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Monday, January 17, 2011

Someone is in Trouble!


Someone has been eating the bark off all the trees.


When I asked Killarney he told me the goats did it.


The goats denied it, they said that they couldn't even get into the sheep pen where the tree bark was missing. (Gidget refuses to take off her jacket, I think it is a fashion statement.)


Anyone know why the sheep would be eating the bark off all the trees?

13 comments:

  1. wild rabbits chewing it maybe??

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  2. Mine have been doing it as well. I think it's just because there has been so much snow on the ground there is nothing else for them to nibble on.

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  3. Anonymous - The deer and rabbits have an excuse, they don't get fed hay on a regular basis.

    Christine - I think goats eat for pleasure and sheep eat because they are bored.

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  4. No idea, but nice pictures. :)

    ~Mary

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  5. If I were Gidgit, I wouldn't take the coat off either.

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  6. Sounds like my house when I came home to a broken window. No one knew how it happened. Could you have deer?

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  7. Chai Chai I know wild boars love to scrape off barks, but not sure about sheep. Goats tend to rub their bodies against any hard structure when they itch, but it won't be completely clean like that...

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  8. Something to do with their mouths, for the most part, I bet. They have the grazing instinct for survival, so it would be natural for them to want to nibble throughout the day.

    Also, I know our goats ate the bark of the red cedar trees. Great for clearing a hill of the weeds (what they are here) but bad if you wanted the three large specimens they decimated in the goat pen. You know, the ones you dreamed about hanging a hammock on because it was on a grassy plateau surrounded by rocky ledges...

    Oh wait, that was me.

    Anyhow, I discovered that red cedar also has anti-parasitical compounds in it. Not to mention that goats are head-high foragers.

    Killarney may be telling the truth, but he sure looks guilty. LOL

    And what's that hanging from his mouth...

    ~Faith

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  9. Because trees are very high in pure deep minerals. what do your minerals for the sheep / goats look like they each have different needs, this is an area i encourage you to research

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  10. Mine sheep rub them with their horns and it rubs the bark right off but they chew it too--I have no idea why they do that :) LOL

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  11. Mary - I needed to figure out a way to post the picture of Gidget because I totally agree with you.

    Farmgirl - She is not taking it off this week for sure as the temperature is going to drop to at least 20 below 0!

    BMKW - We have a lot of deer but they can't get in with the rams because of how close the fence line is to the trees, no room to jump in and certainly no out.

    Grandpa - I agree, I have seen them rubbing horns and bodies against the trees but I can see chew marks!

    Faith - That is a great dream. I hadn't noticed the bark hanging from Killarney's mouth, Guilty as charged I say!

    Carla - The sheep have a mixture of free minerals mixed with kelp and loose baking soda. I agree that it may just be the grazing instinct and that they are bored.

    Verde - Same here, I vote for them being bored.

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  12. I agree with you and Verde. Our sheep LOVE bark and have access to all of the minerals they could ever need. We now wrap the trees that we don't want them eating with fencing.

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  13. Shannon - Thank you, I hope the trees don't all die before I can get them fenced in next Spring.

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