Topics

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Recurring Choke

« on: October 28, 2018, 01:41:29 am »

I have been having choke issues with several of my ewes.  I didn't have a problem when I was feeding alfalfa cubes but now that I'm feeding alfalfa hay choke seems to be a recurring issue.  The one that seems to have the most trouble never bloats up so I know she's not blocked.  You just hear a lot of hard swallowing.  The last feeding went untouched.  Has anyone else had this type of experience?  If so, did you find a way to resolve it?

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / How Do You Stop Wood Chewing?

« on: January 05, 2018, 02:35:02 am »

I have a number of sheep that have decided wood chewing is a great past time.  They chewed a huge whole in the side of the feed shed and ate half a bale of hay.  They started on my tack room wall.  I nailed a tarp on the wall to stop that.  Now they've started on every shed they have access to.  Short of nailing tarps on every building on my property, is there a product that will deter these beavers?

They have loose trace minerals available.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Manure Disposal

« on: October 09, 2017, 10:38:00 pm »

Manure.  I've spread it with a shovel for years (no manure spreader, no tractor).  I really need to do deep cleaning and get down to real dirt.  There is no way my pasture can handle the quantity that I want to move.  Any thoughts about what to do with all of it?

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Sad Ending to an Emerald Star Project

« on: July 31, 2017, 06:31:02 pm »

Our fair started putting away funds to pay for shade cloth along the back side of the sheep, goat and hog barns.  This is the area where the 4-H and FFA clubs and chapters set up grooming, tack storage and general hang-out areas.  This money isn't in the budget so each club pays $50 for a 10' x 20+'  spot where they place their EZ-Ups.  Larger clubs can secure 2 spots.  The estimate cost of the project is $14,000 for shade cloth, poles and cabling.  Time required to secure the funds is about 4 years.

My daughter and a teen boy from our club embarked on an Emerald Star Project.  With the blessings of the fair CEO they set out to collect the recyclable cans and bottles from around the livestock barns and show rings.  The money would go back to the fair to help fund the Shade Cloth Project.  Last year the trash was overflowing with them.  They set up recycling containers but could only secure 8 of them from the local trash company.

We spent at least 3 hours for 8 consecutive evenings rummaging thru trash cans because thats where most of the cans and bottles ended up.  The fair was kind enough to let us use a horse stall to store the cans and bottles.

The fair ended a week ago and we spend several days last week emptying, crushing and sorting cans and bottles.

We returned today to continue the huge task of empty, crush, sort.  We arrived to find that over the weekend thieves pried off the hasp and stole almost all of what had been collected.  The loss was somewhere around $400-$600.  Fortunately we had taken $100 worth in last week and they left about $100.  Not a total loss but still very disappointing.  They probably ran out of time but I suspect if we hadn't removed what was left that they would cleaned everything else out tonight.

I'm so proud of both of the kids for working so hard.  There wasn't a single day that our weather was under 100 degrees.  They benefited the fair by reducing the trash that needed to be picked up, saved the fair the cost of disposal, reduced the landfill by a mountain and put the fair a bit closer to shading the 4-H and FFA areas.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Premier Shears Blade Compatibility

« on: July 29, 2017, 04:00:51 pm »

My big old Oster shears threw parts everywhere when my daughter was shearing a lamb.  We couldn't find everything that it launched.  I've put money into repairing the head several years ago as well as a tuneup but I think the motor may be worn out.  Even with sharp blades it starts to lug after a few strokes.  The thought of putting money into the heavy beast just sat wrong with me and I thought new one would be money better spent.

Anyway, I had a chance to buy a set of slightly used Premier 4000s for under $300.  After I made the purchase it dawned on me that I had a bunch of Oster combs and cutters that may not fit the new shears requiring a capitol investment in more combs and cutters.  Does anyone know if my Oster blades will fit the Premier?

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Slow Gainer, Suggestions?

« on: July 08, 2017, 03:56:05 pm »

Our club started with several very lightweight lambs and we had concerns about making the minimum weight of 100 lbs.  Of course it would have been nice to have started with bigger lambs but we are where we are.

Weigh in is in 8 days.  The smallest lambs have put on an amazing 8-10 lbs per week and weigh 104-114 today.  We have one straggler that is just not putting on the weight.  He weighs 94, the same as he did 4 days ago.  He looks healthy and they said he is consuming 3 lbs per day of Lamb Slam.  His buddy is 114 lbs.  His condition is very good and he is one of the nicest lambs in our group.

We have had extremely hot weather (100+) and it looks like it will continue for the next couple of weeks.

I got the family to move the lambs into full shade about 10 days ago and the lamb was shorn 2 1/2 weeks ago. 

Its frustrating because the boy has put in a lot of time and he is doing a great job showing his animal.  This is his first market show and I know he would be so disappointed if his lamb didn't reach the 100 threshold. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Swollen Knees

« on: May 31, 2017, 05:04:09 pm »

We have a 3 month old lamb that has swollen knees.  He shows no lameness, heat or pain, just soft puffy knees.  Any clue what would cause this or how to correct it?  I first noticed it a couple of weeks ago and the swelling has remained the same.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Biobag: Premature Lamb Artificially Gestated

« on: April 30, 2017, 11:49:13 am »

This is an amazing story!  The Biobag is being developed for premature babies.  There is a loop video clip at the end of the story.

