Tag: sheep

Luna update

Luna is still hanging in there. Not much change. She can still only travel to the left. I had to rescue her again this afternoon. She got stuck in the hedge row. The sheep often go in there to be in the shade. Luna managed get herself against a couple of saplings. One tree trunk was against her left shoulder, the other against her left cheek. There was plenty of room on her right side, but she couldn’t move that way. I got her out OK.

BTW, she HATES getting her 3 times a day shots! Lucky for me she is easy to catch. She runs like heck. I just have to intercept the leftward circle. LOL. Poor girl.

by farmerkeen

Luna

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Poor Luna is sick. She couldn’t get up when I let the others out. After a few false starts I managed to get her to her feet. Her feet and legs seemed fine. When she started moving the problem became clear. She kept circling to the left. She can not walk in a straight line or turn to the right. She can only travel towards her left. We had a ram with the same problem last year. Listeriosis! Also known as circling disease. Very bad news. It is caused by the listeria bacteria, which is often found in silage or wet feed. It causes inflammation of the brain stem and can be fatal. We don’t feed our girls silage and certainly don’t give them wet feed. It can also be found in soil and damp bedding.

It has been such a wet summer, so much rain. The girls often get soaked while they are out to pasture, then come in dripping all over their bedding pack. That is my suspicion, anyway. I called the vet for a consult and he agreed with my diagnosis. She will have to be on high doses of penicillin G 3 times a day for the next week. Hopefully we caught it early enough. That is really the only hope for survival. If it is caught too late it is pretty much always fatal. Riley, the ram, made it through OK. That is a definite advantage to having a small herd. When their behavior is off you notice right away.

Even though she was having a hell of a time getting around, Luna insisted on going out with the rest of the girls once I got her up. I went with her to help. The pasture the girls are on now is to the right after going out the barn door. She could not go that way. So, she staggered to the left and took the scenic route, following the fence around the barnyard until she got to the correct gate. She got along pretty well that way except when she got to the corners. I would have to pull her out of the corners and turn her in a left circle until she was facing the correct direction and let her go. The problem came when the rest of the girls headed back to the barnyard without her. I had to go get her. We ended up following the fence line back. She fell down trying to eat out of the grain tub, but she got up and made it to the water tub OK. After a few circles she made it to the hay manger and was munching happily away when I left the barn. I’ll be heading out shortly to give her tonight’s medicine. Keep your fingers crossed that she will make a full recovery.

While the girls were out I put down an extra layer of bedding and scrubbed out their water and feed tubs. Don’t want anyone else to come down with it!

by farmerkeen

We need to talk…

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Me: Bear, we need to talk.

Bear: Scratches?

Me: Alright, I will give you scratches. But we need to talk about your weight. Your belly almost hangs down to your knees!

Bear (hanging her head): I know. I can’t seem to lose weight no matter what I do.

Me: Well, I have been cutting back on your food, hoping to help you lose weight. But I really wish you would stop yelling at me about it. It’s for your own good, you know.

Bear: More scratches?

Me: ~Sigh~ Yes, more scratches. But you need to lose weight!

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Me: Moana, we need to talk. You’re too fat! You need to lose weight!

Moana: I am not fat! I’m a sheep. I am fluffy!

Me: Sissy sheared you last week. You are not fluffy now, but you are still fat!

Moana: I am big-boned!

Me: See this big belly right here? This thing that wobbles back and forth when you walk? That is no bone!

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Me: Fatty Patty, we need to talk.

Fatty Patty: I’m busy right now. I am eating.

Me: That’s the problem. You eat too much. Look at you! Your back is like a dining room table!

Fatty Patty: A dining room table with food on it?

Me: ~Sigh~

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Me: Freckles, we need to talk. You are too fat. You’re almost as wide as you are tall!

Freckles: You’re a fine one to talk about anyone else’s weight. Look at YOU!

Me: I know I’m too fat. But I am not in danger of being culled for being too fat! Besides, this is about you’re weight, not mine.

