Two weeks ago I wrote about how we’d started Elliot’s “hen training“. Well it’s still going on, we’re taking things slowly because while Elliot is a natural livestock guardian and he’s great around the sheep, we weren’t sure how he’d behave around the hens. Being a rescue dog it’s possible he’s had to scavenge small animals including birds during his early months on the streets. Rushing the hen training just wouldn’t be the right thing to do in his case. And anyway, building his “hen friendly neural pathways” takes time. We also wanted the hens to get used to Elliot as these things work both ways. If Elliot and the hens are to get along, they both need to be used to each other’s presence.
It’s four weeks into the training, ten minutes a day of bringing him into the orchard, throwing corn down for the hens and bringing them a tiny bit closer each time.
This week the hens are about one meter away from Elliot which is good progress. The atmosphere remains calm and relaxed. Elliot continues to show the right kind of interest, not fixating, just looking. He’s showing all the right signs of being a good hen friend, but we’re going to keep going with the training until we can have the hens running right up and around him while he remains calm and relaxed. The hens must always be higher status than Elliot, even if they’re in his space, Elliot must respect them.
If there’s one thing we have come to realise about our sheep over the years, it’s that they like their shelters. Their favourite is one we knocked up just after we moved here. It kind of resembles a low rise mass built bungalow and so has been nicknamed Brookside, after an old tv soap opera.
Brookside sheep shelter
The sheep spend much of there waking lives in it. If it’s sunny, the sheep head for Brookside. If there’s the merest hint of rain, the sheep head for Brookside. If there’s a mist rolling in, the sheep head for Brookside. In fact, it has almost become an addiction, a comfort blanket in which they wrap themselves at the merest hint of discomfort. This is not a problem in the winter when they have access to the larger lambing shed which has a raised, hardcore base. However, in the summer it’s a different story.
There probably would not be a problem but for the fact that, unlike pigs, sheep tend to pee and defecate where they happen to be. So, it only takes a few hours for the floor to be covered. Daily cleanouts help, but in wet weather, the pee has nowhere to go and the floor can tend towards the unhygienic. We installed drainage, but while that has been helpful in eliminating puddles, the floor can become muddy and wet. Basically, it’s on a flat spot and water gathers there on its way down the hill.
Again, copious amounts of scented sawdust helps, but this merely serves to make the place more attractive. On top of that, the low roof leads to aching backs and bumped heads during cleaning.
During the hot days, we noticed that it was like an oven in there. All in all, there had to be a better way. So, we decided to open up some of the woodland for them. This comes with risks as sheep are partial to bark. They can bark an adult tree in minutes when the mood takes them. Nevertheless, there was a small copse of evergreens that were fully grown and, also, sheep tend to be more interested in eating bark in the winter months.
sheep pondering “silvo shelter”
So, we cleared the copse of brambles, added a gate and waited for a hot day. These are more plentiful in SW Scotland than they used to be and we did not have to wait long. To give Brookside a chance to recover, we’d closed access to the field where it is located. The sun was out, the air was warm and the sheep were gathered in a tightly knit group at the gate, gazing longingly at their favourite shed. We led them up the hill, reluctantly (lots of sheep nuts were involved), and showed them their new ‘shelter’.
first sheep enters “silvo shelter”
Despite the plentiful willow herb at their disposal, their reluctance to try anything new was stronger and hesitancy prevailed. Eventually, Yarr’s curiousity trumped his caution. Even then, he took his time. It was an excellent test of our patience.
more sheep entering “silvo shelter”
Slowly, the rest followed. Well, most of them anyway. Some got to the gate and veered right, tasty morsels of grass seemingly more attractive.
Those that did enter inched forward until their eyes fell upon the young willow herb. That was all it needed and they were soon tucking in, those at the back now trying to push through.
sheep find the willow herb growing amongst the trees
Soon, they settled and were grazing happily. Inside the woodland, the canopy of needles and branches provided plenty of shade and a gentle breeze made it feel cool and fresh. Compared with the oven that was Brookside, there was no contest. Job done, or so we thought.
We left them to it.
Twenty minutes later, they were back at the gate gazing mournfully at their favourite shed.
sheep grazing “silvo shelter”
This has been the pattern for most of the summer. We have even cut back more of the fencing so that they don’t feel boxed in. But, on hot days, they gather at the gate and gaze. We lead them up and watch them relax into the cool and refreshing area under the trees. We step back and watch. After a short period, one of them, usually Selene (the flock matriarch) suddenly remembers their favourite shelter and makes off towards it. The rest follow.
