[Jacob-list] new list member and prospective new owner

[Thomas Simmons]

Others will no doubt answer with moreserious advice, but in the meantime,
consider an attempt at a humorous look at our first year raising Jacobs....
thom


(This article appeared in the June 2000 edition of the Jacob Sheep
Conservancy Journal)

Top 10 Important Things We Learned During Our First Year with Jacob Sheep.
						Thom Simmons
						Westmoreland, NH

When my wife (Danielle) and I were married almost 16 years ago, we didn’t
enter the reception hall to one of those standard “I’ll love you” dance
tunes.  Instead, the band played the theme song from “Green Acres.”  It was
an apt prediction of the future for a lawyer and a retail buyer that were
raised in the shadows of NYC skyscrapers.
In the ensuing years, we lived first on Martha’s Vineyard, and, since the
end of 1998, on a hilltop farm at the end of a long dirt road in rural
Westmoreland, New Hampshire.  After trying our hand at shepherding
Shetlands, Jacobs, and Scottish Blackface, we have settled on Jacobs, and
thought we’d pass on a few tips to other new shepherds to ease them in the
transition.  And so, we present our Top 10 Important Things we Learned
During Our First Year with Jacob Sheep.

1.	Every Sheep that someone claims is a Jacob, is most assuredly a Jacob.  2
horns, 9 horns, green horns, no horns, blue hair, six legs – you name it.
Many folks simply “haven’t gotten around to registering” them yet.

2.	When transporting Jacobs, avoid using vehicles that overheat on I-95
outside of Washington, DC.  The ensuing traffic jam, accompanied by gawkers
jumping out of the cars they’ve parked in travel lanes, makes one very
unpopular with police. Consider making up signs that read “No, they’re
Sheep.”

3.	It is always a good idea to keep a solid sheep-transport vehicle.
Preferably, you should seek one out that is not easily knocked out of gear
while sitting at the top of a steeply sloped hill.  If you’re lucky, a deep
river at the bottom of the hill will often soften the impact of a runaway
pickup.

4.	When choosing fencing, remember that one ewe will always find a way over,
under, through, or beyond whatever you erect.  Fortunately, she will only
teach this trick to about half the flock.

5.	Sheep are not respecters of plants, and they will eat prized flowers,
shrubs, orchard trees, etc.  Should they escape, they will not, however, eat
your vegetation; they will only destroy the neighbor’s crops.  In this way,
sheep become a great point of contact between you and that neighbor with
whom you’ve yet to speak..

6.	If your sheep do escape, most friendly neighbors will simply pick up the
phone.  This, of course, is ineffective when other family members are on the
web all day, and so they will come knocking on your door.  This happens
infrequently, and usually only as you’re stepping out of the shower.

7.	Lambing time is so much fun!  You should see the excitement and sheer
delight on children’s faces as your ewe drags two feet of afterbirth around
for two days and kicks the unsteady little lamb in the head everytime she
tries to suckle on a wool tag.  Nonetheless, imagine your pride when your
11-year old daughter explains to a class of six year-olds at the Home School
Coop how the ram “puts the seed” into the girls.  The parents will really
appreciate your handling that issue for them.

8.	It’s always good to plan ahead for good pasture, so doing a little
logging in the winter can reclaim some woodland for your growing flock..
The ruts left in the road when you transport the logs during a sudden spring
thaw will be the subject of town meetings for months to come, and it is a
wonderful way to get to know all of your town folk real fast.  Besides,
since it will take 100 years for the slash left behind by the loggers to
decay, (or only 50 years for humans to clean up) you have lots of time to
think about planning that new pasture.  It gives one a real sense that
agriculture is a long-term commitment.

9.	When unrolling or moving electric web fencing, follow instructions.
Carefully. I understand that the phrase “Gordian Knot” was coined by a
shepherd named Gordon .. .  Oh, and by the way, the shock from one of those
fences really is intensified if you’re standing in a puddle.  In case you
wondered.

10.	When deciding whether to trim hooves, your sheep will give you certain
clues.  Gentle ewes that eat out of your hand and like to be handled are
thoughtful enough to trim their own hooves, so you will not need to do it
yourself.  If, however, you own a four-horned fellow who has learned to be
able to manipulate his head in such a way as to be able to impale your
family jewels to the nearest barn wall, this is ram-talk for “Trim my
hooves – I dare you.”

There.  I hope these pointers will help some of you new shepherds to avoid
the errors I made.  BTW, I have learned that after mucking the barn out this
spring, the heat from composting straw is actually hot enough to hard-boil
the eggs left there by the chickens.  Think there’s an organic market for
this?