Finn genetics to be brought into the U.S. I hope we will be able to continue to bring in new genetics from Finland. The average Finnsheep I saw in Finland are still far superior in quality to the average Finnsheep in the U.S. And they are still discovering rare genetic lines in isolated parts of the country. Although Finland is a very modern country, where you can be on an island accessible only by boat and still get 4 bars on your mobile phone (!), there are still older people who have been living "off the grid", and in some cases away from roads, raising their sheep. As these older people retire or die, there is an effort by some breeders in Finland to rescue and continue these very old bloodlines.
#4 What color?
ANSWERS to the quiz:
#1:BLACK. Elias is a black wether (neutered male). Note the black hair on his head and legs and the black pigment on his nose and lips. This is a bit of a tricky one because he has faded through out the years(i.e. what is known as a "fading black") to grey. His first fleece ata year of age was coal black. After that his fleece started to lighten till they reached a medium grey and have remained that color for years. He is now 8 years old. In this photo the tips of his wool are sun-bleached to a brownish color. But if you would part his wool, it is grey other than the very ends.
#2. WHITE. This ram lamb has a peach appearance due to the presence of pheomelanin (reddish brown pigment) in the hair (but not the wool). It has nothing to do with the wool color. (It is not a fawn color.) They still have pink pigment and a pink tongue like other white Finnsheep. When all baby lambs are born, they have a combination of hair and wool fibers on their bodies. Even in very fine wooled sheep, when you can't see any hair. As they grow up, the % of wool fibers increases, that is why the reddish color fades.
#3 BROWN. Kahvi is a brown ram. Notice the brown hair on his legs and face. Brown Finnsheep have a liver colored nose and lips (like a chocolate Lab or red Doberman).
#4GREY This is Taivo as a young ram lamb. Grey (and Fawn) Finnsheep are born black (or brown). Often you can see a few lighter hairs coming in on the flanks. The dilute color will always appear by age 8 months and usually does by age 6 months. The pigment and tongue color in the greys are a bluish pink. (Eat a blue popcicle and look at your tongue.)
"The Rise" and Finn wool
Once upon a time... sheep used to shed their wool in the spring. The process that led up to this shedding was called "the rise". The wool would get a thickened area and then a natural break. This allowed early shepherds to remove the wool from the sheep by plucking it off -- called "rooing". The modern or "improved' breeds of sheep have tried and mostly succeeded in breeding away from this trait, so they can shear when they want to rather than when nature dictates. But this trait is still found in some members of landrace or "primitive" sheep breeds.
Wendall is "molting"! He is 69% of the new bloodlines imported from Finland. Because we sheared in April this year, this thickened bit is still on the sheep. He is the only one of my sheep that actually sheds off this retained wool -- well most of it. This photo was taken a couple of months ago, so most of it has grown out and shed off by now. We will give him a little haircut, now that this yucky part is out away from his body.
It is hard to find much information about "the rise" and most references to it on the web are in Shetland Sheep. However, this trait also occurs in Finns. As I get more of the imported bloodlines from the 1998 frozen semen importation throughout my flock -- and presumably my bloodlines become more purely Finnish -- I am seeing this trait more. This year I had three ewes and two rams who did not shear very well despite having good wool.
I need to look back through the notes I took in Finland to see when the people there do their spring shearing. One factor to keep in mind though is that they do not jacket their sheep to preserve the fleeces. To compensate for that and keep the quality of their fleece high, they shear twice a year. (The Finnish Landrace sheep in Finland have really beautiful wool!) The wool clip from the fall shearing is their high quality wool which is used to make yarn and finished products such as socks, hats and sweaters. The wool from the spring shearing has been fouled by chaff from feeding hay etc. This spring clip is either used for other things like felting or is discarded.
When dealing with "the rise" one option is to shear early enough in the year (such as early March in our area) so that you are shearing above the rise. This leaves wool on the sheep which tends to cot up as it grows out -- possibly ruining next year's fleece. This also leaves you with the quandary of having to house sheep for longer indoors because of the cold and wet weather and possibly face the danger of sheep getting ill from the stress of being cold. (I have had this happen in rams and wethers - but not ewes so far.)
Sini is 81% Kainuunharmas (Kainu Grey) bloodlines from Finland and has beautiful wool. But see how the she has more wool left on her back half than on her front half? That is because the shearer was not able to get under the natural thickened area (due to "the rise") and had to shear above it this year. Don't worry, we will fix her up so her fleece for next year is nice.
The alternative is to shear late enough in the year (the latter part of May in our area) so that the thickened area has grown away from the sheep's skin and you are shearing along the natural break in the wool. The drawback here is that there maybe a couple of weeks in which the sheep are quite hot and sitting in front of barn fans all day before shearing if we have a warmer spring. It also means that any ewes bred will need to be "crutched" prior to lambing. This means trimming away the wool on the ewe's belly and rear end to keep her fairly clean during the birthing process and prevent the baby lambs from accidentally sucking on soiled wool when looking for milk.
My shearer has convinced me that I need to try shearing in May next year and that I will get better quality fleeces with less waste left on the sheep. He said that Sandy DeMaster (Finns - though retired from breeding) and Julie Guillette (Shetlands) have both found this to be true. So if you order fleeces from me in 2011, shearing won't be occurring until sometime in late May and fleeces will be shipped out sometime in June depending on how chaotic things are with baby lambs. In the meantime, I am going to clip my "clumpy" sheep to give them a fresh start on growing beautiful fleeces for next year!!
Wendall is "molting"! He is 69% of the new bloodlines imported from Finland. Because we sheared in April this year, this thickened bit is still on the sheep. He is the only one of my sheep that actually sheds off this retained wool -- well most of it. This photo was taken a couple of months ago, so most of it has grown out and shed off by now. We will give him a little haircut, now that this yucky part is out away from his body.
It is hard to find much information about "the rise" and most references to it on the web are in Shetland Sheep. However, this trait also occurs in Finns. As I get more of the imported bloodlines from the 1998 frozen semen importation throughout my flock -- and presumably my bloodlines become more purely Finnish -- I am seeing this trait more. This year I had three ewes and two rams who did not shear very well despite having good wool.
I need to look back through the notes I took in Finland to see when the people there do their spring shearing. One factor to keep in mind though is that they do not jacket their sheep to preserve the fleeces. To compensate for that and keep the quality of their fleece high, they shear twice a year. (The Finnish Landrace sheep in Finland have really beautiful wool!) The wool clip from the fall shearing is their high quality wool which is used to make yarn and finished products such as socks, hats and sweaters. The wool from the spring shearing has been fouled by chaff from feeding hay etc. This spring clip is either used for other things like felting or is discarded.
When dealing with "the rise" one option is to shear early enough in the year (such as early March in our area) so that you are shearing above the rise. This leaves wool on the sheep which tends to cot up as it grows out -- possibly ruining next year's fleece. This also leaves you with the quandary of having to house sheep for longer indoors because of the cold and wet weather and possibly face the danger of sheep getting ill from the stress of being cold. (I have had this happen in rams and wethers - but not ewes so far.)
Sini is 81% Kainuunharmas (Kainu Grey) bloodlines from Finland and has beautiful wool. But see how the she has more wool left on her back half than on her front half? That is because the shearer was not able to get under the natural thickened area (due to "the rise") and had to shear above it this year. Don't worry, we will fix her up so her fleece for next year is nice.