On some days, particularly stormy or heavy rain days, we open up the lambing shed for them and they appreciate that. But, on hot days, walls, tin roofs, stifling heat and oven conditions seem preferable to cool, leafy shade and refreshing breezes. That’s sheep for you.
Now that the sheep have accepted Elliot and he can join us off-lead in amongst them, we have turned our attention to teaching him how to be around our hens. The hens wander around freely in the orchard and up until now Elliot’s not been allowed into the orchard because of this. The orchard is the hens’ domain but we’d like to be able to extend Elliot’s freedom and allow him into the orchard too, so it’s important he learns how to behave around the hens. As with the sheep training, George (our other rescue Anatolian) will be the main teacher, we’ll just be there to guide him.
So, a couple of weeks ago or so, we began “Operation Hen Training”. The training itself is simple but has to be repeated every day and preferably with Elliot in a relaxed mood. With this in mind we thought a good time to do it would be directly after his mid-morning walk.
The idea is we take Elliot into the orchard, lie him down in the “relax” position and then bring the hens in, not too close, but not too far. Both the hens and Elliot will need to be aware of each other’s presence but not be spooked by it.
week one
Elliot isn’t allowed to look at the hens, not at first. After a bit he’s allowed to look, but not fixate. If he fixates, we distract him.
We repeat this for a few minutes every day and bit by bit we bring the hens in a little closer. Eventually we’d like to have the hens running all around Elliot and both hens and Elliot calm in each other’s presence.
A small side note, we’ve had to approach the hen training cautiously because during Elliot’s first weeks with us, Clippy (top hen), accidentally found herself in Elliot’s play paddock. We were throwing a ball for Elliot and he was running after it when out of the blue, Clippy popped out from under a hedge. Elliot thought a hen much more fun than a tennis ball and ran after her at full pelt and Clippy ended up between his jaws. Fortunately we managed to dive in and rescue her and the story ended well.
However, Clippy remained wary of Elliot and whenever she spotted him walking past she sounded the alarm (very loud squawking).
We’ve not forgotten the incident and nor has Clippy or Elliot, but we’re hoping that with the right approach we can still go ahead and get Elliot to the point where he behaves respectfully around the hens.
week two
So for the last two weeks or so we’ve been going into the orchard every day along with George. Adrian puts Elliot into his relaxed position and watches his body language and where he looks. I scatter corn nearby and the hens come in and peck away at the corn, all the while with Elliot lying just a few meters away.
On the first day we did this, Clippy was very cautious and stayed much further away than the other hens. When we got up to go, the sight of Elliot standing up was too much for her and she squawked for all she was worth.
On the second day Clippy decided Elliot was less of threat and the call of the corn was too strong. She followed the other hens in, and although she kept her distance, she didn’t sound the alarm and everything remained calm.
The chicks are the bravest, they come in quite close albeit under the watchful eye of their mum. The chicks haven’t learnt about danger yet so we’re keeping our eye on them too. There is a lot at stake so we’re taking the hen training slowly and carefully.
We’ve been repeating this daily and each day we’ve been able to bring the hens in a tiny bit closer.
week three
It’s slower progress than the sheep training, but we’re confident we’ll get there. So far Elliot has been calm and not shown the wrong kind of interest in the hens. And the hens have been learning that Elliot isn’t a threat.
We’ll write another blog post with a progress update soon.
I often get asked how I get my white rugs so clean so I thought it might be helpful to all you woolly crafters out there, if I shared my hints and tips with you.
Most of the rugs I make come from Scotch Mule fleeces. The Scotch Mule is traditionally creamy-white in colour with long, silky curls. I’m a real sucker for a soft, white cloud of a rug so my fleece shed is unsurprisingly full of delicious, creamy, curly locked fleeces. Unfortunately, as with most fun things in life there’s a drawback, lighter coloured fleeces take a lot of work to clean up. Every speck of dirt shows and I don’t have an industrial set up here, it’s just me, soap and water.
fleece shed
While the natural look is a huge part of the beauty of these rugs, I like to strike a balance between keeping the wool looking as natural as possible while at the same time encouraging it to look its very best. The look I prefer is a mixture between natural beauty and “just stepped out of the salon”.
Happily, having made a lot of white rugs over the years I’m pleased to say that I’ve learned a few tips along the way which I can’t wait to share with you. Read on to find out about how to clean up a white fleece and get your rug looking absolutely gorgeous.
First and foremost, how the rug turns out depends largely on the quality of the wool that you start out with.
