sheep

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The Shepherd’s Lament

Someone shared this on one of my Yahoo groups.  It’s cute and I thought I’d share it, too.

by Dr. Darrell Salsbury, DVM

Now I lay me down to sleep
Exhausted by those doggone sheep;

My only wish is that I might
Cause them not to lamb at night;

I wouldn’t mind the occasional ewe,
But lately it’s more than just a few:

Back into bed, then up again,
At two o’clock and four a.m.

They grunt and groan with noses high,
And in between a mournful sigh,

We stand there watching nature work,
Hoping there won’t be a quirk:

A leg turned back, or even worse,
A lamb that’s coming in reverse.

But once they’ve lambed we’re glad to see
That their efforts didn’t end in in tragedy.

There’s no emotion so sublime
As a ewe and lamb that’s doing fine.

I’m often asked why I raise sheep,
With all the work and loss of sleep;

The gratification gained at three a.m.
From the birth of another baby lamb–

How can you explain, or even show?
‘Cause only a shepherd will ever know!

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Right Now?!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks everything always happens at once.  Does the phrase, “Never a dull moment” describe anyone elses’ life perfectly?

Today I had an appointment with the state veterinarian at 11 am to complete our annual inspection for the USDA Scrapie Eradication Program.  Hannah and I had been outside feeding the critters earlier and then came in for a break for a while.  We bundled up (it was 20 degrees colder today than it was yesterday!) and ventured back outside at 10:30.  While I brought fresh swimming water to the ducks I saw the vet’s SUV coming up the drive.  OK… I had wanted to get the ewes into the barn before he got here … luckily he had some paperwork to finish so I had time to persuade my girls to come to the barn.

I got as far as the gate when I heard it.  Little, tiny, adorable lambie baa’s.  I was expecting our ewes, Beatrice and Camille, to lamb at any time but I had let them out of the barn for some exercise and fresh grass.  Beatrice was on the other side of my garden with 2 still wet lambs!  One was standing; the other hadn’t been cleaned off yet.  I quickly fetched 2 towels, helped dry off the 2nd lamb and brought mama and babies into the barn.  Once I had them together in a lambing jug (or pen), I went to gather the other ewes into the barn.

Our inspection went well and once I had made Hannah lunch I went to check on Beatrice and her twins.  The ewe lamb weighed 9.5 lbs and the ram lamb weighed 8.75 lbs.  I made sure the both knew where to nurse and headed back to Hannah in the house.

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Isaac Finds a Home

Noah and Hannah with Isaac

Our newest sheep arrived today.  Isaac is a 2 – year old Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) ram and was owned by a friend in my spinning group.  She and her husband are moving and had to find homes for their animals so we decided to take Isaac.

He’s had an interesting life so far.  Apparently his birth wasn’t planned… his mother and father were siblings.  Soon after he was born he developed an eye infection that had to be treated daily with ointment for about a month.  He’s very gentle and has never produced any lambs even though he’s been housed with ewes his whole life.  I wonder if that’s a result of the accidental inbreeding.  Anyway, he will have a visit with our vet in September since we aren’t interested in breeding him (and he obviously isn’t interested in breeding either).

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Surprise!!

Saturday was very busy here…lots of mowing, weeding and moving sheep.  We bought a New Holland tractor a couple weeks ago for mowing the fields since the lawn tractor that we had been using caught on fire while I was mowing.  (Moral of that story – everyone should have at least 1 fire extinguisher and know how to use it!)

Anyway, Dave went up to the top field (the riding arena) to let the goats and Karloff out so he could mow it.  The next thing I knew he was back by the barn yelling “Kim, you have to see this.”  That usually doesn’t refer to something good.  Along with Karloff and the goats in the field were our 3-month old chicks in their chicken tractor, but when I got to the gate I saw chickens running all around and 2 really big chickens in the tractor.

The goats and Karloff like to rub on the chicken tractor and the wire on one side had given way.  Of course the goats couldn’t resist a buffet of chicken feed.  Karloff was the only good one and was sleeping in the sheep/goat shelter (it’s on the left in the background).