The alternative is to shear late enough in the year (the latter part of May in our area) so that the thickened area has grown away from the sheep's skin and you are shearing along the natural break in the wool. The drawback here is that there maybe a couple of weeks in which the sheep are quite hot and sitting in front of barn fans all day before shearing if we have a warmer spring. It also means that any ewes bred will need to be "crutched" prior to lambing. This means trimming away the wool on the ewe's belly and rear end to keep her fairly clean during the birthing process and prevent the baby lambs from accidentally sucking on soiled wool when looking for milk.
My shearer has convinced me that I need to try shearing in May next year and that I will get better quality fleeces with less waste left on the sheep. He said that Sandy DeMaster (Finns - though retired from breeding) and Julie Guillette (Shetlands) have both found this to be true. So if you order fleeces from me in 2011, shearing won't be occurring until sometime in late May and fleeces will be shipped out sometime in June depending on how chaotic things are with baby lambs. In the meantime, I am going to clip my "clumpy" sheep to give them a fresh start on growing beautiful fleeces for next year!!
Read More about LGDs
Want to learn more about Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs)? Here are some books to check out. (Usual Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in any of these books, their authors or publishers.) While we have had Rio (our adult Great Pyreenes) for nearly 7 years now, I am enjoying re-reading all of my books and watching Zoe discover her ancestral occupation.
This book by Coppinger and Coppinger has two titles as they retitled the paperback edition. It is called both:
Dogs : A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution (hard cover - copyright 2001) and
Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution (paperback - copyright 2002)
This book has been around for a while and is of general interest, so you might be able to find it at your local public library. It covers a lot of material, some of which is more opinion than fact. But, in my opinion, the best part of the whole book is the section on Livestock Guardian Dogs. The Coppingers (husband and wife), while on the faculty at Hampshire College (USA), were involved in some of the early research into the use of LGDs for predator control in the U.S. They traveled throughout Europe purchasing breeding pairs of several different breeds of LGDs from the shepherds who were still using them to guard their flocks.
After returning to the U.S., they placed the puppies that resulted from these breedings with farmers and ranchers across the United States. Then they sent out surveys and kept data for the various breeds on things like ability to protect livestock, aggression against predators, aggression against livestock, aggression against humans etc. to determine both their effectiveness as well as desirable and undesirable traits.
They also offer some theories as to the traits possessed by these breeds that allow them to bond with and guard livestock. One of these is the theoriy that LGDs experience a rather prolonged puppyhood in which prey drive does not emerge until about 5 months of age. By that time, the LGD should be bonded which whatever species it is going to be asked to guard, so it sees them as part of its family or pack, rather than as prey.
Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care and Training -- by Dawydiak and Sims -- second edition: copyright 2004
This book has a large section which describes and compares the various breeds used to do this job. It also has chapters on puppy selection, raising your puppy or dog, training, behavior problems, diet, health problems, use as a companion dog (pet) etc.. This book was a bit of a slow read for me, but I found the section describing and comparing the different breeds of dogs to be fascinating.
Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys and Llamas to Protect Your Herd -- by Janet Vorwald Dohner -- copyright 2007
I just got this book last week. I was able to find a used - like new copy in Hardback from one of Amazon's partner stores. It has several chapters on understanding the different types of predators and the dangers they pose to livestock. It also talks about things like using effective fencing. There is a long section on dogs, a medium-length section on donkeys and a short section on llamas. I haven't read it cover to over yet, but so far it looks good.
Ain't Life Grand with a Great Pyrenees Guarding the Flock -- by Beverly Coate - copyright 1993.
I purchased this self-published book from Beverly Coate after hearing her speak at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in 2003. Beverly and her husband operated C&C Farms in Stigler, OK. It was a very large farm over rough, rocky terrain where they raised sheep, goats and cattle in country which also had coyotes and mountain lions.
I credit the information I got from Beverly with leading to my purchase of Rio (our first LGD). I had been told that our farm was not large enough to warrant an LGD. I described our sheep farm, the adjacent woods and creek and the movement of coyotes in our area to her. Her response was that I definitely needed one LGD and might even need two. This is a short little book, practical and folksy in style. It describes one experienced person's methods of raising and using Great Pyrenees as LGDs.
Unfortunately, I believe that Beverly had to give up her farm following health problems and divorce. So I have no idea how to purchase this book now. But if you are able to get your hands on a used copy somewhere, it is a worthwhile edition to your farm library.
This book by Coppinger and Coppinger has two titles as they retitled the paperback edition. It is called both:
Dogs : A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution (hard cover - copyright 2001) and
Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution (paperback - copyright 2002)
This book has been around for a while and is of general interest, so you might be able to find it at your local public library. It covers a lot of material, some of which is more opinion than fact. But, in my opinion, the best part of the whole book is the section on Livestock Guardian Dogs. The Coppingers (husband and wife), while on the faculty at Hampshire College (USA), were involved in some of the early research into the use of LGDs for predator control in the U.S. They traveled throughout Europe purchasing breeding pairs of several different breeds of LGDs from the shepherds who were still using them to guard their flocks.
After returning to the U.S., they placed the puppies that resulted from these breedings with farmers and ranchers across the United States. Then they sent out surveys and kept data for the various breeds on things like ability to protect livestock, aggression against predators, aggression against livestock, aggression against humans etc. to determine both their effectiveness as well as desirable and undesirable traits.
They also offer some theories as to the traits possessed by these breeds that allow them to bond with and guard livestock. One of these is the theoriy that LGDs experience a rather prolonged puppyhood in which prey drive does not emerge until about 5 months of age. By that time, the LGD should be bonded which whatever species it is going to be asked to guard, so it sees them as part of its family or pack, rather than as prey.
Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care and Training -- by Dawydiak and Sims -- second edition: copyright 2004
This book has a large section which describes and compares the various breeds used to do this job. It also has chapters on puppy selection, raising your puppy or dog, training, behavior problems, diet, health problems, use as a companion dog (pet) etc.. This book was a bit of a slow read for me, but I found the section describing and comparing the different breeds of dogs to be fascinating.
Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys and Llamas to Protect Your Herd -- by Janet Vorwald Dohner -- copyright 2007
I just got this book last week. I was able to find a used - like new copy in Hardback from one of Amazon's partner stores. It has several chapters on understanding the different types of predators and the dangers they pose to livestock. It also talks about things like using effective fencing. There is a long section on dogs, a medium-length section on donkeys and a short section on llamas. I haven't read it cover to over yet, but so far it looks good.
Ain't Life Grand with a Great Pyrenees Guarding the Flock -- by Beverly Coate - copyright 1993.
I purchased this self-published book from Beverly Coate after hearing her speak at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in 2003. Beverly and her husband operated C&C Farms in Stigler, OK. It was a very large farm over rough, rocky terrain where they raised sheep, goats and cattle in country which also had coyotes and mountain lions.
I credit the information I got from Beverly with leading to my purchase of Rio (our first LGD). I had been told that our farm was not large enough to warrant an LGD. I described our sheep farm, the adjacent woods and creek and the movement of coyotes in our area to her. Her response was that I definitely needed one LGD and might even need two. This is a short little book, practical and folksy in style. It describes one experienced person's methods of raising and using Great Pyrenees as LGDs.
