[Ag-eq] Nella's query re sheep

[Jewel]

This is the 4th time that I have started this letter re Nella's queries about sheep, .  For some 
reason, the computer keeps

shutting down and I lose what I have written, so, here goes:
My dearest Nella!  you said that sheep poop is a lot less * messy than that of cattle!  Dear--o dear 
oh  dear!  It is,

obvious:  well, obvious to me anyway:   that you have never run your hands over a sheep's backside! 
* MESSY doesn't even

come close to it!
It is true that there are sheep that have been, selectively, bred to be worm-resistant and to have 
bare backsides, but such

divine animals may command a premium price. but they are worth the extra dollars because you will 
save on the cost of

drenching [de-worming] and crutching [clipping wool off mucky backsides], so if you are able to, get 
them, however, if you

can't, we will take them out of the picture.
With your normal, common or garden run-of-the-mill baa lamb, the excrement will get caught in the 
wool, and will, in time,

and not a very long time at that,  build up into lumps of shit the size of a cricket ball,

or if you are not familiar with a cricket ball, say an obese tennis ball!!
We, here in New Zealand call these balls DAGS, and that gave rise to a, perhaps, unique Kiwi 
expression, not heard often

now, but still remembered by the old-timers, such as your present correspondent:  ergo:  "Rattle 
your dags!"  which means

"get a  wriggle on/hurry up!" and comes from the fact that these dags, when dry, will rattle like 
castanets when the sheep

are running.  Kiwi lambs, usually have their tails removed when they are a few weeks old.
I have, personally, been responsible for introducing the instruction "rattle your dags!" to a number 
of Americans who have

added it to their family lexicon!
and now, pressing on to the grazing habits of sheep/goats.
These 2 species make an ideal grazing combination as the goats prefer to eat the weeds and rougher 
types of grass that are

unpalatable to sheep while they, the sheep thrive on clover which the goats avoid.
I think, though I may be wrong, that you have copper requirements all arsie-boo!  Sheep and cattle 
require copper, while

goats can do without, though a very small amount won't harm them!
American goatkeepers usually have a bin of baking soda, and one of loose minerals to which the goats 
have free access!

       Jewel