Sheep – Plum Blossom Farm

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Carole Balala

Old Ewe Friends: Dandelion and Chrysanthemum

One of the things I like best about my farm is getting to give a forever home to my animals. Usually when livestock is no longer profitable they are sold off to auction which eventually ends in slaughter. I love my animals dearly and could never do this to them. I am willing to care for them to the end and give them a peaceful retirement. It’s actually one of the most rewarding things I do.

I have two very old girls from my original flock who are both 14. Usually sheep are not kept around much longer than 8 years and those are usually breeding ewes. So my vet always has to get creative when he comes to the barn because he sees ailments he never sees in sheep. As he says, “Sheep are rarely allowed to grow old.”

I have to say my old girls are some of the sweetest souls I have ever known. Kind of like some dogs who are energetic and high strung when they are young, the older they get the mellower and sweeter they become.

Dandelion (gray) and Chrysanthemum (white) are my two oldest girls at the moment and I’m so glad they have each other right now. They both have their challenges- Chrysanthemum has arthritis and Dandy has some lung issues. However, on the whole they are doing great and loving life. Especially since I spoil them rotten!

They get the first pick of all the produce that gets donated to the farm. Usually picking out the softest fruits and veggies. Strawberries, melons and citrus being amongst their favorites.

They also get their own room in the barn which is a luxury. I let them stay in the hay room where they get their own space and get to eat all night long if they want. Before I moved them in there they were losing weight because they just couldn’t eat fast enough to keep up with their younger flock mates. This way they get to eat as much alfalfa as they’d like at their leisure.
Each morning they join the flock for social time and fresh air and to go grazing on the pastures. They also get as much sheep feed or grain as they can eat to help supplement their diet.

They are getting used to this lifestyle and now tend to refuse any thing less than the best produce or hay! Which is fine by me because it tells me they’re getting enough to eat.

They still have their personalities in tact. Chrysanthemum loves to be scratched, petted, and hang closer to the barn, finding the best and softest bedding. Dandelion will proceed to ram me in the butt with her head if I’m too slow in getting the grain to her in the morning. It makes me laugh every time!

I feel blessed to be able to give these girls a good home until the end. I really have you and all my customers to thank for that as you are a part of what makes this possible. So thank you from me and two old ewe friends!
Share this:

Posted on August 7, 2015September 3, 2015 by Carole Balala

Karakul Breed

Spotlight on a Sheep Breed – Karakul

Ever since I started learning about sheep breeds I have been fascinated with Karakuls
(pronounced care-a-kul). Karakuls are a relatively primitive breed compared to those developed in Europe. They hail from Central Asia and are thought to be one of the oldest breeds of domesticated sheep, raised since 1400 BC. They are very rare here in the US.

Karakuls have a high percentage dark gene so many are black. A medium sized sheep, they weigh between 100-225 lbs. Their ears often point down unlike most sheep.
They have a broad tail where they store extra fat.

They have a very rough wool which contains guard hairs. This makes it an excellent felting wool but would be most uncomfortable next to bare skin. The wool makes really strong bonds and is great for rope or sturdier items, like my cat caves.
They are considered a long wool sheep measuring between 6-12 inches with very little grease/lanolin.

Unfortunately, Karakuls are best know for their pelts. When the lambs are born they have a very tight, black curl to their fleece. It is terrible, but somehow this got to be a fashion ingredient and coats and hats were made. These babies lose this tight weave when they are three days old so they are harvested before that, sometimes even fetal Karakuls. It makes me sick to think of these darlings losing their lives for someones coat.

My Karakuls came to me because their mom lost their land lease in the village of Mendocino. She had a lot of animals to place and I was able to give a home to 7 of them. I was a foster parent to 5 others, but the longer they stayed with me the more attached I grew until I could no longer part with them.

They are a unique sheep. Very bold, intelligent and independent. They do not herd well and never seem to relax around my dogs. All the other sheep learn my pups are friendly but the Karakuls continue to stomp at them, and me for that matter, when they get stressed. Luckily they call the shots around the barnyard so they aren’t stressed very often! They are big snugglers and put themselves in my way to get attention. They are the goatiest sheep I have ever met!