But let’s imagine you have a decent fleece. It’s raw and lovely, full of lanolin and has that yummy sheepy smell about it. There are dags here and there and some matted wool around the edges, but you can see it has lots of potential and would make an amazing rug.
raw fleece
Now let’s imagine you’ve skirted the fleece and removed the matted and daggy wool. You’ve picked out a lot of the vegetable matter (moss, seeds, straw etc). You’ve felted it and made it into a rug.
It’s time to sit down and put your feet up.
Sorry, what I meant to say was, it’s time to roll your sleeves up and do some more work 😉
Firstly, you’re going to remove the lanolin by a process called scouring. A lot of lanolin will have come out in the felting, but there will still be lots left. It’s important to remove it because it attracts moths and you wouldn’t want moths gobbling up your rug after all that hard work.
Scouring
Put the rug to soak in very hot water (at least 60’c) with a normal laundry detergent, not a wool one yet, this comes later. You’ll want a detergent which is slightly alkaline to open the wool fibres and get them clean. Don’t agitate the rug, just leave it to soak for 20 minutes. The main purpose of the hot wash is to remove the lanolin and to kill any moth eggs that might be lurking in the wool. Hint, it’s important to take the fleece out of the hot water after 20 minutes and no later. If you leave it in any longer, the water will start to cool down and the lanolin will harden up and stick to the fleece again. Repeat the hot soak if necessary, (once, twice, three times … use your discretion depending on how much dirt and lanolin there is in the wool). The rug is ready for the next stage once the run-off water starts looking clearer. The run-off won’t be crystal clear at this point, but neither will it be a dark murky brown as it was earlier on.
Wool wash
Next, fill your bathtub with lukewarm water (no hotter than 30’c), add a squirt of wool/silk laundry detergent, lay your rug in the water face down and allow to soak for an hour or so. Feel free to swish the rug around a little to loosen up any bits of dirt. Rinse in cool water with a slosh of cider vinegar (or white vinegar) until the water runs clear. Add some drops of lavender oil to the final rinse water as a moth deterrent. Alternatively, put the rug into the washing machine on the wool cycle at 30’c. Make sure you use a wool/silk laundry detergent and never use fabric conditioner/softener. Instead, pour some vinegar (about 15mls) into the rinse drawer with a few drops of lavender oil. Wool really loves a vinegar rinse, it helps to get rid of soap residue and it brings the pH back to wool’s preferred state which is slightly acidic.
Once the rug is washed and rinsed, lay it flat to dry, curls facing upwards.
rug drying in the sun – pre quality control & beautifying
Beautifying
Once the rug is dry it’s time to check it over, make sure everything’s in place and remove any remaining bits of moss, seeds etc. You may be wondering at this point why your rug doesn’t appear as clean and fluffy as you had imagined it would be after all that washing. You might even think it looks a little grubby and seems a little sorry for itself.
Welcome to “the ugly duckling stage”. 🐣
Fortunately there is a simple explanation for this and a beautiful swan will emerge very soon. The wool is actually much cleaner than you think, but because the lanolin has been washed out it is lighter in colour now. This means that any dirt lingering in the tips of the curls (which is where it likes to linger), is very noticeable in comparison with the rest of the wool.
The other thing that you’ll notice is that a lot of the wool is flattened down. This is perfectly normal and nothing that can’t be fixed.
So, what can be done about those grubby tips and those squashed down locks?
Well first of all it depends on what type of fleece you have.
If for you have a fine woolled fleece, like my favourite Scotch Mule for example, the wool will need very different treatment to a coarser woolled fleece, like say a Herdwick or a Welsh Mountain.
I will leave courser wools for another day, but for fine wools read on to find out how to get your rug looking fabulous:
Make sure the rug is completely dry, set aside several hours, and start to work through the wool methodically. I call this process “preening”.
going through and checking the curls little by little
Take a little curl and run it between your finger and thumb from the base to the tip. This serves several purposes:
You’re making sure that each and every curl has felted in properly and there are no bald spots. If you find curls which haven’t taken or a bald spot, this can be remedied using a needle felting tool and popping the curl back into place.
You’re making sure each curl is standing upright and not squashed flat. If you find any flattened down curls, simply tease them up again.
some curls will be squashed flat
You’re checking that the curls aren’t getting over friendly with their neighbours. In the felting and washing process the curls can bunch up a bit so just separate out any clumps you come across.
some curls might be clumped togetheryou might find a bald spot which will need fixing
You’re removing crispy tips. Sometimes, depending on the fleece you’ll come across crispy tips, (exactly like dry ends on hair). Afterall, the fleece has been on the sheep for a whole year so it’s not surprising there may be a little patch of dry and damaged wool here and there. These crispy tips are dead wool so can be easily pulled off.