Unfortunately, I believe that Beverly had to give up her farm following health problems and divorce. So I have no idea how to purchase this book now. But if you are able to get your hands on a used copy somewhere, it is a worthwhile edition to your farm library.
More Zoe Pics
Here are a couple more photos of Zoe taken on July 5th. This was a cloudy, breezy day. So the sheep were out grazing on pasture in the middle of the day (rather than hiding in the shade) and the dogs were out lying amongst them.
Here is Zoe. Her "badger" colored markings are becoming more subtle as her fur gets longer.
Rio (adult dog) and Zoe (10 1/2 weeks old) watching over the ewes and wethers
Here is Zoe. Her "badger" colored markings are becoming more subtle as her fur gets longer.
Rio (adult dog) and Zoe (10 1/2 weeks old) watching over the ewes and wethers
Meet Zoe!
Meet "Zoe", also known as Beechtrees Flock to Me, our new baby Great Pyrenees Livestock Guardian Dog.
Her registered name has a double meaning. The litter had a sheep-theme for the registered names, but it was tricky to come up with something that sounded like a sheep guardian dog and not a herding dog. Other than the obvious meaning that the job of a sheep guardian dog is to stay with the sheep and protect them from predators, the other meaning is historical. According to my history-buff husband, in olden times, military commanders would command their troops, "To me men; to me," which mean that they should fall in behind him as he led them into battle. This is exactly the way our sheep all gather behind Rio when she is barking at a threat. Originally, Rio would place herself between the threat (or perceived threat) and the sheep. In time, she could stand nearly anywhere and bark, and if the sheep were in that pasture, they would flock up and get behind her. Somehow she has trained them to do this over time.
Zoe arrived here about 3 weeks ago on June 21st. She was 8 1/2 weeks old at that time and looked like this:
Her registered name has a double meaning. The litter had a sheep-theme for the registered names, but it was tricky to come up with something that sounded like a sheep guardian dog and not a herding dog. Other than the obvious meaning that the job of a sheep guardian dog is to stay with the sheep and protect them from predators, the other meaning is historical. According to my history-buff husband, in olden times, military commanders would command their troops, "To me men; to me," which mean that they should fall in behind him as he led them into battle. This is exactly the way our sheep all gather behind Rio when she is barking at a threat. Originally, Rio would place herself between the threat (or perceived threat) and the sheep. In time, she could stand nearly anywhere and bark, and if the sheep were in that pasture, they would flock up and get behind her. Somehow she has trained them to do this over time.
Zoe arrived here about 3 weeks ago on June 21st. She was 8 1/2 weeks old at that time and looked like this:
I took this photo at the breeder's farm the day I picked her up. I drove to Michigan on Sunday, June 20th and stayed at my friend Kila's house. Kila is a dog friend I have known for about 16 years. She was nice enough to take Monday off work and drive the hour west to Beechtree Farm to help me select my puppy. I had my choice between female #2 (now known as Cleo in AZ), male #3 (still available) and female #8 (now known as my Zoe).
When I arrived at the farm, there were 5 puppies playing and napping in a nursery pen in the grassy area next to the barn. This pen had a tarp partially covering the top of the pen for shade, but it did not have a complete "roof" over the entire top. A quick count revealed that one puppy was missing. Brenda informed me that female #8 had "let herself out" of the pen earlier that morning and was napping in the barn. She said that this puppy was the most laid back of all the pups, was not worried by the sheep, was curious but respectful of the barn cats, and liked to hang out at the barn. She let out all the puppies so they could go potty and run around a bit, then returned the 3 that were already taken by herself or others to the pen. In hindsight, I should have asked more questions about how an 8 1/2 week old puppy let herself out of a pen with 4 foot tall sides!
When looking at the puppy photos on Brenda's Beechtree Farm blog, I had sort of had "a feeling" that puppy #8 should be mine. I think it was the colored ears and white face that reminded me of Rio (our adult Great Pyr) and also Frolic (my beloved Border Collie who died at the end of May). But I firmly decided that I was not going to make up my mind until I had met all of the puppies. I wanted to be sure I selected the right one for our farm situation. After meeting all of the puppies, it seemed that puppy #8 really was the perfect one!
Based on my discussions with the breeder and everything I had read in my LGD books, Zoe would be spending the first couple of weeks at our farm in a pen in an area near where the sheep like to hang out. This would allow her to bond with the sheep, but not get stepped on, since an 8 week old puppy doesn't have the coordination to get out from under a moving sheep. Then I would go out several times a day and let the puppy follow me on little walks around the farm to learn the pasture boundaries and allow the sheep some time to come up and sniff her if they wished.
But after setting up a pen under the lean-to on the back of our barn (good shade, near the sheep's daytime resting place, nice breeze) on the first evening that I brought her home, it was clear that she was able to easily climb out of a 4 high pen. And if the tarp roof was not completely taut, she could squeeze through a tiny space in the corner too. Great Pyrenees have a reputation for being Houdini dogs (escape artists), I just didn't think those behaviors would emerge so quickly!! Fortunately she only wanted to go find Rio and hang out with her. So eventually I decided that it was best to just leave her in the pasture during the day with Rio while keeping an eye on her, rather than risking an injury from her repeated escape attempts. Usually, I tend to be a bit of a "smother-mother" when it comes to raising my puppies. But Zoe seemed to be "an old soul" who just knew what to do. And Rio immediately took her under her wing, watching out for her and "showing her the ropes".
Rio and Zoe patrol the boundaries of our back pasture together.
Zoe was wary of the sheep and they were wary of her. (A 120 pound dog is not scary, but who knows what a 15 pound puppy might do?) So there was little worry of them getting close enough to step on her. I had been told a few years ago, by Rio's breeder, that the Finnsheep were more flighty and "wimpy" around the dogs compared to her Lincolns or Suffolks. So I suspected that my Finns might be quite a lot more "wimpy" than Brenda's Blue-faced Leicesters.
Fortunately, because of the construction of the night pen we set up for her in the barn, she was not able to escape from it. All the Premier panels that comprised it were the same size and height and the tarp fit more tightly. So we were able to secure her in that pen just before dark each evening. I have been bringing the sheep into the barn and attached paddock at night so that Zoe would be around them more and would have some friends in the barn overnight since Rio is out patrolling the pastures.
Zoe hates her night pen and gives me a look like, "This baby pen demeans us both," every evening when I lock her and her dinner inside it. But I do not want her out roaming the pastures after dark yet for safety's sake. My thought is that when she is too large for me to physically put in the pen, then she will be large enough to fend for herself (with Rio's supervision) at night.
Firefly Fields Security Team
When I arrived at the farm, there were 5 puppies playing and napping in a nursery pen in the grassy area next to the barn. This pen had a tarp partially covering the top of the pen for shade, but it did not have a complete "roof" over the entire top. A quick count revealed that one puppy was missing. Brenda informed me that female #8 had "let herself out" of the pen earlier that morning and was napping in the barn. She said that this puppy was the most laid back of all the pups, was not worried by the sheep, was curious but respectful of the barn cats, and liked to hang out at the barn. She let out all the puppies so they could go potty and run around a bit, then returned the 3 that were already taken by herself or others to the pen. In hindsight, I should have asked more questions about how an 8 1/2 week old puppy let herself out of a pen with 4 foot tall sides!