We lifted up the back of the chicken tractor to let Rudy and Buster out, fixed the wire and caught all the chickens.  Then Dave could finally mow the field!

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Cameron and Desmond Found New Homes!

2 weeks ago we sent our ram lamb, Desmond, and our yearling ram, Cameron, to their new homes in NJ!  We know they will do well with their very own flocks. 

Desmond went home with Karin Evans…

Desmond

…and Cameron went home with Christine Egidio.

Cameron

Thanks Karin and Christine!  We wish you many beautiful, healthy lambs! 

(ps – I kept Cameron’s lamb fleece.  If anyone needs an awesome Tunis fleece I highly recommend his.  The guys at the wool mill were so impressed with it!  If you email me,I’ll put you in touch with Christine!)

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Our newest lambs

Last Wednesday our shearer came out and sheared the sheep… Well, everyone except Beatrice and Bertha because they were due to lamb any day.

Bertha ended up going into labor a couple hours after our shearer left, and gave us a beautiful, 11-3/4 lb ewe lamb.  I only helped when she looked like she was getting tired.  It was her 1st lamb so the shoulders were difficult to pass.

Bertha and ewe lamb

Beatrice lambed the next night and also gave us a ewe lamb.  She was a petite 11 lbs!

Beatrice and ewe lamb

Beatrice’s lamb scared Dave Friday morning when he checked on the girls.  She had slipped through the  slats in the lambing stall and was in with Bertha and her lamb!  Beatrice was very happy to get her baby back.  Bertha has proved to be a very attentive and protective mother…she tried to hide her lamb from us when they were in the barn by standing in front of her!

Now we have 4 ewe lambs and 2 ram lambs with 2 more girls due next month!

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Update on Rosy

Rosy is back to her usual curious, getting into trouble self!  She stayed in the barn with her twins during the week she was sick and we let her out every day to graze.  She never wandered away from the barn.  Tuesday we could tell she was feeling more like herself, though.  She and the 2 pregnant ewes found their way to the driveway and were headed for a walk after I went to work.  Needless to say, yesterday I let them graze in the main pasture!

Here are a few pictures of Rosy during treatment (warning – they are a little gross)…

This is Rosy last Thursday (the day after we started treatment).  Notice how discolored and swollen her udder is.  She didn’t lay down at until the swelling went down.

Some of Rosy’s medicine.  The yellow liquid is Aminoplex and the clear one is calcium gluconate.  All this was give subcutaneously (SQ) twice a day.  She also got 3cc Banamine once a day.  By Friday we started to give the Aminoplex orally.  She ate and drank on her own so we didn’t have to tube her like we did last year.

This photo is of Rosy’s udder yesterday (Wednesday) when she was being shorn.  The right side was most affected and is turning gangrene.  We’ll keep an eye on it to watch for fly strike since it’s raw.

Rosy went back in the field with the girls after shearing.  Her lambs stayed by her side during this whole ordeal.  I think it helped that she wasn’t stressed that her lambs were gone, too.  I think she has weaned them… every time I see them try to nurse she walks away.

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Poor Rosy

It’s been a while since I posted.  Things have been a little crazy lately…sometimes I think another crisis is right around the corner!

Last Wednesday I noticed Rosy, our ewe who had triplets, just wasn’t herself…she wasn’t walking around much and her ears were droopy.  When I took grain into the girls she didn’t come for food.  That confirmed my suspicions – she’s always the 1st to come for food.  She didn’t appear to have a fever but her udder was discolored in spots like it was bruised.  I called Dale (our vet) and he didn’t like was I described to him.  He’d be to our place in about 2 hours to check her out.

Getting Rosy from the front field to the barn wasn’t too easy…she did not want to walk and I didn’t want to push her too much because it was obvious she was in pain.  Dale examined her and, just like he thought, she had mastitis.  He gave her some fluids and medicine for the pain and shock, as well as a long-acting antibiotic.  This type of mastitis is called “blue bag” because the infection affects the blood supply to the udder, resulting in discoloration.  The affected tissue may become gangrene and eventually slough off.