some curls might have crispy tips
You’re teasing out dirt from the tips. Dirt tends to linger in the tips and no amount of washing seems to remove it. It needs to be manually removed with your fingers. Gently separate the strands of wool at the tips and then “rake” out the dirt with your finger and thumb. You could brush out the tips if you prefer but be sure to only brush the very tip, not the whole curl. You want to keep the curl intact and brushing would destroy it.
pulling off a crispy tip
You’re removing any remaining bits of vegetable matter. You’ll find that even after all that felting, washing and rinsing there will be little bits of grass, seeds and moss hiding away in the wool fibres. Part of the beautifying process is removing these remaining bits of meadow sprinklings.
brushing the tip to remove dirt
bit of moss hanging on even after being washed
All this takes several hours but as you work through the fleece and see the wool transform before your eyes you’ll see how satisfying it is.
making progress
Optional stage – second wash
Sometimes the preening can dislodge bits of dirt and you might feel the rug would benefit from another wash. If this is the case, pop it back in the bath or the washing machine (wool cycle) as before. If you handwash it, don’t forget the vinegar rinse.
Optional stage – Hair conditioning soak
Sometimes the preening can leave the wool a little fluffy. Or you might just decide to give your rug a special treat. Either way, a soak in hair conditioner really brings up wool looking and feeling its best. Here’s what to do: Fill your bathtub with lukewarm water, add a generous dollop of SLS and paraben free hair conditioner. Leave it to soak for an hour or so. Rinse in cool water (with a dash of vinegar and some drops of lavender oil) as before. Do not wring, gently squeeze out the water and leave flat to air dry curls facing upwards.
soaking in hair conditioner
The moment you’ve been waiting for …
After a couple of days or so depending on the time of year, your rug should be dry and you can do that thing that you’ve been wanting to do ever since you first washed it. You can shake it out like hair in a shampoo ad and admire it and feel proud of yourself for putting in all those hours of work beautifying the wool. “Ta daa!”
Our chicks have had a purpose built predator proof run from when they were eggs. After they hatched, they had a couple of days to find their feet before being let out into the wider world. Each night, they returned in the early evening, had a quick meal of corn, and turned in for the night. Every morning, they were waiting by the door, eager to get out and about.
At around four weeks old, their mother, Mrs Mills Junior (MMJ), decided it was time to return to the main chicken coop. This could have gone smoothly… …but it didn’t
First, MMJ decided it would be a good idea to roost in the bushes behind the coop. A few of the hens like to do this from time to time. However, reaching said perch was an impossible ask for the chicks. They might be getting quite big, but they are not yet close to being able to fly.
Pipette looking out at chicks
MMJ set up herself up, got comfortable, closed her eyes and settled in for the night. We watched, wondering how best to intervene. Then, MMJ realised something was missing and, after an elongated period of calling, flew down to find her chicks. Much clucking and shaking of feathers ensued before, finally, she decided to head into the coop. The chicks were not sure about this and took their time, but eventually, they all followed her in. Quickly, we shut the door.
The following evening, it was raining. This time, MMJ decided the coop was the better option. However, two of the chicks had forgotten the way and sat disconsolately under the coop. This caused much scratching of heads. Eventually, I approached and threw a little corn down. They were straight over and were joined by Pepper. Pepper returned to the coop and this was enough to show the chicks the way. Phew!
is it bed time?
Next day, I made some adjustments to make the ladder easier for the chicks to use, basically, I made it a little less steep. However, MMJ decided to go for the tree roost option once again causing panic in her brood. This time, she seemed oblivious. We intervened, shaking the bush causing her to fly down. Cue mass clucking and shaking of feathers. She led her chicks around for about half an hour before finally settling into the coop. Once all five chicks were in, we shut the door.
We thought things were settling by now, however, we hadn’t made allowances for Clippy. Clippy is the flock matriarch and the most feral. She likes her wild camping. That would be fine, but she also feels the need to announce it to the world. Next evening, MMJ and the chicks were happily ensconced in the coop when Clippy flew onto the roof on her way to the bush. She clucked her intentions out loud and the chicks all rushed out to see. Cue mass disruption as other hens joined in.
it’s lovely in here
This whole stramash was made more complicated by MMJ deciding the coop was for her, her chicks and the cockerel only. No other hens allowed. Fortunately, we have two coops. Nevertheless, the four hens cast out were none too impressed. They checked out the other coop, but seemed unsure. In out. In out. When, finally, all were in, we pounced and closed the door.
Yesterday, things finally went smoothly. The chicks and MMJ joined the cockerel in the Green Frog coop. The other four headed straight into the Solway coop and roosted.