Freckles: Don’t you-fat shame me, Keen! I have rights, you know!

by farmerkeen

Picky, picky, picky…

See all that thick, lush, juicy grass? I led the sheep right to it, then headed back to the barn to do chores. Not even 10 minutes passed before they were all crowded at the gate, yelling at me that they were STARVING! You tell me; do they look malnourished to you? Anyone? Brats!

 

by farmerkeen

Brats!

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The brats got out of the fence on me today. Grrrr! Jumped right over it. How in the heck they get their spindly legs to launch their fat butts that high is beyond me!

by farmerkeen

Sheep Diet Fail

Bear, Moana, Fatty Patty! You guys have been on a diet for months; why are you still so fat?! Now that Sissy has shorn you, the wool does not hide your obesity any more. How can you still be so fat after months of being on a diet? How can this be?

by farmerkeen

Spa day for the girls

Sissy came to shear some sheep yesterday. They would get a hair cut, worm treatment, and a mani-pedi. So, they will be cooler, their tummies will feel better, and their hooves will be nicely trimmed. All good things. So, naturally they all headed to the opposite end of the barn and made it difficult for Sissy to catch them.

by farmerkeen

Thistles, anyone?

Levi decided to nip some of the thistles in the barnyard. After cutting several down, he got the brilliant idea to feed them to the sheep. He insisted I cut them up and add them to the sheep’s feed tubs. THAT was a lot of fun! My sister had heard or read somewhere that lambs can be trained to eat thistles and nettles, so I figured I might as well give it a try. What she doesn’t know is how the heck I’m supposed to cut them up without getting pricked or stung. So, thistles were included in the sheep’s supper tonight and the lambs got thistles and nettles. Yeah, these items were NOT a big hit. They sheep ate around them. But, I think I will continue to add small amounts of thistles and nettles to the lamb food. Might even try some wild parsnip on them. It would be so awesome if they really can be trained to eat these plants. Our pastures could be a lot nicer in future years if these weeds weren’t left to grow and go to seed.

by farmerkeen

Keeping them a little bit hungry

My sister has been on my case for a long time, telling me the sheep are too fat. They get very little grain, but we also give them bread and cull vegetables, apples, corn husks, whatever is available seasonally. They do like their treats. And they yell at me when they don’t think they have had enough treats. I don’t want them to be obese, but it is hard for me to say no to them. I don’t want them to feel deprived. Karen calls it “spoiling them”. OK, so I am guilty. And, until recently, unrepentant.

However, the past two years, approximately 1/3 of the flock did not breed. The same 10 sheep two years in a row. The vet cannot find anything wrong. These girls did not even come into heat, although they are all healthy. The only other possibility we can think of is their weight. And Karen is talking about culling them. A perfectly logical response when animals are unproductive. We aren’t making money at this, but the girls at least have to pay for themselves. Without lambs to sell we are losing money, buying food for them with no return. (At $.09 per pound for wool, it really isn’t worth shearing them except to make them more comfortable in the heat.)

Well, some of these 10 non-producers are my favorites. So, I have been on a major campaign to make them lose weight. I have put them on a strict diet these past few months. Less grain, less bread, less veggies, less treats, even less hay. They look to me like they are slimmer. I did it gradually so they wouldn’t feel deprived. To my eyes they are being fed very little. They have gotten used to it and don’t make too much of a fuss.

But, when they go out to graze they try to compensate for what they don’t get in the barn. They STUFF themselves. And they eat the tougher grasses and weeds they would have ignored in previous years. When they knew they would get plenty in the barn they were much more persnickety, only eating the young, tender grasses. That is what they would prefer, still, whenever it is available. However, they are doing a much better job of cleaning up their pastures. This is a good thing!

Much as I hate to admit it, Sissy was right. Feeding them less has been better all around. And they still love me. We won’t know for a while if this diet will bring them into heat when we introduce a ram, but I am hopeful. It won’t be long now.

by farmerkeen