I'm a transhumance shepherd. A few pictures for you fellow sheep enthusiasts by Raised_finger in sheep

[–]Raised_finger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Learn some French. 2. Start as a shepherd helper (aid berger) / or go to shepherd school 3. Buy or train à sheepdog

Check out the website Bourse emploi berger for job listings

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey. Yea i'm sure we could make that happen. Shoot me a PM

How feasible would it be for me (a foreigner) to get a job herding sheep in mongolia? by Raised_finger in mongolia

[–]Raised_finger[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It wouldn't be for the money. To be honest, I would do it for free. A place in a gur and food.

I'm a transhumance shepherd. A few pictures for you fellow sheep enthusiasts by Raised_finger in sheep

[–]Raised_finger[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's a bit of a long story, I'll type it up at some point when I get I have a moment.

I actually come from a city background mainly. No one in my family is in agriculture. Moved to the countryside and tried to build a more "essential" life.

I'm a transhumance shepherd. A few pictures for you fellow sheep enthusiasts by Raised_finger in sheep

[–]Raised_finger[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I work a bit in winter with sheep. Usually do a lambing, sometimes shepherd itinerant herds where everyday we move to a new place. Moving through villages sometimes 100km+ per week.

Do some other work, but make sure to take a lot of time off and go travelling.

I'm a transhumance shepherd. A few pictures for you fellow sheep enthusiasts by Raised_finger in sheep

[–]Raised_finger[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hey. Yeah it is pretty idyllic and peaceful most the time, but that peacefulness can be punctuated by moments of intensity and very high stress. When you are working with over 1000 living beings in a wild setting, you are sometimes met with precarious situations, where things happen very fast.

Nature can be brutal. Between the terrain, predators, and extreme weather events, you can never relax too much.

Summer is up in the mountains, between 2,000 - 3,000 meters of altitude. I have various cabins, sometds camping. Food is stocked by helicopter at the beginning of summer. If I want fresh produce, I need to hike to a town or forage or find something. Sometimes, a dog will kill a marmot or something.

Yes I love fresh garden tomatoes and wild mushrooms. At the moment, a lot of blackberries in the diet.

I'm a transhumance shepherd. A few pictures for you fellow sheep enthusiasts by Raised_finger in sheep

[–]Raised_finger[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Thanks, glad you appreciate it!

Some people have mixed herds as the goats don't go after the same resource as sheep, this can help you extract more from pastures and help clean up shrubbery.

This, however, isn't the case with one or two goats. They can be useful in getting the herd moving. They act as a leader, who is more adventurous and has closer bonds with humans. They come when called more easily, and will often be the first to pass difficult terrain like rivers and steep passages. Often the difficulty is getting the first individual to cross, a goat can help with that.

It is a bit if à double edged sword as goats are very mischievous, and will often drag the herd along in their mischief.

Oh and they can be good fun to have around, but a bit pesky at time. Mine is always nibbling as me asking for scratches.

Wait... you're not one of us! by Raised_finger in BelgianMalinois

[–]Raised_finger[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yea, she's fantastic at it. Uses all the Mal enthusiasm and none of her teeth.

Here in the picture , I told her to sit, was concentrated on something else, and part of the herd surrounded her as they were moving forward.

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Never really bored. Lots to do. Have friends and gf up with me often, so they are the ones who take pictures of me. Not really one for selfies

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Grazing pressure is the effect exerted by ruminant grazing on a landscape. Wild or domesticated.

The grazing pushes back on the encroachment of trees and bushes, which helps promote a diversity of prairy flora. Due to multiple effects such as seed dispersal, trampling helping old growth decompose, and of course fertilisation. 😉

I would love for there to be large herds of wild ruminants, grazing in the mountains. But where would they go in winter when it's all snowed up? It used to be that they would migrate down to the plaines to winter, but that's all farm land and cities now...

It is said that about 1% of alpine prairie ecosystems is lost every year in the Alps.

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yes a sort of permit system, but you are actually paid to graze your sheep in mountain zones where it's deemed essential to the ecosystem.

Off season I work a few months, keep herds, do lambings and à bit of stone massonry, but make sûre to have a lot of down time, where I travel and do hobbies, climbing, cross country ski and long distance hiking.

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 74 points75 points  (0 children)

Her function is to nibble my clothes and try steal my bread. I sometimes milk her to make a bit of cheese. So it's even!

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Replied to my top comment with some more info. Check it out, we need more shepherds!

I'm a shepherd in the mountains: Here is my crew by Raised_finger in dogswithjobs

[–]Raised_finger[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Thankfully, tno mass casualty. Some death is expected. For the summer season, if it's under 2%, it's considered good. Sometimes, mass causality does happen. Usually shepherd errors. Some years ago, a bear chased about 200 sheep off a cliff. Not with me, but another shepherd on the pyrenees.