I had a brilliant day today, this morning I was allowed off lead in amongst the sheep for the first time! It was great to be able to walk down the hill with my pals free and easy without the lead getting in the way. The sheep were walking to the wooden house in the field because it was hot. The sheep don’t like the heat. I don’t mind the heat because I come from a place called Turkey.
This afternoon I was let off my lead again so I spent some time with the boss sheep Selene who I like a lot. Selene was the first sheep to lick my face last week when I was in training. I feel happy around Selene, she reminds me of my mum. You can see Selene in the main picture of this story.
Tues 19th July
myself and George
Today was a hot day again and felt like that place I used to live called Turkey. In Turkey they don’t have long grass. I like long grass, I like running through it, it’s one of my favourite things. Today we went over to the sheep who were in their wooden house. I didn’t get to say hello because they wouldn’t come out so I hung around with George. My girl human went to fiddle with some fencing. On the way back I did some zoomies and then I sat on a hill. I like sitting and watching, it’s another one of my favourite things.
Wed 20th July
One of the sheep who is called Shelby needed some help today. My girl human didn’t pay me much attention so I sat and watched. She led Shelby into a pen. Shelby’s nose was covered with flies. My girl human got a bottle of white spray and sprayed it all over Shelby’s nose. When she came out the pen I wanted to lick her but I wasn’t allowed. I didn’t mind, that white spray smelled funny.
myself sitting watchingmyself walking back with the sheep
Later on, myself and my whole pack went back into the field. I love going out with my whole pack, it’s one of my favourite things. George and I sniffed some smells in the grass while the boy human pulled out tall, spiky plants with purple flowers on top. My girl human put Shelby into a pen again and stuck a needle into her bottom, yikes!
Then we walked back and the sheep followed us, I love walking with the sheep, it reminds me of who I am, a Turkish shepherd dog. Walking with the sheep is one of my other favourite things.
Thurs 21st July
myself being a sheepmyself walking back with George
Today I followed the girl human around the fields while she opened and closed some gates. I got bored so I did some zoomies around the sheep. I was flying around in circles when my girl human called my name. Before I could decide whether I wanted to go back, my legs started to run towards her. I don’t know how that happened but I got a biscuit so I didn’t mind. Then we went into a different field so I could finish my zoomies but I didn’t want to run anymore so we went back to the first field to look at the sheep again. I didn’t know what to do so I pretended to be a sheep. Then we went back to the house.
Friday 22nd July
scratching my itchlong grass zoomie
This morning on the walk it felt cool and fresh. George told me he likes the cool weather, he doesn’t like the heat even though he’s from a sunny place called Greece. George ran off as soon we’d done our “sits” and “downs”. I stayed with my girl human until we got to the sheep. Then I sat down down and scratched an itch. After that I sniffed around in the grass while my girl human went to check on Shelby. I could see from where I was that Shelby’s nose was better, my eyes can see very far. Then we went into a field with trees in it and long grass and I felt a zoomie coming on so off I went. Doing zoomies is another one of my favourite things.
Saturday 23rd July
myself sitting by the gate
I like it when my humans ask me to “sit”. Each time I sit I get a biscuit. This morning when we got to the gate George and I sat and we got a biscuit. George stayed in a sit but I got up and waited for my girl human to say “sit” again and give me another biscuit. But nothing happened. I felt a funny feeling in my brain. I wanted a biscuit and I wanted to go to the sheep but my girl human waited and I didn’t know what to do so I just stood there. After a long time I sat down and my girl human opened the gate and called us through. We did another “sit” at the other side of the gate and this time I copied George and I stayed in my sit. My girl human shut the gate and then she put on a funny netty hat. I’ve seen my humans wear those hats before, they wear them when there are tiny flies about which bite. I don’t mind flies, I’m from Turkey where there are lots of flies.
my girl human and Shelby
When we got to the sheep they were in their wooden house again. My girl human let me do my own thing. I decided to look for some sheep droppings. My girl human was looking for sheep droppings too. She was sweeping them up and putting them in a pile. Then my girl human called Shelby over and looked at her nose again. She put Shelby in a pen and stuck another needle in her bottom, eek!