When looking at the puppy photos on Brenda's Beechtree Farm blog, I had sort of had "a feeling" that puppy #8 should be mine. I think it was the colored ears and white face that reminded me of Rio (our adult Great Pyr) and also Frolic (my beloved Border Collie who died at the end of May). But I firmly decided that I was not going to make up my mind until I had met all of the puppies. I wanted to be sure I selected the right one for our farm situation. After meeting all of the puppies, it seemed that puppy #8 really was the perfect one!
Based on my discussions with the breeder and everything I had read in my LGD books, Zoe would be spending the first couple of weeks at our farm in a pen in an area near where the sheep like to hang out. This would allow her to bond with the sheep, but not get stepped on, since an 8 week old puppy doesn't have the coordination to get out from under a moving sheep. Then I would go out several times a day and let the puppy follow me on little walks around the farm to learn the pasture boundaries and allow the sheep some time to come up and sniff her if they wished.
But after setting up a pen under the lean-to on the back of our barn (good shade, near the sheep's daytime resting place, nice breeze) on the first evening that I brought her home, it was clear that she was able to easily climb out of a 4 high pen. And if the tarp roof was not completely taut, she could squeeze through a tiny space in the corner too. Great Pyrenees have a reputation for being Houdini dogs (escape artists), I just didn't think those behaviors would emerge so quickly!! Fortunately she only wanted to go find Rio and hang out with her. So eventually I decided that it was best to just leave her in the pasture during the day with Rio while keeping an eye on her, rather than risking an injury from her repeated escape attempts. Usually, I tend to be a bit of a "smother-mother" when it comes to raising my puppies. But Zoe seemed to be "an old soul" who just knew what to do. And Rio immediately took her under her wing, watching out for her and "showing her the ropes".
Rio and Zoe patrol the boundaries of our back pasture together.
Zoe was wary of the sheep and they were wary of her. (A 120 pound dog is not scary, but who knows what a 15 pound puppy might do?) So there was little worry of them getting close enough to step on her. I had been told a few years ago, by Rio's breeder, that the Finnsheep were more flighty and "wimpy" around the dogs compared to her Lincolns or Suffolks. So I suspected that my Finns might be quite a lot more "wimpy" than Brenda's Blue-faced Leicesters.
Fortunately, because of the construction of the night pen we set up for her in the barn, she was not able to escape from it. All the Premier panels that comprised it were the same size and height and the tarp fit more tightly. So we were able to secure her in that pen just before dark each evening. I have been bringing the sheep into the barn and attached paddock at night so that Zoe would be around them more and would have some friends in the barn overnight since Rio is out patrolling the pastures.
Zoe hates her night pen and gives me a look like, "This baby pen demeans us both," every evening when I lock her and her dinner inside it. But I do not want her out roaming the pastures after dark yet for safety's sake. My thought is that when she is too large for me to physically put in the pen, then she will be large enough to fend for herself (with Rio's supervision) at night.
Firefly Fields Security Team
More photos and stories about Zoe to come...
Panda's 2010 fleece available
UPDATE: SOLD! Panda's 2010fleece will have a new home with Joan. I know she will love it!
Panda's 2010 fleece is available. It was previously reserved but the buyer has gone incommunicado. So I am making it available to someone else. This is a large fleece and really beautiful. (Plenty of wool for a warm sweater for your husband or a beautiful glimmering shawl for you!) A couple of years ago when Sandy De Master (long time Finn breeder and my sheep mentor) helped me at shearing time, Panda's fleece was her very favorite.
Panda is second from the left in this photo with the dark panda-like spots around his eyes.
Panda is genetically a black/white piebald (spotted) wether. However, he has minimal white on his body, so the fleece is basically a solid color. With age, his wool has "faded" to a light grey. It has a fairly long staple length of about 7 inches and a wide, even crimp. It is extremely SOFT and has excellent luster for a colored fleece. There is a little sun-bleaching on the ends of the wool which will blend in when carded.
Like all my hand-spinning fleeces, this is a well-skirted fleece from a jacketed sheep. (The wool in the fleece is only the clean part from under the jacket.) We put the jackets on in the fall before we start feeding hay to keep the chaff out of the wool.
Here is a photo of the little sample I kept of the actual fleece from this year, which does not do it justice. The fleece itself is already boxed up and ready to ship.
Cost of this fleece:
5.65 lb x $12 = $67.80 plus shipping
I prefer money order or Paypal. I will accept a personal check but wait till check has cleared the bank before shipping the wool. If interested, contact me at tracy@fireflyfields.com with your name and street address so I can calculate shipping cost.
I guarantee you will fall in love with this fleece!!!!
Panda's 2010 fleece is available. It was previously reserved but the buyer has gone incommunicado. So I am making it available to someone else. This is a large fleece and really beautiful. (Plenty of wool for a warm sweater for your husband or a beautiful glimmering shawl for you!) A couple of years ago when Sandy De Master (long time Finn breeder and my sheep mentor) helped me at shearing time, Panda's fleece was her very favorite.
Panda is second from the left in this photo with the dark panda-like spots around his eyes.
Panda is genetically a black/white piebald (spotted) wether. However, he has minimal white on his body, so the fleece is basically a solid color. With age, his wool has "faded" to a light grey. It has a fairly long staple length of about 7 inches and a wide, even crimp. It is extremely SOFT and has excellent luster for a colored fleece. There is a little sun-bleaching on the ends of the wool which will blend in when carded.
Like all my hand-spinning fleeces, this is a well-skirted fleece from a jacketed sheep. (The wool in the fleece is only the clean part from under the jacket.) We put the jackets on in the fall before we start feeding hay to keep the chaff out of the wool.
Here is a photo of the little sample I kept of the actual fleece from this year, which does not do it justice. The fleece itself is already boxed up and ready to ship.
Cost of this fleece:
5.65 lb x $12 = $67.80 plus shipping
I prefer money order or Paypal. I will accept a personal check but wait till check has cleared the bank before shipping the wool. If interested, contact me at tracy@fireflyfields.com with your name and street address so I can calculate shipping cost.
I guarantee you will fall in love with this fleece!!!!
Countdown to Baby Great Pyrenees
A week from today, I will bring home our new baby Great Pyrenees!! (Not that I am counting.) We are getting a little helper for Rio , our 7 year old livestock guardian dog (LGD) who is also a Great Pyr. While Rio is still in excellent heath and I feel at the peak of her working ability, we felt it would be good to get a young dog to "learn the ropes" from Rio. Then as Rio starts to age, the young dog can help pick up the slack. I have known farms where the dogs work as a team and the smarter, older dog will bark at something and then the young dog will chase it away.
The life expectancy for Great Pyrs is 8 to 12 years, with 10 probably being about average. We have been very lucky with good longevity in most of our animals. However, I am not sure if being an outdoor sheep guarding dog will increase or reduce her lifespan. On one hand she has to deal with the elements and cold/heat/rain etc. But on the other hand she has full access to 6 acres, lots of exercise, fresh air and does the job the breed was made for.