Stay tuned next month for a giveaway of Harvest Fair tickets in next months newsletter!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Carole Balala

Sheep Smarts!

Sheep often get a bad wrap for being stupid. I think people forget that they don’t have a lot of defenses, unlike us. They have to be flighty or they could become someones dinner. This doesn’t make them dumb, it makes them smart.

And I don’t know about you but I don’t make my best decisions when I’m in a fearful, panicky place. When sheep are dealing with strangers or even people they know who are rough with them, they are being handled by predators. That would make anyone nervous and a bit jumpy!

When calm and feeling safe, sheep become friendly and can be quite clever. Here are a few examples of that:

Sheep foil cattle guard
Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire Moors (Great Britain) taught themselves to roll 8 feet (3 meters) across hoof-proof metal cattle grids to raid villagers’ valley gardens. According to a witness, “They lie down on their side or sometimes their back and just roll over and over the grids until they are clear. I’ve seen them doing it. It is quite clever, but they are a big nuisance to the villagers.” [Source: BBC News, July 2004]

Self-medicating sheep
New research is suggesting that sick sheep could actually be smart enough to cure themselves. Australian researchers believe that sick sheep may actually seek out plants that make them feel better. There has been previous evidence to suggest that animals can detect what nutrients they are deficient in and can develop knowledge about which foods are beneficial or toxic.

Facial Recognition
A study of sheep psychology has found man’s woolly friend can remember the faces of more than 50 sheep who they do not live with for up to two years. The hidden talents of sheep revealed by a study in the journal Nature suggest they may be nearly as good as people at distinguishing faces in a crowd.

Smarter than previously thought
Scientists at the University of Cambridge were studying neurodegeneration with a focus on Huntingdon’s disease, an inherited disorder that leads to nerve damage and dementia, when they stumbled on their findings quite by accident.

The scientists placed pairs of different colored buckets in front of sheep; with one containing food each time.

They them switched the food from bucket to bucket, while also alternating the colors and, eventually, changing the shapes of the buckets.

The sheep learned to recognize different patterns in colors and changed their behavior according to the pattern they were looking at. They also altered their behavior based on the various shapes placed in front of them.

Only humans and other primates find these kind of responses easy; most other large animals struggle with them, the scientists said.

Successfully completing the tasks relies on the pre-frontal cortex, a part of the brain larger in humans than other animals, New Scientist reported.

Animal behavioral specialists have for decades focused their attention on monkeys during testing.

Scientists believe this is because sheep, like many humans, behave differently when in a flock compared to when alone.

Dr Morton said: ‘Sheep live in a flock, and in a flock they’re rather silly. When you work with them as individuals, they behave very differently.’

I think this last statement just says it all. Do you think a crowd of panicked people makes the best decisions? No. We make calm, rational choices when we feel safe. So do sheep.

As for my own flock I have had several open up doors and gates that I never thought they could. Plus they excel at an aspect of intelligence that many people could stand to improve- emotional intelligence.

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Carole Balala

Turnip’s Recovery

My boy Turnip has been having trouble walking for the past few months. He would get these sick spells, a fever, gut trouble and then become lame. I tried rest and antibiotics. These would work but a few weeks later the symptoms would return. I had my wonderful vet out and he felt his front knees which were warm and inflamed. He thought there could possibly be a bacterial infection so we tried a longer, stronger round of antibiotics. Dr. Brazil warned that there may not be much we could do after this so I crossed my fingers. It didn’t seem to help much.

Everyday I would see Turnip shifting on his front feet from left to right, back and forth. Some days it would be clear that he was hurting even worse because he would hang out all day in the barn. I was really worried about him and part of what was so troubling is that he is only 8 years old and is perfectly healthy otherwise.

Finally I had Dr. Brazil out again and he came up with the idea that this looked a little like rheumatoid arthritis. He had never heard of a case in sheep but most sheep don’t get individual care or vet calls. He thought we could try a steroid and see how Turnip responds.

Within a few days it was clear that Turnip was feeling better. He would rush out of the barn in the morning with everyone else and I no longer saw him shifting off his front feet. Now every other morning he lets me feed him a syringe full of molasses water and a few little pills and even looks forward to his dosage.