Sunday 24th July
myself having a shakewalking up the hill
This morning it was raining, I don’t like the rain. I wanted to stay in my bed but I also wanted to see the sheep in the field. My brain didn’t know what to do with these two thoughts. I was pleased when my girl human took charge. She called me and George and we went into the rain. I started to enjoy myself and I noticed there were different smells in the air. I saw a small green creature on the ground with bendy legs. This time I sat by the gate quickly. My girl human looked happy. She opened the gate and George and I went through into the field. I was pleased when she unclipped my lead because the rain was making my ears tickle and I felt a shake coming on. Shaking is one of my favourite things, when I do a shake all the water flies off around me and makes a funny sound like “brrrrr”.
introducing myself to Yssi
The sheep were in a different field today. We walked up a hill to get to them. When we got there my girl human let me do my own thing. I decided to introduce myself to Yssi. Yssi is one of the second in command to the boss sheep Selene. The other second in command sheep is called Ursi. I know about these things. Dogs are the same. Everyone has their place. My girl human looked for Shelby. She gave her some brown pellets to eat from her pocket. My legs walked towards her and my nose went into her pocket but my girl human walked away. Shelby still had a funny spot on her nose. I wanted to lick it but I wasn’t allowed.
Then we went back to the house a different way. There were lots of tall plants to walk through and my girl human was having trouble finding the path. George and I used our noses to find the path. Humans’ noses are not very good at smelling. This is one of the things I have noticed as a dog.
The recent summer weather has been welcome for many reasons and, in particular, it has benefitted the hens. Unlike many birds, hens do not have waterproof feathers so when it rains, they prefer to stay under shelter. For young, keen to explore, bubbling with energy little chicks, that’s like being stuck in playpen with no toys.
The last week or so has been much drier and the chicks have been out and about, foraging, scoffing and having a lovely time. They have also been growing and are now bigger than blackbirds. As each day passes, they get a little braver and can be seen scuttling further and further from their mother, Mrs Mills Junior (MMJ). They are also looking a bit scruffy as their adult feathers are pushing through the fluff they were born with. You can see tiny feathers poking out through their tails and also their developing wings. There’s nothing they like better than stretching their wings out in the sun.
Exploring far and wide, they come into contact with the rest of the flock and it is great to see that they are already accepted. Anyone who’s introduced new hens to an existing flock will know what I mean.
Cherokee the cockerel likes to keep a watchful eye over them. MMJ is more tolerant of him than some of the other hens who are sent away if they get too close.
Given our hens have pretty much given up laying, we are looking forward to the next generation of layers growing up and once again filling our kitchen with eggs. That will take the pressure off the older timers who can then live their lives out in gentle tranquillity and luxury.
At night, they still use their nursery run and coop. We put them to bed around 6pm. Soon we will leave it open till sunset and see if MMJ moves them into the main hen house.
The nursery run has been a huge success and in future, we’ll use the same approach for broody hens. We’re already in the planning stages for a small, fenced off area that can keep the sheep at a safe distance and provide room for multiple nursery runs.
Although it’s hard to tell the girls from the boys at this age, it’s looking like four girls and one boy. Time will tell, but we’re hopeful.
As you may have read in Training our rescue dog Elliot and introducing him to the sheep, Elliot has been with us a few weeks and is slowly being trained in the key commands of sit, down and recall. As a farm, we also have to introduce him to our livestock, our sheep and our hens. Our approach combines dog psychology with a hint of training.
One of the reasons we chose this breed, Anatolian Shepherd (aside from already having one), is that they are bred to guard livestock. This means their instincts should be in all the right places when it comes to sheep. Nevertheless, introductions need to be managed carefully for two reasons; first we need to check that Elliot’s attitude towards sheep is as it should be and second, we need to let the sheep know he’s not a threat.
Early indicators were that Elliot would be just fine. He was interested in the sheep, but not fixated. Also, we heard from his foster carer that he had protected a lamb that had strayed into their dog enclosure. All looked good on that side.
Ymogen stands guard
The sheep, however, needed some convincing. While they have accepted George, their first reaction to Elliot was a bit on the panicky side. One in particular, Ymogen, verged on the edge of hysteria. It only takes one to set the rest off. As with humans, sheep have a fight or flight response. On seeing a predator, they will either gang up on it or run away. We needed to avoid both of these at all costs. The first could spook Elliot leading to an unpredictable reaction. The second could easily trigger his chase instinct. If either of these happened, the time for introductions would lengthen considerably.
Elliot in the relax position
The plan was simple. We walked Elliot by the sheep every day, stopping for a while with a fence in between. This gave the sheep time to assess Elliot and us a chance to assess Elliot. The breakthrough was Thursday last week. Elliot had gained my trust so I allowed him to sit at the fence and look at the sheep (hitherto he’d been put in a relax position). About 7 sheep lined up to examine him from a distance of around 3m.
After a few minutes, the flock matriarch, Selene, peeled off and came over. Without ceremony, she stuck her nose through the fence and sniffed him. He sniffed her back. They to’d a fro’d a while until she held position at which point Elliot licked her. At that point, I knew everything was going to be fine.
