[PyrNet-L] CHAT: Maria the sheep comes to stay

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

Well, my first little lawnmower has come to stay :-)  My sister, the
consummate 'scrounger' who has found me all sorts of 'free' things in the
past managed this week to find me a sheep!

Maria is a 6yo 1X  (Border Leicester/Merino cross) ewe who has spent all her
life in a suburban backyard.  She is FAT, mostly the result of her diet of
bread :-/.  I picked her up yesterday and she spent the night in a pen
getting to know her new surroundings.  Today she is up in the small back
'easment' paddock, although is not that interested in eating much and still
rather unsettled (still looking for the bread I think! LOL!).

I kept the dogs away from her last night to allow her to settle a bit - I
don't think she is used to dogs at all - but let them out thismorning to get
a supervised look at each other through the fence.  This is not the first
time the dogs have seen sheep at least, as I have had a neighbours sheep in
grazing the easment before.

Halley is relatively uninterested after the intial 'what are you doing
there!', Milou is very curious about the 'new creature' and has been
standing at the fence, wagging her tail and barking (I have been trying to
discourage her from barking at her).  Cookie the Dally is another matter -
the chase would probably be on if they were together - she has a high prey
drive and I don't trust her at all in this respect.

They will all be kept separate from the sheep (with a fence between).
Cookie always and the Pyrs at least for now.  Pyrs will be in the fenced
area beside her (6ft wire fence between) and Cookie in a separate run.  I am
not training the Pyrs as LGD's but it will be interesting to see how they
get on having some 'livestock' around on a permanent basis. Even if it is
only 1 sheep! LOL!

If this all works out though, perhaps a friend for Maria will be in order.
Will probably need at least 2 to make a dent on all this grass! LOL!

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm