Kleinen Wiese German Shepherds

Posted By Sandy Wilson on April 7, 2010

This weekend we decided to start getting our sheep back into condition after lambing season.  It’s always a challenge to call the sheep and have the lambs come too – it’s just not that easy!  The lambs don’t know what to do and sometimes the mothers are reluctant to leave the little ones.  But after the first day of tasting the sweet green grass, the mothers are much better by the second day!  The lambs are the ones that really need to get used to being led by the shepherd and kept in line by the dog.

Above is our Aiko working our flock for the first time this year.  He has been training this Fall in Knowlton, NJ at Kergloff Farm with Geary Loff and starting to really come along.  He has only been on sheep really since last summer and he has come along way.  He is the kind of dog that really wants to please and hates to make mistakes.  He is really the most honest dog and he is so good with our sheep.  Even with the lambs, Aiko is gentle, yet he gets them back in line where they should be – goodness knows, lambs are a challenge for any dog!

Above Aiko keeps a watchful eye over the new lambs – for that matter, the lambs keep a watch on me too while I am in the graze taking these  pictures.  Sometimes I feel something tugging on me while I am taking pictures and it’s usually my ram trying to eat my shirt, but for the most part, they are busy chomping on the fresh grass.  The lambs are quite intrigued with the dog, and are learning they have boundaries now!

The flock is spread out all over the graze we have, so not all the sheep are pictured, but Aiko patrols back and forth on his own with no direction from his shepherd.  He takes his job very seriously and loves his work more than anything.   When you say his name, his tail wags because he is happy working.  He is learning to really relax this year and also be better able to handle the lamb situation – the lambs are always running and jumping all over the place and they never follow the rules.  I get a kick out of watching them play and figure out exactly what grass is for!  Some of the very young lambs are not eating grass yet and are still just on mom’s milk, so they don’t have a clue – they are just loving life!

Here are just some purebred Border Leicester lambs hanging out – having fun!  They are all different ages, but most were just born recently several weeks ago.  They are all doing well and moms are great nursers for sure!  We love this breed for their long, lusterous wool, their temperaments and they also flock nicely for herding.  They are a mid-size sheep that are easy to care for – the ewes are good mothers, they have good feet, generally hardy and healthy, and I love their curious and friendly nature.  They are nice for large flock tending.  Just a few more ewes to go in the barn for lambing and then they will be on pasture all the time.

That’s all for now, but more to come on herding our flock of sheep.  All the dogs love to work, so it’s tough each giving them time on the flock when it’s early in the season.  Later on when we have the sheep out for several hours at a time, we can switch dogs or even have two dogs work the flock at the same time.

We are just now starting our little Delta in herding too and so it will be an interesting journey bringing her along as a youngster.  She is just full of herself and also has alot of energy that needs to be harnessed!  Can’t wait!   We’ll have updates as she comes along!

Category: Border Leicester Sheep, Herding - HGH
Tags: Aiko vd. Kleinen Wiese