Sheep Have Tails and Other Strange Facts About Country Life for Newcomers.
Never be surprised at what you don’t know. You actually don’t realize how much you don’t know about country living until you actually move into the country. Rural life can come with a whole host of surprises for the unsuspecting city and suburban folk who move to the back forty. When you start embracing a not so modern way of living you may even start thinking that the modern education system has failed you.
Sheep have tails and not all sheep have wool
Did you know that sheep actually have tails? You see all the happy sheep in the field, and they have no tails. At best they have little stumps. If you thought that was natural, you are not alone. Did you know people actually remove the tail on lambs by docking them? Wool sheep are prone to harboring fly maggots in their dirty wool around their tails. It is called fly strike and it can be deadly. The tails of the lambs are docked off to help keep the back end of the sheep clean and fly maggot free.
To extend the sheep conversation, not all sheep have wool. The hair sheep breeds, such as Katahdan, do grow wool in the winter but they shed that coat once spring comes. In the summer they just have hair, hence the name hair sheep. Because the sheep do not have thick wool on their rear ends, they get to keep their tails. Hair sheep are known to be hardy and easy keepers. Katahdin sheep also have a diet similar to goats and can act as excellent blackberry eaters.
Goats are picky
The old adage is that goats will eat anything. Don’t goats eat tin cans after all? When you move to the homestead you find out that goats are actually picky. I think they are known for eating anything because they will happily munch on twigs and small branches as they see no need to take the leaves off.
Goats are browsers. This means that they feed on high growing plants such as blackberries, shrubs and bushes, fruit, and leaves. They like to climb things to eat. We, as unsuspecting suburbanites, usually expect goats to eat grass and lawns. No, that is the job of grazers such as horses, cattle, and sheep. Although some sheep act as browsers as well. Goats would much rather munch on your rose bushes. In fact, anytime I prune back my thornless trellis rose, I feed the branches to the goats.
“Cow hay” is a thing you see on Craigslist and new homesteaders may try to buy cow hay for their goats because it is cheap. Cow hay is crap hay not even suited for horses. It is fiber and belly filler for when the grazing is winter bare. Cow hay is usually fed with lick tubs which have vitamins, minerals, and protein. Cow hay, and lick tubs for that matter, are not really nutritious for dairy goats who need the proper nutrition to make milk.
Goats are also picky in the hay they eat. Despite being browsers, they will eat hay but only the right hay. It is nice to buy a bale or two of hay before you buy it by the ton to make sure your goat will eat it. The types of hay available differ depending on what part of the country you live in. In Oregon we have beautiful Eastern Oregon orchard grass and alfalfa as well as Western Oregon mixed grass hay and alfalfa. You used to be able to find clover hay. It is finicky to get right without molding and you don’t see it very often. The mixed grass hay and the mixed stand prairie grass of Eastern Oregon tend to be cow and horse hay. Goats like the best hay. Think of them as Primadonnas. They need to eat GMO free alfalfa or orchard grass. They will often turn their nose up at hay that doesn’t meet their standard. I know that sounds funny talking about an animal that eats twigs, but it is true. Goats also need their hay lifted up off the ground in a feeder rather than fed on the floor. Some goats simply refuse to eat off the floor.
Cows make excellent jumpers
I grew up riding horses in the winter jumper circuit. I appreciate good jumpers when I see them. As a horse jumper, I can say that nothing jumps like a 2000-pound Angus bull. I think it is along the lines of you don’t believe it until you see it. And I’ve seen it.
In fact, I first met my neighbor when an angus bull jumped into his hay field. Not only do “good fences make good neighbors” but “not having fence jumping cows makes good neighbors.” Life is too short to own a fence jumping cow and that is why freezers were invented.
There is big money in cows and the dairy and cattle industries have done a good job of covering up the real truth about cows. They can be pretty destructive and are really good at getting in trouble. Cows, unlike goats, will eat anything. They actually sell magnets to give to your cow as a bolus to attract any metal it eats so the metal doesn’t go through the other stomachs. When they get into your hay barn by the force of sheer brute strength, they are fond of eating the bottom bale of hay and can destroy whole stacks. It’s a good thing cows have such sweet faces because otherwise humans would be perpetually mad at them. After ruining a fence or destroying a haystack they just look at you with their cow eyes and all anger melts away.
Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!
In 2021 you would think people have moved beyond dealing with large predators, but we haven’t. While it probably isn’t lion, tigers, and bears but rather cougars, coyotes, and bears, they are still predators to worry about. Owls and Bald Eagles are some of our top flying predators.
When a predator kills your animals, you are left with a puzzle to solve on exactly what that predator is. Yes, homesteaders examine carcasses just like a forensic investigator to figure out who did the murder. I actively talk to my neighbors about the gory details. When you talk and question, you learn. For example, if a kill is performed from the neck with the entrails missing and nothing else, it is likely an owl. River otters will steal the prey from the water and leave distinctive clues as well. I needed a former wildlife biologist neighbor to help me with that one. If you want to learn more about the dangerous ways of the super cute river otter click here. We have a problem with owls at Mossygoat Farm, but my ducks generally stay safe in the pond because they can go underwater. The pond provides no protection from river otters who travel up drainage ditches to wipe out a flock.
Country people are really smart
I never fell for the stereotype of the dumb backwoods hick. I think it is because I knew so many loggers growing up. However, I deal with this stereotype often in my personal life and it’s been on my mind lately. Just because a person is not a knowledge worker, or does not have a Master’s degree or does not know how to program their BMW to talk to their cell phone, it does not mean they are dumb. Furthermore, just because you choose to drive a diesel rather than a BMW does not mean that you are an anti-environmentalist backwards hick as I know some people actually do believe and tell me directly. Sometimes to get where you need to go in the back forty, you just need a big four-wheel drive truck.
To live in the country means you have to become a subject matter expert on a wide range of subjects that have practical life applications. Timothy (Adventure Dad) installed a solar powered water pump to power our underground irrigation system. He had to become a quick subject matter expert on both solar and irrigation systems despite never working with them before. Luckily, he already had knowledge about working with electricity and plumbing that came from the practical life experience of being an old house owner. When you live in the country you can’t always hire the experts. If we can fix the electricity, install a solar pump, or repair our house and barn ourselves, we do. Homesteaders also often run businesses and must be business savvy as well.
Homesteader’s money tends to go back into the land rather than material goods and ease of living. I think this is one contributing factor to assuming rural people are backwards. We just value different things and the knowledge we have is not inferior, it’s just different. It’s also a very broad knowledge base rather than focused as many tech and science workers. It also is knowledge based on practical common sense.
When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, I know one thing for sure: it will be the country dwellers, and not the tech workers, who save the day. We are out here living with nature and doing our thing and we may not even notice the Zombie Apocalypse when it comes. If we do notice, we will just quickly add “zombies” to our ever-growing list of what we can successfully handle. And while our cars may not talk to our cell phones, we will keep everything zombie-free. In the end, isn’t that what matters?
All jokes about the Zombie Apocalypse aside, fighting the tech superiority and following the path of nature is something that is dear to the Mossygoat heart. Our society has smart phones, smart cars, and smart appliances. Humans are smart too, and we tend to forget that in our tech centered world. Connecting with nature and living in tune with the seasons is what calls many people to homestead and return back to the land. If you are ready to walk the wild path with us at Mossygoat Farm, please subscribe to our newsletter below. Grow wild with us.