Dale gave me instructions and left medication.  2 – 60 cc syringes of electrolyte/amino acid and 1 – 60 cc syringe of calcium gluconate (SQ) twice a day for 4 days.  Banamine once a day for 4 days and another shot of antibiotic to administer in 1 week.  He also left his stomach tube and pump in case I needed it.  Dale told me if Rosy was around for the 2nd antibiotic shot, she’d make it.  He also suggested that I leave her lambs with her, as long as they don’t beat her up trying to nurse.

Thursday morning I gave her all those injections and she didn’t even flinch.  Of course she has to be my favorite ewe, right?!  I had some hope because she was eating and drinking on her own, but I didn’t want to hope too much.  Every time the lambs tried to nurse Rosy would just walk away….well, more like hobble away.  I wasn’t too concerned about them – they were 3 weeks old and would be okay if they were weaned now.

Rosy’s udder was so swollen it was difficult for her to walk and she wouldn’t lie down at all.  From Wednesday afternoon until Saturday I didn’t see her lie down once.  Each day I let her out of the barn to graze with her babies and I’d see her lean against the barn occasionally to sleep.

By Saturday her udder wasn’t as swollen and she started lying down again.  We also started giving her the electrolytes orally instead of subcutaneously.  Some of the skin on her udder is rubbing off, like Dale said it would; and parts of her fleece are falling out – a condition called wool break caused by sever stress.

Yesterday Rosy trotted to me for food… I think she’s going to be okay.  No more babies for her, though.

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Dreary, Rainy Monday

What a sad day Monday was.  Dave stayed home because we both had doctor appointment…our colds were just not going away.  When I got back from dropping Noah at pre-school, Dave met me with bad news.  He’d found Abigail’s single lamb strangled in a rope hay feeder.  He was a week old.  We both felt so guilty.  It was my brilliant idea to make the feeder and re-use baling twine; and we had turned off the baby monitor in the barn since we weren’t expecting any more ewes to go into labor. 

Later, at the doctor’s, we learned we both have sinus infections and I have bronchitus.  At least we’re now on antibiotics and getting better.  🙂 

I worked that night.  Dave called me around 8pm because Noah got sick.  He continued to get sick every hour until 4:30am.  Poor kid!  Every time he got up again I had just fallen asleep.

What a dreary, depressing Monday.  I’m glad Tuesday brought a sunny day.

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Whew!

Last night Dave couldn’t sleep because of his cold so he went in the living room and watched some tv.  Well, at 12:45am he woke me up because one of the ewes went into labor and he could hear her pushing over the baby monitor we keep in the barn.

We got out to the barn pretty quick with my lambing box and discovered it was Abigail who was in labor.  We moved her into a smaller lambing stall (or jug) and persuaded Rosy and Annie to return to their “ladies in waiting” stall.  We got some things together and sat by the straw bales to wait.  Midnight and Tiger were very happy that we finally decided to come join them in sleeping in the barn.  🙂  Not much happened so we decided to go back to sleep for 30-45 minutes and do another check.

At 2:15am, I mean 3:15 daylight savings time, we went out again because we still heard pushing.  I checked and only saw 1 hoof….not good.  I felt around and found the other foot quickly.  It was bent at the “ankle” and corrected easily, but the emerging legs didn’t look like front legs.  I felt around again and found a tail….not good.

The next time Abigail laid down to push, Dave knelt down and held her for me.  I attached my lambing cord to the lamb’s legs and, with each contraction, pulled.  Poor Abigail was a trooper through the delivery.  Dave said she chewed on his jacket when she was pushing.  We had to get that baby out quickly so that it didn’t start to breathe while still in the birth canal.  Pneumonia can develop when fluid gets in the lungs.

We got the lamb out – a ram – and cleared its nose…after a little chest rub he started breathing and shaking his head.  What a big boy!  After mama cleaned him off and he stood up I weighed him… 12lbs!  No wonder he didn’t have a twin!

I finally got back to bed at 4:15 daylight saving time.  What a night to be out in the lambing barn!  And I had to teach Sunday school this morning, too!  Whew!

Noah & Hannah with Abigail and ram lamb