We had two failed attempts to get puppy that was a Rio relative last year and this year. (Rio is awesome!) But those litters didn't work out and Rio's breeder is not going to be breeding any related dogs anytime in the near future. So, I had to go looking for another breeder and found Brenda Lelli in Michigan. I am getting one of the female puppies. Here are photos of puppies at 6 1/2 weeks old.
I don't know which one will be mine yet. Brenda, the breeder, is keeping the female with the darkest mask (labeled female #4). A lady from New Hampshire gets second pick (because she reserved her pup before I did). But she isn't actually driving to Michigan to select her. She is picking based on the photos and information from the breeder. So next Monday, I will choose from whichever two are not spoken for.
I am really not concerned. I have had last pick of a litter more than once with my dogs and have always felt that I got the best dog anyway. I feel that you pick the parents and the genetics and then you are generally OK with any of the puppies.
My doggie-friend of over 15 years, Kila, who lives in Michigan is going along with me to look at the puppies and make my pick. So it should be really fun!! I will post some photos after we get her...
The life expectancy for Great Pyrs is 8 to 12 years, with 10 probably being about average. We have been very lucky with good longevity in most of our animals. However, I am not sure if being an outdoor sheep guarding dog will increase or reduce her lifespan. On one hand she has to deal with the elements and cold/heat/rain etc. But on the other hand she has full access to 6 acres, lots of exercise, fresh air and does the job the breed was made for.
We had two failed attempts to get puppy that was a Rio relative last year and this year. (Rio is awesome!) But those litters didn't work out and Rio's breeder is not going to be breeding any related dogs anytime in the near future. So, I had to go looking for another breeder and found Brenda Lelli in Michigan. I am getting one of the female puppies. Here are photos of puppies at 6 1/2 weeks old.
I don't know which one will be mine yet. Brenda, the breeder, is keeping the female with the darkest mask (labeled female #4). A lady from New Hampshire gets second pick (because she reserved her pup before I did). But she isn't actually driving to Michigan to select her. She is picking based on the photos and information from the breeder. So next Monday, I will choose from whichever two are not spoken for.
I am really not concerned. I have had last pick of a litter more than once with my dogs and have always felt that I got the best dog anyway. I feel that you pick the parents and the genetics and then you are generally OK with any of the puppies.
My doggie-friend of over 15 years, Kila, who lives in Michigan is going along with me to look at the puppies and make my pick. So it should be really fun!! I will post some photos after we get her...
"Juiced" Hay for Sheep: Friend or Foe?
For the last couple of years, I have been trying to find information about the feeding of "juiced" or treated hay to sheep. Wisconsin can be extremely wet and humid especially in the month of June and sometimes July when most of our hay is cut. Sometimes it is a challenge to find enough dry days in a row to cut the hay and let it lie on the ground to dry. If freshly cut hay is rained on, it is not a big deal (despite old wives tales to the contrary) since freshly cut hay is pretty wet anyway. But you don't want nearly dry hay to be rained on.
At best, it requires that the hay be flipped an additional time, which costs money (farmer time and diesel) and knocks leaves off the alfalfa which reduces protein content as well as yumminess to animals. It also bleaches the hay out yellow -- which looks yucky so people don't want to buy it. At the worst, if you get a bunch of days of rain in a row, it will just get musty and gross laying on the ground. So if a big storm is moving in then you have to decide if you bale up the hay a little wetter (and risk mold) or let it lie there and risk it all being ruined from getting musty and gross.
In Finland, it is quite common to treat hay and/or silage (which is hay with a higher percentage of moisture that is packed so that it gets hot and ferments which helps retard mold. They use lactic acid or muratic acid. In Finland, they get one or maybe two cuts of hay a year, and the first cut in the best. If I wanted to see amazed faces in Finland, all I had to say was, "We sell a lot of our first cut hay and keep the second cut because it is better." <Shock and awe!>
Their first cut is big and I have been told better. In Finland, their growing season isn't long enough to always get a second cut of hay and I got the idea that it is rather sparse. I don't know what the protein content is. Some shepherds will cut and bale their hay field for one cut and then graze the sheep on it for the rest of the year because there is not enough growth to bother trying to cut / bale for hay. They use a lot of silage or haylage which they call "wet hay" because they often do not have enough hot dry days in a row for adequate drying.
In the U.S., our first cut of hay (usually early June in southern Wisconsin) grows fast and has a high percentage of grass and less alfalfa. There is a lot of it, like 3 times as much as second cut, but it is lower in protein. The second cut (usually in mid to late July) grows slower because there is a lot less rain. But because it is hotter and dryer outside, the grass goes somewhat dormant and the alfalfa flourishes. Alfalfa (a relative of the clover plant with smaller leaves and purple flowers) has deep roots which can find the moisture deep in the dry soil. (In July and August you may notice that all the grass in your yard looks dead but the clover is beautiful and green.) In theory, our third cut of hay is even better except that in Wisconsin we don't usually get a third cut of hay since growing season is too short or we don't get enough hot/dry temps to dry it. If we do get hay late in the year, some people turn it into silage since less drying is required.
We hire a farmer to do "custom hay work" for us since we only have about 12 acres of hay which isn't enough to justify buying the huge and expensive equipment required to cut / flip / bale hay. A couple of years ago, he got a new baler to make large squares which are 3 feet by 3 feet and as long as as you want to make them. This new baler has a tank on it for treating (or "juicing") the hay as it is baled with a product to retard mold.
Here is the haybine (a specialty tractor) that cuts our hay. This was a third cut which is why it is so short. The first and second cuts are usually about a foot high when the hay is cut.
When I talked to our neighbors (mostly hobby farms with horses) they had an extreme negative reaction and said that they would never feed it to their horses, though they didn't know if it would be bad for sheep or not. But when I asked WHY it was bad, nobody could tell me a specific reason. A few months ago, I emailed Dr. Dave Thomas, professor and head of the sheep department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He said he knew of no problems with using it but referred me to Dr. Dan Undersander, also a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who is a forage specialist. Here are my notes from my conversation with him. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on this topic readily available on the web, so maybe it will help others as well.
At best, it requires that the hay be flipped an additional time, which costs money (farmer time and diesel) and knocks leaves off the alfalfa which reduces protein content as well as yumminess to animals. It also bleaches the hay out yellow -- which looks yucky so people don't want to buy it. At the worst, if you get a bunch of days of rain in a row, it will just get musty and gross laying on the ground. So if a big storm is moving in then you have to decide if you bale up the hay a little wetter (and risk mold) or let it lie there and risk it all being ruined from getting musty and gross.
In Finland, it is quite common to treat hay and/or silage (which is hay with a higher percentage of moisture that is packed so that it gets hot and ferments which helps retard mold. They use lactic acid or muratic acid. In Finland, they get one or maybe two cuts of hay a year, and the first cut in the best. If I wanted to see amazed faces in Finland, all I had to say was, "We sell a lot of our first cut hay and keep the second cut because it is better." <Shock and awe!>
Their first cut is big and I have been told better. In Finland, their growing season isn't long enough to always get a second cut of hay and I got the idea that it is rather sparse. I don't know what the protein content is. Some shepherds will cut and bale their hay field for one cut and then graze the sheep on it for the rest of the year because there is not enough growth to bother trying to cut / bale for hay. They use a lot of silage or haylage which they call "wet hay" because they often do not have enough hot dry days in a row for adequate drying.
