What Are Your Favorite Things?

[Honey Tree]

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!

[EmsoffLambs]

1. Crook. Makes catching sheep sooo much easier.
2. Barn camera. Significantly reduces lambing season sleep deprivation and saves newborn lambs.
3. Border Collie.  Makes simple work of moving and catching sheep.
4. Livestock guardian dogs.  Eliminates predator losses and let's us sleep easier at night.
5. Small insulates lamb blankets. We have switched to using these instead of heat lamps to prevent newborns from getting chilled. No risk of barn fires and work better at keeping lambs warm.

[WestSDSheep]

Fun topic, actually been thinking this over since start of lambing.

Agree with Head Lamps, makes doing chores so much easier with hands free in the dark. Just got a couple new, rechargeable ones, and they have awesome light range for less than $25.00

Lamb cradles from Premeir. My husbands favorite

Lamb warming barrels. First time using this year. Makes warming up lambs that need a little "extra" much easier. Ewes have accepted them very well.

Baby buggy. My husband made a ewe hauler that he can lift with pallet forks on bobcat. Enclosed a corner for lambs, so ewe can see lambs but not step on them when being transported.

Microwave lamb warmer. Not sure of proper name. We got ours from Nasco years ago. Warm up in microwave, wrap around chilled lamb. Have revived many a lamb.

Lak Tec milk machine. Third year using and still am in awe of how it has changed our "bonus" lamb program.

Lamb tuber. Have utilized protocol of tubing colostrum immediately to new lambs, mostly of multiple births or born when cold. 4 oz gets a lamb up and moving.

Hay feeders for lambing pens. My husband has been building these, one wooden feeder feeds two pens. We use small bales at lambing time, one flake fits in a feeder side, cuts down on hay waste.

[EmsoffLambs]

Yes, I should add tube feeder. That one simple too has saved more baby lambs (an my time and sanity) than anything else.

[Califmom]

Tube feeder for sure..having syringes in 3 ml, 6 ml and 12 ml sizes always on hand, plus needles, to me saves me time and frustration. And along with that penicillin, B complex and Banamine, seem to be staples for ill sheep, until I can contact a vet that will tell me to use something else, penicillin so far for me has worked well in 99% of situations I have had.  A thermometer.

[Don Drewry]

Not in any order, thermometers, tube feeder, walk through gates, fence line feeders, automatic waterers, Premier round bale feeders, (I hate feeding small squares), high tensile electric fence ( low cost, very low maintenance).