# Sheep @ night????



## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

What do you do with your sheep at night? Do you put them in a secure barn/lot? Do your guard animals go in with them?? I want sheep, I NEED sheep, we have many predators--Coyote, LARGE bobcats, fox, 'hunting' dogs (Stray hounds that people seem to think don't need to be secured) and everything smaller.. 

And what type of shelter/barn do you have for them??? 

I have been reading, searching... So many different ideas on this... Thank you


----------



## J.T.M. (Mar 2, 2008)

I have always been able to keep mine out in the pasture all night until this yr. Now its out at 7 am and they come home around the last 15 mins. of light .


----------



## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

We keep ours in the pasture with our livestock guardian dogs. We only bring them into the barn when they are lambing.
Foxes won't hurt sheep. Coyotes will kill lambs and weak/old/sick adults, and a very hungry bobcat may too, although generally bobcats like to hunt from trees, so unless you have trees in your pastured area, they aren't going to be a major threat. We have had far more problems from "feral" dogs than anything truly wild when it comes to our sheep.


----------



## J.T.M. (Mar 2, 2008)

thequeensblessing said:


> We keep ours in the pasture with our livestock guardian dogs. We only bring them into the barn when they are lambing.
> Foxes won't hurt sheep. Coyotes will kill lambs and weak/old/sick adults, and a very hungry bobcat may too, although generally bobcats like to hunt from trees, so unless you have trees in your pastured area, they aren't going to be a major threat. We have had far more problems from "feral" dogs than anything truly wild when it comes to our sheep.


 Some folks will swear that the fox steal lambs . Around here , the fox follow the sheep around the pastures eating the rodents ( or what ever ) the sheep kick up . Sometimes the fox get so busy, you can almost walk up on them . 
A coyote will take what ever makes a mistake .... including taking the fox .Bobcats ..... thank God I don't have that headache .


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I have some of mine in a secure pasture and the others are further out. I haven't had any trouble so far, but I think the larger animals in the pasture help. I only bring them in the barn for grain, lambing, hoof trimming, shearing.


----------



## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

I leave mine out on pasture during the summer months and check on them every month or so. I live in Maine so water is not an issue and I have good fences so predators stay at bay. In the winter they are outside, but closer to the barn because I must feed them and water them. Like others have said, they only come in to the barns to lamb.


----------



## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

What would I need IF I want to put them in a barn at night. Is this a bad idea? I am just trying to learn, all I can, before, I even start to look for sheep...


----------



## sheepish (Dec 9, 2006)

We put our sheep in the barnyard at night with two llamas and a donkey. 

Since it is breeding time and we have 3 groups for breeding, 2 go into the barn and the largest group has the barnyard. They come to the barnyard when called, because they have been given grain for flushing. We still give a bit of grain every few days to the barn groups so that they really want to be there. They come running into their pen as soon as the gates are open.


----------



## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

Queen Bee, I must say it is so refreshing for me to hear you get all your information and ideas BEFORE getting your sheep. I respect that immensely. So many times I come to forums and read, "I just got sheep, now what do I do?" I think you are really doing your homework and you (and your sheep) will be so much better off because of your foresight.

To that end, there is nothing wrong with bringing your sheep into a barn, just as long as they have ventilation. Sheep have very high nitrate levels in their manure and very sensitive lungs. That means the combination makes them prone to respiratory problems.

I knew of a woman that once brought her sheep in every night in a tightly closed up barn thinking they would be happier since they were all warm and toasty. That was not the case and she lost a few sheep to pneumonia.

The truth is, you cannot get a sheep cold enough. We like the temps to be between 68 and 70 degrees, but sheep like 20 degree temps the best. They can tolerate -20 degree temps with ease, and even down to -30 degrees. When you get into the -40's however, you do have to worry a bit about frost bite on their ears, but that is so infrequent for me, it really is not an issue and I am guessing it will be the same for you.

My suggestion is to just bring them in at night and then rebuild your barn doors to half doors. Shut the bottom half to keep them in, and coyotes out, but let the barn ventilate and stay cold by having the top half of the door stay open.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

If I had to bring mine in at night- I'd make sure to feed them hay or something. Mine do most of their grazing at night or early in the morning. It's only in the fall that I see them grazing during the day.


----------



## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Mine herd is run into a pen about the size of a round corral for horses. It's reinforced and has a small shed in it. I don't have an LGD or even good fences, and it keeps them safe. They currently graze from 7 to 7, and I'm not supplementing them at night - we have lots of grass still. In a month I will fill begin filling their hay feeder at night.


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

The first and best defense is a good fence.

This is the night pasture at the old farm... was a little over 2 1/2 acres.
8' tall, T posts every 7', camel backs every 100', properly stretched, heavy duty hot wire and a predator rated charger. This fence kept out the black bears that were doing their best to get in... and it kept the cougars, Bobcats and packs of Coyotes out too. 
My husband likes his sleep too.


----------



## birchtreefarm (Jul 22, 2007)

Queen Bee said:


> What do you do with your sheep at night? Do you put them in a secure barn/lot? Do your guard animals go in with them?? I want sheep, I NEED sheep, we have many predators--Coyote, LARGE bobcats, fox, 'hunting' dogs (Stray hounds that people seem to think don't need to be secured) and everything smaller..
> 
> And what type of shelter/barn do you have for them???
> 
> I have been reading, searching... So many different ideas on this... Thank you


We have no barn available. We have woven wire fencing all around the pasture and a separate paddock, which is connected to the pasture by a runway. We put a hot wire a few inches above the top of the woven wire, and another hot wire offset on longer insulators, on the outside of the fence, about halfway up.

We also have a farm collie (English Shepherd) from working lines. He lets anything and everything know they are _not_ welcome to trespass. He has chased off bears, including mothers with cubs. He does not engage, but runs big circles around them at high speed, barking his big bark, until they get so flustered they leave. He keeps the ***** and the fox away from our chicken yard (also has electric on it) as well. Coyotes are around, but they generally don't come too close, and if they did, they'd encounter the hot wire.

Both my husband and I have accidentally "tested" the hot wire. It hurts. A lot. 

So, our sheep are outside year round, 24/7. They have hoophouses for shelter if they want it. 

Our farm is small enough that our one dog and the fence are pretty much enough to handle whatever we have. If we had a lot more land and sheep, I'd probably invest in LGDs to live with them full time.


----------



## spinandslide (Jun 6, 2008)

5 foot no climb wire with a pipe toprail..

This didnt keep out a bobcat last year from eating a lamb..a WEANED lamb..and tearing my ram up good. It also didnt keep out the large bobcat or mountain lion that seriously wounded my LGD last month.

My sheep stay out at night, but they have two guards dogs with them and a large run in shed. I sleep soundly brcause of my dogs..I thought my fence would keep out predators..I was wrong..when a predator is movitated, they will do it.


----------



## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

The only time my animals come in is when the temp drops to -40 and the wind pics up. in the meantime, the sheep have a leanto to run if they want. The guard dog ususally lets them all in. 
I live in bear/eagle/cougar/wolf/coyote/raven/owl/fox/bobcat/lynx/ etc country and no losses of sheep to any of them. 
i just as soon keep them outside as the air in the barn can get stagnet real quick.


----------



## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

Our sheep stay out at night but have a large three-sided shed for shelter. We have two prys but we can't keep the dogs in with the sheep because of the ram. They do keep a close eye on the perimeter and we haven't had any loses due to predators.


----------