Elliot and Selene
Later that day, I took Elliot to within 3m of the sheep but with no fence. All but two or three were lying down, chewing the cud. Ymogen was not impressed, but the rest looked at Elliot briefly and carried on. Yssi headed towards us with intent, but 2m away, turned round and flopped down, clearly unworried. Well pleased, I led the dogs away.
Next day, Nicole took Elliot to the fence and once again, Elliot and Selene exchanged a kiss. Later, she walked Elliot in the same field as the sheep but kept a few meters away. As hoped, 5 or 6 sheep came over. Elliot started to groom Witchy and licked her face all over before moving on to lick Selene’s face. He even licked one of their bottoms, something we encourage (George does this) as clean bottoms reduce the threat of flystrike.
Today (Saturday), Nicole sheared Vera, the last of the sheep to be sheared while Elliot, George and I were in the field next door pulling out thistles. Well, I pulled out thistles while the dogs lolled about, Elliot on his long lead tied to a fence post. The energy was calm and relaxed, perfect (aside from the pesky flies).
Ymogen and Elliot
After Vera had had her trim and all the thistles were gone, we took Elliot right up to the flock again. All was fine, the best part being that Ymogen was the first sheep to come and say hello.
Selene and Elliot
There is still much work to be done. All of the above is done with Elliot on a lead. Like all Anatolians, his response to recall is very much dependent on what he’s doing at the time. We are working daily on improving that. There are plenty of exciting distractions here including various wildlife trails (deer and badger), pheasants everywhere, hares and small furry animals galore. Last thing we want is Elliot clearing a stone dyke in pursuit of a deer, our recall command relegated to his to do list.
Also, we’ve postponed his introduction to the chickens as we have a brood of chicks (see Chicks Abroad). We have noticed Elliot is just ever so slightly more interested in birds than we’d like. It may be that, before being rescued, he hunted birds in order to survive. Who knows. Anyway, we’ll go through a similar process once the chicks are a little larger.
We’ve had our new dog Elliot for just over a month now. Being a rescue dog and coming from Turkey, up until now we’ve focussed mainly on settling him into his new environment and getting him used to his new “pack”, (us and of course George our resident dog).
pack walk
Elliot’s young life has seen many changes, first he was rescued from the streets where he faced an uncertain future, then he lived in a rescue centre for a while, then a foster home, and then eventually he moved from Turkey to Scotland where he came to live with us. At only a year old he has experienced a lot of upheaval so we knew it would be important to take things slowly and help him to feel secure in his new environment. His training would therefore be approached in a very slow and gentle manner.
Furthermore, although to us humans his past was wobbly and his new home is, from our perspective, all he could ever wish for, this lovely new home wouldn’t necessarily be that great from Elliot’s point of view, at least not at first. To Elliot, it’s “yet another change”, more sights and smells to get used to and another pack to get to know. It would all be quite stressful for him to adjust and this would more than likely take a few months. We know from taking on new livestock that animals never truly settle until about the six month mark. They might give the appearance of being settled sooner than this, but there are little things about the body language and a look in the eye that lets us know they’re still finding their feet.
So with this in mind we were aware that during Elliot’s adjustment period we’d need to approach his training taking little baby steps.
teaching Elliot recall with whistle
By the same token, we knew it would be important to start Elliot’s training pretty much from day one. Being an Anatolian cross, he’s a big, powerful dog with bags of energy and a huge willingness to learn. We knew he’d need mental stimulation as well as regular walks, so during week one we started to work on his recall.
Anatolians are bred to be independent dogs so doing a speedy recall isn’t their best subject. They prefer to make their own minds up about things. Asking them to “come” is the equivalent of sending them an e-mail. They get the message but they ponder it for a while and then decide in their own time whether it’s worth wandering over.
True to form, Elliot’s first recalls fell on “deaf” ears. We always practiced it on a long lead so we could guide him in and reward him. For the first two weeks we had to guide him in all the time. Then, one day he started to get it. He now comes over to us and rarely has to be guided, sometimes he bounds over which is very heart warming. We have a lot of land here on the smallholding so in anticipation of him needing to be reached from further afield we’ve now replaced the vocal command with a whistle. He’s responding well to this and seems to prefer the whistle to our voices.
As he’s enjoying learning so much, we’ve introduced “sit”, “down” and “relax” to his repertoire. The “relax” position is really important, it is where Elliot lies on his side. We included this in anticipation of introducing Elliot to our livestock. We’d need him to be in the “relax” position when we take him in with the sheep and hens so that his energy would be right and he wouldn’t look threatening.
