Newbie Sheep Farmers

True story by Kathy Lazzarotto

One Sunday Morning in early June, we prepared to plant 50 roses. The roses were to mark the entry to our brand-new sheep farm. We had been busy building our little sheep farm for about a year. We wanted to make a park! The land was perfect. Part forest, part pasture with beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains and the Percell Mountains.

The farm is small (7 acres). We wanted to ‘do things right’. Earlier that spring, Mike (our neighbor) fenced the entire property so it would be safe for our Border Collies and sheep. Cliff (another neighbor) built us a sheep barn out of timbers cut from our land. We increased our ‘herding field’ by an acre and then used the wood to build the barn and fir gate posts. We would house the sheep in the barn at night so that they’d be safe from predators. We also strung electric wire on top to the new fence so our sheep would be safe. 

Late May, the sheep finally arrived! One of our dreams come true! The sheep were on loan from a young lady who needed a place to pasture her ewes and lambs for the green season. We were just dipping our toes into being sheep farmers, so this seemed like a perfect arrangement. We grazed her sheep in our field and in turn we could train our dogs on her sheep. We gave the sheep a few days to settle in. It was exciting to be at the point where we could herd sheep on our own property!

The morning we were ready to plant our roses it was grey, and it looked like it would rain at any moment. We took our garden tools down to the roses. We passed each roses over the sheep fence and placed them into their pre dug holes. We were coming and going from the pasture. 

Shortly after starting our first rose, I looked up and said to my husband, ‘the Gate is open’. ‘Yes', he responded.

I asked, ‘where are the sheep?’.  We both gazed around scanning the field. No sheep to be seen. We jumped on the quad and drove up to the forest gate in a hurry. Technically, there were two gates. An outer gate to our little two-acre forest and an inner gate to the five-acre sheep pasture.

To our dismay, we’d left both gates Open! No sheep to be seen! There was one small deposit of sheep manure at the outer gate! That was our only clue! Which way had the sheep gone? Outside of our property was about 1 million acres of forest backing on the west side of the Rocky Mountains.

About the same time, it started to rain and rain it did! It poured ‘sheep and dogs!’

Gord jumped on the quad and headed down to the forest path. I grabbed two dogs. Piper and Pippa. I said to the girls in a somewhat panicked voice “Find the sheep!” “Find the sheep!” “Bring me the sheep!”

We headed to the lower trail in the forest on foot behind where the quad had gone. 

The first evening we got the sheep, our neighbour friend had dropped by around bedtime to warn us he’d seen a Grizzly bear and her two grown cubs in a pasture below us. He mentioned they come thru this area every spring. Our sheep were safe in the barn that night, but it still made me a little on guard for our new sheep.

As I ran thru the forest with the two dogs, the thought occurred to me, ‘how safe was I running around out here in the wild with three Grizzly bears in the area? How safe were our borrowed sheep, running around somewhere in the forest, with three Grizzly bears out there?!! Sure enough, in the mud I could see bear tracks relatively close to our home pasture.

I kept searching. All that mattered in our minds at this point was find the sheep! Where could they be? 

The trail looped around and went higher up the mountain. Once and a while I would cross paths with my husband. Still no sheep. We’d discuss a new strategy. 

I’d made my way to the upper trail, parallel to a hundred-year-old irrigation flume. Then suddenly Piper darted up what I would call a Goat Trail. More likely a Deer Trail as there were many in the area. Pippa and myself in hot pursuit I just kept telling the two Border Collies “Find the sheep”! “Bring me the sheep!” They could hear the urgency in my voice and were both searching like hound dogs. Searching for something their mother wanted out there in the forest! 

At this point we were drenched from the heavy rain. And only dressed in summer clothes as it was June. But suddenly as we ran up the Goat Trail, I spotted wool. Sheep wool on a branch on a bush! My Spirits Rose! Tracker Kathy! And I could see hoof marks in the mud. They had to be sheep tracks and not deer tracks if there was wool. I stopped the dogs and immediately called my Gord on the cell phone and told him approximately were we were. There was hope! He was on his way! 

