: [Jacob-list] comment on "those wild Jacobs"

[Melody]

Since I didn't witness the attack, and since the injuries are relatively mild compared to the potential,I'm not at all sure that the other sheep didn't intervene.  The ewe who was injured is an older gal and usually at the tail end of the flock when they move from place to place, so I am really surprised that the injuries were not more severe.  The ram is with the girls too.  On the other hand--this is the flock that was huddled in one corner of the barn lot staring with fright into the pasture one evening.  When I came down to see what was the problem, they bunched up into a shoulder-to-shoulder wooly mass and tried to hide behind me as they followed me out into the pasture to investigate.  I expected a cougar, at least, or maybe sasquatch, from their actions.  My flashlight caught movement just as the sheep froze in place--I could almost imagine their gasp of terror-- and a fat raccoon waddled across the beam of light.  Well, in their defense, it was a large 'coon. LOL   
Melody
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Betty Berlenbach 
  To: Melody ; jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 2:51 AM
  Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] comment on "those wild Jacobs"


  Compared to wild dogs,...I am surprised, however, that your jacob didn't do in the dog...must have been more than one of them.  Or perhaps it was because of her advanced pregnancy, that she thought flight might be better than fighting.  My girls have beaten up a pitbull who threatened their babies.  I have a friend whose rams took on a pack of coyotes one fall, and did much damage, though so did the coyotes.  The "wildness" in the jacobs enables them to stand up to predators, instead of just running, like those nice, calm, brainless standardized breed sheep we've messed up so much with our selective breeding!
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Melody 
    To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
    Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:23 PM
    Subject: [Jacob-list] comment on "those wild Jacobs"


    I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I just have to share this story about the "wild and crazy Jacob sheep".  I've been told several times that Jacobs are not tameable, that they are too wild, that they are too hard to handle because they're flighty and so on.  Well, tonight one of my wild flighty Jacobs was attacked by a dog who managed to get into the pasture.  I didn't see the attack, just found the results when I went out for evening feeding.  Fortunately it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  My sweet old Butterfly was hiding in a corner of the outside shelter with one hind leg, hip and flank sliced and gashed.  The vet says nothing broken, and while she isn't using the leg there is probably no permanent damage to joint structures, just  a lot of muscle damage. But this wild and flighty Jacob stood unrestrained except for my hand resting on her neck and rubbing behind her ears, and leaned her head against me while the vet shaved , cleaned, clipped ragged flesh, and cared for the wounds.   Yep, can't tame them.  Too wild.  
    Barring infection, Butterfly should recover in time.  She is due to lamb in 3 1/2 weeks, the jury is still out on whether this will cause her to abort, but I'm going to trust to Jacob resilience and prayer on that.
    Wild and flighty Jacobs my eye!
    Melody


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    _______________________________________________
    Jacob-list mailing list, sponsored by Swallow Lane Farm & Fiberworks
    Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
    http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20060315/d7803943/attachment.html