“sit”“down”
So, with his basic training ticking along so nicely we thought now would be a good time to introduce some sheep work to his routine.
Over the coming weeks we’ll be taking Elliot to an adjacent field to wherever the sheep might be grazing, and put him in the “relax” position for about ten minutes while the sheep mooch about near him but on the other side of the stock fence. George has an important job to do here, his job is to lie in a “down” next to Elliot to show him how it’s done. Elliot will be allowed to look at the sheep but not fixate. He’ll be on his lead and supervised at all times.
Yesterday was a big day for Elliot, his first day relaxing with the sheep! We had him in his “relax” right next to the sheep but behind a fence. Some of the sheep came up to investigate and Elliot stayed relaxed the whole time. He did brilliantly! The energy stayed calm, the sheep didn’t seem phased by him and we were more than happy with how it went.
Today we took him over again and repeated the process. We’ll be doing this every day for the next few weeks now. Later on we’ll repeat the process but with the hens.
“relax”
There’s no way of telling how long it will be before we can let Elliot mooch around in amongst the sheep (on his lead), but we’ll know when we know. You can’t rush things like this, Elliot and the sheep both need to get used to each other’s presence and then start to build a relationship. We’re very much looking forward to seeing how he progresses over the next few weeks.
Every so often sheep get sore feet. This is not too surprising as they spend a lot of time on their hooves as they go about their daily business. Sore hooves are usually caused by “foot rot” which is a bacterial infection. Foot rot is really common in warm, wet summers such as the one we’re having this year. Bacteria loves nothing better than to hang around in warm, damp soil. There are however lots of other reasons a sheep could be limping so it’s always important to check the hoof carefully and find out what’s wrong before deciding on a course of treatment.
This morning on the early morning animal check Adrian noticed Yarr was limping. Heavy rain was due later (again!) so I decided to whizz out as soon as I’d finished breakfast and take a look at Yarr’s hoof to see what was wrong.
I grabbed my rucksack and filled it with everyone I’d need: a bottle of Betamox LA antibiotic, a syringe and needle, gloves, hoof clippers, a can of antibacterial blue spray, some sheep nuts and a bucket.
As the sky got darker I set off across the fields looking for the sheep. Luckily they were grazing not too far from the house, however I’d need to set up a pen and get Yarr into it in order to have a look at him. As luck would have it we’d left four hurdles stacked not too far away, so I set off to get these and trudged back, dragging them through the long grass. Hurdles are quite heavy and I can only manage two at a time so I made this journey twice, all the while hoping the sheep didn’t migrate somewhere else in the meantime!
Luck was on my side and as I set up my little treatment area, the sheep were still grazing nearby. Yarr was sitting down only a few meters away so he’d not have too far to walk on his sore foot.
pre-treatment cuddle
I called him over and he made his way straight into the pen for which he got a big fat cuddle as a thank you. Yarr loves his cuddles, he’s very affectionate and fortunately he’s one of those sheep who doesn’t have an aversion to walking into pens.
With Yarr safely enclosed I took a look at his hoof. I worked out it was his back right and I had a bit of fun trying to keep him still while I inspected it. Sheep don’t like you lifting their back legs, it throws them off balance and they kick out, sometimes they can catch your hands so you have to watch you don’t get hurt. Using my body weight I wedged Yarr up against the hurdles with his head in a corner so he had nowhere to go, and lifted his back hoof as I did this. His hoof felt hot to the touch so I guessed he probably had an infection.
anti-bac hoof spray
Just to be sure there was nothing else causing his limp, I cleaned his hoof really carefully. I removed the dirt and grit from the sole area, then I cleaned up the area between the digits which can sometimes get clogged up with little clumps of mud and all sorts. Then I trimmed off a bit of excess horn. This done I gave his hoof a good going over with antibacterial spray.
Then, I disentangled myself and set about preparing a wee injection for him.
Betamox injection
As Yarr’s a big boy and I didn’t have Adrian there to hold him still, I went with the “sheep nut solution”. This is basically a distraction so the sheep doesn’t notice the needle going in and goes like this: “pop sheep’s head in a bucket with a sprinkling of nuts in the bottom to distract sheep whilst needle goes in”. The last thing I wanted was Yarr careering round the pen with a needle sticking out of his rump, ruining his experience of coming into a pen being a positive thing.
the sheep nut solution
The sheep nut solution made the injection go very smoothly, so much so that I managed to take a photo. I don’t think Yarr felt anything which is always good when it comes to injections.
This all done and Yarr happy, I let him out and off he trotted to join his pals. We’ll keep an eye on him over the next few days and if he’s still limping in two days, we’ll give him another wee jag until the infection clears up.
