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Mittens
We found Mittens first. She was pitiful and full of mud. She was in a pen
with a bunch of goats at the flea market. Poor girl seemed healthy but sure was
a mess from the muddy pen and goats. I am not sure about her breed or anything.
She is small and a bit puny like. I figured she was a runt and the breeder
didn't need her. That is fine for use since we were looking for a pet. She is a sweetie
and tamed up real easily. She loves to be scratched on her face and petted.
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Ellie
Ellie was a bit harder to find. After many phone calls and emails from places
too far or way too much $$. We had a budget we needed to stay under :) We found
her about an hour away on the other side of Florence. She is Dorper/Katahdin
cross. The guy said that because of her color he would not be able to sell her
as a breeder so she would be sold for meat. He called her brown, but I call her
red. Her hair is fuzzy but not like wool. She is very soft to touch. We had to
work harder on taming her. Before we got her she was in a huge herd and didn't know anything else.
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  Together
they did a great job during our VBS. They learned to walk on the leashes
and loved to be petted. I do think their favorite part was the straw walls
that they tried very hard to eat their way out of every evening :)
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| Since VBS back in July 2008, we
have added two more sheep. These two sweet babydoll sheep came from a
rescuer in Alabama. I am very pleased with these sweet pair. They get
along great with my other sheep and goats. |
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Hensel
Hansel the ram loves to be petted and will push others out of the way
to receive it. He is pretty easy going and over all is a gentleman. |
Gretel
Gretel is a bit more distant but she is coming around. I can pet her
now and she will eat out of my hands gladly :) |
| The person I got them from had them since they
were young so they luckily had a stable life before I aquired them. She
did say Hansel would grow his horn/antler back. Poor guy does look a bit
lopsided. |
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Things I have noticed between
the Goats and Sheep |
I have noticed a few
differences between the goats and the sheep. For one, the sheep are not as
noisy as the young goats are. The goats seem to whine about everything.
The sheep will talk to me but they don't constantly complain. Two, the
sheep seem to graze more. The goats will go around and eat a little grass
and weeds and then they will pig out on hay. So, when they are in smaller
areas we end up feeding them more hay to keep them happier. The sheep seem
to be content eating all of the weeds and grass. They eat very little hay.
Three, the sheep seem easier to handle. Whether it is catching them up or
trimming hair, the sheep are a lot easier to handle. For example, Mittens
had a bit of trouble with her bowels when she first came in and messed up
the hair around her rear end. I decided to trim it out and didn't have
anyone else around. All I did was pull up her tail and start trimming. She
did not struggle, run off, or even move. She just stood there as I
trimmed. Catching them is easier and they don't fight as much while you
are carrying them around. Of course this is my experience so far. Let it
be understood I have not had the sheep long, these are just my first
impressions of them. I am really enjoying having them around. I look
forward to feeding in the morning and petting those little sheep heads. I
suspect Mittens and Ellie will both be over 120 lbs. Hope they are as easy
to handle at that point :) Of course the babydoll sheep, Hensel and Gretel
aren't quite that big. Can you tell I really like the sheep :)
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