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/04/25/new-artificial-womb-technology-could-keep-babies-born-prematurely-alive-and-healthy/

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Mixing Corid

« on: April 12, 2017, 02:21:41 pm »

I need to treat for coccidiosis.  The instructions for drench is 3 oz Corid to 1 pint of water delivered at 1 oz per 100 lbs.  I called a vet and was told that it would probably be best to follow the label.  That being said, does anyone know if it would be a problem to mix at 3 oz per 1/2 pint and deliver 1/2 oz per 100 lbs?

I have a lot of sheep to treat and it would be nice if I have less to draw up, less to dispense and less for them to spit out.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Nasco in Modesto is Closing

« on: April 04, 2017, 09:39:40 pm »

For those living in or near Modesto, CA we are losing Nasco .  The Wisconsin store and warehouse will remain open. 

Nasco has been wonderful to our 4-H and FFA kids and the community as a whole.  Anyone who has attended shows in our area has seen their booth.  They always come with most everything a showman could ask for and always have a drawing for fantastic items.  We won cordless Lister Liberty Clippers.  Some friends won a blower.  The employees, especially Raydene, were helpful and friendly.  If the store didn't carry and item that you needed, they'd find it and get it for you.  Old fashioned service.

Hopefully those in charge will have a change of heart.  Nasco will be sorely missed.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Tiny Lamb with Cough and Bloat

« on: March 29, 2017, 07:48:35 pm »

I have a tiny lamb that was born on March 17th to a huge twin.  I took her from her mother immediately as she was so small she couldn't reach the udder and mom wasn't paying attention to her.  I weighed her at 4 days and she weighed 4 lbs 6 oz.

Yesterday she overate (my fault as my eyes and my right hand were busy doing something else while my left hand held the bottle).  By late evening she was lethargic and slobbery mouth, grunty with a cough.  I gave her .3 or .4 cc of Nuflor SQ and baking soda for the bloat.  It didn't change the bloat much but she seemed a bit better by 4:30am. 

This evening she is acting almost normal and wanting more milk.  I've taken to giving her 2 oz every 3 or 4 hours because she is still bloating.  The cough has persisted.

Any thoughts on treatment?  Should I give Nuflor again, how soon and how much?  Any other medication?  She is so vigorous and incredibly sweet.  I don't want to lose this one.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / What Are Your Favorite Things?

« on: February 27, 2017, 07:17:56 pm »

This is a topic that I thought would benefit many.  What are your favorite items?  You know, the things that make life easier.  Not necessarily things like tractors with front loaders and barns, nice things of course and definitely on my dream list, but rather the small items.  Some of things that we may not even think about buying or utilizing but once you own it you'd never be without it.

Two of my favorite items that I wouldn't want to be without:
1. Headlamp- makes work in the dark so much easier!
2. Roll of baling wire- the uses are endless!

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Big Udder, No Milk

« on: February 27, 2017, 07:11:03 pm »

I had a ewe deliver twins yesterday.  Nice big udder and a great mother.  Problem?  Absolutely no milk down into the nipples.  The udder feels normal and the ewe doesn't mind me handling the udder or nipples.  I can't get any milk to flow into the nipples.    The lambs suck away but still no milk.  They are both vigorous lambs and can empty a bottle lickety-split.

I've given them colostrum that I had frozen and will start them on milk replacer but I'd still prefer the old fashion method of feeding.  Anyone else ever had this issue?  Any suggestions?

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Bleeding and Retained Placenta

« on: February 24, 2017, 09:11:44 pm »

I had the vet out around 4pm today to pull a set of very large twins.  The ewe was given ban amine after the delivery and the lambs seem to be doing fine.  The ewe dropped most of the afterbirth but has a chunk hanging out.  What concerns me is that she continues to drip fresh blood.  She also has been grunting since the delivery.  She's up and taking care of the lambs and seems normal but I don't want her to go south.  Any thoughts?

**Update**  She dropped the remaining placenta around midnight and the bleeding stopped.  Still making the odd grunting noise.  She is eating and drinking.

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All Sheep and Lamb Discussion / Overbites

« on: December 09, 2016, 11:05:07 pm »

I leased a nice ram last year.  Three of lambs born earlier this year had overbites.  All were ram lambs and I banded them right away.  The dams of two of the lambs were related but the dam of one of the lambs was not related to any of the other ewes in my flock so I know it came from the ram.

Those three lambs had very severe overbites that could be spotted from a fair distance.

With many years of dog breeding I recognize a bite defect as a defect and won't breed anything with a defective bite.  I have already decided that if any of these daughters produce a lamb with an overbite that I will take them to the sale yard. 

I checked the ewes lambs to see if any had bad bites.  All teeth met up with the pad.  The teeth of some, however, sat toward the back of the pad.  My question for all of you is, would you consider this a problem?