In the U.S., our first cut of hay (usually early June in southern Wisconsin) grows fast and has a high percentage of grass and less alfalfa. There is a lot of it, like 3 times as much as second cut, but it is lower in protein. The second cut (usually in mid to late July) grows slower because there is a lot less rain. But because it is hotter and dryer outside, the grass goes somewhat dormant and the alfalfa flourishes. Alfalfa (a relative of the clover plant with smaller leaves and purple flowers) has deep roots which can find the moisture deep in the dry soil. (In July and August you may notice that all the grass in your yard looks dead but the clover is beautiful and green.) In theory, our third cut of hay is even better except that in Wisconsin we don't usually get a third cut of hay since growing season is too short or we don't get enough hot/dry temps to dry it. If we do get hay late in the year, some people turn it into silage since less drying is required.
We hire a farmer to do "custom hay work" for us since we only have about 12 acres of hay which isn't enough to justify buying the huge and expensive equipment required to cut / flip / bale hay. A couple of years ago, he got a new baler to make large squares which are 3 feet by 3 feet and as long as as you want to make them. This new baler has a tank on it for treating (or "juicing") the hay as it is baled with a product to retard mold.
When I talked to our neighbors (mostly hobby farms with horses) they had an extreme negative reaction and said that they would never feed it to their horses, though they didn't know if it would be bad for sheep or not. But when I asked WHY it was bad, nobody could tell me a specific reason. A few months ago, I emailed Dr. Dave Thomas, professor and head of the sheep department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He said he knew of no problems with using it but referred me to Dr. Dan Undersander, also a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who is a forage specialist. Here are my notes from my conversation with him. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on this topic readily available on the web, so maybe it will help others as well.
Use of Propionic Acid Treated Hay in Sheep
Phone Conversation with Dr. Dan Undersander , Professor & Forage Specialist – UW Madison
June 7, 2010
Use of propionic acid in hay for sheep is not detrimental in any way. Propionic acid is a substance that occurs naturally in the rumen of sheep and cattle. So it is not considered a medication or anything unnatural. A Canadian study in sheep showed that the sheep consumed hay treated with propionic acid at a greater rate than they did untreated hay. (So there is no problem with palatability.) He said that in his personal experience with cattle, they would always eat the propionic acid treated hay first before they would eat the untreated hay. Propionic acid is often considered beneficial to sheep and is used to treat problems such as ketogenesis.
Moisture probes for hay should only be used for baled hay (not loose hay). However their accuracy can be greatly affected by how densely packed the bales are. Inaccuracy of 3 to 4% will make a difference in whether hay will mold or not. Also, going to a shorter bale (like 3 x 3 x 3) vs. a longer bale (like 3 x 3 x 8) will help in drying, as all areas are within 18” of an edge. Hay continues to cure after baling. So if you can stack the hay loosely somewhere for a week to 10 days before packing it into the barn, it will help with drying.
It is important to put enough of the product on the hay to be sure it works. (Follow package directions.) For hay with 18% moisture, you would need to use 8# per ton of hay. For hay with 16% moisture, you would need 5# per ton of hay.
There are several preparations such as one by Land O’Lakes and a few others. All contain propionic acid, something to make it smell good to humans and water.
Propionic acid treated hay is also safe for horses. In the past, horse people have had bad results due to feeding hay that was moldy despite the use of the propionic acid. But any illness was still due to mold and not propionic acid itself.
Shearing 2010 -- (lots of photos)
We sheared the sheep on Easter morning this year. There are no true holidays on the farm and we were lucky to get a weekend time since then we can get more friends out here to help.
Here are the very wooly sheep outside at the hay feeders before being brought into the barn. This was Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon, storms were moving in. So the sheep, two smaller sized water tanks and some small basket type hay feeders were moved into the barn. The ewes had the run of the main part of the barn. The rams got a nice roomy pen in the hay room. The sheep need to be totally dry for shearing.
Friday morning, we fed the sheep again. Then on Saturday, they started their 24 hour fast. (Not for Lent, but for shearing.) It takes 12 to 24 hours for hay to be transformed into poop. Some people only fast them overnight. But I know from past experience that my sheep seem to have a lot of hay stored in their bellies from the day before and it takes about 24 hours to empty them out. Then on Saturday night, we took away their water.
The reason for doing this is not only to maintain the quality of the wool, but also to be humane to the sheep. Sheep are ruminants like cattle. Nature has designed them to eat a high roughage diet that is difficult to digest. When they first eat grass or hay, they quickly take in food which is stored in the first stomach called the rumen. Later it moves to the second stomach called the reticulum where acid and bacteria break it down to make "cud". These are the little wads of partially digested hay/grass that the sheep later bring up and rechew.
A long time shepherdess once told me that a sheep should either be eating or chewing their cuds most of the time. That is one sign of good health. (This is because one of the first signs of a sick sheep is poor appetite -- even if she still stand next to their flock with her head in the hay feeder, just staring at the hay.)
Once the cud is swallowed it moves on to the omasum and the abomasum for further digestion before entering the intestines.
Here is a link where you can read more about it, if I haven't already told you way more about sheep digestion than you ever wanted to know... the digestive system in sheep from Purdue University.
This storage of large amounts of hay/grass in the rumen is why a sheep looks so round (and IMO cute). They aren't fat, they are just full of grass/hay. And because of this round shape, they don't bend or fold very well. Imagine eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner and then being asked to do sit ups. It wouldn't feel good and probably wouldn't be very good for you either.
Sunday morning, as the shearer was unloading his equipment and setting up, we moved the small fence panels in to make the pen for the ewes/wethers/lambs a lot smaller. Being a flock animal, sheep are calmed by "togetherness". Plus there is not enough room for a nervous sheep to run. This makes it easier to catch them and they whole mood stays much more peaceful. We also took off all the jackets.
I also move very slowly and smoothly and talk to them the whole time. They are used to this and it seems to reassure them.
Here is our shearer, David Kier, shearing a sheep. I am fairly certain this sheep is Elias, a wether who is our oldest sheep at 8 years old. Elias is a "fading black". (A genetically black sheep that has turned grey over time.) We are so lucky to get David every year. He is professionally trained in New Zealand, is kind to the sheep and helps us produce beautiful fleeces. If you have gone to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in the past few years, David does their shearing demos and also teaches a workshop on using a modified technique to shear a standing sheep yourself.
Our friend Amy and her niece Becca (a pre-vet student enjoying a break from college) work on the first skirting of the fleece. This is to remove dung tags and serious filth.
Colored sheep done; white ones left to go...
All done! Time for hay and water. An Easter feast for sheep!
This is the same tight pen the sheep were in during the previous photos. We were still cleaning up and hadn't give them full access to the barn again yet. See how much extra space there is with no wool? This is why when planning for how many sheep will fit in a barn or around a hay feeder, you must take into account whether or not they have fleece. Amazing huh?
I was able to hire a friend's daughter to help me do the final skirting of the fleeces over her spring break. I still need to finish boxing them up, addressing and weighing them. I just need for other things to need my attention less and then I will be all done to ship them out!
Here are the very wooly sheep outside at the hay feeders before being brought into the barn. This was Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon, storms were moving in. So the sheep, two smaller sized water tanks and some small basket type hay feeders were moved into the barn. The ewes had the run of the main part of the barn. The rams got a nice roomy pen in the hay room. The sheep need to be totally dry for shearing.
