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Home
> Babydoll Sheep and Maremma
LGD (livestock guardian
dog)
Why
do we have sheep
in the vineyard?
RIP
Woody: March 1 - June 5 |
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Since
November 2006, we've been raising a family of
babydoll sheep that live
and work at Kiger Family Vineyards. There
are currently 7 sheep, 5 of which were born here
during the Spring of 2007 and 2008. The primary
job of the sheep is to eat grass and weeds in
the vineyard and leave natural fertilizer behind.
They excel on both counts! For most of the year,
their pasture/vineyard diet is all they need.
During the summer, as all of the natural grasses
have either been eaten up or dried up, we do supplement
their diet with grass hay.
Update:
The tree above illustrates the current
KFV sheep population. Our breeding stock, today
consisting only of Gus and Agnes, is registered
with the Olde
English Babydoll Sheep registry in Rochester,
Washington.
Our
flock grew from 7 to 8 with the March 1 birth
of Woody. Our flock shrank back to 7 in early
June after we found the remains of young Woody
down in the pasture. Cause of death is unknown,
but there were no signs of predator teeth marks
and no blood. Our working theory is that he sustained
some type of injury (e.g., stumbled into a squirrel
hole and injured a leg) and then the turkey vultures
swarmed him after he died. In any case, he was
nearly completely eaten when we discovered his
remains in the morning after having seen him alive
and well the afternoon before. Painfully sad.
Also disturbing because we don't really know what
happened and hate to believe that a predator could
have succeeded under Francesco's watch.
So
our 7 remaining sheep are hanging out (until after
harvest) in the fenced-in pasture below the house
and adjacent to the lower vineyard. Junior has
assumed one of his mother, Agnes', most identifiable
traits: he is not only very vocal, but also loudly
so! The two of them "sing" to (or at)
each other and us, and they often get a chorus
going among the flock. Todd is huge, even bigger
than Gus the ram, and assertive about getting
both his share of food as well as chin scratches
from Deb. Roy is mellow, preferring to blend into
the background; he is a very loyal and frequent
companion to his older sister, Agnes.
A
little more about the babydoll sheep:
- This
is the original Southdown breed of sheep; originated
in southeastern England and first imported to
USA in the early 1800's.
- Wooly
faces with a smiling facial expression give
them a 'Teddy Bear' appearance.
- Their
height maxes out at about 24" at the shoulder.
- Expected
life span is 15-16 years.
- Both
sexes are born polled (without horns).
In
the Vineyard: The sheep were able to
stay in the new grenache block of the vineyard
until mid-May this year, since there was no green
growth on the newly-grafted vines that the sheep
could destroy. We benefitted from the extra 6-7
weeks, but the late rains in May gave an extra
"ooomph" to the spring flush of grass
and weeds, so we still ended up doing a lot of
manual weed removal.
Vineyard
Exodus:
To answer a frequently asked question, YES, sheep
do like grapes, or at least the green vines. We
initially didn't think the sheep would be able
to reach the grapevines. But with the steepness
of the Upper Vineyard, as they stand on the high
side of the vines, they are able to reach up with
just a little effort, and found that the tender
green shoots of Spring taste pretty darn good.
So
shortly after budbreak, we move them from the
vineyard to a summer pasture, making a temporary
layover in the tall grasses surrounding our house
and driveway, where they make quick work of mowing
down the vegetation around the house, septic fields,
and a wooded ravine. The sheep crew made short
work of eating all the grass, wildflowers, weeds
and poison oak, essentially keeping us from having
to mow and weed-whack, and providing a wonderful
fire protection buffer for us.
Shearing:
Judd Redden came to do the annual shearing
in mid-May, taking on Gus first.
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It
was the first shearing for last year's lambs,
and they were very wooly and dirty
(not necessarily in that order!) Here's
Junior.
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After
the first of last year's twin lambs was sheared,
Dewey tried to hide in the penned-up crowd. He
stood out in a big way!
Ever
since the sheep arrived people have asked what
we do with the wool. Most of it goes in our compost
pile, but this year, Deb decided to "do something"
with some of it. She took Bucky's first (virgin)
fleece, laid it out on the garage floor, and first
skirted it and picked it relatively clean.
She
hand washed it after doing lots of googling to
figure out how to remove the lanolin, soil, and
odor. And after it dried, she spent several hours
picking it clean again; that is, removing all
the thorns, daggers, foxtails, prickle-burs, etc.
Left with her pile of "pretty clean"
wool, she decided to make some special pillows
with spare upholstery material, stuffed with the
Bucky wool and last year's dried lavender.
Special
acknowledgement and kudos to Deb's friend and
bicycling partner, Sherry, who elevated Deb from
one whose sewing repertoire consisted of "only
replacing a button" to one who can exclaim
"I sew!" Sherry taught Deb to cut the
cloth, use a sewing machine, and how to hand-stitch
the final segment after stuffing.
Mom
with her special "Bucky" pillow, a hand-delivered
birthday gift
Breeding
the Flock: In temperate climates like
ours, nature meant for sheep to mate in the fall,
so that lambs will be born in the spring when
the weather is mild and the grass is plentiful,
thus enhancing the lambs' chances for survival.
So the early part of autumn also heralds "the
season." Our only ewe, Agnes, came into estrus
(heat) in mid-October. It felt a little voyeuristic,
but Agnes and Gus weren't too sneaky about the
mating game. 142 days later, on March 1, a single
ram lamb was born after less than 15 minutes of
labor.
We
would like to ramp up our ewe population again
so we can grow our flock more quickly. Stay tuned....
and if you have any of the babydoll ewes and want
to sell or barter, please contact us.
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In
early April, Deb and her friend Deborah
Walton co-sponsored and led a one-day
workshop for current and prospective sheep
owners seeking the opportunity to get
some hands-on experience with expectant
ewes and their new lambs. Click
here to see the photos.
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Livestock
Guardian Dog (LGD):
Francesco (pronounced fran-CHESS-ko)
is our 2-year old, 120 lb. Maremma;
he is chartered with protecting the sheep from
animal predation.
In
addition to protecting the sheep, he watches over
the chickens and also recognizes the cats as family
members (although they clearly don't recognize
him as a valuable member of the family!) The
Maremma breed originated in Italy where they have
been used for many centuries as guardians of flocks
of sheep and goats. Francesco's parents, Paolo
and Cima, were brought from Italy to Boulder Creek
in the Santa Cruz, California, mountains in May
2004. Francesco was born to their second American
litter.
Livestock
guarding breeds originated in Europe and Asia,
where they have been used for centuries to protect
sheep from wolves and mountain lions. Americans
have used LGD's since the mid-1970's. They are
large animals (80-120 pounds) and are usually
all white or fawn colored with dark muzzles. Some
of the more common breeds are Great Pyrenees (France),
Komondor (Hungary), Akbash and Anatolian Shepherd
(Turkey), and Maremma (Italy).
Unlike
sheep herding dogs, like border collies, LGD's
do not usually herd sheep. Acting independently,
LGD's stay with or near sheep most of the time
and aggressively repel predators. Yes, Francesco
lives outdoors with the sheep and has never been
in the house. Unlike our cats, he has a real job!
It's to reduce predation on the sheep (by the
mountain lions and coyotes, for example, with
which we co-exist), reduce our labor by lessening
the need for night corralling, alert us to disturbances
in the flock, protecting the ranch property, and
allow for more efficient use of pastures.
Deb
in the "barn" with Gus and Francesco
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