We started our flock with twenty Dorper ewes in 2009 and have continued to expand the flock every year. Sheep are ruminants, like cattle, and therefore thrive on a diet composed exclusively of grass and forages.
Having sheep has become essential to the diversity of the farm as the pastures benefit from different species of animals grazing the land. Our job is to properly manage the grazing of animals so that they have high quality forage available to them throughout the year, either in the pastures or harvested as hay.
We have a donkey, Virginia, to guard the sheep from predators. She’s observant about her territory and runs braying whenever she sees something she thinks is invading. She can kick and bite, and she’s very loud. She is one deterrent against predators, another is the high tensile electric fence surrounding the pastures with eight wires including a wire near the ground to prevent coyotes from going under the fence.
Last summer we added also began working with two Maremma dogs. They’re puppies right now but they are formidable, weighing close to 100 pounds already. Sarge was born in April 2011 and Ollie in May, so they are still growing. The Maremma breed is from Italy and they don’t need training to defend their flock. They do, however, need to be socialized and exposed to the animal that they will bond with which can be sheep, alpacas, or whatever species needs guarding. We worked with a breeder who raised Sarge and Ollie with sheep and her children helped to care for the dogs so they are friendly with people, especially children, although they need to be introduced to anyone they meet by the person who cares for them daily.