Friday morning, we fed the sheep again. Then on Saturday, they started their 24 hour fast. (Not for Lent, but for shearing.) It takes 12 to 24 hours for hay to be transformed into poop. Some people only fast them overnight. But I know from past experience that my sheep seem to have a lot of hay stored in their bellies from the day before and it takes about 24 hours to empty them out. Then on Saturday night, we took away their water.
The reason for doing this is not only to maintain the quality of the wool, but also to be humane to the sheep. Sheep are ruminants like cattle. Nature has designed them to eat a high roughage diet that is difficult to digest. When they first eat grass or hay, they quickly take in food which is stored in the first stomach called the rumen. Later it moves to the second stomach called the reticulum where acid and bacteria break it down to make "cud". These are the little wads of partially digested hay/grass that the sheep later bring up and rechew.
A long time shepherdess once told me that a sheep should either be eating or chewing their cuds most of the time. That is one sign of good health. (This is because one of the first signs of a sick sheep is poor appetite -- even if she still stand next to their flock with her head in the hay feeder, just staring at the hay.)
Once the cud is swallowed it moves on to the omasum and the abomasum for further digestion before entering the intestines.
Here is a link where you can read more about it, if I haven't already told you way more about sheep digestion than you ever wanted to know... the digestive system in sheep from Purdue University.
This storage of large amounts of hay/grass in the rumen is why a sheep looks so round (and IMO cute). They aren't fat, they are just full of grass/hay. And because of this round shape, they don't bend or fold very well. Imagine eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner and then being asked to do sit ups. It wouldn't feel good and probably wouldn't be very good for you either.
Sunday morning, as the shearer was unloading his equipment and setting up, we moved the small fence panels in to make the pen for the ewes/wethers/lambs a lot smaller. Being a flock animal, sheep are calmed by "togetherness". Plus there is not enough room for a nervous sheep to run. This makes it easier to catch them and they whole mood stays much more peaceful. We also took off all the jackets.
I also move very slowly and smoothly and talk to them the whole time. They are used to this and it seems to reassure them.
Here is our shearer, David Kier, shearing a sheep. I am fairly certain this sheep is Elias, a wether who is our oldest sheep at 8 years old. Elias is a "fading black". (A genetically black sheep that has turned grey over time.) We are so lucky to get David every year. He is professionally trained in New Zealand, is kind to the sheep and helps us produce beautiful fleeces. If you have gone to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in the past few years, David does their shearing demos and also teaches a workshop on using a modified technique to shear a standing sheep yourself.
Our friend Amy and her niece Becca (a pre-vet student enjoying a break from college) work on the first skirting of the fleece. This is to remove dung tags and serious filth.
Colored sheep done; white ones left to go...
All done! Time for hay and water. An Easter feast for sheep!
This is the same tight pen the sheep were in during the previous photos. We were still cleaning up and hadn't give them full access to the barn again yet. See how much extra space there is with no wool? This is why when planning for how many sheep will fit in a barn or around a hay feeder, you must take into account whether or not they have fleece. Amazing huh?
I was able to hire a friend's daughter to help me do the final skirting of the fleeces over her spring break. I still need to finish boxing them up, addressing and weighing them. I just need for other things to need my attention less and then I will be all done to ship them out!
Brother, Can You Spare a Spine? :)
Some people have been asking me when the photos of the new 2010 lambs are going to start showing up. Well... unfortunately there aren't going to be any new lambs this year. (Though I have plenty of photos from past years left to show.) We are taking a year off from baby lambs.
Last May, just after lambing, I started having pain in my right shoulder. I assumed that I must have injured it somehow. On the farm, it is really easy to bang your body around in the course of everyday activities and often I don't even notice until a day or two later when I am sore, or a bruise shows up. But this was like real searing pain right down in the shoulder joint. I propped up my arm when I was resting, I iced it, I took Advil when I had to... all the usual stuff. I went to the chiropractor for low-force adjustments which helped for a while and then stopped helping. By summer, I was also having shooting pains down my right arm and tingling in my hand. I talked to a friend who is an MD who suggested that I go see an orthopedist that dealt with neck and shoulder problems.
After much paperwork, screenings to see if I was deserving of an appointment and pre-approval by my health insurance company, I finally got in to have an MRI in early August. If you ever have to have a neck MRI, my only advice to you is ask for lots of Valium and take it all! While I am not normally claustrophobic, apparently I am very "MRI phobic" and the tube they pack you into is about half the size of the ones they show on the TV show "House". And the nice, modern, open MRIs that they advertise at clinics on TV do not offer good enough resolution to look at the small vertebrae and discs in the neck. It does not help that you are already in pain and then have to lie totally still in a position that may not be too comfortable.
But the good thing to come out of my very-much-not-fun MRI experience was finally figuring out that I had 2 herniated discs in my neck and that was the cause for all of my problems. As most people know, between each of your vertebra there is a disc that pads them and keeps them from crunching together. As we get older, these discs get shorter (somewhat dry out) causing us to get shorter and also get kind of beat up from all the abuse our bodies take in day-to-day life.
What I had never realized before is that these discs aren't just a consistent, solid thing. They are sort of like a filled donut with a firm shell and a soft, center. (Not as soft and gooey as a jelly filled bismark, but I will forge on with the analogy, nonetheless.) What happens is that often through trauma or just ordinary wear and tear, this gooey center oozes into the donut part and sometimes even busts out of the firm shell. Because it isn't really jelly, it just sits there. Though since it has a high water content, it can potentially fix itself by being reabsorbed by the body or it can oozing back into the disc where it came from.
Now that people get MRIs for lots of reason, they realize that disc herniation is actually quite common. And it doesn't harm you unless it causes you pain. But if there is something already in that space to push on or get pinched -- like a nerve -- then it does so, which causes pain. And nerve pain is BAD. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (Not that I have a lot of enemies but...)
So... it turned out that the disc between my 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae in my mid-neck was pushing on the nerve that goes to my right shoulder. The disc beween my 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae was putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm and into my thumb and index finger. According to the orthopedist, most disc hernitations are just caused by wear and tear on the body and not any one accident. They are common in people in their 30's and 40's with physically active lifestyles. (Though lumbar disc herniations are much more common than cervical disc hernations.)
The only options that the orthopedist had for me was to do nothing and see if it got better on its own or to have surgery to remove both of those discs and fuse the 2 vertebrae on either side of the removed disc together . . (Though he didn't hold out high hopes for getting better on its own since that usually happens within 4 to 6 weeks and I was already about 10 to 12 weeks out at that time.)
I was not a candidate for disc replacement as in the U.S. the only FDA approved devices / procedures can only be used when one disc is removed. (Not 2.) I decided that surgery would be my last resort.
I had used acupuncture to help my dogs and cats before and decided that I would try it myself to help control the pain and inflammation. I found Dr. Chi at Chi's Acupuncture and Tuina Center who has a satellite office in Janesville I started going twice a week for Acupuncture and also Tuina which is Chinese medical massage. She was licensed in both western medicine and acupuncture in China, but is only licensed for acupuncture in the U.S. Still I think that her knowledge of both types of medicine was really useful. Both of these things really helped. I have fairly strong muscles from all the farm work, but in this case they were working against me. The muscles in my neck and shoulders were almost in a constant state of being cramped from my body trying to protect itself from the pain. And it had turned into a vicious cycle that cramping led to more pain which led to more cramping.
