Each day is the same but different. Sometimes there is an event that is all consuming and often times the days are the same with only variations in the weather. And yet there are silly antics that occur all of the time...
Pool Bed
Beau loves water. And mud and snow, too, preferably all three at the same time. So, a few years ago I picked up a doggie wading pool. And to my utter disappointment Beau did not play in it. This is the same dog who: will lie down in a puddle because it is there; will run through a puddle and then turn around and run back through that puddle; and also, the same dog who will bury a tennis ball in the snow and then dig it out again - because it is so much fun.
I recently put the pool to a new task. When Millie began to appear lame or arthritic, which may be related to lyme disease which she has, I thought of keeping her warm and off of the ground. So, I set up the pool as a doggie bed. I put a rubber mat in the bottom and then added a bunch of straw bedding and some fleece from the sheep. Millie did sleep in this once or twice that I observed. Note it is not a water bed but a pool bed....
My goal was to get Millie grounded to the Small Barn and this has worked. Some of my plans however have changed and there are now no animals spending the winter in the Small Barn. So, now I have been working out how to get Millie more grounded to the Big Barn and the sheep that are in the Big Barn.
I asked a neighbour to come over and create a dog opening in the bottom of the person door in the Big Barn. He welcomed the task and had it done in no time. He went home with a dozen eggs. Inside the Big Barn dog door I created a pen that Millie can access from outside while the sheep are kept inside. And in this pen I placed the pool bed.
To my knowledge Millie has not accessed the dog door in the Big Barn without my coaxing. Thus, she has not used her pool bed. Ruby however has been found on numerous occasions in the pool bed. She loves it! She would like to stay in that pen and that pool. It won't be long before I place that pool bed out where Ruby can make the most of it.
Banana peels and pepto bismol
Birch, the ram lamb, has had scours for over a week. In non-farmer speak he has diarrhoea. So, in one hand I had a syringe of pepto bismol for Birch and in the other hand I had a banana peel treat for Henrietta the llama. Both Maremma dogs met me as I entered the barnyard. They wanted what I was carrying. After all, it is food. This is significant considering that several months ago Millie ate very little. Now she eats the full amount of kibble suggested by the food label, plus goodies I add to it. I still make one dog's worth of dog food but simply cannot make food for three dogs, especially when two of them are LARGE.
I gave each of the dogs a small piece of banana peel and they wandered away to chew on it - literally and figuratively. Both rejected this llama delicacy. Their preoccupation with this activity allowed me to move across the yard to Henrietta.
And as I arrived at Henrietta both dogs were at my sides, again, and both were eyeing the banana peel that Henrietta was now eating. So, once again, I gave them each a small piece to satisfy their incessant need to eat what another is eating.
They went away and quickly returned, again. This time Henrietta was pretty well finished eating the banana peel, at least, I had no more left in my hand. I still had the syringe of bright pink pepto bismol. Ruby jumps a lot, still, and now she jumped after the pepto bismol hand. Then she jumped at Henrietta to get closer to her mouthful of banana peel. Henrietta responded by spitting that mouthful of banana peel - as only a llama can do - at Ruby - of course she also got me and Millie.
Ruby jumped away and then back again, half leaping up at Henrietta. The llama's response was to half leap forward, poking her face forward too. No one was amused. Ruby does bring this upon herself.
Bashing sheep
Ruby has been well bashed by sheep. They have become accustomed to her but do not usually like what she does. She wants to play with them and often approaches them as a litter mate. They scoot away... Some of the ewes simply bash her outright whenever Ruby gets close. And if she's not close they will run four steps to bash her. This is about as aggressive as a sheep can and will get.
Tall Girl - yes she is the tallest sheep I have - seems to do a lot of Ruby bashing. Unlike gossipping this kind of bashing is physical. I have been bashed by a few hundred pounds of ram during mating season. It is not a pleasant experience. Granted, Ruby now weighs almost as much as the ewes but they do have a hard head.
So, one afternoon I was in the barn and observed Tall Girl leap half way across the barn to bash Ruby. Ruby fell over flat and laid there. It was not that she was winded. She has learned that if you lay flat on the ground they leave you alone. Ruby is more often now seen crawling on her belly in the barn, playing it safe.
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