I am so grateful that we found a solution to his problem. Turnip is one of my bolder, friendlier sheep and is just a love. Sometimes resting his head on my shoulder while I squat down to say hello. I am willing to take on the extra expense since that is what is required here, but it is an extra $15 a month. If anyone would like to sponsor Turnips medication please email carole@plumblossomfarm.com. As it is now I’m just glad he is feeling happy and healthy once again.

Posted on March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 by Carole Balala

The sweet sound of sheep grazing…

I have to share one of my favorite sounds in the world. The lovely noise a happy sheep makes grazing on lush, green pasture. I hope the sound quality is good enough on these short clips so you can hear. I suggest watching the first time then pressing play again and closing your eyes. I hope it brings you the same feeling of peace and calm it brings me. There is something so palpable about listening and observing someone who is joyful. And these beauties certainly are.

Check out the different styles of grazing that these two sheep have. The first video features Rabbit, a white Karakul wether. The second is of Persephone, aka Percy, a chocolate Corriedale ewe.

To view, click on the links below:

rabbitgrazing

percygrazing

Posted on August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 by Carole Balala

Saying Goodbye to Old Friends

This has been a difficult week for the farm. We lost two of our oldest flock members. Two of my original girls Violet and Camellia died of natural causes on Monday. Violet got sick first and then Camellia. I had the vet out on Saturday, unfortunately it being a weekend I had to pay emergency visit fees, and after all that the vet had no answers for me, only suggestions. I gave them each doses of antibiotics, b vitamins, CMPK doses, nutri-drench, wormer, probiotics, grain, alfalfa and rest. All in the hopes that something would work for them but to no avail. These girls have been with me since the beginning of the farm and I was especially close with Camellia who was the sweetest, gentlest soul I have ever met.

Violet, 10 years old, was my only black female and the mother of my big boy Cedar. She was a wonderful mother and Cedar loved to be near her even as an adult.

She was a bit of a pig and loved all the produce that the flock gets each week but her favorite treat was always bread. She had a gorgeous jet black fleece when she was younger that grayed as she aged- I can relate. 🙂

Cedar remains close with his dad Brody and will take comfort in his company I believe.

My dear Camellia, 13 years old, will be greatly missed. Days later I still think I see or hear her in the flock only to have the truth come rushing back to me that she is gone.

Camellia had such a warmth and softness to her that she made a perfectly natural, doting mama. Her twins Madrone and Manzanita grew up to be lovely adults in their own right.

She had one of the softest fleeces I have known and a roundness to her body that showed her years of mothering before I knew her. She loved treats and affection and would always greet me for a hello.

Camellia had a calming, zen-like presence. I would glean that from her and walk away feeling more centered than when I approached.

I loved her so much and will always be grateful to have known her.

The difficulty in having animals is that they age so fast. A lot of my flock is now in their golden years and I am realizing I will have to get used to loss. It will be difficult but the connections are well worth it. These creatures add such much reward and joy to my life and I hope I have added contentment and love to their lives as well.

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Carole Balala

New Girls Have New Names!

I am delighted to inform you all that we have a winner in the “Name the Ewes” Contest! Our winning entry came from Karen of South San Francisco. Who sent me the following ideas:

Demey -(short for Demeter) Greek mythology Goddess of Harvest/Grain
Persephone- her daughter, Goddess of Spring/vegetation
Flora – Roman mythology – Goddess of Flowers and Spring

I will be naming Mama Demeter, her daughter Persephone and Auntie will be Flora.

I am so excited about these beautiful names and am looking forward to informing the ladies of their new elegant labels this evening.

Thank you so much to all of you who sent in your wonderful names! I was so impressed with the participation and with the stature and quality of the ideas that were submitted!

Karen will be receiving a $50 gift certificate for Plum Blossom Farm to be redeemed either on our website or in person at an upcoming fair.

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Carole Balala

All Together Now!

After two weeks of quarantining the new girls and hearing a lot of baaing between them and the main flock it was time to combine the two groups. I turned all the Wensleydales out to pasture and then let the three new girls out with them. The three stayed tightly together and went baaing through the group. I was just so proud of my Wensleydales who were so sweet and polite to the new comers. They would say hello, touch noses and then go back to eating. No following or harassing them and the meeting went as smoothly as could be hoped for.

Since then I have watched the girls settle in nicely. Baby who I was worried would have the most trouble since she had never met another sheep other than her mom and auntie, has adapted the best. She is with the rest of the flock a lot of times now and following their cues. She baas at me when they do like a teenager trying to fit in with the crowd. Auntie is still the most jumpy and constantly wants to be near her sister. If she gets separated she will call and call till she finds her again. After watching her I don’t think anyone could ever doubt the bond between farm animals. I anticipate that over the coming months the group will fade easily in with the flock but always enjoy each others company.

Posted on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by Carole Balala

New Friends

auntie sheep

This week I have gotten the chance to get to know my new girls better. They have their old names Auntie, Mama and Baby which will need to be replaced since I have so many mamas, aunties and babies in my flock- but more on that later.

The beautiful girl to the left is Auntie. She’s the one with a little entropia (bottom eyelid sometimes rolls in on the eyeball slightly) in her right eye as you can see. She is the most skittish of the three. The other two will approach me even if I don’t have food and are just less jumpy around me in general. When I put their dinner in the shed each night Mama and Baby will come in while I’m there and start eating. Auntie will wait till I’m far away from the entrance then race past me and slide across the wood porch, scrambling hooves flying, till she’s safely inside. I’m not worried though – some of the sheep I’m closest with in my original flock were ones that were super spooky and took a long time to win over. The shy ones are worth the patience it takes to make them feel comfortable.

Here is Baby. Not the greatest photo but she has the longest bangs so it’s hard to see her eyes all the time. I will have to post another photo after the shearer is here. This girl is so sweet and tries to be very brave around me. She sticks closely to her mother at all times and is just another reminder to me that animal families often want to be near each other and not separated. She has started baaing more to my sheep so I’m looking forward to getting her in with the flock where she can make new friends. At two years old she is my youngest member of the flock now.

The bottom photo is of Mama, leader of the tiny pack. She is the most demanding, baaing when she sees me or when she feels dinner should be served. The other two take their cues from her. If she is alert they become alert. If she is calm and interested they relax. She is a protective mother even now as I learned when the vet came out. While were trimming Baby’s hooves she was distress baaing and Mama came over and checked in with her. Mama came from across the pen (where she was trying to stay away from us) to touch Baby’s nose and stand nearby. It was very touching.

They still need names and I think I will be asking for your help on that topic in the upcoming newsletter. I need three related female names for these three girls and the entry that wins will be given a gift certificate for the website. So sign up for the newsletter on this site if you haven’t already. It goes out once a month sometime during the first week. I will keep you posted to what new names win out.

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Carole Balala

New Arrivals!

I am delighted to announce the arrival of three new ewes to the farm. These sweet girls needed a new home because their parents were moving from Redwood Valley to a condo in Cotati. Mike who introduced me to them was just so sweet and touching saying goodbye to his friends. They had a happy life with him and I hope to give them some more joy here.

The two older girls are sisters and are 5 years old. The baby is 2 years old and was a surprise to Mike when she arrived a few hours after first moving to their house. They had softer, finer wool than I have ever played with before.

They are currently in a separate pen from my flock in quarantine since that is what the vet suggested for the first few weeks. This is just to make sure no health issues pop up. I also think it’s a good chance for them to settle into a new and different environment before dropping them in with a lot of new faces. But the sheep from my flock have been communicating back and forth with them- wish I spoke the language better!

I had the vet out this morning to check them over. He trimmed hooves and dunked them in a cleaning solution as well as gave them a dose of penicillin to ward off any foot rot. He also wormed them again with Ivermectin ( I already wormed with Valbazen when they arrived) to cover all the worm families.

The auntie sheep had been blinking her right eye a lot and that worried me so I had him look at that too. Turns out she has mild entropia where her bottom eye lid slightly rolls inward. Since it was not a bad case we will just leave her alone. I have had him fix these before but it requires cutting and stitches so we skipped it.

I will update next weeks blog with more information about the personalities of these beautiful girls. Until then I will be winning them over with treats from pears to saltines, which are always a hit!

Category: Sheep