My husband's boss had herniated discs in his lumbar spine (lower back) years ago and had used Iyengar yoga to help heal his body. This is a type of very slow, gentle yoga that uses props to help you get into the positions more perfectly. It also really concentrates on alignment of the spine. Now I go to yoga class twice a week "come hell or high water" because I suffer when I do not go. It is a really good type of yoga for almost anyone, including older people and those with physical problems. (I just don't do any shoulder or head stands -- ever.) I am trying to get more diligent about practicing daily at home as I know it would help me heal faster.
At this point, I am still really careful about what activities I do since I am trying not to backslide on any of the improvement I have made so far. I would say that at this point, I am 85 to 90% better. I usually just have pain on damp rainy days and can do most things. The one thing I really miss is doing dog agility with my dogs. I am not brave enough to do much running (even for short bursts) yet because of the jarring to the neck.
I also got a couple of books on disc / back problems. The one I found the most helpful was Overcoming Back and Neck Pain: A Proven Program for Recovery and Prevention by Lisa Morrone PT. I also did cervical traction as recommended by my acupuncturist. I first had a cheapie over-the-door unit which helped my neck but caused jaw pain. Later I got a better (but more expensive) unit that I lie down in which puts no pressure on my jaw. I still use the traction some days and should probably do it more as I think it does help.
Overall, I think I made the right decision to let my body heal as much as possible before taking on the physical work and sleep deprivation of lambing season. (If I don't get enough rest, I start to have pain again.) But, I hope to continue getting better and I am really looking forward to setting up breeding groups in fall 2010 and seeing new lambs again in spring 2011!
Last May, just after lambing, I started having pain in my right shoulder. I assumed that I must have injured it somehow. On the farm, it is really easy to bang your body around in the course of everyday activities and often I don't even notice until a day or two later when I am sore, or a bruise shows up. But this was like real searing pain right down in the shoulder joint. I propped up my arm when I was resting, I iced it, I took Advil when I had to... all the usual stuff. I went to the chiropractor for low-force adjustments which helped for a while and then stopped helping. By summer, I was also having shooting pains down my right arm and tingling in my hand. I talked to a friend who is an MD who suggested that I go see an orthopedist that dealt with neck and shoulder problems.
After much paperwork, screenings to see if I was deserving of an appointment and pre-approval by my health insurance company, I finally got in to have an MRI in early August. If you ever have to have a neck MRI, my only advice to you is ask for lots of Valium and take it all! While I am not normally claustrophobic, apparently I am very "MRI phobic" and the tube they pack you into is about half the size of the ones they show on the TV show "House". And the nice, modern, open MRIs that they advertise at clinics on TV do not offer good enough resolution to look at the small vertebrae and discs in the neck. It does not help that you are already in pain and then have to lie totally still in a position that may not be too comfortable.
But the good thing to come out of my very-much-not-fun MRI experience was finally figuring out that I had 2 herniated discs in my neck and that was the cause for all of my problems. As most people know, between each of your vertebra there is a disc that pads them and keeps them from crunching together. As we get older, these discs get shorter (somewhat dry out) causing us to get shorter and also get kind of beat up from all the abuse our bodies take in day-to-day life.
What I had never realized before is that these discs aren't just a consistent, solid thing. They are sort of like a filled donut with a firm shell and a soft, center. (Not as soft and gooey as a jelly filled bismark, but I will forge on with the analogy, nonetheless.) What happens is that often through trauma or just ordinary wear and tear, this gooey center oozes into the donut part and sometimes even busts out of the firm shell. Because it isn't really jelly, it just sits there. Though since it has a high water content, it can potentially fix itself by being reabsorbed by the body or it can oozing back into the disc where it came from.
Now that people get MRIs for lots of reason, they realize that disc herniation is actually quite common. And it doesn't harm you unless it causes you pain. But if there is something already in that space to push on or get pinched -- like a nerve -- then it does so, which causes pain. And nerve pain is BAD. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (Not that I have a lot of enemies but...)
So... it turned out that the disc between my 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae in my mid-neck was pushing on the nerve that goes to my right shoulder. The disc beween my 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae was putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm and into my thumb and index finger. According to the orthopedist, most disc hernitations are just caused by wear and tear on the body and not any one accident. They are common in people in their 30's and 40's with physically active lifestyles. (Though lumbar disc herniations are much more common than cervical disc hernations.)
The only options that the orthopedist had for me was to do nothing and see if it got better on its own or to have surgery to remove both of those discs and fuse the 2 vertebrae on either side of the removed disc together . . (Though he didn't hold out high hopes for getting better on its own since that usually happens within 4 to 6 weeks and I was already about 10 to 12 weeks out at that time.)
I was not a candidate for disc replacement as in the U.S. the only FDA approved devices / procedures can only be used when one disc is removed. (Not 2.) I decided that surgery would be my last resort.
I had used acupuncture to help my dogs and cats before and decided that I would try it myself to help control the pain and inflammation. I found Dr. Chi at Chi's Acupuncture and Tuina Center who has a satellite office in Janesville I started going twice a week for Acupuncture and also Tuina which is Chinese medical massage. She was licensed in both western medicine and acupuncture in China, but is only licensed for acupuncture in the U.S. Still I think that her knowledge of both types of medicine was really useful. Both of these things really helped. I have fairly strong muscles from all the farm work, but in this case they were working against me. The muscles in my neck and shoulders were almost in a constant state of being cramped from my body trying to protect itself from the pain. And it had turned into a vicious cycle that cramping led to more pain which led to more cramping.
My husband's boss had herniated discs in his lumbar spine (lower back) years ago and had used Iyengar yoga to help heal his body. This is a type of very slow, gentle yoga that uses props to help you get into the positions more perfectly. It also really concentrates on alignment of the spine. Now I go to yoga class twice a week "come hell or high water" because I suffer when I do not go. It is a really good type of yoga for almost anyone, including older people and those with physical problems. (I just don't do any shoulder or head stands -- ever.) I am trying to get more diligent about practicing daily at home as I know it would help me heal faster.
At this point, I am still really careful about what activities I do since I am trying not to backslide on any of the improvement I have made so far. I would say that at this point, I am 85 to 90% better. I usually just have pain on damp rainy days and can do most things. The one thing I really miss is doing dog agility with my dogs. I am not brave enough to do much running (even for short bursts) yet because of the jarring to the neck.
I also got a couple of books on disc / back problems. The one I found the most helpful was Overcoming Back and Neck Pain: A Proven Program for Recovery and Prevention by Lisa Morrone PT. I also did cervical traction as recommended by my acupuncturist. I first had a cheapie over-the-door unit which helped my neck but caused jaw pain. Later I got a better (but more expensive) unit that I lie down in which puts no pressure on my jaw. I still use the traction some days and should probably do it more as I think it does help.
Overall, I think I made the right decision to let my body heal as much as possible before taking on the physical work and sleep deprivation of lambing season. (If I don't get enough rest, I start to have pain again.) But, I hope to continue getting better and I am really looking forward to setting up breeding groups in fall 2010 and seeing new lambs again in spring 2011!
