Thor 08/27/2009
 Thor is our young Akbash Livestock Guardian Dog. After loosing our turkey hen and some chickens to coyotes we decided we had better 'hire' a livestock guardian. There are a few options available when it comes to guarding livestock, such as llamas, donkeys, and dogs. Llamas were a definate no as they hate Neil (so he says). I would love a donkey but with close neighbors and the very close proximity of the sheep pen to our bedroom window that was out as well. So it came down to finding the right Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD). We spent time researching the different breeds that have been bred for hundreds, and some cases thousands, of years for this specialized job. It was a tough decision but from the information available online we choose the Akbash. Now even tougher was finding one! By happenchance there was an old ad online for Akbash pups in the Kootenays. We called the number and although they had sold the pups long ago they did have an 8 month old male pup that the breeder had kept for himself. Thor was born in a chicken barn and raised with poultry and sheep, as well as children and other dogs. To our great luck and fortune he decided to let us purchase Thor...and he just happened to be coming over to Creston in a few days! We have had Thor for a couple of months now and he is just perfect for us. He is very friendly to people, but raises all heck if a coyote comes near. Every day he gets better at his job, and we are amazed at his intelligence. Thor knows his job, needs minimal guidance from us, and has a pure gold heart. He spends his nights patrolling the field around our farmyard, and sleeps nearly all day.  New sheep... they shed! 05/14/2009
 I have decided to change my flock over to Katahdin hair sheep instead of the Suffolks. My number one reason is I find shearing so time consuming and difficult. I really love my girls and Warfy too, and they all had twins so they are very productive - but I think the Katahdins will be better suited to our homestead. New digs for the sheep! 11/06/2008
Well we finally did it... the new sheep pen near the house is complete, along with a fancy two room sheep condo! I've gotta send out much love and a huge hug to Neil for all of his help - as he said today "I didn't sign up for this!!" However we succeeded and can have a few days of rest (well from fencing).  The funnest part of it all was moving in - the sheep had a bit of a treck from the barn to the new pen, but I don't think they even realised they were going somewhere! Neil had the famous yellow bucket of grain and I followed behind. Boy I wish I had a camera, Neil had to run as the ewes were nearly tackeling him for the grain! All I had to do was run to catch up.  The pen and shelter are a recycling project - the only things we bought were the gate hinges and the fencing staples, and a few used metal T-Posts. The wire, wood posts, most of the T-Posts, gates, roofing tin, cool grain trough, and wood for the shelter were all scrounged from my landlord's farm. The wood pallets are from the hardware store in town, where they offer them for free. All of the gates are made from pallets, and the shelter walls are made from pallets. I also made the sheep and the horses wonderful feeders using the wonderously versatile slatted wood pallets! I love pallets.... :) Ok...lets try this blog thing 08/26/2008
I am new to many things, and blogging is the most recent! Thank you for dropping in for a visit - I hope in some way I can offer you some tips, hints, advice, inspiration, knowlege, or just plain entertainment. All of which are good for the soul. In turn I welcome your own input and appreciate any contribution. | Empty Cup Ranch
The trials and tribulations of learning to live simply on a small farm. One day at a time. ArchivesSeptember 2009 CategoriesAll |
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