Sheep.  Not always the brightest of God's creatures, but sometimes they are able to outsmart me!  Now is the time to de-worm the sheep in preparation for breeding.  Our one ewe lamb has to be caught and removed from the flock as she will be sold as a market lamb.  We cannot put her in with the ram lambs as they are still intact.  Having a ewe around them will cause them to want to breed which in turn will cause fighting and testosterone levels to rise.  They can bruise each other and the testosterone will give the meat a disgusting taste.  So the poor ewe lamb is alone in a pen across from the ewes.

For two days we have tried to get the ewes into the crowding pen and chutes in order to de-worm them and sort out the lamb.  The first configuration of the equipment just didn't work.  So I finally sent Dennis off to do other tasks while I pondered the problem.  I decided to put the ewes in the barn first.  I built a barrier to prevent them from running past the barn door.  Unfortunately, the post pounder had a broken hitch when it toppled over while Dennis was going over uneven terrain.

 

The post pounder was a barrier to the clear line of sight that the sheep need to keep moving forward.  Anything that blocks their sight will cause them to stop moving forward.  It makes them wary and flighty.  After a few tries and moving gates, they followed me with the grain bucket right into the barn.  When I tried to close the door the two brown sheep, the lamb and her mother, bolted.  I closed the 6 ewes in.  I knew the two rogue ewes would be drawn to the flock even though the flock was behind the barn door.  Once they were beside the barn I closed the gates so they were confined in the small pen in front of the barn.  I then opened the barn door and all the sheep came out.  It was easy then to pressure them all back into the barn.  With hay and grain in the barn it did not take much convincing. 

 After the sheep were in the barn, behind the door, I set up the chute and squeeze.  The blue panels to the left of the picture are the curved parts of the crowding chute.  I used them as a barrier to confine the sheep in the small area.  They remained there to prevent any escapee from bolting to freedom!  My plan was to have the door slide open just enough to let the sheep access the chute.  Obviously my plan was somewhat flawed:

They all pushed in and it was all Dennis could do to keep them from pushing the chute apart.  Of course, the crowding tub should have been attached to keep everything in place.  Oh well.  We kept them calm by moving everything slowly.  You can see the one ewe in the squeeze table.  That table will squeeze around the ewe, then we can actually tip the table on it's side so we can trim the hooves and examine the ewe.  When they are off their feet they go completely calm which enables us to work on them without harming them or ourselves.  This time I just tightened the squeeze to hold the ewe still while I injected the ivermectin.  I used the weights from the spring as I still have not fixed the scale. 

Once the ewes were done I led them all back to the winter pen by the house.  Dennis put a rope on the ewe lamb.  He tried to lead her but it was more like trying to lead a bucking bronco!  I wish I could have taken a picture but I was too busy trying to get the sheep across the road before a vehicle came along.  The lamb bucked and flipped and rolled on the ground.  Dennis was being swung around at the end of the rope.  It was hilarious!

Ben was happy to be with his harem at last.  The pictures say it all.

Tomorrow I am off to Smithers for my ultra sound.  Since it is son-in-law Chris's birthday, I will proceed to Terrace after having lunch with daughter Bernice in Smithers.  I checked the weather forecast, which said there would be sun on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  With any luck it is close to being right so I will have good travelling.  I will be home Saturday as I have a dinner engagement that evening. 

This may well be my last visit to Rebecca and Chris's home in Terrace.  They have been transferred to Williams Lake.  We do not know when the move will take place, but the move is confirmed so can take place any time.  It is exciting for them, but I will miss my trips to Terrace, especially when I took the train.  It was such a pleasant trip.

Dennis is cooking one of our last pork roasts for supper tonight.  Since we did not raise pigs this year we will miss eating pork! 

Time for me to go pack.  Still no takers for our lovely Amigo.  I am working on his leash training and he is progressing nicely.  He is such a lovely boy!

He has taken to sitting atop his shelter when the weather is clement.

Bye for now.