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Divine Sheep Farm

     Our flock is registered with the American Miniature Cheviot Sheep Association.  We breed for conformation, disposition, fleece quality and hardiness.  We’ve been raising Miniature Cheviots since 2005 and our sheep have been shipped far and wide – some to Georgia and the Carolina’s, others as far away as Arizona.  Since moving to the farm in 2011, coyotes have been a challenge and caused great losses each spring.  The farm is fenced with “Red Brand” netwire with a strand of barbed wire near the ground and another along the top.   Coyotes are a crafty lot and the fence seems to make it inconvenient for them to cross the farm, but it definitely does not work to prevent entry. Initially, llamas were introduced for predator control, without success.  Donkeys followed and although they offered a warning by braying loudly, little was done to deter the coyotes.  A single Great Pyrenees, first Lodi and later Abe, stayed with the flock but was unable to prevent the coyotes from killing the spring lambs and occasionally a ewe or two.  In February of 2017, the addition of Tina and Fey, two Anatolian Shepherds, have been the only successful means of eliminating the losses.  The talented ladies work together with Abe to keep the coyotes away.  Coyotes can still be heard chattering and howling in the adjacent woods, but the extraordinary flock guardians don’t grant them access.  If anyone tells you that dogs are the way to go, please believe them.  I wanted a different method initially because I didn’t want to deal with barking dogs, but I would have been so much better off taking that route from the beginning.  I have to admit that I am very happy to have the llamas…  even if mine aren’t good protectors.  In a nutshell, it’s so exciting to start growing the flock without anticipating substantial losses each spring.  Thank you so much for that, Tina and Fey.