A week ago, there was a knock at my door…at 8AM. Police officers.
“Ma’am, do you own a white goat?”
“Yes.”
“Is it missing? There’s one jumping around on Poplar.” (That’s our main drag through town.)
Nope. Goats don’t ROAM like a dog that gets loose. And, they stay in pairs. So, I was pretty sure it wasn’t mine. Even if someone had taken Sylvie down there, Lily would be raising Cain in the backyard about being alone.
I checked. Two goats accounted for.
The police were just about to leave, “Ma’am, Animal Control won’t take the goat and we can’t find the owner…Would you…”
I finished the sentence for him, “Goat-sit for you?”
“Yes, ma’am. Please.”
This arrived in the back seat of a squad car, behind the bars….
She’s freshly shorn, so she belongs to someone, but the owner has not yet surfaced.
Things I’ve learned about sheep:
- Sheep MOW. Dang, my back yard looks great. She doesn’t want the leaves, like the goats. She wants the lawn.
- Sheep eat a lot more than goats and bring out their competitive side. (Goats so FAT trying to keep up.)
- Sheep poop in plops, not pellets like goats.
- Shorn sheep look remarkably like goats, except the tails. (Note the droop.)
- Sheep are less social. Goats try to get in the house. Sheep are standoffish.
Baaaaa…..
Actually sheep poop should look just like goat pellets, if it isn’t it could have worms or gotten into something giving it scours.
This is so awesome. I hope the sheep isn’t sick, though, given its poop situation.
cindy–Thanks so much for the information. I’ve let Deanna know and she’s going to get the sheep checked out.
From not being allowed to have goats all the way to sheep-sitting for the cops! Full circle, y’all! 🙂
Amber Pixie–Truer words . . . you just never know in this world.
I want to ‘goat’-sit! I’ve been begging my husband for some sheep. Maybe if we had a trial run I could convince him 😉
Sheep poop can also change to clumps when they are switching food, for instance from hay to grass. This switchover has to be done slowly to avoid bloat though. After a while on grass it will go back to being pellets. Enjoy your foster sheep time, they are fantastic animals!
I’ve heard alpacas are the way to go for lawns since they have soft paws like dogs so they won’t tear up the grass. On a side note there is a local person who keeps their sheep tethered in the front yard to mow it during the day. Their lawn looks good, but it’s hilarious.
I love the image of the sheep arriving, behind bars, in the back of the squad car.
If the owner doesn’t turn up, what are you going to do with it?
You are the most interesting person, what with hatching eggs to sheep-sitting, I enjoy your blog and it brings a smile to my face. thanks for the human experiences you give to us.
I love reading your posts. Never a dull moment with you is there?
want to know . got this plant outside. talll and flowers are purple. . and got thistles. is it milk thistle if is; what do do ; do only cut ones wiht flowers. then where and aae purple flowers the seeds… . that use to plant more cant eat. what can eat. of plnat.
Hope it’s not coccidiosis, can kill. If it doesn’t kill, becomes chronic problem that causes loose stools to diarrhea and they must stay on medicated feed. Problem is the soil becomes a carrier and then the whole herd of ruminants is at risk.
I’m glad to hear that your goats try to come in. More than once I’ve heard commotion in the back of the house only to realize grandson has let a goat come in to play. Once I found the two of them on the couch watching tv.