Suddenly Pippa took off out of sight into the thick forest! “Bring me the sheep” I called to her! 

 “Bring me the sheep!”

Suddenly she appeared with three black sheep! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I lay the dogs down and had them hold the sheep to me. Waiting for Gord to arrive, I could hear his quad getting closer. There’s no way he’d make it up the Goat Trail. So, I called to him as loud as I could! It wasn’t long and he made it to us on foot in the thick forest. We made a plan. Take the three sheep home and then continue looking for the rest. 

Piper gently balanced the sheep to Gord as he headed towards home. The black ewe and her two lambs were very on-edge from their forest adventure! We’d walk the sheep home to where they’d be safe. We made it down to the main trail. Suddenly Gord’s phone rang. It was the neighbour below us. The one where the Grizzlies had been in her field earlier that week. She told Gord that another neighbour about two kilometres above us had eight sheep standing under the cover of her garage and was wondering whose sheep they were. Thankfully the sheep were smart enough to seek shelter for their lambs in the pouring rain. 

We decided to continue home with the three black ewes. Gord continued to balance the sheep to him. Suddenly he tripped and at that moment the three sheep bolted past him and head down the mountain thru the thick brush! With Piper in hot pursuit! Again, we were sheep less! We’d called and called to Piper, but no Piper. No sheep. I ’d been slowly following with the quad. So Gord jumped on the quad and circled round to the lower trail. No Piper, no sheep so he came back up to where I was waiting. Suddenly Piper appear. No sheep. So, I send Pippa into the brush. “Bring me the sheep” I called to her! I followed her into the forest. It wasn’t long and I could see Pippa locked onto the sheep! The ewe had tucked herself and her lambs into a thicket to hide. They did not want to move! Not even with Pippa and Piper beside them. So, I hauled the ewe out by the horn and Piper took the three back up to the trail to Gord. 

Again, we carefully walked our way home. We could see our property. And then suddenly the other neighbours Rottweiler darted out at the three sheep! The ewe split off and bolted down thru the forest once again! With the Rottweiler chasing her. Luckily the dog was fat and slow, so the ewe got away safely. We took the two black lambs into our sheep pasture and closed the gate! We had two! Of eleven sheep!

Then we continued to search for the black ewe, but she was nowhere to be found! Even the owner of the Rottweiler jumped on his quad and started searching for the ewe. 

After about another hour we decided to get in our truck with dogs and drive up to the neighbours to locate the other 8 sheep. Hopefully they would still be standing under the shelter of her garage! 

The plan was to walk them home safely thru the forest down the mountain to the property.

When we arrived at the neighbours two kilometres above us, sure enough, the sheep and their lambs were still waiting under the garage shelter out of the rain. The family’s young boys were thrilled to have sheep come visit them for the day! The people told us what trail to take to get down to our farm thru the forest. Again, Piper gently balanced the sheep to Gord. But with our experience with the sheep bolting downhill, we decided I would go ahead with Pippa to prevent the sheep from bolting downhill and getting away from us. The trek down thru the forest went smoothly and we got the eight sheep into our field without incidence. The two black lambs were happy to have the flock back with them. At this point we’d been out searching for about 4 hours. Once the sheep were home safely, we decided to grab rain jackets. Now with just one sheep that was left unaccounted for, we set out on foot looking for the black ewe. We headed down where we’d last seen her run. To our good fortune, the same neighbour called Gord prior to say she had a black ewe in her garden! Luckily, she’d gone to a civilized place rather than hiding in a thicket again! We quickly went over to the neighbours and Piper carefully brought her home. We closed ALL the gate! Eleven sheep were home safely!

The reunion of the Black ewe with her two lambs was pretty amazing to watch! All three balling for one another.

So, what did we learn this rainy day in early June? Not just to close the gates.  But with Piper and Pippa at our sides, to trust our dogs. Teamwork with one another and never give up until the last sheep is accounted for. 

We sat down when it was all over watching the sheep graze and realized what wonderful neighbor we have.

During the week that followed, Gord and I planted each and every rose with care. There is now a beautiful hedge row of red roses as one approaches our little sheep farm. 

Our dream.