Usually, it’s Fanny and Lulu at the salt lick right after I give them a morning treat whether it’s an alfalfa square or an apple from the crabapple tree. But today it was Issachar. And he was so into it he even butted Kim out of the way when she tried to get a lick.
I didn’t get that on my video, but I thought I’d point out something that people have asked me about. Why do farmers cut sheep tails.
Farmers usually dock sheep’s tails not long after they are born. Sometimes they cut them other times they tie them with a tight band and the tail falls off after a couple of weeks. You might remember we did that will RobinIn.
In this video, you can clearly see Kim’s tail.
When we got Kim she was a few years old and had never had her tail docked. Sheep tails aren’t very long but they still collect feces especially in the spring when the grass is new and the animals often have diarrhea from it.
Kim is a karakul sheep. Karakuls are Asian desert sheep and they store water in their tail. On our farm there is always fresh water, so her tail is more of a nuance than anything else.
Kim’s tail is pretty dirty right now. It’s might be the apples that are making her stool a bit soft. As the season moves on and I start feeding hay, her tail won’t look as bad as it does in this video. And when shearing time comes the wool from her tail will be thrown aside by Ian, our shearer so it doesn’t get mixed in with Kim’s fleece.
There is some self-cleaning that goes on with the sheep. Just like how the seeds that were stuck in Merricat’s wool a few days ago are now all gone.
